Frog opened his eyes as he heard a creaking sound. A faint light shone in the door, and a black form stood silhouetted against the pale light. There was also the silhouette of a weapon with a long, curved blade. The figure began walking forward into the darkness.
"Janus?" asked Schala groggily.
The table light flipped on, revealing that the intruder was indeed Magus. "Schala, Frog, we need to talk. This is important."
A minute later, Schala and Frog walked across the hall to Magus and Lucca' room, wondering what should be so important as to get both of them up early. Going inside, Lucca shut the door and showed Schala and Frog to their seats.
"What is it that you needed to talk about?" asked Schala.
"As you know," began Lucca, "today we vote someone off. What we need to discuss is who to vote off."
"Should not this decision be left up to one's conscience?" asked Frog.
"Normally, yes," said Lucca. "But if we ally and all vote for the same person, the odds of one of us getting voted out greatly decrease."
"And who do you have in mind to vote into the Void?" asked Schala.
"I believe the Nu should go," said Magus. "I can't explain it, but something is wrong about the Nu."
"He's also nuts," said Lucca. "Whenever you talk to him, he gives some reply that makes no sense whatsoever."
"Aye," agreed Frog. "Yesterday, whilst I was talking with Crono about swords, the Nu did say 'I like swords. But I bet Alfador hates them.' "
"The Nu... I do not trust him," said Schala simply. "I think it would be for the best if Nu were not around, so that we would be safe if he does do something... not sane. Frog? Who do you think should go?"
Frog pondered. He honestly couldn't imagine the Nu being harmful, as annoying as he was. He wanted to vote off Alfador, because Nu was an intelligent being, and Alfador was just a cat. However, if Magus ever found out that he voted Alfador off, he would regret his decision for the rest of his vastly shortened life.
"I think the Nu should leave this mortal coil," responded Frog.
"Nu it is," said Lucca as she turned the overhead projector off. "Well, that took all of five minutes. Now what are we going to with this extra hour before everyone wakes up?"
"Sleep?" suggested Schala.
An hour later, everyone gathered around the breakfast table, ready to have whatever jerky-based meal the cook could come up with. Robo was the chef in charge of breakfast, and everyone was eager to sample whatever he could come up with.
"What?" said Marle indignantly. "This is the same Power Soup we've been eating for a week!"
"Of course," said Robo with a bow. "This Power Soup is full of vitamins and minerals. Adding jerky would make the Power Soup full of cholesterol and less healthy for human consumption." Everyone choked down the soup they were now sick of, and after breakfast raided the jerky bag to show their arteries who's boss.
Everyone sat in the living room, waiting for the challenge. As soon as everyone sat down, the TV screen came on and Jimmy's face popped up. "Hello, guys. We have a rather interesting challenge today. As you can see, the forest outside has been restored. It's time to bring back an old tradition from almost two weeks ago."
A pile of bags appeared in the center of the room. "There are many frogs in the forest. Your challenge is to catch as many frogs as you can, and the winner gets immunity. You have two hours... go!" On his word, the housemates filed outside in search of the amphibians which would get them immunity.
Lucca, as he walked down the path, noticed a pit by the side of the path. Taking a bit of time to check it out, she saw it was swarming with what looked like a mother lode of frogs. She ran forward and began stuffing the creatures into her bags.
"Lucca," said Robo as he passed by her. "My sensors indicate that those lifeforms are toads and not the frogs which are required to win the contest."
"I know," said Lucca. "But I don't think the Entity is smart enough to know the difference, much less care."
"Is it wise to say that when an omniscient being such as the Entity is listening?" asked Robo as his philosophical advice program kicked in.
"Just leave, Robo," said Lucca as she stuffed both sacks full of counterfeit frogs.
Frog took an alternate path that ran beside a small stream. There were a few frogs scattered along the banks of the water that he picked up as he went along. He wondered if anyone else was having better luck. About twenty minutes took Frog to a small pond where many frogs were gathered. Frog began stuffing his fellow amphibians into his bag. This was surely enough to put him in the lead. As he collected the loot, he saw what looked like a rather large pair of frog eyes in the water. He reached for then, and there was suddenly a huge splash.
