Chapter 9: Day 5 — Basket Case

Leticia and company pulled into the edge of camp, and were surprised at how quiet it was.

"Did Vegeta wander off again?" Freddy sighed.

"Just get unpacked," Leticia scolded.

The three walked into the buildings area, and again it was completely still.

Leticia looked around and went under the tree shelter.

"spsss… spsss… spsss." She heard a soft noise above her.

"Vegeta? You still asleep up there?"

"Mi?" Leticia heard along with a rustle against the floor.

"Meh? Mi… spsss… spsss… spsss…"

Leticia points up at the floor. "He's still asleep." She walked back towards the crew, "Let's get some audio to show him sleeping then wait for him to wake up."


Meanwhile, on Berapi…

The red crews rolled out onto the beach. And discovered the fire barely smoldering.

"Where's Sugar Petal?" the lead field producer spoke his thoughts scanning the beach.

He ran.

He ran past the palm rug.

He ran past the smoking coals.

He ran past the shelter.

He knelt next to her, removing the bundle of sticks from her arms and gently tilting her from her side to her back.

He saw her hair-sprayed helmet hair torn ragged with her scrunches half way down the pigtails hinting at it being violently pulled repeatedly. He saw her wrists were bruised. Then he saw something dark under her shirt. He gently lifted it up.

"Black," was all he thought. Her entire stomach was black and it looked like it stretched in a ring around her back.

"Med—" he began to shout. Then he remembered Mr. Reynolds ordering no medical care for her. He leaned over her face. She was covered in sweat, and he was wishing to any god that would listen to tell him how to tell if a non-Caucasian person was pale.

"Sugar Petal… Sugar Petal…" he gently shook her, "Hyo-jin… Hyo-jin, can you hear me?"

Her eyes fluttered, then she lifted her head towards the voice.

"Hyo-jin, wake up. What happened? You look like you were in a car wreck."

She weakly smiled, "Nothing's wrong. Everything is perfect."

"Hyo-jin, stop it. You need to tell me what happened."

He heard Sugar Petal begin to mutter softly, probably in Korean. He took out his phone and began recording.

After about the third time she repeated herself he heard footsteps running in the sand.

Hassim dropped in the sand and crawled the last few inches to her head. "Sugar Petal? Sugar Petal?"

Sugar Petal turned her head and smiled, "Hassim-nim…"

She began to tilt her head back and Hassim put his hand under it as she rested. She began muttering again. This time it was clear she was singing something.

"What the fuck?!" They hear Michael scream furious, "Why's the fire out again?! Sugar Petal!?"


Back at the camp…

Michael was standing, fists clenched, glaring at the fire pit. "What the fuck?! Why's the fire out again?! Sugar Petal!?"

Sam scrambled out of the shelter and around Michael's legs over to the pit. There was still some life glowing in the ash, but not much. He grabbed a chuck of coconut fluff from the pile Sugar Petal had saved and placed next to the fire pit. He reached in with his bare hand unthinkingly and grabbed a barely glowing coal and began to blow. He blew too hard and the coal went black. Then he reached for another and blew gentler. This one began to spark up the filaments. He then grabbed from the pile of dried, shredded leaves. Flames shot up and Sam placed it in the pit and began to pile bark, twigs and more of the dried leaves. Finally, it caught enough to place proper wood on it.

Sam leaned back from his knees and sat in the sand. "Oh, thank god. That was close." He began to look around, "Where is little Sugar?"

He spotted Michael grabbing the machete and pulling it from the sheath. Sam stood as he saw him walk around the shelter and up the beach.

Then he spotted Sugar Petal with Hassim holding her head and the staff knelt around her.

Sam ran over, easily passing Michael.

"Holy Jesus God," Sam put his hands over his mouth spotting the bruise across her stomach. He dropped to his knees, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never should have hit you."

"This wasn't caused by your weak slaps," Hassim looked at him like he wanted to add the word "idiot" to that phrase. "You don't bruise your back by punching the front."

"So… This is Becky's fault?"

"Would you want to get Spartan kicked and land on your back?"

Sam looked up at the crumbling rise. "Not the fall. It's the landing, isn't it?"

The two then saw her wince and tense up. They looked and saw Michael as he finished walking up.

"Sugar Petal, why the hell is the fire— Oh…" Michael froze seeing her. "Ok. I'll leave you to the staff. Sam, let's double check the fire. Hassim, when you get a chance, grab Ichiro and get the water pot. Have you prayed yet?"

Hassim looked down at Sugar Petal, "Allah will forgive."

Michael nodded, "Ok. Let's get the morning started, so we can get back to sleep." He turned and began to walk away.

Sam watched him briefly before leaning forward and lifting Sugar's palm in both his hands, "Christ will give you strength." He stood and caught up with Michael. They walked off in lockstep.

Hassim watched them walk off a distance before leaning over Sugar Petal's face. "Sugar Petal, why did you look at Michael like that? Was he involved in hurting you?"

Sugar Petal smiled. "I'm not hurt at all. Everything is perfect."

Hassim leaned back, gazing in horror at her perfect, doll-like face.


"I can't believe she's hurt like that," Sam put his face in his hands and shook his head, "Oh my God…"

Michael put his arm around his back and pulled him in. "She definitely busied up overnight. She's definitely a lot frailer than any of us thought if she's that black."

Sam lowered his hands, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak…"

"Exactly," Michael nodded, "This is why we agreed to press her a little bit. If she's this bruised from a short fall, imagine what would have happened if she tried to climb a coconut tree to impress us?"

"I… I guess…"-

"You guess?" Michael said with disdain in his voice, "You were the one advocating that she earned the right to stay before. I am not defending Becky in the slightest, but this could have gone so much worse. No broken bones or anything serious, just a month or of bedrest and she'll be back singing and dancing on stage."

Sam looked up at him, "You really think so?"

"Yes," Michael smiled, "Nothing but some short-term pain. Watch, she'll start clearing up in a week and there won't be a single trace on her body by the time the show is over."

"How are you so certain?" Sam asked.

"When my brother was five, he saw Mary Poppins for the first time. So, he tried to ride down the banister… In our three-story foyer. My brother fell off about half way and hit furniture on the way down, so it wasn't a straight smack onto the marble mosaic. But he was pretty bruised up. But if a 5-year-old could recover from that, I think an 18-year-old can recover from less than half the height onto soft sand."

"I'm glad your brother was fine in the end." Sam looked back down, "I hope you're right about Sugar."

"It's not like they would let a big starlet like her get seriously hurt. They checked her before. They are checking her out now. And they will pull her out if there are signs it's anything more than surface bruising."

Sam stepped in front of Michael. "And if it is just surface bruising? What if they don't take her out?" he pleaded.

Michael put his hands on both his shoulders. "Then she will be in pain but otherwise perfectly fine," he said calmly. "Now, let's just play things by ear today with her. We can start making decisions about what to do with her tomorrow."

Sam looked down, "Yeah… Tomorrow is another challenge, isn't it?"

"Hey, one day at a time today," Michael smiled, tapping his shoulder. "Trust the staff to take care of Sugar Petal." He turned Sam around, "Come on. Let's get some extra wood on the fire and get a couple more hours."

They got back to the shelter and Ichiro was sitting up, while Lisa was awake but still lying down. Becky was snoring, oblivious to the world.

"Everything alright with Sugar Petal?" Ichiro asked.

"Yes," Michael said, cutting Sam off. "Staff just freaking out about her bruising. But Sam saved the fire, so we can all get back to bed. Anyone need to go to the bathroom?"

Ichiro laid back down. "Nope," he said, laying back to become more comfortable.

Lisa simply laid her head back down.

"Ok Sam, get back in."

"Can't I lay outside and not next to the chainsaw?"

"Just get in," Michael said, giving him a gentle shove.

"Ok. Ok." Sam said, getting on his knees and moving next to Ichiro.

Michael puts his machete back in its sheath and laid down watching the fire. He closed his eyes and fell asleep with a content smile.


Meanwhile, back with Vegeta…

After another two hours, the crew saw Vegeta hang his head out of the shelter. "What time is it?" he slurred looking at the crew upside down.

"You know we can't tell you," Leticia said.

"Oh… yeah… So… how long have you been waiting for me to wake up?"

"You're obviously awake if you can think to trick us by rephrasing the question," Leticia scolded.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes. "Why are the females on this planet all smart asses?" he groaned, pulling his head back in. After some loud rummaging around, Vegeta climbed down with four strips of jerky in his mouth. He shuffled zombielike over to the second shelter and climbed up the scaffolding. He began to jam more uprights into the weave to finish off the final sections.

