It was the morning after the elimination ceremony, and the contestants were rudely awakened by the sound of an airhorn going off outside of their cabins.
"What in the hell is that?" Sunny exclaimed, frantically getting out of bed.
"That'd be Chris," Gwen sighed.
"Does he do this on a daily basis?" Miri asked, rubbing her arm. The girl had been so startled by the blast she had literally fallen out of bed, and was now laying on the ground.
"Pretty much," Gwen nodded, "you'll get used to it. I recommend you sleep early the night before challenges. It helps. Sometimes."
"I'll, uh, keep that in mind," Miri muttered.
"Don't bother," Eva said, examining her nails, "you won't be around long enough for it to make a difference."
"Eva, be nice," Courtney said, "they're new here, we don't need to make things harder on them."
"Of course we don't," Eva agreed, "Chris will do that for us. Doesn't make it any less fun, though."
The campers all got dressed, and exited the cabins. Chris was waiting outside, a smug look on his face.
"Well campers," Chris said, "as promised, I'm here to drop off this week's rations of food. Try not to waste it all in one day."
"Finally," Harold smiled, "I've been starving all morning, gosh!"
Chris then dropped two boxes of Lucky Charms in the sand in front of him.
"Enjoy," he snickered, "and remember, that's only part of a complete and balanced breakfast!"
"You've GOT to be kidding me," Lance frowned.
"HEYYYYY!" Cody exclaimed, "There aren't even any marshmallows!"
"Of course not," Chris smiled, "after all, I need my competitors in top physical condition!"
"Good to know you care," Eva muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Of course," Chris smirked, "well, even though we usually have a day or two break in between challenges, I figured we could have another today. We're going to be focusing on team-building and getting to know each other."
"Oh, goodie," Sunny smirked, "maybe we can all sit in a circle, hold hands, and talk about our feelings."
"Oh my gosh, that would be SO FUN!" Lindsay agreed, "And then we can't do each other's nails, and- no offence, but you could probably use a make-over- and we could all go shopping!"
"Yeah, something tells me we aren't going to be doing any shopping," Cody said.
"Okay, enough," Chris snapped, "I don't want to listen to any more of your pointless banter! As I said, we DO have a challenge today. However, it won't be right now. It's quarter past seven, I'm going to give you until noon to get ready. During this time, you can hunt for food, strategize with teammates, or just hang out. I could really not care less."
"Good," Ricardo muttered, "because Ricardo needs his beauty sleep."
"Like I said, be ready at noon," Chris called, beginning to walk away, "I'll be back here then."
As the contestants began to go their own ways, Alejandro waved his team over.
"Listen," he told them, "I was thinking. We won last time, yes? And that was based off of nothing more than luck. To be successful, we're going to need a unified team. To have a unified team, we're going to need some form of leadership."
"And I suppose you would nominate yourself?" Eva asked.
"Of course not," Alejandro said, "how could I hope to be an effective leader if none of you trust me?"
"Actually, he's got a point," Cody shrugged, "having a team leader would PROBABLY help. But who would it be?"
"What about you?" Courtney suggested, "I mean, you probably have the most experience out of everyone here, except maybe Gwen or Duncan."
"What?" Cody asked, alarmed, "Me? Lead? No! No no no no!"
"Maybe we should decide on this later," Courtney suggested, "there's a lot to do."
"Like getting food," LeShawna shrugged.
"Fair enough," Alejandro nodded, "another time. Just keep it in mind."
Meanwhile, the Legion was also having a team discussion.
"Look," Lance said, "like Chris said, we're going to need to find a way to get some food. Best way I can figure to do that is to split into groups and search that way."
"So why don't we go with groups of three, and alternate every couple of days?" Lucky shrugged.
"That's a good idea," Johnny agreed, "if I may, we should probably pick groups with people who have different strengths. I'm a decent hunter, but not everyone can say the same, so you might want to stick me with someone whose good at fishing or gathering berries."
"Right," Lance smiled, "yeah, yeah! That'll work just fine. Just fine. So, who here had experience with that sort of thing?"
No one said anything.
"Well," Miri said, "um, I can science."
"Sorry baby," Lucky shrugged, "maybe I could find some berries or something, but I didn't exactly have much opportunity to learn how to track and kill things in the city."
"Alright," Johnny shrugged, "ain't that big a deal. I guess maybe I could teach you guys a few things."
"Okay," Lance agreed, "that sounds good. So, how about this: our first group'll be Johnny, Lucky, Sunny, and myself. Then we can have Veronica, David, Quinn and Miri- and that'll leave Vevo, Kyle, Ricardo and Aria as the fianl group. Sound good?"