From the pond jumped a huge frog, slightly taller and twice as wide as Frog himself. This wasn't just any frog, this was the Frog King, the creature he took the Hero Medal on the journey with Cyrus. What in the world was this doing in the Entity's time?
"Gribbit! It looks like Glenn has undergone a few changes!"
Frog gripped the Masamune with both hands. "Be gone, filth. I hath no time to waste with thee on this trial."
"Give me back the Badge of Courage, and I may let you go!" bellowed the Lord of the Frogs.
"Doest thou realize I could strike thee down on the spot?" asked Frog as he took aim at the Frog King.
The Frog King bellowed again, and suddenly five hundred frogs jumped from the trees and out of the undergrowth. These weren't just any frogs; they were the elite kung-fu frogs, the personal army of the Frog King. Frog backed away. As strong as he was, he had no hope of winning a battle like this.
Suddenly, from off the path jumped another creature, a huge blue creature. The very ground shook as Nu landed between Frog and the Frog King's forces.
"Glenn!" said Nu, "save yourself! I shall hold off the evil amphibians long enough for you to escape!"
"But thou wilt be killed!" protested Frog even as he backed away.
"Better a Nu die than a noble warrior!" said the Nu as it stepped forward.
Leaving Nu behind, Frog ran. What chance did Nu have? And why in the world Nu suddenly do something noble? As Frog hopped out of earshot, he heard the Nu's voice scream out "Nu Cannon!"
Schala looked at the frog in front of her. She hadn't caught one yet. Her life as a princess didn't exactly prepare her for catching frogs in the woods. Still, she was going to catch this one. Lining herself up, she pounced like a cat toward her target. Before the frog could react, it was caught in the sack. Score one for the princess.
She dusted herself off as Marle walked by. "Oh, Schala! How are you doing?"
"Fine," said Schala. "I got one."
"Really?" said Marle.
Magus, tired of looking for frogs, knelt down by the stream and cupped his hands to get a drink of water after his tiring hunt. Schala and Marle were talking about something only a few yards away.
"So, what happened?" asked Marle as she stretched out.
"Well, I sacked the frog," said Schala.
Magus nearly choked on the water.
"That's great! Was it your first one?"
"Yes. I think I did good though."
Magus splashed his face with water. He reminded himself they might he talking something perfectly innocent, not that Glenn defiling his sister.
"You have any trouble?"
"No. I just pounced on him, but it worked fairly well."
"Is that how you got your robes all dirty?"
"Yes. Rolling around in the dirt does not make for clean robes."
Magus picked up the Reaper. He reminded himself that Frog and Schala were both adults and Frog had every right to... Wait, what was he saying? That Frog was going to pay for ever touching his sister.
Schala laughed a small laugh. "It definitely surprised him. The frog never saw it coming."
Then again, Magus thought, there were many thing he didn't know about Schala. He picked up his bag and went back to hunting frogs.
After bidding Schala farewell, Marle walked onward down the path. She checked her bag: there were paltry twelve frogs in there. Where could all those frogs be? Maybe if she looked for some kind of clues on the trail, she could find where all those frogs were.
"Now!" The Poyozo quickly planted a signpost at a fork in the path seconds before Marle came near. Jimmy knew this had to work. That wasn't just the caffeine and sugar talking, he knew this would work.
Marle stared at the signpost in front of her. "Hmm, to the left, 'Pit of Unspeakable Horrors.' To the right, 'Free Frogs.' Gee, I wonder which way is best." Marle took the right path without a second thought.
Crono walked forward down the left path. The sign told him he was heading for free frogs. He had no reason to believe otherwise: what idiot would post false directions in the forest? As he moved forward, the forest began to get denser. Every few minutes, the trees seemed closer together and less and less sunlight seemed to be getting through.
Marle made her way through the forest. The path had almost disappeared, and the forest was getting so dense it was beginning to look dark. For this much work, this place had better have frogs out the wazoo.