The camera panned up to film him. "So, when do you think this will be done?" Freddy asked.

Vegeta mumbled as the jerky began to disappear like a snake swallowing a mouse.

"What was that?" he asked.

Vegeta finished jamming the piece in his hands and took the remaining jerky from his mouth. "Outside today. Inside I don't know." He put the jerky back in his mouth and continued.

"Don't forget you need to finish the trade for the bananas today." Leticia reminded

Vegeta stopped what he was doing, looked up, and growled through his full mouth. He disappeared from up top and came out the doorway.

He took the jerky out of his mouth. "Come on, let's go," he ordered. He put it back in his mouth and walked out of camp.


Meanwhile, with Berapi…

Sugar Petal was laid out in the shade with Hassim and Sam staying with her while the rest of the team had returned to bed.

The lead field producer walked back to the ATV and sat down pulling out his phone.

"What are you trying to do?"

The lead jerked looking up at his tech.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. Medic said her remaining dentures are fine and they popped in two of her spares."

He sighed, "At least the medics did something."

"Her handlers probably don't want people knowing about the implants. What are you doing?"

"Hyo-jin said something this morning in Korean. I'm trying to run it through language programs, but nothing is making sense." He sighed again. "I guess she was mumbling too much…"

"What does it say?"

"Keeps saying different things about cooking. Usually bread related…"

Suddenly the screen went black.

"What the hell?" the lead said, tapping the screen.

The word PURGING appeared in bright white bold letters with a percentage and moving bar underneath.

The lead tried turning off the phone but it did not respond.

The bar finished quickly and 100% flashed on the screen. Then it went black again.

"Shit… Guess they weren't kidding about fully controlling the company phones and computers," he said.

Suddenly the phone started vibrating with words PUT ON THE GROUND flashing rapidly between red, blue, and white with a 15 count on the screen.

He threw it in the sand and the two watched the countdown.

The phone exploded.

As the burning shrapnel rained down, the two men lowered their arms from instinctively guarding their heads.

"What the fuck?! They fill them with gunpowder?!"

"That's not a lithium fire," the tech said. He tapped the fires out in the sand until he found what he was looking for.

"Yep, here it is," he knelt and picked it up. He held it over his shoulder as he looked behind him. "Battery's perfectly intact. No bends. Not even hot."

"Are you guys ok?" A few of the producers and free techs finished running over.

"Yeah," the man stood up. "Carl was looking at porn and blew up his phone," he chuckled.

"Very funny," the lead said. "The phone's full of explosives."

"Bobby rigged our phones to explode?" two of them said at once.

Another tech was looking at the battery, "Battery's fine. Nothing else in a normal phone that could turn it into a grenade like that."

"What were you doing? So we don't end up losing our fingers," a field producer demanded.

"Or our dicks," another joked.

"I was looking up what Hyo-jin said this morning. I had a recording, but it wasn't good enough for any translators."

"Damn… Reynolds is serious…"

"Reynolds?! He just got here. Bobby literally gave us bombs to carry around and never told us. Why would he do that?"

*fuzz* Red Leader, Carl Brown, we have received signal that your phone has purged. Armed security is on route. Do not resist. Do you copy? Over *fuzz*

"This is Carl. I copy. Over."

The rest of the red crews' radios went off.

*fuzz* Red crews. Carl Brown is being taken back to HQ for processing. Your new alt lead will be Tim Bradley. He will arrive shortly. Carry on as normal. *fuzz*

"Shouldn't you be telling your bosses that the phones are defective?" Sam asked. "That was a pretty bad battery blowout."

"They already have," his field producer said. "Carl's being taken to be interviewed. It's normal for accidents."

Sam nodded and looked back down at Sugar Petal mumbling. He couldn't tell if she was awake or not. Maybe she was somewhere in between.

He sighed, "I wish my cousin was here…"

"Why? Is he a doctor?" Hassim asked, sitting on the opposite side of Sugar Petal.

"No, he's a reverend on missionary." Sam's voice began to tremble, "We could really use him right about now…"

"Do you want to pray?" Hassim asked. "Jesus is second only to Muhammed in Islam."

Sam wiped his eyes, "I'm alright. He's been bouncing around Asia for a couple years. I don't know how fluent he is, but he'd be more useful than my dumb ass right now."

Hassim reached over and put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Becky did this. No One Else. Got it?"

"Ok…" Sam whimpered.


Meanwhile, on Samundra…

Casey opened her eyes and was startled it was the next day. She sat up.

"Welcome back to the land of the living," Jessica laughed.

Casey saw her in one of her hats weaving another mat.

"Come on Nick! Can't stay on my shoulders forever."

Casey looked over and saw Nick on Daisuke's shoulders tying bamboo poles together at the apex of what will be a roof. She then looked to the right and saw a bamboo strip lattice on 4 short sticks.

"Where experimenting on drying out the bananas," Jessica said, "We only used 10 though. Plenty left."

Jessica handed Casey a banana. She took it and Jessica turned back to her weaving. "Have you had sun-dried bananas? My organic foods group makes them once a month. We had a metal pan beneath to reflect the sun, so this will probably take longer, but if it works, we'll have preserved bananas to go with all the preserved meat that man gave you yesterday. The boys said he did a perfect job making those bacon-like things. But the boys say smoked chicken won't last as long, so they want to throw a party once we finish the house today. I think they just want to pig out."

She handed Casey the water flask, "Here. You were really messed up yesterday."

Casey took the water and had several sips before handing it back.

"You rest today. We're going to need you next challenge. I'll head out after the challenge and look for plantains."

"But the bananas will last at least a week. More if drying works."

"I roomed with a Dominican exchange student for a year. I think I know more about plantains than you. If I can make some Mangú, we can actually eat for once and not worry about running out of rice anytime soon."

Casey lay back down, "I don't know what that is but it sounds delicious."

"Hey Jessica! I've had a thought," Nick said, now off of Jamal. "Why don't we make more lattice work to tie raw leaves to so we can make the roof down here in sections and just lift them up?"

"I think it would be nice to have an extra layer of roof when it rains," Bob said, "You're the palm leaf person. What do you think?"

"As long as you don't touch my stash. Knock yourselves out."

Jamal clapped his hands, "Ok! Let's go cut down the rest of that bamboo."

Bob grabbed the machete while the men grabbed their newly smashed sharp rocks and walked into the trees.

Jessica stretched her arms in the air, "God my fingers need a break." She looked over at Casey, "Hey Casey, wanna scooch over a little?"

She moved, "Sure."

Jessica slid next to Casey and closed her eyes.

Casey turned her back to her, laid her head on her arm and closed her eyes.

"Ollie Ollie Oxen Free!" came a strange voice.

Casey recognized it and shot up. "Vegeta?"

"That's Vegeta?" Jessica crawled out from under the original shelter.

Vegeta was up the beach with his hands in the air like a police officer had a gun on him. "I come in peace!"

The men quickly came back onto the beach.

"What do you want?!" Bob shouted.

"I'm here for my trade! Bananas for a basket!"

"What trade?!"

"We can't give gifts! We need to trade!" He paused. "Is Casey ok?!" he shouted urgently.

"She just woke up from passing out!" Jessica shouted.

Vegeta ran several steps forward before sliding to a stop. He put his hands back up and began to backpedal.

"What's up with him?" Nick asked the group. Everyone turned to Casey.

She sat up on her knees and looked around. "Where's Jason?"

"Sick why?" Jessica asked.

Jerry put two and two together. He turned around and cupped his hands. "Jason's not here! New crew chief said Montezuma has a cousin in Asia!"

Vegeta's arms dropped slightly and his head tilted. He then spoke to his film crew.

Vegeta then fell on his back in the sand and started laughing like a large pack of hyenas.

They saw the woman in the crew behind him reach for her radio and put it to her mouth.

*fuzz* Blue 2. Is Vegeta safe to approach Blue camp? *fuzz*

The man picked up his radio. "Yes, Red 9. Your group is clear to enter."

His field producer spoke to him while putting the radio away. Then she shouted at him. Then she kicked him in the back.

Vegeta sat up and waved her off. He then stood up and gripped his side as he staggered over. As he got closer, he stopped laughing and straightened up.

Vegeta stopped in front of them. He stood straight and tall, shoulders square, feet relaxed and arms behind his back. "I am Vegeta Brief, master of my own independent camp and fate. I am here to collect my fair trade for the bananas."

Bob extended his hand, "Bob Mackenzie, captain of the Blue team."

Vegeta took his hand and did one firm shake before putting his arm back behind his back. Vegeta began walking straight towards the shelter scowling at Casey.

