The next morning, Pineapple Chunks, Scheherazade, and Rock Justice woke up in their respective sleeping bags. First things first, Pineapple Chunks and Scheherazade reminded their friend of his name and their friendship. They also made sure to recap to him everything that happened since they'd arrived in Lemuria.
Rock Justice nodded, grateful to have been caught up to speed. "Merci beaucoup, mon amis. I'm so glad you're my friends. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Scheherazade nodded back and signed, "No problem, Rock Justice. You know that we're always here for you no matter what."
"So what's the third round going to be today?"
"I'm not sure, actually. The first round was Un, Deux, Trois, Soleil; and the second round was Jeu De La Barbichette. I'm starting to sense a pattern, though, so maybe the third round will be a French game like those last two were."
"Are you sure about that?" Pineapple Chunks signed at Scheherazade.
Scheherazade thought for a moment and then signed back, "Well, I can't say for certain, but it seems like a possibility. The games we've played so far have all had French names and have been related to movement or physical activity. It wouldn't be surprising if the third round followed this pattern as well."
"Alright, I believe you."
"Well, we'll have to wait and see for ourselves. For now, let's just be cautious."
Shortly afterwards, the speakers began crackling to life.
"Good morning, participants," the voice from the speakers began to speak. "I hope you've mentally prepared yourselves for the day ahead of you. Our third round of the competition is coming up shortly."
Everyone just murmured amongst themselves and speculated on what the third round of the competition could be.
As they waited in anticipation, the speakers suddenly blared with an announcement. "For the third round of the competition, we will play Tug of War! It's pretty self-explanatory, but enough about that for now. First, it's time for breakfast. You can't go wrong with a little breakfast. I want you all to line up and head for the canteen in fifteen minutes. Chairman out!"
The remaining 60 participants discussed strategies for Tug of War as they made their way to the canteen, eager to fuel up before the competition. Upon arrival, they found a variety of breakfast options laid out for them - freshly baked pastries, scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a selection of fruits.
"Golly gosh, my word!" the New Zealand Changed Daily exclaimed. "That sure looks yummy!"
The Emirati Changed Daily leaned forward to get a closer look at the food. "It's been a long time since I've eaten this kind of breakfast."
The remaining 60 participants quickly formed a line and began serving themselves with the delicious breakfast. The aroma of freshly baked pastries filled the air as they piled their plates high with scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and a colorful assortment of fruits. Excitement buzzed through the room as they chatted about their favorite breakfast foods and shared stories from their respective cultures.
"Is this the kind of food you normally eat, Scheherazade?" Pineapple Chunks asked her.
Scheherazade nodded and signed back, "It's one of my favorite breakfast meals of all time. My husband and our girlfriend like to make it at home every Sunday."
"That sounds wonderful. They certainly are treating us today."
"Agreed. Must be in preparation for the third round."
As they enjoyed their breakfast, the participants continued to discuss their strategies for the upcoming Tug of War competition. Some suggested focusing on building strength and endurance, while others proposed using teamwork and coordination as key factors for success. The atmosphere in the canteen was filled with a mix of excitement and nervous energy as they fueled up for the physical challenge ahead. Uncertainly loomed over the participants as they wondered which of them would be moving on to the next round and which of them would be transformed into Lemurians against their will.
At the table across from Pineapple Chunks and his friends, the Ghanaian Changed Daily was sitting with his Nigerian and Togolese counterparts and discussing how they planned to get through to the next round. Scheherazade happened to be looking ahead of them, which was ideal for her since it meant she could try to read what they were saying and figure out their strategy.
"I want to listen up and listen up good," the Ghanaian Changed Daily told his counterparts. "What I am about to tell you is extremely important and may save us from becoming Lemurians. Okay, first things first, you know what liquid chalk is, right?"
"Of course we do," the Nigerian Changed Daily replied. "It's that formula climbers use to give them a stronger grip, right?"
"Exactly. I don't think I heard the chairman mention anything about cheating with certain substances. So I figured that liquid chalk might as well be fair game, right?"
"I mean, if there's nothing against liquid chalk, then it would have to be fair game."
Suddenly, just at the worst possible moment to do so, Scheherazade sneezed into her arm, alerting the Ghanaian Changed Daily and his Nigerian and Togolese counterparts to her presence.
"Have you been spying on us?" the Nigerian Changed Daily asked, startled by her presence.
Scheherazade quickly started trying to sign an explanation for herself, only for Pineapple Chunks to step in and translate what she was saying.
"Ah, I see," the Ghanaian Changed Daily replied. "You know you could've just asked us to join your team, right?"
Pineapple Chunks was taken aback. "Wait, really?"
"Yes, really. We'll join you anyway. I'm sure you and your deaf friend are going to need all the help you can get. Oh, and your friend Maxime, too."
"Wow, um... thank you. You're right. We are going to need all the help we can get."
"I'm glad you sought us out. I think we'll get through this round just fine."
Victor, Anita, Jeremy, Tamara, Milou, Patrice, Behati, and Clearence rounded a corner as they made their way through the base where the Lemurian Games were taking place. While everyone had some idea of how and where they were going to find the masterminds behind the mysterious organization, their real concern was what would happen to them if they were caught. They all knew they would probably be turned into Lemurians or worse.