Crono hacked a couple of branches out of his way to step into a clearing of sorts. It was warm, but dark as the late evening with all the trees branched overhead. A small shallow pond sat in the middle of the clearing. He decided it was time to take a little break, and sat by the water's edge.
Marle parted a bunch of tree branches and made her way into a small dark clearing. By the pool of water in the center sat Crono. She looked around. Maybe the frogs were close. Anyway, she was getting tired.
"Mind if I sit beside you?" asked Marle as she walked toward Crono. Crono patted the piece of ground beside him, and Marle sat down. "Thank you, Crono."
"How you doing with challenge?" asked Crono.
"Not too good." She sighed. "I only caught twelve."
"I only caught fifteen. I'm sure we're way behind everyone else."
Marle looked up. "We might as well give up now."
Crono looked at her. "Now what? I don't feel like going anywhere."
Marle looked down at the crystal clear pond. The image of her and Crono was reflected perfectly in the water. She looked into Crono's green eyes and put her arm around her friend. "I don't want to go anywhere either."
Crono put his arm around Marle as he noticed the fireflies flickering about. "So what do you want to do?"
Marle sighed. "Let's just relax and enjoy this." She laid back onto the soft ground. "C'mon, Crono..." Crono laid beside Marle, and the two relaxed side-by-side in the peaceful forest.
"NO!" yelled Jimmy. "Don't relax!" He slammed his fist against his desk. "How dense can a human being be? You're alone! Do something!" He downed another can of extra-caffeinated soda. "I want some hot Crono/Marle action, not some sickening romance!"
The Nu nodded at the Frog King. "And those are just some of the benefits of joining the Knights of Nu." He held up a contract. "Just sign on the dotted line."
"Wait." The Frog King looked at Nu. "Can you add a clause about the frog army getting laser beams and sharp spears?"
"Of course," said Nu. "But you'll have to give up the dental plan." The Frog King signed the contract. "Now, I'll borrow a few of your troops. Say, two bags full."
The two hour time limit was up, and everyone met back at the frog counting station. Well, almost everyone. Crono, Marle, and Nu were still missing.
"I will find Crono and Marle," said Robo as he walked off.
"Where's the Nu?" Magus asked no one in particular.
"I saw him," Frog began. "I did confront the Frog King, and I would hath been slain, but Nu appeared, and he said for me to flee, that 'twould be better for himself to perish than I. He challenged the Frog King's army himself."
"What?" exclaimed Lucca. "The Nu? Being noble? If it wasn't coming from Frog..."
"If this is true," Schala looked about, seeing nobody but their alliance of four, "I am having second thoughts about whether this creature is as worthless as we thought."
Robo pushed open the brush to find Crono and Marle lying beside each other on the grass. Marle saw the gold robot out of the corner of her eyes, and quickly took her hand from Crono's shoulder. That might look... bad to the casual observer.
"Hello, Crono and Marle," said Robo as walked into the clearing. "What are the two of you doing?"
"Um..." Marle stammered. "What does it look like we were doing?"
Robo fired up his logic centers and tried to deduce what happened. "My innuendo program suggests that the two of you had sexual intercourse."
Crono and Marle both blushed. "No," said Crono awkwardly. "We didn't."
"Ah. Data correction complete. Would you care to join us?"
The Poyozo looked around. "Well, let us begin without Nu. Let the judging commence!" Lucca plopped her two bags full of toads on the frogometer. The display screen flashed a big fat zero for her total score. "I'm sorry, but those were toads," said the Poyozo. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn biology... someday." Every bit of love Lucca ever had for Poyozo vanished at that second.
Everyone else didn't even bother, because Frog had a sack mostly full of frogs. His total score was 78, and nobody else was even close. As soon as Frog was convinced he had the immunity won, out of the distance came a strange blue form holding two bulging full sacks.
"These are all I could take alive," said Nu as he lugged the two sacks along. "The rest... well, let's just say they are no longer a threat."
Inside, everyone contemplated who they would vote off now that Nu was immune. Marle and Crono were still somewhat steamed at Robo for insinuating what he insinuated. She would never tell Magus, but Lucca was voting for the only member who wasn't her friend: the cat Alfador. Robo had no reason to vote anyone off, so he decided to just randomize his choice.