"Thank you for rescuing Vickie during the contest," Bob said walking next to him.

"Don't be. Like I said, I am required to finish within a time limit of my competitor. I would have been disqualified if I had climbed out of the water. Besides, I watched her drown for about a minute before I swam over."

"Still, thank you."

"I sense her absence. Sound judgment voting her out."

Bob paused briefly. "So, what military branch?'

Vegeta shot up straight like he was electrocuted. "What?!"

"Your… Your branch? You're a retired officer, right?"

"What gave you that idea?!"

"My family has been in the military for several generations. You carry yourself like every entitled officer I've ever had the displeasure to meet," Bob chuckled the last few words.

Vegeta slowly turned to him, "Can't I just be an entitled civilian?"

"There's a day camp for wannabee patriots and preppers in the mountains behind my town. I know fakers when I see them."

Vegeta crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about," he said, closing the distance to Jessica and Casey.

Vegeta loomed over Casey, "I was told you passed out but only just awoke. Will you be alright?"

"I don't know yet."

"You didn't have to carry that one all the way. Once you were back in your territory, you could have left everything there and freely walked back."

"How do you know that?"

"I followed you until the canopy made it impossible."

"You followed her by climbing through trees?" Jamal asked. "What are you, an anime ninja? How have you not passed out yet?"

Vegeta rotated to look at him. "I have so much food I can give it away?" he deadpanned. "Actually, while we're on the topic, could I get a cup of water?"

"No," Bob said firmly, "They barely give us enough water in the well for us to drink and cook as it is."

Vegeta fully turned around. "Well? What well?"

"The lawn ornament that has the bucket of water we get a day," Jerry snarked, "How do you guys get water?"

"I don't know or care about what the fuck they are doing, but I'm running water through the charcoal filter I made then boiling it to death."

Jessica gasped, smiling. "A charcoal filter? As in shoving charcoal in a piece of bamboo with a hole in the bottom?!"

"Don't answer that, Vegeta," Leticia intervened. "We should just get the basket and go."

Vegeta turned around to face her and put his hands on his hips. "Seriously? First, I can't climb trees anymore, now you're cutting this short?"

"You swinging through the trees like an orangutan makes it impossible to film you and it's explained clearly in the rules in the tree mail on arrival that contact is to be limited and at the discretion of the field producers."

"What rules and what the fuck is a tree mail?"

Leticia's face dropped and she facepalmed, "You're actually serious? No wonder you're such a headache…"

"I've been told causing headaches is my specialty, but honestly, what the fuck is going on?"

Leticia looked at the lead producer, "Is your copy of the rules still here?"

"We have it right here," Casey said, crawling back into the shelter. She came back out with the packet. "Here."

The producer took it and handed it to Vegeta. Vegeta simply bent his knees and plopped down cross-legged right there.

His face hardened as he continued to read.

"Fuck this. Earthlings consider this entertainment? Saibaimen get treated better than this."

Vegeta stood and handed the producer back the packet. "I didn't realize we were in a Saw movie," his voice was so icy one could almost see his breath, "Or is that the big twist this season to keep this petty show on the air? Will we be doing the next obstacle course over spinning buzz saws?"

The man stuttered, "Ah… Ah… Um… I…"

Vegeta spun around and turned his glare to Bob. "I want a basket. Something simple that you can easily replicate is fine. But if you want for anything, let me know and we will work out an equal trade."

"Vegeta, you can't make this a normal thing," Leticia warned, "If you abuse the system like that, the right will be taken away. Interactions between teams are at the producers' discretion."

"We don't need your help," Nick said. "This is The Last Survivor. We're on opposite teams. We're enemies."

Vegeta turned his head. "Looks more like over 100 years of divide and conquer propaganda to me."

"We are all here by our own choice," Nick got snippy, "Why did you choose to come here?"

Vegeta turned fully around to face him. He pointed his finger in his face. "I'm being blackmailed on my honor! That's why I've lowered my dignity to be here! But I refuse to be a street monkey dancing on a string for people running a knock off horror movie! Why are you here?"

Everyone is silent for several moments as the statement sinks in.

"Why haven't you gone to the police?" Casey asked.

Vegeta turned his head. "They have no jurisdiction over me!"

Vegeta saw Jessica and Casey wince. He closed his eyes and sighed. He stood straight, relaxed his shoulders and took a deep breath. "Basket, please. So I can get out of here," he said calmly.

Jessica dove into the shelter and dumped a basket of bananas onto the palm leaf floor. She came back out and handed it to him.

Vegeta inspected it. It was a fairly large basket made of thin bamboo slices. Looked simple enough, except for the handles and the edging. But he had no right to complain at this point.

"Thank you." Vegeta turned and walked away ignoring his crew's demands to slow down.

After Vegeta entered the ATV track, he stopped and put his hand over his mouth, closed his eyes and blew a sigh out his nose. When the crew caught up, they filmed him with his head tilted back looking at the canopy with his shoulders slack and his arms limp at his sides. His look of vulnerability shocked them into silence. Vegeta tilted his head to the side slightly and they caught a glimpse of his right eye looking at them.

Vegeta lifted his head and they saw his back muscles flex as he straightened his shoulders. He turned sideways and looked at them. The tense, arrogant man returned. "There. I waited for you," he snapped. He turned and walked off, "Now hurry up!"


Once Vegeta was out of sight, everyone sat down for a group meeting.

"So do you still think he's an officer?" Nick asked.

"I don't get why he reacted like that," Bob said confused, "He's definitely military. I know I'm not wrong. I felt that even back on the boat. He's commanded men."

"Speaking of feeling," Jessica said, "Something about his energy didn't feel right. I couldn't get a bead on him. Like trying to look at a mirage. Don't roll your eyes at me Jerry," she said suddenly.

"I'm sitting behind you. What the hell, Jessica? Really?"

Bob raised his hand, "Stop it you two." He lowered his arm and looked at Casey. "What was Vegeta like when you met him?"

"Physically tense. Easily annoyed and frustrated. But also very concerned." She chuckled embarrassed, "He really freaked out when I hugged the banana bunch crying."

"Seriously?" Daisuke said, "No wonder he gave us all that food."

"He was very proud of his camp. He was dismissive of his tree house but was in love with his second shelter. He was copying something he saw in Ethiopia and went into its military history."

Bob nodded and glanced at Nick. "Humiliated Europe all the way up to WWII. Son studied it in his strategy classes at military college."

"He also spooked me… Now that I think about it," Casey got a glint in her eyes, "he practically teleported behind me when he started screaming."

Everyone recognized she was starting to chase a white rabbit.

"Ok, One. You probably didn't notice him walk up behind you," Jamal said. "Two. Why did he scream at you?"

"He got kicked out of his camp because he couldn't watch me make the travois. It took a few hours and he didn't know I was still there… He gave a… I wouldn't call it an apology but he said it was the best I was going to get and was rather rude about it."

"Man who overcompensates by acting like a dick because he thinks a man can't show soft emotions," Bob nodded thinking, "Protective but secretive about it. But a bad temper under the surface."

"Sounds like a creepy stalker," Jessica said.

"But he's our creepy stalker, right?" Daisuke said, looking at Bob. "We have an ally on the red team?"

"We can't exploit him too much, but yes, it appears we do."

"I still don't like Vegeta saying the police have no power over him," Nick said.

"Military handles everything internally, so there wouldn't be a civilian matter," Bob said.

"You're still assuming he's military! Capsule Corp is about as anti-military as you can get."

While everyone was talking, Jamal's eyes widened.

"He said blackmailed 'on his honor' before he shut down," Daisuke interrupted. "This isn't monetary or reputational in the western sense. This is personal integrity to him."

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" Casey exclaimed, almost tripping over her words. "He's an ex-military spy from the Internal Intelligence Service! And the Briefs have to be involved somehow. Maybe they are studying and replicating alien tech!" She clapped emphatically as she giggled. She was so engulfed in her revelation she was completely oblivious to the frustrated reactions of her teammates.

"Let's just drop this and get back to work…" Bob said.

Jamal stood, "I need to take a piss." He walked off with his crew in tow.

"His energy is off," Jessica said. "He's not leaving to go to the bathroom."

"Jessica," Bob stood, "I don't care if you're deluded or faking, but stop the psychic shit. You're disrupting the team."

"I am not faking! Energy is essential to meditation."

"I don't care," he pointed at her, "And I know exactly what you're going to say. That you're an apprentice nun in India. Well, I'm an evangelical from a long family of preachers on my wife's side. But you don't see me quoting bible verses left and right. So, knock it off."