The other contestants voiced their approval.
"Right," Lance said, "so then if there's nothing else to talk about, we might as well start looking for something to eat. If that's alright with you three?"
"Course," Johhny said, "let's get moving."
The four set off, leaving their eight teammates behind them.
"Well, I'm going to bed," Ricardo yawned, "see you in a few hours."
When Ricardo entered the boy's cabin, he was annoyed to find Vevo lying back in his bed, listening to the song "Dance Hall Days".
"Uh, excuse-" Ricardo began.
"Shut up," Vevo said, holding up a hand, "this is my favorite part."
Vevo smiled as the chorus of the song came to a close, and then turned off his music player.
"Now," Vevo smirked, "your name was Ricardo, right?"
"Yes," Ricardo nodded, "look, Ricardo really wants to-"
"I suggest you shut the hell up and listen to me," Vevo snapped, "you don't have very many friends right now, and I'm offering to be one."
"Ricardo did not ask-"
"No, you didn't ask," Vevo hissed, "but I'm pretty sure I told you to be quiet."
Vevo rose to his feet and glared at Ricardo.
"You need to learn when to shut up," Vevo said, "a lesson I'd recommend getting down very quickly."
Ricardo scowled, but said nothing.
"Good," Vevo smiled, "that wasn't so hard, was it? Now, as I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, I want to propose a partnership. You can speak now."
"Thanks, but why would Ricardo want anything to do with you?" Ricardo scoffed, "Last Ricardo checked, you don't have many friends right now either. No one does."
"That's because I don't need many friends," Vevo shrugged, "just you. If you team up with me, we can take these other kids by storm."
"Oh? Just the two of us?" Ricardo snickered, "How do you propose we do that? Two votes aren't the deciding factor-"
"I don't need votes," Vevo snapped, "listen to me. I have a plan that- although it may take a bit to pull off- if we do it correctly we'll be left in direct control of the game."
"And what IS this master plan?"
"I'm still working on the kinks," Vevo explained, "but I just need one good man working for me. Unfortunately I don't have any good men, so I'll settle for you. We're not going to be manipulating others, or forming alliances. That just leaves a trail of lies and loose ends- it's a lot to keep track of. Now, my plan works, we're set up. The trouble is, everyone's going to know it was us once it happens. Like I said, we do it right, it won't make a difference."
"This is beginning to sound dangerous," Ricardo said.
"Not as dangerous as being a loose end," Vevo shrugged, "which is what you'll be if you walk out of that door without agreeing to my terms. Which way is the wind gonna blow?"
Ricardo thought a moment.
"Fine," he said after a while, "Ricardo is in."
"Good choice," Vevo smiled, "now, listen, you're going to have to wait a bit while I get some more details about the island. Give it a few days, week at most. Then I'll have this sorted out and we can take over this whole goddamn island. And I'm talking total submission, everyone at our mercy."
Vevo smirked, then turned on his music player again, which was now playing "Obsession".
"Now," Vevo sighed, "get the hell out of my cabin."
~o.0.o~
Further down the beach, Alejandro and Eva were talking.
"So," Eva said, "it doesn't look like Bridgette is in on this whole alliance thing right now. What's the plan?"
"Right now?" Alejandro asked, "Right now we watch each others backs and keep a low profile."
"Are you serious?" Eva scoffed, "We sit around waiting-"
"We have no choice," Alejandro sighed, "we haven't a plan, and we haven't a good alliance. Listen to me, you can't act too quickly. That's what made you lose last season."
"I still got a hell of a lot farther than you did," Eva scoffed.
"And you could have made it farther," Alejandro hissed, "if you had played your cards right. You made a few key moves that led to your downfall- trusting Bridgette and enraging nearly every other competitor on the show. You probably could have WON if you used more discretion."
"Oh, whatever," Eva said, "because YOU were just the soul of discretion."
"I made mistakes, sure," Alejandro agreed, "none of which I'm going to repeat this season. Mark my words. We just need to play our cards right. Good things come to those who wait."
"If I wanted to hear something like that," Eva muttered, "I would have a consulted a damn fortune cookie."
~o.0.o~
Lucky, Sunny and Lance were walking through the wilds, following Johnny. The latter had picked up the trail of a large animal, what he figured to be some kind of deer.
"The trail is getting cold," Johnny frowned, "these prints were left here days ago."
"So why are we following them?" Lance asked, genuinely curious. He himself had never been hunting, and he figured Johnny wouldn't be following a bad trail for no reason.