However, despite their concerns, all eight of the U.Z.Z. agents decided to continue with their trek to the top floor where the organizers of the competition would be watching along with some companions.
"We're going to have to be careful," Behati told the rest of the group. "I hear that there's extra security on the top floor."
"Yeah," Victor added. "It'll be just like in the movies."
The first thing that the group saw was a gold-plated elevator (reserved for employees and management, no doubt) and a sign next to it that read "This elevator goes up to Level 9 - Games Organization and Rulership."
"I think we should take the stairs," Milou told the others. "It'll be faster and safer. We can even sneak into the viewing room past the guards."
"Are you sure about that?" Victor asked.
Milou nodded. "Absolutely. I've got a good feeling about this."
"Me too," Patrice agreed. "Let's go."
With that, all eight U.Z.Z. agents began to ascend the stairs towards what they hoped was the ninth floor. However, halfway up the staircase, they had an unexpected visitor greet them. Like them, the visitor was wearing the usual mook wardrobe.
"Hello there!" the visitor greeted them. "Goodness, you certainly got here just in time!"
Before the visitor could say anything else, Jeremy punched them in the face with all his might, and they fell to the floor unconscious.
The U.Z.Z. agents froze and stared at Jeremy.
"Jeremy?" Clearence asked nervously. "What did you just do?"
"Don't worry about it," Jeremy assured him. "I've got this."
"Are you sure about that? We might need them to get in."
"Yeah, you're probably right." Just then, Jeremy noticed a lanyard with an attached badge holder around the mook's neck. "Look, they've got an ID badge we could probably use to get in."
"That's useful," Anita commented. "But aren't the other guards going to wonder why we have their friend's badge with them?"
"Probably not. I mean, we came this far, didn't we?"
"Good point. Just take the lanyard and let's go!"
Jeremy did just that, and he and his companions continued their long ascent up to the ninth floor. They did not have to worry about getting caught up in any security checkpoints or any other obstacles. Once they had reached Level 9, Jeremy and his companions recognized the door that led into the viewing room. However, like the rest of the top floor, the door was locked with a standard metal lock and a barcode scanner.
"What now?" Anita asked.
"Well, we've got the ID badge with us, don't we?" Jeremy replied with another question. "I can just use that to get us in."
"I guess you could do that," Victor commented. "But you know, we'll probably get caught if they find out what happened to their friend. I mean, we don't know what kind of security this place has."
"Doesn't matter. We've got the ID badge and we're going to use it to get us in." Jeremy walked up to the barcode scanner and scanned in the ID badge. "Just follow my lead."
As soon as everyone got clearance, they all walked into the viewing room, where they were greeted by even more mooks. This time, however, they were joined by a man wearing a blank black mask with a matching black suit and tie. He had graying blond hair and fair skin, and his figure was gaunt. None of the eight U.Z.Z. agents could discern anything else about him.
"Ah, my fellow companions," the mysterious dark-suited figure began. "So you decided to join us after all."
"Uh, yeah, sure," Victor replied. "Wouldn't want to miss the competition for the world."
"Agreed," Clearence chimed in. "Especially if they're already locked in a virtual struggle!"
"Very well, you can stay," the mysterious dark-suited figure said. "Keep in mind that we are now halfway through the competition. As you know already, the participants have competed through two rounds: Un, Deux, Trois, Soleil and Jeu De La Barbichette. Currently, 60 participants remain; but 15 will be left when the third round is over. All caught up now?"
Victor nodded. "Uh, yeah! We really needed that reminder, sir!"
The mysterious dark-suited figure nodded back. "Good. Now why don't you all stay for a while? The third round is just about to begin! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going off to take care of something."
With that, the mysterious dark-suited figure disappeared from sight as he walked off to another room. Once he was gone, the eight U.Z.Z. agents stuck around and watched as the third round silently began on the gigantic TV screen in front of them.
"Wait, what's going on here?" Jeremy asked, confused by what he saw unfolding before him.
"Oh, I think they're doing something different for the third round," Tamara replied. "Instead of the usual game of Tug of War, they're doing a tournament or something."
Indeed, a Tug of War tournament was unfolding right then and there in the arena. The 60 participants were competing in teams of four, and each team had to perform a series of increasingly difficult pull-ups to rack up points. Once they were done, the players from the losing team were immediately eliminated, while the winning team earned one point for every person on their team that completed the pull-up. This went on for a while until there were only two teams (and thus, 30 participants) left.
"We're going to have to figure out how to beat the other team soon," Pineapple Chunks told his fellow teammates. "I don't really know if we stand a chance against them."
"What do you mean by that?" the Nigerian Changed Daily asked. "We made it this far, didn't we?"
"Well, yeah, I guess we did, but if we don't figure out how to beat them in the next five minutes, we're done. We'll probably end up being turned into Lemurians to do God-knows-what."
"I know it's been hard, but we can do this."
"Yeah!" Rock Justice chimed in. "We can all do this! I believe in you!"
Everyone on Pineapple Chunks' team perked up after that, the enthusiasm and optimism contagious among them.