"Bob, chill," Daisuke said standing, "Jessica's random comments are not even remotely close to the most difficult thing we need to put up with out here."

"Yeah, Bob," Jerry said, "Jessica and I are cool. Really."


While they were arguing behind him, Jamal walked into the trees. Once in the shade, he covered his mouth with his hands and leaned over. Then he put his hands on a nearby tree and leaned against it while he looked at the ground. He sighed.

"Are you ok?" his field producer asked.

"No…" he answered, not looking up.

"What's wrong?"

"Vegeta said he had a pardon at dinner. I thought it was just normal rich people stock market shit like that cooking lady. I didn't take Bob seriously until now. But… What kind of extracurricular activities can be done in the military?"

"I… I think you're just overthinking it," the field producer said with a higher pitched voice. "I mean, everything is illegal in the military, right? Didn't that one general just resign to avoid court martial over a one-night stand?"

Jamal closed his eyes, remembering his childhood neighborhood and school. "Haven't heard that stutter in a while… so Vegeta did do something big. Poor guy is probably getting threatened not to spill." He opened them. "Ok Jamal, not your problem. Just ignore, cross the street and walk away."

Jamal leaned up and smiled at the crew, "Yeah, you're probably right. Not like you guys would let a serious criminal on the show, right?"

"That's basic common sense," the technician said aggressively.

"All right, I get it," Jamal said, beginning to walk past them.

The technician grabbed his shoulder. "And I hope you have the wisdom not to slander him to the rest of your team. Something so inflammatory is a flagrant breach of contract."

Jamal smiled, "Of course."

The technician let go and Jamal walked into the sunlight. The cameraman followed.

"He doesn't buy a single word, does he?" the field producer said.

"You think?" the technician said, "You completely botched that. Better call Conner and Mr. Reynolds." He walked off.


Meanwhile, at Vegeta's camp…

Vegeta returned to camp and after getting the fire poked up, sat in the hammock with the basket. He examined it forensically as he rotated it a few inches from his face.

"This was definitely made with the machete. I don't think I can get it this thin with just my stones. I can't really get my energy blades this thin either…"

Vegeta sighed, then got out and climbed his latest addition, a ladder, to his tree house and tossed the basket into the house before climbing back down.

"Why did you sigh?" Freddy asked.

"Because that particular style was made with the machete, and I can't replicate it one to one," he said, hopping down the last step.

Vegeta hopped back in the hammock and turned his head away. The crew noticed a change in him. There was an uneasiness looking at him relaxing in the hammock, but they could not place it.

Then Vegeta rubbed both his hands on his face, and they realized what it was. Depression.

"What are you thinking, Vegeta?" Leticia asked.

"I don't know yet…" Vegeta said, his voice muffled by his hands.

"You don't know what you're thinking?" Freddy asked.

"No," Vegeta said, lifting his hands off his face, "But do you know what I do know." He looked over at them eyes wide and snarling enraged, "None of you are my fucking wife!"

Vegeta rolled out of the hammock, climbed back into the treehouse and pulled up the ladder. A few moments later he reached his arm down to gently drop the mask from inside on the ground.

"Wait, don't drop that! I got it!" Ted said running over.

Vegeta waited several moments before dropping it anyway. Ted barely caught it in time.

"Ok let's withdraw from camp," Leticia said walking towards the banana grove.

Once they got there, she pulled out her radio. "Crew 9 calling HQ. Vegeta said the warning word. I need Conner and Reynolds."

*fuzz* This is Conner, what warning word? *fuzz*

*fuzz* When Vegeta becomes unstable he asks for his wife. *fuzz* She heard Reynolds say. *fuzz* What's happening Leticia? *fuzz*

"We just got back from retrieving the baskets from yesterday's exchange with Samundra. It was tense but I wouldn't call it bad. Also, apparently, he never saw the rules from the tree mail until now. He called us a Saw movie, but I don't think that's what's bothering him."

*fuzz* Tell Vegeta we isolated Jamal and told him telling any others about the pardon would be breach of contract with all penalties. *fuzz* Reynolds said. *fuzz* Otherwise there was a brief discussion on whether he is actually military, but it did not rise to the level of intervention. He is safe. *fuzz*

"Ok, I'll tell him. Ending transmission." Leticia said.

She put her radio away. "I'll be right back," she said as she turned and walked back into camp.

"Hey Vegeta?" she said walking under the shelter. She came around the other side and looked through the open door, "If you're worried about Samundra reacting like Berapi, Mr. Reynolds said they clamped down on Jamal mentioning your pardon and there was only a brief discussion on whether or not you were in the military before moving on."

"And Casey?" Vegeta asked from inside.

"I don't know. But she's a nut job, why worry?"

"But she's a nut job that happens to be right!" Vegeta hung his head over the edge, "People like her are more dangerous than Cell to my family, because I can't just kill them! My wife called them cockroaches and that this bug species has a habit if you kill one, ten more attack! I don't need these people attacking my family in a way I can't defend them! Now what is she saying?!"

Leticia paused at the statement. Then her eyes widened slowly as her mouth opened.

Vegeta's heart sank as he realized his temper just got the better of him.

"Ah…Ah…Ah…" Leticia said, stumbling backwards. She tripped.

Vegeta vanished instantly before her eyes and someone caught her before she hit the ground. She looked up and it was Vegeta.

"Can you stand? Or should my next project be a chair?"

"Ah-I…" was all she could say with her mouth so agape Vegeta could see her molars.

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Fine…"

She half yelled as Vegeta tossed her in the air and caught her wedding style.

He began walking towards the grove, "Hey numbskulls! Lady needs to sit!"

The two ran and met Vegeta at the edge.

"What happened?" Ted asked as Freddy filmed.

"Lady just needs a drink," Vegeta said. Then he spotted the ATV and cart. "And a place to sit." He walked over and gently laid her in the cart against the crates. He looked at Freddy, "I'm going to start on finishing the walls if you want to follow me. Only takes one person." He walked away.

Freddy looked at Leticia, then followed.

Leticia grabbed a water bottle and took a swig. After the two disappeared, Ted confronted her.

"What happened?"

"Ah-I… I need a beer… maybe whiskey…"

"What. Happened," he enunciated.

Leticia took another swig. "Tell you on shore…"


Meanwhile, on the Berapi…

The sun was beginning to close in on being directly overhead. Hassim had gently dragged Sugar Petal into the shade of the tree line as the shadows retreated during the morning. But now he is standing leaning against a tree after helping Sugar Petal into the bushes behind him to go to the bathroom.

"Sugar Petal! Don't put that back on." Hassim overheard Sugar Petal's producer. "Crew 7 to Red Medic. We need new underwear and a tampon."

"No. No tampon."

"Sugar Petal, that's all we provide."

"It won't work."

"Sugar Petal, if you refuse the tampons, you'll be ejected from the game. You don't want to be responsible for the 150 million zeni fine, do you?"

There is a long pause. "I will use, but—"

"Sugar Petal. Shut up. This is being recorded and you're seconds from being ejected. Not another word out of your mouth until you're back with your team and never mention this again."

Hassim watched the medics come over and walk into the trees. Hassim walked away, distancing himself so he did not hear such private issues. Then he thought ripped through his brain, almost like it was not his own.

"What did you just think of?" his field producer asked, "Your jaw just dropped."

"She's peeing blood…" he said.

"What?" he asked, confused. His face was shared by his other crewmates.

"Falling on her back like that can damage the kidneys because they are so close to the skin. And her bruises are deep and completely black."

"We can't do anything about that."

Hassim turned around seeing his team's chief medic behind him.

"What?! The rules specifically said you take care of blood."

"Cuts. Stitches. What do you want us to do? Slice her open to put a Band-Aid on her kidneys? Situations like this are always an early period caused by sudden starvation," he angrily lectured, incensed by what he considered a professional insult. "But even assuming you're right, there is nothing that can be done medically for a bruised kidney except let it heal on its own. As cold as it sounds, if her kidneys were seriously injured, she would have bled to death internally overnight."

Another word rose in Hassim's throat, but he didn't know what it was. It wasn't coming from his brain and he was in physical pain trying to fight against his own muscles and tendons. Suddenly the sensation vanished leaving Hassim visibly disturbed.

The medic mistook Hassim's face. "We are not cold-hearted brutes. She has no injuries that require intervention. If she did, I would be the first calling for evacuation boats. So don't worry about it." He turned and walked away followed by the other medics.


Meanwhile, above Earth…

Three people are looking over the edge of a marble platform.

"Did I do it wrong?" Dende asked.

"No… Some situations can't be solved so simply." Piccolo said.

