Boomer's team trained in the jungle instead of the courtyard of the castle. It was more Boz's environment, nicer than the castle, and a more loose atmosphere. Everything flowed better – maybe it was his upbringing, but the jungle always brought him the calm he needed.

Today, the jungle lead him right to Boomer's team. From what he could hear as he approached their field, he could feel Boomer was way less strict than Brady but equally as competitive. He probably gave his team regular breaks, unlike the stubborn mule Boz had wanted to play for.

They had just taken a break – Boomer took that break with them. He'd been training alongside them, instead of from the side of the field. It was a relaxing sight. Boz could feel the anxiety about playing for Brady fall off of him. A literal weight off his shoulders. This was going to be so much better.

"Hey, Boomer. Hey, team," Boz greeted the team as he approached, to announce his presence. Everyone was looking at him and Boomer glared.

"What are you doing here, you traitor!" he said.

Of course. He was a traitor because he chose Brady. Boz shook his head.

"I'm not— I quit his team."

"Get outta here, you— wait, what?" Boomer had been ready to hurl more of his A-class insults at his friend but stopped when he heard what Boz actually said. "You quit?"

Boz nodded. "Yeah. Your brother is very competitive. I haven't had a break all day and he's not even training with the team."

"That's not good," Boomer said, in a tone that was hiding something from Boz – he decided not to press on out of fear that Boz might start asking questions. "Brady is not a nice person to be around when he's like that."

"So I thought I could come hang out here instead," Boz said. "With a nice team."

Boomer nodded. "We are very nice."

"Exactly," Boz said, with a grin on his face. Even if he could sit by the sideline, he would be happy to see them train and play together, growing as a team. While Boomer as a Screamer would be a comical sight, Boz would be there to support his brother, no matter what.

But Boomer had other plans for his friend.

"I've seen you play," he said. "You're good. Do you want to join my team?"

Yes. Of course Boz would love to join his team. But not like this. Boz literally quit Brady's team not even an hour ago and Boomer already offered him a spot on his team. This was not what Boz had been hoping for and thought it was a gift, it was also a curse.

If Boz joined, someone else needed to go.

"C'mon, you don't need to take pity on me," Boz said. He hoped that, if he played this card, Boomer might back off and continue with the team he had. But Boomer shook his head.

"I'm not taking pity on you. You're a great player, the best guard by a mile. Are you sure you don't want to play?"

Boz couldn't say yes. But he couldn't say 'no', either, so he just shrugged and allowed Boomer to recruit him for his team. Boz already glanced nervously at the group before him – which of these phenomenal players would miss out on the chance to play alongside King Boomer? Whose place was Boz taking?

"Awesome!" Boomer said with a grin, unaware of the inner turmoil. "You're taking Wally's place! Sorry, Wally."

Boomer had turned to Wally. He did not seem to take the news very well. He tore a log in half and stormed away. The team watched him leave and Boz glanced at the empty spot he left behind. The original member, now thrown away in favor of Boz.

It still felt icky.

"I'm… I'm taking his place?" he stammered. "I'm the replacement guy?"

"Yeah," Boomer said. "You wanted to play, right?"

Boz nodded. "I do."

Boomer pulled out his captain's hat and put it on. He saluted Boz.

"Welcome aboard."

Boz half-heartedly saluted Boomer and walked to the team, trying to forget that he replaced someone and trying to focus on having fun with Junga ball.

It was the big day before the Junga cup – the big Kinkow Clash. By the end of this day, the people of Kinkow would learn who was going to represent Kinkow in the Junga cup against Kipi Kipi. The opinions differed and were mostly split perfectly – not one king had a clear popularity advantage, which was what Boz was hoping for. Hopefully, the best team would prevail. Hopefully, the people of Kinkow would be fine with the results.

Backstage, Boz stood with Boomer's team, waiting for their announcement. As Lanny handled the announcements, he was probably going to hurl insults at the kings and would get away with it. Behind him, Hiro the Flaji did some push-ups, Badbeard and Hibachi worked out together. Even Boomer stretched a little. Only Boz seemed nervous for the big game.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Lanny's voice boomed over the castle courtyard. "Welcome to the boom-pow in Kinkow! Who will represent us in the Junga Cup: king boneless or king brainless?"