Schala would have voted off Alfador, but she knew how much Alfador meant to Magus. Instead, she voted for Robo, the least fun one to be around. Magus, with the Nu being immune, decided Marle was the way to go, because having one less annoying bubbly person around would make things much nicer. Alfador wanted Frog out because he patted him less than everyone else. Nu wanted Alfador gone so he could rule the world.
"So..." said Jimmy as the TV flickered on, "It's that time again. Vote for the next person to win an all-expense paid trip to the Void. It's democracy time!" A Poyozo passed out the ballots, everyone voted, and the Poyozo read the results.
"Robo. Alfador. Robo. Magus. Alfador. Marle. Frog. Robo. Alfador."
"It looks there was a tie!" said Jimmy. "Well, it looks like..."
"Nobody gets sent to the Void?" suggested Marle.
"And let that immunity contest I designed go to waste? You're a loony!"
"Both of them get sent to the Void?" suggested a Poyozo.
"And shorten the life of my series by three episodes? You're a loony! OK, here's the solution. Everyone vote again, but only this time for Robo or Alfador." The ballets were passed out again, everyone wrote down their new choices, and the results were read in a high pitched voice again.
"Robo. Alfador. Robo. Alfador. Alfador. Robo. Robo. Robo. Alfador."
"Well!" Jimmy laughed. "It looks like Robo is saying goodbye. Go ahead, have your last words."
Lucca walked up to Robo. "Robo, I..."
Robo stepped back. "No, Lucca, it is my time to leave. I am sure I will see you again someday."
"Magus, Black Hole!" Magus spread his arms wide and opened a gateway to the Void. Without saying another word, Robo stepped into the portal before it closed.
That night, Jimmy looked over the rooms. Crono and Marle were certainly not doing anything interesting. Lucca and Magus argued over what went wrong, while Schala and Frog discussed the Nu and his worth to the house. Alfador slept blissfully, while Nu plotted to use the Frog King's army for the first strike against the Kiwala Legion's home base.
"Janus?" asked Schala groggily.
The table light flipped on, revealing that the intruder was indeed Magus. "Schala, Frog, we need to talk. This is important."
A minute later, Schala and Frog walked across the hall to Magus and Lucca' room, wondering what should be so important as to get both of them up early. Going inside, Lucca shut the door and showed Schala and Frog to their seats.
"What is it that you needed to talk about?" asked Schala.
"As you know," began Lucca, "today we vote someone off. What we need to discuss is who to vote off."
"Should not this decision be left up to one's conscience?" asked Frog.
"Normally, yes," said Lucca. "But if we ally and all vote for the same person, the odds of one of us getting voted out greatly decrease."
"And who do you have in mind to vote into the Void?" asked Schala.
"I believe the Nu should go," said Magus. "I can't explain it, but something is wrong about the Nu."
"He's also nuts," said Lucca. "Whenever you talk to him, he gives some reply that makes no sense whatsoever."
"Aye," agreed Frog. "Yesterday, whilst I was talking with Crono about swords, the Nu did say 'I like swords. But I bet Alfador hates them.' "
"The Nu... I do not trust him," said Schala simply. "I think it would be for the best if Nu were not around, so that we would be safe if he does do something... not sane. Frog? Who do you think should go?"
Frog pondered. He honestly couldn't imagine the Nu being harmful, as annoying as he was. He wanted to vote off Alfador, because Nu was an intelligent being, and Alfador was just a cat. However, if Magus ever found out that he voted Alfador off, he would regret his decision for the rest of his vastly shortened life.
"I think the Nu should leave this mortal coil," responded Frog.
"Nu it is," said Lucca as she turned the overhead projector off. "Well, that took all of five minutes. Now what are we going to with this extra hour before everyone wakes up?"
"Sleep?" suggested Schala.
An hour later, everyone gathered around the breakfast table, ready to have whatever jerky-based meal the cook could come up with. Robo was the chef in charge of breakfast, and everyone was eager to sample whatever he could come up with.