Dende looked at Mr. Popo. "Mr. Popo, can you prepare the mirror pool?"

"Of course." He walked away.

"Popo, wait a moment." Piccolo turned back to Dende. "It is not the job of a guardian to intervene in every human affair, Dende," he said. "Her fate is tragic, but just another person in the meat grinder of fame."

"I know. But not every human has Vegeta standing next to them either," he said looking up at him.

"How about a deal, Dende," Piccolo said after a pause. He pointed at his head, "I remember this girl from Kami." He lowered his arm, "If Sugar Petal tells Vegeta her real name, then I will talk with Vegeta personally. No sense you getting your hands dirty in this."

Dende looked back over the side, his confliction all over his face. "Ok…" he answered reluctantly.


Below on Berapi beach…

Sugar Petal came out of the trees, visibly wincing in pain. Her hands were noticeably cleaner than the rest of her arms.

"Sugar Petal," Hassim went over and grabbed her by her shoulders.

She instinctively pulled her hands to her chest.

"Your urine has blood in it, doesn't it?" he demanded.

Sugar recovered from the shock and put on her doll-like face. "Nothi—"

"Stop saying that!" he screamed in her face.

This caught the attention of the people at camp. The men stood up. The women, who were near the fire, turned around.

"This is a serious injury. Especially if it's coming from one of your kidneys."

Sugar Petal put her hands on Hassim's shoulders and looked seriously in his eyes. "Remember what I said yesterday?"

Hassim's jaw dropped slightly. "Don't tell me this isn't your first time?" he asked.

Sugar Petal returned to her doll-like face, tilted her head adorably, and smiled. "Nothing is the matter. Everything is perfect." She then let go of his face and walked away, humming that same song again.

Hassim saw her meet Michael and Ichiro walking towards them. She walked back with Ichiro, Michael continued to him.

"So, what was all this about?" he asked suspiciously.

"Michael, Sugar Petal is hurt a lot worse than the medics are telling us. She needs to rest."

"I think I rather trust the medics than an amateur," Michael said harshly. He began to turn.

"Michael!" Hassim stepped in front of him. "I've seen more of my fair share of teammates cartwheel into the ICU! She has internal injuries and the medic saying if it was serious, she would have bled to death overnight does not give confidence."

"Minimum health care. That's what the rules said." Michael said, crossing his arms being careful of the machete. "I'm just as frustrated as you about the medics and Sugar Petal after what Becky did. But if she's as bad as you think, then they can't ignore this forever.

"You're the one—"

"I'm the one what?!" he pointed the machete in his face. "I'm the one, what?! Ichiro punching her too hard was not my fault. Becky was definitely not my fault. Not my fault there's a sociopath in the camp. What do you want me to do? Tie her up for the rest of the competition?"

Hassim put his hands up. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he pleaded. "Just chill. You're not a nun and that's not a meter stick you're holding."

Michael looked down at the machete, then put it back into the sheath. "Yeah, that looks bad." Then he smiled. "We need a leadership stick! Wait… did you just make a Catholic school joke?"

"I went to a British boarding school," Hassim said, starting counting on his fingers, "I went to a British college. I married a British woman." He began to enunciate, "I competed for Britain in the bloody Olympics."

"Ok, I get it. Don't chuck your shield at my head, Captain England."

Hassim could not help but let out a short chuckle. He facepalmed and shook his head.

Suddenly everyone screamed at the campsite.

"Becky what the hell?!" Ichiro screamed.

"What that bitch do now?!" Michael ran.


The two skidded into camp. Ichiro was screaming at Becky who was standing there with a big satisfied smirk on her face. Sam ran after Sugar Petal, who was walking towards the woods. Lisa was frantically picking through the wood pile…

Next to an upside-down water bucket that should be in the shelter.

"What happened?!" Michael stormed up.

"Becky threw all our water on the firewood!" Ichiro screamed.

Michael went up and grabbed Becky under her shoulder. "Ichiro, with me."

Ichiro nodded and grabbed her under the other shoulder. They began dragging her away.

"Hey, wait! What are you doing? Hey!" she began to kick and scream.

Hassim watched them briefly before looking at Sam, who seemed to have stopped Sugar Petal before she entered the trees. He then walked and knelt down next to the wood.

"Don't bother… It's all wet…" Lisa sighed looking up defeated.

"So do you regret it?"

"Regret what?" Lisa looked at him.

"Letting Becky off the leash. We both know why she did this."

"What? Is that what Michael was shouting at you over there? You trying to pin this on Michael and me?! You pig!"

Hassim shouted as Lisa threw sand in his face and walked off.


"Toss her," Michael ordered and the two threw her into the sand.

"What the fuck, Michael!" she shouted.

"What the fuck? What the hell?!" Michael shouted back. "Why did you dump the water?!"

"To mess with Sugar Petal, Duh," she said condescendingly.

"What are we supposed to drink the rest of the day?!"

"Spsss," she waved her hand dismissively, "That's what the coconuts are for. Only thing missing is the straw and little umbrellas."

"Are you that dense? Are you that fucking DENSE?! This isn't some vacation or 39-day crash diet!"

Becky stood up. "Did you just call me fat?!"

"Maybe I did!"

Becky swung at him.

Michael stepped aside and tossed the machete away into the sand. Ichiro grabbed it.

Michael parried her second swing. "No matter what you do, you can never hit me. So just stop it."

Becky just stood there fuming after he dogged a third time. Then she turned her nose up at him, "Fine." She stomped off.

"She's going to pull something," Ichiro said, watching her leave. "I hate to admit it," he looked back at Michael, "But maybe getting her out first would be best after all."

"No. That won't be necessary," Michael answered. "She's made one huge miscalculation." Michael walked over and took the machete. "It takes a machete to open a coconut. She gets nothing the rest of the day. She's obviously not used to going without food like Lisa."

"And Sugar Petal," Ichiro thought. "Honestly I don't think Becky is even smart enough to add 2+2."

Michael sputtered a laugh.


"Sugar, don't go in," Sam grabbed her arm. "It's ok. It's not like we have any food to cook."

"Why couldn't she just throw the wood in the ocean again?" Sugar sounded confused but not emotional. "Why did she use the water? That hurts everyone. That hurt her. How does that help her win?"

"Becky is crazy. That's for sure."

"She is not crazy. She is rich. Michael is rich. Lisa is rich."

"Being rich has nothing to do with her behavior. Hassim is very rich and he's been nothing but kind to you."

"Being rich and powerful means you have been chosen by God. You could do what on the surface looks like the most evil acts in the world but none of that will matter because the will of God is unknowable to all but those chosen by God. It only proves you are destined to hell by not recognizing the righteousness of their actions."

Sam grabbed her by both shoulders. "Are you Christian? That's not how it works!"

"Why? It's the same for all gods. Bad things happen to you because of bad karma from past lives no matter how good you try to be, or because you disrupt the harmony of the world by disobeying the men the divine order put above you. Or everything is predestined. The elect and the chaff to be burned on the fire. The elect are good and can do no wrong so all good comes from them and to them. Isn't that what being rich and powerful is?"

"Sugar—"

Sugar Petal put her hand over his mouth. "No. Whatever god rules, only what he wills exists underneath him. Do you have the strength to overthrow God?" She lowered her hand, "No. No you don't." She turned to enter the trees.

"Wait," he grabbed her hand. "Who is your religious leader?"

"All elect know each other. If you do not know, then this conversation is over." She pulled her arm from his grip and walked away.

Sam stood there with his mouth hanging open. Then he put his hands over his mouth and squatted down.

"This looks like as good a time as any for a confessional," his field producer said. "What are you thinking right now?" he said in a tone of voice that made it clear answering was not optional.

Sam rolled over and sat down. "She's in a cult. No wonder she's not reacting to anything. This must be completely normal to her."

"Why do you think she's in a cult?"

He looked up at the camera. "Normal people do not say you can do evil acts and face no punishment because they are holy when done by God's chosen. That bad things will always happen to you no matter what, and you deserve everything because it is divine judgment? — Did you not hear what she just said?!" He ran his hands through his hair, "God, wiki said her record label takes in children as young as six to train as singers. What the hell are they doing to those kids?" He stood, "I gotta talk to Michael. This needs to stop."


"Honestly I don't think Becky is even smart enough to add 2+2."

Michael sputtered a laugh.

"Michael!" Sam ran up to them. "Michael," he said panting. "We need to talk."

"What's wrong with Sugar Petal?"

"We need to stop pressuring Sugar Petal like this. We… We can't break her any more than she already is. We can't make her worse."

Michael raised her hand, "Ok. Ok. Start at the beginning."

