…
Use Your Brains, People
Day 4
Men: Cato, Gary, Joe, Killua, Kirito, Kyon, Lucian, Mayuri, Prussia, Spike
Women: Alice, Ami, Haruhi, Jasmine, Karen, Konata, Michiru, Mine, Misty
Killua is first to wake up that morning, very early, as usual, when it is still dark. He walks over to the fire to tend it, as he usually does, making sure it gets going before the others get up. He looks around suspiciously.
"Something's not right," he says. "I thought I heard something going on in the middle of the night, but I can't be certain."
He then goes to the hammock where Alice is sleeping. He bends down and whispers in her ear. She subconsciously laughs, before Killua goes over and shakes her.
"Yo, Albino," Killua whispers to her. "I need you."
Alice rolls right out of the hammock and falls on the ground hard.
"Oof… hey, it's Albino," she says, with Killua putting his hand over her mouth.
"Quiet, we've got a problem and I want your help," Killua says.
"Sure thing," Alice says. "Just the two of us Albinos."
Killua leads Alice down to the fire.
"You notice anything weird going on around here?" he asks.
"No, did you?" Alice replies.
"I just have a hunch," Killua says. "Something went on last night. I know I could faintly hear something in my sleep."
"So, you think someone's searching for an idol?" Alice says.
"I don't know," Killua says. "I didn't think there were any idols hidden, because of the Fire Tokens."
"That doesn't mean there aren't any," Alice says. "You never know."
"Still, I don't think that was it," Killua says. "I heard the sound coming more toward the beach than from the jungle."
Alice smiles. "Not sure, are you?"
Killua shakes his head. "No, not at all."
Alice chuckles. "You're cute, you know? Just a little guy trying his best to win this game."
"I am not cute," Killua replies.
Alice lets out a quiet laugh. "Well, since we're up, why don't I make us a tiny bit of rice – just for the two of us."
"Sure," Killua responds.
"By the way, what did you choose?" Alice asks
Killua's heart pounds. "You mean, at the ship wheel?"
"Yeah," Alice says. "I chose to protect my vote. Too risky to lose it at this point, you know?"
Killua breathes a sigh of relief. "Thank you," he says.
Alice puts her hands on her hips. "Oh, so you were willing to put me in danger by risking your vote?"
"I'm in a bind here!" Killua says. "I needed to!"
"It's okay!" Alice says, pulling at his cheek. "You're so cute when you're mad."
"Killua sure is a cute little boy," Alice says. "Kind of like Ryo, you know? I guess Killua has more of an independent spirit than Ryo, but I like him just the same. I'm going to help him get farther in the game."
"Now knowing that I have an extra vote, that changes everything for the next vote," Killua says. "If we can stay strong as five, we will have the numbers, as long as no one else buys any extra votes."
Alice walks over to the spot where she left the bag of rice, but she notices that it is not there.
"Hey, Albino!" she calls in a whisper.
"Yeah?" Killua responds.
"I can't find the rice!"
Killua looks taken aback. "It should be right over there," he says.
Alice keeps looking, but as she pushes things aside, she wakes up a couple of people. Joe and Michiru both wake up and walk on down to where Killua is sitting.
"Good morning," Michiru says.
"You're up early," Joe says, yawning.
"I'm an early bird," Killua says.
Michiru then looks at Killua closely. "Is there a problem?" she asks. "You look nervous."
Killua nods. "I heard some strange noises last night. And now Alice can't find the rice."
Alice walks back over to the three of them. "Yeah, I can't find the rice anywhere," she says.
"Something's up," Killua says. "If I had to guess, what I heard last night was someone doing something to the rice."
"But what?" Joe asks. "No one would want to starve, would they?"
"Maybe it just got displaced," Michiru says. "It's dark yet, it's hard to see."
"Let's wait until it gets lighter, then," Joe says.
After waiting a couple of hours, the four of them choose to all go scavenging around camp in a desperate attempt to find the rice. Other players begin waking up as they do, and a few of them join them in the hunt for the rice.
"You sure you had the rice over here?" Mine asks Alice.
"Yes, I'm sure," Alice replies.
"Maybe it's over here," Kirito says.
But he is fruitless as well in the hunt for the rice. As more and more people start looking, soon the entire tribe is awake.
"What the hell is going on?" Cato asks.
"The rice is missing," Spike replies. "No one can find it anywhere."
"The *$#%?" Cato says.
"Well, we've got to find it," Gary says. "Or else we're going to starve."
Everyone looks all over, including Lucian, Cato, and Karen, who pretend to look. No one can find anything, until Lucian starts calling and raising his arms from the edge of the beach.
"I've found something!" he exclaims.
The rest of the players come running down to meet him at the beach. When they reach him near the waves, they see him standing over a pair of sandals.
"I found these," he says, pointing to them. "They're sandals, with some grains of rice in them."