"Even a deer has to eat," Johnny shrugged, "we might not find any animals today, but if we follow the prints long enough, we might find a feeding source. You know, berries or something."
"Damn, you're pretty good at this," Lance smiled.
"I should hope so," Johnny shrugged, "I've been at this a while."
The four continued walking through the forest, Johnny still intently following the trail.
"You know," Lance said, "I still can't get over the fact that all Chris gave to us was a box of cereal. I mean, he could have at least given us some milk too."
~o.0.o~
A few hours later, and the four managed to return back to camp with several arm-fulls of berries.
"Sorry guys," Lance shrugged, "this is all we were able to find for now."
"I'm gonna go back out later," Johnny said, "see if I can find anything else worth bringing back, but it's almost noontime now."
"Don't worry about it," David smiled, "we have enough for today, at least."
Vevo watched from the cabin, a devious look in his eye.
CONFESSIONAL: Vevo
So, here's the thing. My plan is- or, rather, it will be- flawless. But the idea of having hunting parties really benefits me. That'll give me the chance to search for one of Chris' chests out in the wild. Not that I think I'll need it, but its always good to have a plan B. Having personal immunity will give me time to regroup and think in case my plan should go wrong. Though, as I've said, this is very unlikely. First I just need to find out where the best sources of food are- that's why I want Ricardo to be working with me. That way we can both nose around without drawing too much attention to ourselves. One that's done, well, you'll just have to see, won't you? I hope Alejandro, Eva, and Bridgette are ready to move over. This plan is going to blow them out of the water.
END CONFESSIONAL
About an hour later, Chris arrived back at the cabins, and had the campers gather around.
"Okay," Chris announced, "like I said, today's challenge is going to involve team building. And what better way to accomplish team-building than by ACTUALLY building something, and then blowing it up?"
"I can think of lot's of ways," DJ said.
"Well, there's a reason I'm the host and you're not," Chris snapped, "now, follow me, and I'll explain what's going to happen."
Chris led the contestants down the beach, where they eventually came to a an area where there were two large piles of stacked wood, a crate full of nails and hammers, two dummies, and a few cannons.
"Uh," DJ frowned, "what are the cannons for?"
"Will you let me explain?" Chris snapped, "Here's what's going to happen. You have six hours to build a fort which you will use to house one of the dummies, in addition to two cannons per each team. Your goal is to build the most stable fort possible- which, as I've said, you will use to protect your dummy. Once the six hours are up, you will try to destroy the other teams fort in an effort to 'kill' their dummy. It doesn't matter how banged up the fort itself gets. Your goal is to destroy the other teams dummy- the first team to do this will win immunity. I hope you can figure out by now what happens to the losers."
"Wait, firing cannons at each other doesn't sound all that safe," Kyle frowned, "what happens if one of us gets hurt?"
"I don't know, figure it out," Chris snapped, "I mean, one of you must know first aid, right?"
"No- isn't there an infirmary or something on the island?" DJ asked.
"Nope," Chris shrugged, "couldn't fit it in the budget. Now, are you just gonna stand around all day, or are we going to start the challenge?"
The contestants all got into their teams, and each claimed a pile of lumber.
"Okay," Duncan said, "what kind of fort would be the best to build?"
"Bah, we don't need a fort," Eva scoffed, "just put up a wall and throw the dummy behind it. If we can blow up the other team first, it won't matter."
"No way," Tyler frowned, "the best offense is good defense!"
"What?" Eva snapped, "That doesn't make any sense! My plan is better: just blow stuff up until Chris says we win."
"Okay Izzy, calm down," Duncan sighed, "look, we need to work together on this. We should just sit down and discuss-"
"There's nothing TO discuss," Eva insisted, "my plan will work."
"I agree," Ezekiel nodded, "blowing stuff up sounds good about now."
"Don't be foolish," Alejandro put in, "there's more to this challenge than just mindless destruction."
While the Ronin argued about strategy, the Legion had already begun construction. Miri, although not helping to build the fort, was advising David, Lucky and Lance as to where to place the cannons.
"If you put one on that rock, and the other... yeah, between those two trees over there," Miri instructed, "we should be able to do a good amount of damage no matter where the put their fort up."
"You sure?" Lance asked.
"Yeah," Miri nodded, "I calculated the trajectory, velocity and some other technical stuff, we launch it from those two points and we'll do maximum damage, unless they build outside of the target radius."
"And IF they build outside of the target radius?" Lucky asked, "What are we going to do then?"