"Sugar Petal is being raised in a cult. She's being abused in the name of God. She thinks everything is happening because Becky is acting as God's agent to punish her for being born cursed. That her very act of existing demands retribution."

"You're kidding me?" Ichiro said.

Sam shook his head rapidly.

"I know K-pop can be pretty messed up," Ichiro said. "But record labels forming cults is news to me."

"Now," Michael curled his lower fingers to point, "Are you sure Sugar Petal wasn't making a joke that Becky of all people is an agent of God? She can be a little hard to read."

Sam nodded.

"All right," Michael nodded, dropping his arm. "I'll start pulling people aside to talk this out."

Sam sighed in relief. "Thank you, Michael." As Sam turned around, they all saw medics walking into the forest.

"Seems she's fainted again," Michael said.

"I wish we had something to give her," Sam said, "but we're even out of water now… I'm sorry."

Michael sighed and facepalmed, "Not your fault. Becky is… … beyond the power of the English language to describe…"


Out in the woods, Sugar Petal was sitting leaning against the tree.

"Ah, son of a bitch," her cameraman said.

"Yeah, you cut your foot on something," the red lead medic said.

"There's glass over here," one of the other medics said. "Must have been missed in the sweeps."

"No shit!"

"Someone get me the tweezers," the lead medic said. "I see a shard in the cut. And someone call in for a tetanus shot."

While the technician was filming everything, the field producer glanced at Sugar Petal. Her head was slumped over and looked limp.

"Sugar Petal?" he knelt down and shook her.

She did not respond.

He felt for a pulse first in her wrist, then her neck. Her neck felt warm to him and next he felt her forehead. "Hey I think she has a fever. Can I…"

"She's not supposed to get any medical attention."

"Can't I just see the thermometer?"

"No," he said firmly. "Or do you want to be replaced too? Reynolds may not be able to fire people but he can transfer you with a massive pay cut."

"No… No I don't," he sighed. He looked back at the unconscious girl. She was taking quick breaths and sweating.


Meanwhile, with Vegeta…

Vegeta took a break from putting the house together and walked out to the banana grove. He had given away the ripe ones before they spoiled, but there were still others at various stages of growing. And while he could not stand bananas, banana flowers were another matter. While most humans soaked them in salt water or citrus juice to make them palatable, he had been the idiot tourist tricked into eating one straight off the plant. It was not until Bulma saw him eating the three others he bought afterwards that he found this out.

"What the fuck?!" Vegeta called out as he jogged across the grove. He stopped in front of a row of bushes now hedging the west edge of the grove.

"Where the heck did these come from?" Leticia asked, surprised.

Vegeta looked at the bushes. The dozens of stems had shot up taller than him in less than 24 hours. The bark was young and green and leaves were branching wildly in all directions.

"This is from an injury," he thought, remembering gardening with his mother-in-law.

Vegeta knelt down and dug in the dead leaves. He found a small tree stump. The light-colored cut meant it was recent. Then he recognized the bark color.

"These are the same trees that were cut on the other bank." He stood and stared at the leaves. "They haven't removed any poisonous plants, and this was not on the powerpoint." Vegeta looked up and down the row. "And this was clearly planted in a food field." He looked back at the plant in front of him. Something about the smell was familiar.

Vegeta raised his hand, then briefly hesitated before picking a leaf. Vegeta looked at the long stem with many tiny leaves. He picked one and put it in his mouth. Vegeta's eyes lit up and he smiled as he put the rest of the leaf in his mouth and began picking more.

"So what random plant is this?" Leticia asked.

"It's my favorite tea," he said chewing. "Also can be put in salads." He swallowed. "You guys are all pieces of shit. Leaving the Noni trees while cutting all these down. Afraid some vegan would recognize this?" He held a leaf out, "Anyone want to try?"

They glance at each other, then Ted bravely takes the leaf and puts it in his mouth. Then he spit it out. "Oh! Jesus Christ!" He bent over. "It tastes like Spinach and bad wasabi had a baby delivered by Satan in my mouth." His eyes began to water, "How can you eat this?!" He ran off, "Oh God I need to rinse my mouth. Holy Hell…"

Vegeta laughed before eating another leaf.

"What did you give him!" Leticia demanded.


Meanwhile, on Samundra…

"I found Moringa!" Jessica shouted holding tree branches up above her head.

Everyone turned as she excitedly ran into camp.

"I found Moringa... Look, it's Moringa... It's Moringa…" she repeated, showing everyone the leaves.

"Oh. It's another health fad plant…" Casey said unamused.

"It is not," she waved the leaves in her face. "This has been a staple crop in India and Asia for thousands of years. Just because it's not a grass doesn't mean it's not important!"

"Tastes like someone put horseradish on a salad," Jerry said chewing on some leaves. "Haven't tasted something like this since I toured Britain. Totally got my vote."

"You actually like horseradish?" Nick asked.

"What is horseradish?" Daisuke asked.

"It's what cheap wasabi is actually made from. Unless you spend a shit ton of money, you've been eating horseradish."

"Wasabi is not horseradish," Nick argued.

"Then you just don't like the other ingredients. Can't stand mayonnaise personally. Vinegar horseradish is much better."

"Cooking takes the punch out," Jessica said looking at Nick. "Same with its tea."

"Wait. Wait," the new lead field producer raised his hand, "That really tastes like horseradish?"

"Yeah."

He looked at her crew. "Did she pick these off a plant growing from a stump?"

"But they were 8 feet tall, we cut down all the Moringa the day before they landed."

"You can't kill a Moringa tree by cutting it down," Jessica said. "It's also called Neverdai because it NEVER DIES. Even if you burned the entire forest down, all you would do is spawn three or four new trees from its roots that would be 10 feet tall in a week."

"Don't do anything with those leaves," he said, reaching for his radio. "We cut them down for a reason. I need to report that they've regrown." He raised his radio to his mouth. "Blue 2. I need Reynolds or Conner. The Moringa trees have regrown to the point of use and Jessica recognized the plant. We need to cut them down again and keep on it every few days."

*Fuzz* They are already aware and are discussing matters now. We will inform you of their decision. *fuzz*


"Wait. So this is just a tea plant?" Conner asked into his phone on speaker.

"It is a hell of a lot more than tea." Reynolds shouted. "It's one of the most nutritious plants on Earth. That's why Bobby cut them all down! It completely defeats the purpose of the show!"

"If he knew there was Moringa here, why did he only cut them down in the past few days?" Vegeta said. "The cuts are fresh and clean and more importantly: You can't kill a Moringa by cutting it down. It grows feet a day and spreads from the roots. All he did was triple the number of trees."

"Then we will need to rip them out by the roots," Reynolds said.

"Then you'll need a backhoe to dig up half the forest in the middle of the show." Reynolds could hear Vegeta's smirk over the phone. "The roots spread everywhere and you'll need to get every little piece. Or you'll be back at square one in another 4 days. Is it really worth disrupting the show with heavy equipment leveling the play zone during filming?"

"Then we'll just have to cut them back every few days," Reynolds said. "And sue the damn land developer who lied to us when we bought this place."

"If you're cutting down trees, you may want to cut down all the Noni trees while you're at it."

"I think the Vomit Fruit tree is safe."

"Yes. Vomit FRUIT. You know the leaves are a cooking spice, right? You know how much MONEY my wife spends to eat those leaves? And I'm getting to get to eat them for free. Did you even know Moringa tastes like cheap wasabi? One of my crew is throwing up after trying one. If you're going to cut down one starvation tree but not another, be damn consistent!"

"Leticia, is that true?" Conner asked.

"Yes, Ted gagged pretty hard."

"Vegeta, we'll get back to you on the plants," Conner said. "This will need to go to the board."

"To your superiors?" Vegeta said surprised. "I'm willing to testify if needed."

"Thank you." He ended the call. He looked at Reynolds. "I say the quickest way to settle this is to call Bill. No sense screaming at each other for an hour."

Reynolds nodded. "Dial."

The phone rang.

"Connor? What's up."

"I'm sorry to wake you up, but we have an issue dealing with another of Bobby's messes and I'm not sure what to do, but I think Reynolds' solution is not very practical."

"It's all right, I haven't gone to bed yet. What's wrong now?"

"I think Reynolds can explain it best," Conner extended his phone.

"It seems Bobby did not become aware of a major food plant in the play zone until right before the show. He tried to remove these Moringa trees before the competition started, but it seems they have regrown to over six feet in under a week and are sending new shoots from the roots."

"Moringa? That sounds familiar. Let me look that up." There is a pause. "Oh, that tea and vegan smoothie stuff… Ah… It's a food security crop in tropical countries. I see the issue. Let me guess, Vegeta recognized it?"