"What?" said Marle indignantly. "This is the same Power Soup we've been eating for a week!"
"Of course," said Robo with a bow. "This Power Soup is full of vitamins and minerals. Adding jerky would make the Power Soup full of cholesterol and less healthy for human consumption." Everyone choked down the soup they were now sick of, and after breakfast raided the jerky bag to show their arteries who's boss.
Everyone sat in the living room, waiting for the challenge. As soon as everyone sat down, the TV screen came on and Jimmy's face popped up. "Hello, guys. We have a rather interesting challenge today. As you can see, the forest outside has been restored. It's time to bring back an old tradition from almost two weeks ago."
A pile of bags appeared in the center of the room. "There are many frogs in the forest. Your challenge is to catch as many frogs as you can, and the winner gets immunity. You have two hours... go!" On his word, the housemates filed outside in search of the amphibians which would get them immunity.
Lucca, as he walked down the path, noticed a pit by the side of the path. Taking a bit of time to check it out, she saw it was swarming with what looked like a mother lode of frogs. She ran forward and began stuffing the creatures into her bags.
"Lucca," said Robo as he passed by her. "My sensors indicate that those lifeforms are toads and not the frogs which are required to win the contest."
"I know," said Lucca. "But I don't think the Entity is smart enough to know the difference, much less care."
"Is it wise to say that when an omniscient being such as the Entity is listening?" asked Robo as his philosophical advice program kicked in.
"Just leave, Robo," said Lucca as she stuffed both sacks full of counterfeit frogs.
Frog took an alternate path that ran beside a small stream. There were a few frogs scattered along the banks of the water that he picked up as he went along. He wondered if anyone else was having better luck. About twenty minutes took Frog to a small pond where many frogs were gathered. Frog began stuffing his fellow amphibians into his bag. This was surely enough to put him in the lead. As he collected the loot, he saw what looked like a rather large pair of frog eyes in the water. He reached for then, and there was suddenly a huge splash.
From the pond jumped a huge frog, slightly taller and twice as wide as Frog himself. This wasn't just any frog, this was the Frog King, the creature he took the Hero Medal on the journey with Cyrus. What in the world was this doing in the Entity's time?
"Gribbit! It looks like Glenn has undergone a few changes!"
Frog gripped the Masamune with both hands. "Be gone, filth. I hath no time to waste with thee on this trial."
"Give me back the Badge of Courage, and I may let you go!" bellowed the Lord of the Frogs.
"Doest thou realize I could strike thee down on the spot?" asked Frog as he took aim at the Frog King.
The Frog King bellowed again, and suddenly five hundred frogs jumped from the trees and out of the undergrowth. These weren't just any frogs; they were the elite kung-fu frogs, the personal army of the Frog King. Frog backed away. As strong as he was, he had no hope of winning a battle like this.
Suddenly, from off the path jumped another creature, a huge blue creature. The very ground shook as Nu landed between Frog and the Frog King's forces.
"Glenn!" said Nu, "save yourself! I shall hold off the evil amphibians long enough for you to escape!"
"But thou wilt be killed!" protested Frog even as he backed away.
"Better a Nu die than a noble warrior!" said the Nu as it stepped forward.
Leaving Nu behind, Frog ran. What chance did Nu have? And why in the world Nu suddenly do something noble? As Frog hopped out of earshot, he heard the Nu's voice scream out "Nu Cannon!"
Schala looked at the frog in front of her. She hadn't caught one yet. Her life as a princess didn't exactly prepare her for catching frogs in the woods. Still, she was going to catch this one. Lining herself up, she pounced like a cat toward her target. Before the frog could react, it was caught in the sack. Score one for the princess.
She dusted herself off as Marle walked by. "Oh, Schala! How are you doing?"
"Fine," said Schala. "I got one."
"Really?" said Marle.
Magus, tired of looking for frogs, knelt down by the stream and cupped his hands to get a drink of water after his tiring hunt. Schala and Marle were talking about something only a few yards away.