Boz could hear the venom in the boy's voice.

"Oops, typo!" Lanny tried to cover up his obvious insult. "I'm sorry, the piranha pool got me excited." The crowd cheered – they, too, were ready for some Junga ball. It's been a while since Kings participated, so everyone was especially excited to see what was going to happen.

"Entering the north court: team Brady!" Boz imagined they put on a little bit of a show, hyping up the crowd with their fabulous bongo berry hair. Lanny had come yesterday to inform Boomer of the bongo berries. He tried to convince Boomer they needed a Poopalay on the team, but Boz talked him out of it. They had Boz, after all – that should be more than enough.

"And entering the south court: team Boomer!" With Boomer in the front, the team walked out and similarly hyped up the crowd – without Boz. He stayed behind for a dramatic and hopefully demoralizing entrance that would hit team Brady where it hurt.

"What's this?" Lanny continued in his faux-excited voice. "A last-minute substitution? Lakuna's greatest traitor, slave to the kings – Boz Hicks!"

Boz ran onto the court and waved at the crowd. When he looked at team Brady, the guards seemed fine with it. All except for Brady. The king's mouth fell open and Boz could smell the fury on him. First Boomer called him a traitor, now Brady would, too.

"Objection!" Brady shouted as he walked to Lanny. "The use of a great Junga ballplayer with serious skills and who clearly does not like me is a violation of the spirit of the game!" He glared at Boz again, but Boz did not let it get to him. He shouldn't have been so terrible as a coach.

Boomer joined the conversation. "Well, you're the cheater with your bongo berry hair!"

Lanny stopped them from arguing – probably so they could take out their anger while actually playing the game. The more anger during the game, the higher the chance of accidents. Why kill each other now when they could do so during the game?

"You both make very good points. What does the crowd think?" The crowd behind him cheered as loud as they could. They were ready to finally see some action, cheating or not – so long as they didn't cheat at the match against Kipi Kipi, it was fine.

Lanny turned to the brothers again, a bloodthirsty look on his face. "Now, I want a dirty game and a high body count. Let's play Junga ball." Then louder: "Let's play Junga ball!"

Again, the crowd cheered as the teams got into their starting positions. Boz was ready. Let the game begin.

After a long game, both teams had won 40 points. The longer they played, the more violent they became. Hibachi had lost almost all of his hair in one of the piranha pools. That's where Boz himself got hurt, too. He'd fallen into the bit and piranhas gnawed on his leg. That wasn't too bad compared to the fall he'd made into the pool. He heard a loud crack and couldn't move. Mason had to pull him out. Brady scolded him for that – "don't help the enemy!" – and continued playing like nothing happened.

While the game progressed, Boz was treated at the side of the court. Dangerous, yes, but part of the thrill of playing Junga ball. The doctor had more than enough experience with these kinds of games to accurately diagnose Boz – his leg was broken. He was going to need a plaster – which he would've set if he had the right materials with him. Until then, the doctor stabilized the leg so they could transport him to the Royal Infirmary after the game had ended.

Boz tried to distract himself with the game. It was hopeless – Brady and Boomer were wrestling each other for control of the ball. Mason glanced at them, worried, and shot a glance at Boz. Above the crowd and the grunting of the kings, Mason heard Boz call for a break – this game was useless. Mason seemed to share his opinion, because he pressed the buzzer and manually called for a break, as per Junga ball rules.

Neither Brady nor Boomer wanted a break. They yelled at Lanny – it was the first time either of them had gotten so mad at their sweet little cousin.

"If you didn't announce the break, who did?" Boomer asked Lanny.

"I did," Boz said. Boomer made a one-eighty and turned to Boz, while Brady only turned his head The anger did not completely disappear, but he was also confused about Boz's predicament.

"What happened to you?" Boomer asked. Boz was sitting, his right leg held up by another chair. It also hurt to know Boomer was so blind to what was going on around him, he barely noticed what happened to his teammates.

"I fell. You pushed me and I landed badly. I think it's broken." Not to mention the piranhas, who also did their best to take a bite out of Boz and who left their marks on those parts of his body which had been in the water long enough. He shook his head. "I've been watching for a while and this… This isn't fun anymore."