"Yes," Reynolds said.

"Vegeta actually brought up a mark of hypocrisy in Bobby's decision making," Conner said. "I believe it was an attempt to convince us not to remove the trees, but it could easily backfire."

"What is it?"

"A tree that was left alone is called Noni. It's called vomit fruit because of the taste, but he said the leaves are a spice his family spends a lot of money on. He also mentioned that Moringa tastes like cheap wasabi to probably make them sound unappetizing."

"Oh? This says it tastes like horseradish, pepper and spinach… Oh, god… people drink that as tea?! It has to taste better cooked… Actually, Jessica is from India. She'd probably recognize the tree as well and know how to cook it properly. Says here all parts of the tree are edible but I doubt it is flowering or having fruit so soon after cutting. The only other part that could be eaten right now are the roots, but it's the bitterest part of the tree.

"Let me look up this Noni now… Yeah. He's right on the leaves. Seems it's also very bitter." He took a deep breath. "So… we have two trees that are good food but taste bad, and one of them regrows like crazy... God damn you Robert…" There was a long pause. " Well… Continually cutting them down for this season will only make them harder to remove once the filming is over… Leave them…" They could almost hear his head shake over the phone. "If we end this dumpster fire now, all the contestants will get a payout with nothing to show to recoup the loss. If we want The Last Survivor to have a 301st season… We just need to go with this. —But," he said strongly, "we need to find a way to throw Robert under the bus for broadcast. Try to find a way to do so without alerting the other teams to what to look for if possible."

"We will try," Reynolds said smiling. "Thank you and good night."

The call ended.

Connor raised an eyebrow. "You already have an idea, don't you?"


A short while later, at Vegeta's camp…

Vegeta was gently sipping his tea in the hammock when he heard Leticia's radio go off.

"Vegeta has already made tea and we are filming him swinging in his hammock now," she said. "…Yes we have everything filmed from when he found it till now… Ok. Thank you, sir."

"They probably wanted to make a show of this," Vegeta thought. "Seems they've learned now." He smiled and took another sip.


Later, on Berapi beach…

"You were gone for over an hour and this is all the wood you come back with?!"

"Becky, chill," Michael said. "If you hadn't dumped our water out, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"Everyone!" the new lead field producer called out. "We need to set up a scene. We need you to look surprised that something has happened then curiously walk over. Just keep doing what you're doing until we give the signal! Crews huddle."

Sugar Petal was lying in the shade. Too tired to work herself, she was instructing Hassim and Sam with making more string and other crafts. Ichiro joined them after Michael's prodding to monitor their conversations.

Suddenly the radios went off.

*fuzz* Red crews. Prepare team for arrival. ETA 10 minutes. *fuzz*

"Copy," Tim said over the radio. He put back on his belt. "Ok, everyone! Connor will be landing shortly for a little meetup! Keep doing what you're doing until he lands! Crews 3, 5, and 11 move the ATVs out of the shot and set up for his landing!"

Soon Conner arrived, standing like George Washington as the boat gently hit the sand. They film him hopping off and walking a short distance towards the camp.

"Ok, stop and set up the table," Connor said.

A second boat came in and set up a folding table with a plastic food dish full of leaves, a thermos, and cups just out of shot.

"Ready?" Connor asked.

He was given a thumbs up.

"And go…." Connor said. He relaxed into a similar pose he had before. "Everyone! Come on over!" he waved for them to come.

"Wait till the cameras are in position!" the lead producer called out.

The crews scurried into place.

"Ok! You're good to stand at five count! Watch my fingers!"

He closed his fist one finger at a time before waving at them to come.

Everyone stood, with Hassim and Sam helping Sugar Petal, and they walked over to Conner.

"Hello Berapi. You're all probably why we are meeting so soon…" he gestured to the table.

"Before the show, Bobby worked with a botanist to strip the forest of anything remotely edible beyond coconuts, bananas and the vomit fruit trees for the purpose of pressing contestants harder than ever this season. However, both Vegeta and the herbalist on Samundra have both discovered one he missed this afternoon, and instead of banning it outright, it has been decided it is only fair to share this knowledge." He walked to the table and took the plastic container off the table as the crew behind him began pouring drinks from a thermos.

He pulled out and showed off a tiny leaf, barely the size of a thumbnail. "This is Kelor. It is a local tea leaf that's starting to gain traction in western vegan communities. If you choose to use it, you will need to brew it with fresh leaves as it is notoriously hard to dry and molds quickly in high humidity. It is also possible to chew on the leaves. So everyone come take a taste."

Everyone stepped forward. Sugar Petal decided to taste the leaves while the others tried the tea.

Michael, Lisa and Sam tasted it first while the cups were passed to the others in the back.

They immediately started to gag and dropped the cups.

"Oh God," Sam said hunched over.

Lisa was jumping and waving her hands. "It's burning my nose! It's burning my nose!"

"Fucking tastes like fresh horseradish," Michael said spitting into the sand.

Everyone else dropped their cups in the sand.

"Sugar Petal. What are you doing? Spit those out," Hassim said.

Instead, she swallowed. "It's not bad, Hassim-nim."

Becky, hearing this, dashed forward and ripped the plastic container from Connor's hands, dumped the leaves on the ground and started stomping them deep into the sand. "You're not getting out of this so easily!"

Sugar Petal stood emotionless with her innocent but creepy smile.

Conner pointed at Becky, "Becky, if you ever attack me or any other crew member again, you're out, got it? That was completely unacceptable." He straightened his shirt and looked at the rest of the team.

"Well, now that that is taken care of, you're free to do what you like with this information."


Later, on Samundra beach…

The crews' radios went off.

*fuzz* Blue crews. Prepare team for arrival. ETA 15 minutes. *fuzz*

"Copy," blue's lead said over the radio. He put back on his belt. "Ok, everyone! Connor is on his way to talk about the moringa! Keep doing what you're doing until he lands! Crews 4, 6, and 8, set up for his landing!"

Conner arrived and the scene repeated itself.

"Everyone! Come on over!"

Connor stood near the table. "Before the show, Bobby worked with a botanist to strip the forest of anything remotely edible beyond coconuts, bananas and the Vomit fruit trees for the purpose of pressing contestants harder than ever this season. But as you know, Jessica discovered one he missed this afternoon. Vegeta had also discovered it earlier today and it was brought to our attention. It has been decided that instead of banning it, it is only fair to share this knowledge with Berapi." He turned around and took a plastic container off the table as the crew behind him began pouring drinks from a thermos.

He showed off a tiny leaf. "This is called Kelor locally and as you know, it is a tea leaf. If you choose to use it, you will need to brew it with fresh leaves as it is notoriously hard to dry and molds quickly in high humidity. It is also possible to chew on the leaves. So, everyone come take a taste."

"Wait," Jessica held her hand out, stopping the others. "If you don't make it right, it's bitter as hell. Let me taste it first.

Jessica stepped forward and took the first sip. She instantly spit it out.

"You spiked this with roots!" she shouted. "You adulterated the tea to make it extra bitter since your plan to cut down all the trees failed? That may work for others but not me."

Conner went to speak.

"No Butts." Jessica waved her finger. "I drank this almost everyday in India and ate every part of it. This isn't even made badly, it has boiled roots in it. The leaves only have a little horseradish taste." She pointed at the cup, "The only part of the tree that tastes anywhere close to this bad is the roots, and not properly prepared roots at that. Did you even wash the dirt off?" She points at the container, "How are we even supposed to know what it looks like? Those little leaflets could be from any plant. You not only make it taste bad but also not worth the risk of getting it wrong?" She threw the cup at his feet. "How dare you pull this stunt."

Conner took a deep breath. "We had this prepared by locals. If it differs in taste, then it's cultural."

Jessica went to speak when Jerry put his hand on her shoulder. She looked and he winked at him. He walked forward and drank one of the small cups and drank it in a single shot. Then he quickly drank the others, then chugged the thermos. He slammed it down and raised his hands in devil horns. "Woo!"

The others started to clap.

"Well… that settles things, take care Samundra," Conner said.

Conner was filmed leaving on the boat before the staff packed up and left as well.

"I'm going to take a dump," Jerry said. He walked down the beach followed by his crew.

"Jessica," Bob began. "You want to try and make this tea correctly?"

"Of course," she nodded.


Jerry walked all the way to the ATV trial before dropping his clothes and heading into the water. He swam out a good distance, much farther than they had up until that point. They could not really see what he was doing.

Once Jerry thought he was out of sight, he threw up.


The rest of the day passed uneventfully.