"So, what happened?" asked Marle as she stretched out.
"Well, I sacked the frog," said Schala.
Magus nearly choked on the water.
"That's great! Was it your first one?"
"Yes. I think I did good though."
Magus splashed his face with water. He reminded himself they might he talking something perfectly innocent, not that Glenn defiling his sister.
"You have any trouble?"
"No. I just pounced on him, but it worked fairly well."
"Is that how you got your robes all dirty?"
"Yes. Rolling around in the dirt does not make for clean robes."
Magus picked up the Reaper. He reminded himself that Frog and Schala were both adults and Frog had every right to... Wait, what was he saying? That Frog was going to pay for ever touching his sister.
Schala laughed a small laugh. "It definitely surprised him. The frog never saw it coming."
Then again, Magus thought, there were many thing he didn't know about Schala. He picked up his bag and went back to hunting frogs.
After bidding Schala farewell, Marle walked onward down the path. She checked her bag: there were paltry twelve frogs in there. Where could all those frogs be? Maybe if she looked for some kind of clues on the trail, she could find where all those frogs were.
"Now!" The Poyozo quickly planted a signpost at a fork in the path seconds before Marle came near. Jimmy knew this had to work. That wasn't just the caffeine and sugar talking, he knew this would work.
Marle stared at the signpost in front of her. "Hmm, to the left, 'Pit of Unspeakable Horrors.' To the right, 'Free Frogs.' Gee, I wonder which way is best." Marle took the right path without a second thought.
Crono walked forward down the left path. The sign told him he was heading for free frogs. He had no reason to believe otherwise: what idiot would post false directions in the forest? As he moved forward, the forest began to get denser. Every few minutes, the trees seemed closer together and less and less sunlight seemed to be getting through.
Marle made her way through the forest. The path had almost disappeared, and the forest was getting so dense it was beginning to look dark. For this much work, this place had better have frogs out the wazoo.
Crono hacked a couple of branches out of his way to step into a clearing of sorts. It was warm, but dark as the late evening with all the trees branched overhead. A small shallow pond sat in the middle of the clearing. He decided it was time to take a little break, and sat by the water's edge.
Marle parted a bunch of tree branches and made her way into a small dark clearing. By the pool of water in the center sat Crono. She looked around. Maybe the frogs were close. Anyway, she was getting tired.
"Mind if I sit beside you?" asked Marle as she walked toward Crono. Crono patted the piece of ground beside him, and Marle sat down. "Thank you, Crono."
"How you doing with challenge?" asked Crono.
"Not too good." She sighed. "I only caught twelve."
"I only caught fifteen. I'm sure we're way behind everyone else."
Marle looked up. "We might as well give up now."
Crono looked at her. "Now what? I don't feel like going anywhere."
Marle looked down at the crystal clear pond. The image of her and Crono was reflected perfectly in the water. She looked into Crono's green eyes and put her arm around her friend. "I don't want to go anywhere either."
Crono put his arm around Marle as he noticed the fireflies flickering about. "So what do you want to do?"
Marle sighed. "Let's just relax and enjoy this." She laid back onto the soft ground. "C'mon, Crono..." Crono laid beside Marle, and the two relaxed side-by-side in the peaceful forest.
"NO!" yelled Jimmy. "Don't relax!" He slammed his fist against his desk. "How dense can a human being be? You're alone! Do something!" He downed another can of extra-caffeinated soda. "I want some hot Crono/Marle action, not some sickening romance!"
The Nu nodded at the Frog King. "And those are just some of the benefits of joining the Knights of Nu." He held up a contract. "Just sign on the dotted line."
"Wait." The Frog King looked at Nu. "Can you add a clause about the frog army getting laser beams and sharp spears?"
"Of course," said Nu. "But you'll have to give up the dental plan." The Frog King signed the contract. "Now, I'll borrow a few of your troops. Say, two bags full."
The two hour time limit was up, and everyone met back at the frog counting station. Well, almost everyone. Crono, Marle, and Nu were still missing.
"I will find Crono and Marle," said Robo as he walked off.