"Boz is right, my kings. This isn't Junga ball anymore, this is insanity! Stop now, call it a tie, and clean up this mess."

"A tie?" Boomer exclaimed indignantly. "Last time I checked, I was winning."

"You have a monster on your team!" Brady said in his defense. Boz didn't know who Brady was referring to – either way, none of them would appreciate being called a monster by one of the kings of Kinkow. Hibachi thought it was about him, but he was shut down by the kings almost immediately. They were too caught up in this little vendetta – it might be the end of them.

Exactly what Lanny wanted, of course. Boz was certain the hobbit was silently celebrating.

Mason could see the writing on the wall. The kings were furious with one another and thus prone to bad ideas. It was good to try and defuse the situation, such as he tried.

"I beg you, for the good of the island—"

"Let's finish this game," Brady told Boomer, not paying attention to Mason at all.

"This isn't a game anymore," Boomer commented. He ignored Mason, too. "It's about you and me. It's Screamer time!"

"Oh, it's on!"

Boz's jaw dropped as the doctor tried to disinfect the piranha wounds to the best of his ability. Have they gone mad? For untrained players such as themselves, this was not going to end well for either of them. Cheered on by the crowd, they put on their helmets and otherwise ignoring the other pieces of protection they should wear. Boz tried to stop them. It was all in vain; he couldn't walk over there and he definitely couldn't shout louder than the crowd already cheered.

Brady and Boomer grabbed their vines, screamed, and jumped. It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment – first, they swung toward one another and the next they both were lying on the ground, in pain and groaning from the impact. At least they were wearing their helmets.

The teams ran to their respective captain.

"They're okay!" Mason announced, to reassure the crowd.

"I can't feel my arms," Brady moaned.

"I can't feel my legs," Boomer said in the same tone as his brother.

"I guess it's a tie, then." They let their heads drop to the ground. Even holding their heads up was too great of an effort now.

There. The game had been called. It was a tie, nobody knew who was representing them in the Junga cup, and Lanny was annoyed the kings' injuries weren't permanent.

Kinkow hosted the big Junga cup finale one week later. The piranha bites healed well, but he was going to have that plaster for at least six weeks and would need crutches for just as long. It was going to impede his guard training, but that didn't discourage Boz in the slightest. He was going to keep training – to a degree that was possible – so he wouldn't lose all progress he made.

But today was not a day to think about that. Today was the big Junga cup finale, and Boz could never miss this.

Fortunately, Brady and Boomer had decided they weren't going to play today. Boz easily found them in the stands and walked over there. The crutches asked a lot from his arm muscles, but the more he got used to it, the more he could use it as training.

He came up to the right as they apologized to one another. They did congratulate themselves on the amazing team they saw before them. Mason had been appointed team captain. Mahuma and Stan from Brady's team and Hiro and Badbeard from Boomer's team joined the head guard in this game and played very well. Boz wished he could have been one of those five, but some things aren't meant to be.

"Boz, how's it going?" Boomer asked when he finally noticed Boz.

"I'm gonna be around a lot more now." He lifted the plastered leg. "It's not like I can train like this."

"No problem. We'll keep you company," Boomer said.

"We should ask Lanny to keep you company, too," Brady added. Boomer liked the idea.

"I like the idea," Boz said, eyeing what the brothers held. "I'd like some Junga nuts, please."

While Brady and Boomer were definitely not the best Junga ballplayers, they might just be the best Junga nuts sellers on the island. Boomer handed Boz a package – no need to pay for it now, though Boomer did expect payment at the end of the month. Boz agreed, knowing Boomer would have forgotten by then.

A Kipi Kipi player slipped and the crowd cheered. Mason just barely caught the ball. At his feet, Boz could see a small package, similar to the one he held in his hand. Brady seemed to look guilty – he'd dropped it and now Mason was going to win the last points, which would win them the Junga cup – all because of a package of Junga nuts.

"Nobody saw that, right?" Brady asked.

"Just grab the trophy and keep walking," Boomer suggested. Boz shook his head as the boys grabbed the trophy and carried it inside the castle. They would never learn, would they?