On Samundra, even Bob was won over on the moringa after Jessica's cooking.

On Berapi, Hassim continued to make things with Sugar Petal. Ichiro had to abandon them to corral Becky, but Michael successfully separated Sam from Hassim by having him gather the wood. Lisa stayed with the fire.

Vegeta worked as usual, but Ted and Freddy noticed Leticia kept looking at him funny.


That evening, at the resort…

The cafeteria was buzzing.

"Our phones explode, fuck!" and "Shit! Where's Carl?" was heard multiple times.

But Leticia was sitting by herself at a corner table, resting her forehead on her fingers shading her eyes.

"So, are you ready to tell us what happened today when you were alone with Vegeta?"

She looked up and saw Ted and Freddy.

"You're going to need to sit."

They joined her.

"Vegeta… he's… he's one of the golden fighters from the Cell Games."

"What?!" they both said.

"How do you know?" asked Freddy as Ted whipped out his 13-inch.

"He said Casey is more dangerous than Cell because he can't just kill her… That's when I recognized him."

"What the hell…" Ted said, tapping at his keyboard.

"What is it?"

The wiki page on the Cell Games is blocked… nothing in the search engine either. Even Hercule's name isn't giving any results…"

Freddy suddenly slapped his laptop closed, catching his fingers in it.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"If the phones are set to explode on purging, how much more whatever it is can fit in a larger laptop? This isn't normal anymore."

"Everyone!" Reynolds suddenly came into the room.

The cafeteria went silent.

"We all know what happened today. It seems Carl's phone short-circuiting during purging has led to some unsavory rumors. I am here to say they are false and any talk to the contrary will not be tolerated. As for Carl not returning, his latest test came back positive and he was shipped off site for mandatory quarantine. He has not been fired. Since a test has come back positive, every member of staff will now be tested every morning as well as every evening with special emphasis on those who worked close to him. That means we will have your morning results by the time you return and the evening results shortly before you leave in the morning. If any positives come back, you will be removed as well.

"Remember, we have been personally gifted the use of this resort by powerful men. You won't get any better security except for maybe the royal palaces. Do not take that fact lightly.

"Again. No rumors about today will be tolerated going forward from this moment onward. And testing will now be done twice a day with any positives being moved off site and those close to them will be put under heavy watch. That will be all."

Reynolds left the room.


"Bill, you can't be serious!" Conner shouted, pacing in his room.

"I know. I know. But Reynolds is one of the best lawyers on the planet and he found his loophole. Just count this as a loss. There's other more important things to worry about."

"Like the exploding phones?"

"Conner, I sent you and Reynolds the recall paperwork this morning. That entire batch from the factory is defective. Phones are erupting across the planet from overheating. It's not just us."

"I'm not a conspiracy nut, unlike some people…"

"Yes, I saw your report on Casey. There's sadly nothing we can do. She needs a padded room, but unfortunately this is one of those two times her broken clock is right."

Connor stopped pacing the room.

"And the other footage?"

"Absolutely horrible…" Conner heard Bill's voice struggling, "But she is walking around… and even working after all of that. Trust Vegeta. You said he's been stalking her during the day. If things get bad, he'll intervene. Might even kidnap her after this."

"God I hope so," Conner thought.

"Keep your chin up Conner. Just a couple more weeks."

"This is an XL season, remember? Sixty instead of thirty-nine?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right," Connor could hear the unconscious "crap" in his tone. "Connor, if Vegeta manages to befriend the blue team despite Casey and… um… the other woman, and survives to the reshuffle, he becomes the next legendary king of the show. Use that to your advantage."

"Yeah… you're right," Connor said, more hopeful. "Vegeta will never let anything happen to her. He's one of the Golden fighters. Even death can't stop him. Thanks for reminding me." He ended the call.


On the other side of the world, a man in his bathrobe put his phone down on the vanity.

"Even death can't stop him…" Bill muttered.

He slammed his hand into the counter.


Later…

It is dark on Berapi beach.

Michael had woken up Becky, Lisa and Ichiro and had pulled them aside behind a large three-sided tiki mask post.

Becky loudly laughed. "She thinks I'm an agent of God?!"

"Shut up!" Michael ordered. "Not so loud, bitch."

Becky sneered but stopped talking.

"Ichiro, you said you followed K-pop?"

"My daughters when they were younger. I pushed them out of it as fast as I could. Didn't want them to get wrapped up in it. Suicides, stars dropping dead on stage from starvation, fans murdering other fans, former stars claiming political sanctuary overseas turning up murdered." He took a breath, "And then there's 'the disappeared'. Literally poof. Gone. Every trace. No hits on any search engines, news reports, music, photos edited to remove them. Even private devices suddenly getting wiped, really creepy. The internet is supposed to be forever, but not with these girls."

"Well, that's not ominous at all," Lisa said.

"One of the bets my bookie runs is which starlet becomes a disappeared next. Really sick if you think about it too hard."

"Is that how you found out?" Michael asked.

Ichiro nodded.

"Is Sugar Petal on the list?" Becky smiled. "I mean if she's going to end up a speed bump, then it doesn't matter what we do to her here."

"They wouldn't put a star on a famous TV show like this if they were going to kill her," Lisa snapped. "Stop looking for excuses to hurt her. You could have killed her last night."

"She tried to shank me!"

"Ok… Ok, calm down NOW." Michael took a deep breath. "This is what we are going to do. Ichiro," he looked at him, "I need you to start taking Sam out of camp with you instead of Hassim. Need to separate him and Sugar Petal. Becky," he turned to her. "You're so past eleven, you've shot past the moon. Take it back down to ten and go after her every chance you get when Sam is out of camp. I'll handle Hassim. If you do well, we'll let you start getting coconuts again."

"About damn time," Becky snipped.

"And Lisa," Michael turned to her. "We also can't take a casual back seat anymore. We need to start dotting and caring for her while messing with her so bad she won't even believe the sky is blue anymore."

Lisa crossed her arms, "As long as you go first. I'm not taking the wrap for this. This is too far Michael."

He nodded, "Just follow my lead."


On the other side of the beach, Sugar Petal was shivering in the sand as sweat poured off her.

Sugar Petal was deep in a fever dream. She was 15… no, she was 9, naked on a high balcony looking out over the glittering South Korean coast. She and five other girls had been whisked away from the brothel and flown south. They thought they were safe, but after a night of introductions, the other girls were dead in a pile nine stories below.

She thought she heard her name. No, it wasn't Hyo-jin. But it was her name, even if she could not make it out.

" — , why didn't you jump? Why didn't you jump with the others? —, you were the one who broke the lock to help them escape. Why didn't you escape with them? Run away from everything like the others?"

Her younger self looked out at the passing fishing trawlers in the water.

"Do you remember me, uncles, cousins? Are you looking at me now from grandfather's boat?"

"They never cared about you. Grandmother was a coffee woman on the streets when she was pregnant, remember? Your mother was only born 3 months after the courthouse wedding. She was never his child, —. He only did it hoping to stop his brothers from taking the boat since he had no children. But your mother's blood type was wrong, so they won and got everything. He drank himself to death before your mother was three, —."

"And grandmother carried mother for six days as she walked to the capital. She entered the cathedral and baptized for protection…"

She closed her eyes and smiled, remembering, as shouting started and someone grabbed and picked her up from behind. She was dragged back into the room and another man slammed the balcony door shut.

"Despite the American priests' best efforts, grandmother's accent and being a fisherman's widow meant she was destined to work in the markets. She was fearsome, no one cheated her after she broke the limbs of two robbers."

"She was not respected. She was feared. Your father's family suffered greatly for his rash actions of marrying your mother."

"Father's family were butchers. Mother and father met splashing in mud puddles back before the roads were pathed and played hide and seek in the vegetable gardens where the sidewalks are now. She was educated and spoke Mandarin and Cantonese. She helped many children through school and onto big jobs that made their families proud. Father wore big suits and had a big car. Mother taught languages at the hagwon I went to. She was almost 30 years older than Father's parents, so she moved with them to our big home before I was even born. Grandmother tried to keep tutoring for free, but parents stopped bringing their children. Mother went back to college, I switched hagwons and grandmother stopped tutoring. Mother said Grandmother was just too old and tired but grandmother always looked sad."

"Do you remember the other children? They started turning their backs to you after your grandmother stopped. The teachers and parents would whisper '— Yng - plays ruff like Dongji Mi-Young. -w- — is a rude child. You can tell there is North in her blood.'"

Sugar Petal's eyes snapped open. She raised her arm, blindly grasping at ghosts in the dark.

"My… name…

"Where did you go?"