"Where's the Nu?" Magus asked no one in particular.
"I saw him," Frog began. "I did confront the Frog King, and I would hath been slain, but Nu appeared, and he said for me to flee, that 'twould be better for himself to perish than I. He challenged the Frog King's army himself."
"What?" exclaimed Lucca. "The Nu? Being noble? If it wasn't coming from Frog..."
"If this is true," Schala looked about, seeing nobody but their alliance of four, "I am having second thoughts about whether this creature is as worthless as we thought."
Robo pushed open the brush to find Crono and Marle lying beside each other on the grass. Marle saw the gold robot out of the corner of her eyes, and quickly took her hand from Crono's shoulder. That might look... bad to the casual observer.
"Hello, Crono and Marle," said Robo as walked into the clearing. "What are the two of you doing?"
"Um..." Marle stammered. "What does it look like we were doing?"
Robo fired up his logic centers and tried to deduce what happened. "My innuendo program suggests that the two of you had sexual intercourse."
Crono and Marle both blushed. "No," said Crono awkwardly. "We didn't."
"Ah. Data correction complete. Would you care to join us?"
The Poyozo looked around. "Well, let us begin without Nu. Let the judging commence!" Lucca plopped her two bags full of toads on the frogometer. The display screen flashed a big fat zero for her total score. "I'm sorry, but those were toads," said the Poyozo. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll learn biology... someday." Every bit of love Lucca ever had for Poyozo vanished at that second.
Everyone else didn't even bother, because Frog had a sack mostly full of frogs. His total score was 78, and nobody else was even close. As soon as Frog was convinced he had the immunity won, out of the distance came a strange blue form holding two bulging full sacks.
"These are all I could take alive," said Nu as he lugged the two sacks along. "The rest... well, let's just say they are no longer a threat."
Inside, everyone contemplated who they would vote off now that Nu was immune. Marle and Crono were still somewhat steamed at Robo for insinuating what he insinuated. She would never tell Magus, but Lucca was voting for the only member who wasn't her friend: the cat Alfador. Robo had no reason to vote anyone off, so he decided to just randomize his choice.
Schala would have voted off Alfador, but she knew how much Alfador meant to Magus. Instead, she voted for Robo, the least fun one to be around. Magus, with the Nu being immune, decided Marle was the way to go, because having one less annoying bubbly person around would make things much nicer. Alfador wanted Frog out because he patted him less than everyone else. Nu wanted Alfador gone so he could rule the world.
"So..." said Jimmy as the TV flickered on, "It's that time again. Vote for the next person to win an all-expense paid trip to the Void. It's democracy time!" A Poyozo passed out the ballots, everyone voted, and the Poyozo read the results.
"Robo. Alfador. Robo. Magus. Alfador. Marle. Frog. Robo. Alfador."
"It looks there was a tie!" said Jimmy. "Well, it looks like..."
"Nobody gets sent to the Void?" suggested Marle.
"And let that immunity contest I designed go to waste? You're a loony!"
"Both of them get sent to the Void?" suggested a Poyozo.
"And shorten the life of my series by three episodes? You're a loony! OK, here's the solution. Everyone vote again, but only this time for Robo or Alfador." The ballets were passed out again, everyone wrote down their new choices, and the results were read in a high pitched voice again.
"Robo. Alfador. Robo. Alfador. Alfador. Robo. Robo. Robo. Alfador."
"Well!" Jimmy laughed. "It looks like Robo is saying goodbye. Go ahead, have your last words."
Lucca walked up to Robo. "Robo, I..."
Robo stepped back. "No, Lucca, it is my time to leave. I am sure I will see you again someday."
"Magus, Black Hole!" Magus spread his arms wide and opened a gateway to the Void. Without saying another word, Robo stepped into the portal before it closed.
That night, Jimmy looked over the rooms. Crono and Marle were certainly not doing anything interesting. Lucca and Magus argued over what went wrong, while Schala and Frog discussed the Nu and his worth to the house. Alfador slept blissfully, while Nu plotted to use the Frog King's army for the first strike against the Kiwala Legion's home base.