"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," Miri smiled, "if they were to build outside of our range, it would take them roughly six and a half hours to do it properly. Considering that's more time than we were allotted, I wouldn't worry about it."
"Wow," David said, "that's impressive."
"Thanks," Miri smiled, "it's nothing, really. Just some basic physics. We should probably help the others build the fort itself though."
~o.0.o~
Chris was in his lodge, relaxing. He had on a copy of his favorite movie, Memento. If you were to ask Chris why he liked the movie so much, he would spout lines about how artistic the movie was in an effort to appear more intelligent. But the truth of the matter was, his favorite part of the entire movie was one of the lines at the very end:
"We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are."
Chris wasn't sure why, but every time he heard this line he felt strangely melancholic. He would usually pause after hearing it, and just think for a while. Not necessarily about anything important- he'd just stop and reflect. Then, after a few minutes, he'd shake it off, and go back to whatever it was he had planned for the day.
However, when Chris began to get absorbed into the movie, the power in his lodge went out.
"Oh, COME ON!" he snapped, "What the hell, guys?"
Chris picked up the radio he kept on his nightstand.
"Hello?" he asked, "Hi, this is your boss. Does someone want to tell me why there isn't any power in my cabin?"
The only response was static.
"This better not be a joke," Chris warned, "I'm really not in the mood for this."
Nothing.
"LISTEN UP, YOU PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS!" Chris shouted, "SOMEONE BETTER PICK UP THE RADIO, RIGHT NOW!"
Chris wasn't sure, but he thought he heard someone sob. Then, the static became louder- or, at least, it seemed to. Almost like it was mocking him. Chris let out a grunt, then through the radio across the room.
"FINE!" he shouted, "Then I'll take care of it MYSELF!"
A few minutes later, and Chris was outside, examining his cabin's electrical hook-up.
"That's weird," he muttered, "everything SEEMS fine. Wait, hold the phone."
Chris noticed that two wires had been unplugged. Without a thought, he hooked them in to their proper places, and glanced through the window- the lights had indeed gone back on.
"Finally," he sighed, "I'm going to have to have a stern talking to with a few of my good-for-nothing workers."
~o.0.o~
Miles below the island's surface, an abandoned lab was left in a state of dissary. Papers were scattered everywhere, tables overturned, computer screens left blank or smashed in. Then, for the first time in years, the overhead lights began to flicker on, one by one. More significant was a large computer screen that took up the entire back wall of the room. This, too, powered on after a few long minutes.
"Systems online," the computer stated, "welcome back, Mr. McLean."
~o.0.o~
Instead of going immediately back into his lodge, Chris had decided to visit his workers. He had figured he would let them know immediately they had been laid off. The penalties for ignoring Chris were always severe, but when he actually had to get up and do something himself? That was no crime more heinous in Chris' mind.
"Okay,' he said, entering the worker's shack, "I want to know who-"
Chris was startled to find everyone was gone. He glanced around the room and saw a strange sight- there was a bowl of soup that had been finished heating up in the microwave, a stereo was actively playing, and cards were set out across the table. It was almost as if everyone had simultaneously gotten up and left. Chris found the scene eerie, but Chris shook his head.
"They were probably too afraid to face their punishment," he thought, "wussies."
Chris checked his watch.
"Well, better see how the campers are doing," he shrugged.
~o.0.o~
As the Legion finished putting their fort together, the Ronin were still scrambling to get theirs together. They had spent too long arguing over what to do, and it had cost them.
"Okay, listen," Duncan said, checking his watch, "we need to hurry up, Chris is going to be here any minute! Try to get the dummy into a position they'll have difficulty hitting, and get those cannons up!"
Everyone scrambled to get things in place, LeShawna and Tyler wheeling one of the cannons into place. Then, perhaps the worst case scenario happened: Tyler and LeShawna lost control of the cannon, and it rolled down the beach and into the sea.
Everyone watched the cannon slowly sink beneath the waves, and then turned to glare at Tyler and LeShawna.
"Well, nice going, guys!" Eva shouted, "LOOK WHAT YOU DID!"
"Sorry!" Tyler exclaimed, "I don't know what happened!"
"You SUCK, is what happened!" Eva shouted.
The Legion watched this from their fort, amused.
"Nice," Ricardo smiled, "Ricardo thinks we have this challenge in the bag."
"Our chances are lookin' pretty solid, baby, that's for sure," Lucky agreed.
Just then, Chris arrived, looking rather annoyed.
"Okay," he said, "listen, let's get to it, shall we? A bunch of my crew went missing and I just want to get this over with. So start blowing each other up!"
The contestants nodded, and got into position.
"Ready?" Chris asked, "GO!"
"Great, waht are we going to do?" Gwen groaned.
"Relax," Eva smirked, "I got this."
Eva loaded the remaining cannon the Ronin had, and aimed it at Lucky, who was setting up a cannon for his team. A smirk on her face, Eva fired.
Lucky looked up just in time to seee it coming, however, and leapt out of the way.
"You FINK!" he shouted, "Not cool, baby, not cool!"
"Lucky, you alright, man?" Lance asked.
"Fine," Lucky snapped, "but if I get my hands on that-"
"Calm down," Johnny told him, "we need to focus on the challenge."
"Besides," Sunny cheered, "you'll have time for petty revenge later."
Eva's own teammates weren't too pleased, either.
"NO!" Alejandro scolded, "That's not how we do things here! Bad Eva, VERY BAD!"
"What?" she asked, "I was just evening the-"
All of a sudden, two cannonballs rocketed past, and the top half of the Ronin's fort was blown away.
"Crap!" Cody groaned, "We have to do something!" Before they could react, however, the Legion launched another blast, destroying the Ronin's dummy.
"And it looks like the LEGION wins!" Chris announced, "Guys, feel free to celebrate your win- Ronin, you have two hours to mourn your loss before the ceremony."
"This," Alejandro sighed, "is why we need a team leader."
~o.0.o~
A half an hour later, and the contestants were all in their cabins.
"Uh, anyone want some stale Lucky Charms?" Courtney asked.
"Uh, no thanks," Gwen said, "not really hungry right now."
"Nervous?" Courtney asked.
"A bit, yeah," Gwen said, forcing a smile, "I mean, I don't think I'm in any real danger of elimination, but I forgot what it feels like to be on the chopping block."
"Don't worry," Courtney smiled, "I'm sure we'll both be here tomorrow."
"For the love of- WILL YOU TURN THAT DOWN?" Eva shouted.
Courtney and Gwen turned, and saw Eva had been yelling at Sunny. The latter was playing "Looks That Kill" on her guitar, and Eva was apparently in no mood for music.
"Sorry, what was that?" Sunny smirked, "Can't hear you over the music!"
"You're giving me a headache!" Eva declared.
""So take an advil," Sunny shrugged.
"Can we please not fight?" Veronica frowned, "Come on, guys."
"Fine, fine," Sunny sighed, "I'm getting bored in here, anyways."
As Sunny got up and left the cabins, Lindsay turned to Eva.
"Why are you always so mean?" the blonde asked.
"Why are you always so mean?" Eva mocked, "Why are you always so STUPID? We've got an elimination coming up, if you hadn't noticed!"
"What's an elimination?" Lindsay asked.
"Is... she serious?" Miri asked.
"Yeah," Gwen sighed.
"Um, I'm not a medical doctor or anything," Miri frowned, "buuut you should maybe... you know... get that checked out."
"So... are things... normally like this around here?" Veronica asked.
"No," Gwen shrugged, "they get worse. Just be glad you didn't have to deal with Izzy or Heather this season."
~o.0.o~
It was elimination time, and Chris was giving the Ronin an incredibly smug look.
"You guys blew it," he said, "what else is there to say? You lost to a bunch of whiny usurpers all because you couldn't get along for a few damn minutes. Should I send you guys to group therapy? Anyway, you guys know the drill by now, but I'll go over it again for Lindsay's sake."
"HEY!"
"If I call your name and throw you a marshmallow, you're safe. The one person who does not recieve a marshmallow will be eliminated, and not allowed to return, ever again. So, first marshmallows go to, because I'm such a nice guy, Gwen and Courtney. Also recieving marshmallows tonight are:
Duncan.
Cody.
Lindsay.
Tyler.
Bridgette.
Harold.
DJ.
Ezekie, and...
Alejandro.
Eva and LeShawna, it's down to you two. The last marshmallow of the night goes to...
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"...EVA!"
"WHAT?" LeShawna demanded.
CONFESSIONAL: Alejandro
I managed to convince everyone before the ceremony that, if kept under control, Eva would be a valuable asset. So while she's safe for now, she is going to be monitered heavily.
Yeah, I still got it.
END CONFESSIONAL
"Well, there you have it folks," Chris announced, "will the LEgion manage another win, or will the ROnin get their act together? Who will go home next? Find out on an all new episode of
CAMP TV:
SPECTER ISLANDS!"