Everyone looks at each other in confusion. "Whose sandals are those?" Karen asks.
Jasmine shyly speaks up. "They're mine," she says.
"Sandals, with rice," Lucian states. "That's a clear giveaway. Jasmine must have come down here to the sea and brought the rice bag with her."
"And where did you put that rice bag?" Karen asks.
Jasmine stutters. "I – I – I don't know what you're talking about," she says.
"She clearly took the rice and dropped it in the sea," Lucian says. "This is all her fault."
"But – but – but-" she says.
"It's okay, Jasmine, it really is," Michiru says, immediately embraces her. "We know you didn't do it."
"She definitely did not," Ami adds. "This is an obvious attempt to frame her. Why would she drop off her sandals right at the beach after doing this? Someone else must have gotten rid of our rice, then tried to frame her of all people."
"And how stupid can you be?" Misty says. "To think that Jasmine of all people would sabotage the tribe? Use your brains, people!"
This starts an all-out argument between nearly everyone in the tribe. Haruhi argues with Kyon, Alice and Mine argue with Karen, Killua and Joe argue with Cato, Lucian argues with Kirito, and a bunch of the others embrace Jasmine, trying to console her. Meanwhile, Spike just walks away, hands in his pockets.
"I don't really need the food," he says. "Nor do I need the conflict. This is all just a waste of time."
The players continue arguing with each other until noon, when some of them start to get hungry.
"Hey!" Haruhi exclaims. "Where's my eats?"
"Yeah, I'm hungry!" Konata adds.
"Well, we have no rice, thanks to Jasmine!" Karen replies.
"It wasn't Jasmine, you dumb $*#%&!" Misty shouts.
"Well, in any case, we need food," Alice says. "Someone get out the Fire Token menu. We've got to figure out what we're gonna eat."
Mayuri pulls out the Fire Tokens menu and begins to read off it.
"This is easy," he says. "Everyone just spend a token, and you can get some food."
"But what about those of us without Tokens?" Misty asks.
"Tsk, tsk," Mayuri replies.
"Hey, wait a minute!" Cato calls. "Aren't we going to save those Tokens for strategic purposes?"
"You can if you want," Kyon says, pulling out a Fire Token. "Right now I'm buying myself a pizza."
"Awesome!" Haruhi replies. "I like pepperoni, so make half of the pizza with it. What topping do you like, Konata?"
"I like mushrooms," Konata replies.
"Great!" Haruhi says, snatching the Token out of Kyon's hand. "Here you go, producer. Make me a pizza!"
"Uh…" Kyon says.
"What?" Haruhi asks.
"Uh, you do, um, realize, that was my pizza," Kyon says. "I paid for it."
"Oh, you can have a couple slices, don't worry!" Haruhi says.
"Yeah, Haruhi and I will try to save you the baby pieces," Konata says.
Kyon simply sights and facepalms.
"Haruhi runs right over me, all the time," Kyon says. "And I don't know what to do about it. I suppose I ought to run my voting ideas by her. She might create some closed space if I don't vote the way she wants me to."
"Pepperoni is awesome, but I'm a mushroom girl," Konata says. "I doubt Haruhi will mind if I take a couple of pepperoni slices off Kyon's slices. Just please tell me this pizza is being made from a good source."
Spike buys a six-pack of beer, Prussia buys a hamburger, and Kirito buys a plate of french fries. They are delivered at the same time as Kyon's pizza, which comes via Uber Eats.
"Tonight, I'll be eating Kyon's pizza!" Haruhi exclaims.
"Hey, Haruhi, look who made it!" Konata says.
They look at the name on the box, then chant out in unison:
"Samurai Pizza Cats!"
Kyon just shakes his head in frustration. Meanwhile, many of the Women are starving.
"We don't have any Tokens," Misty says. "And obviously the other alliance isn't giving any to us. Sabrina's legacy in this game is going to be how bad she screwed us over with her 'buddy system' that caused Karen to turn on us and take away all of our power."
"I know I didn't get rid of the bag of rice," Jasmine says. "I'm feeling the pressure from Lucian and Karen, who think I did it. But I didn't steal it or sabotage it, and I didn't have anyone falsely defending me. I never told anyone to lie, not a single time, never. These allegations are false. I need to go back to work for my alliance and for the Women Tribe."
After some of the players eat, they start huddling up to talk strategy. Cato brings over Lucian, Spike, Kyon, and Gary.
"Kyon, I know you're sick of the women," Cato says. "Lucian, I know you're mad at Jasmine for sabotaging our tribe. We've got to forget all that and put our full focus into winning this immunity challenge."
"What are we going to do about the Medallion of Power? The Women probably don't have enough Tokens to buy it because they lost the reward challenge," Gary asks. "But the other alliance in our tribe may not want to buy it for us."
"Then we buy it," Lucian says. "Each of us throws in a Token."
"Sounds good to me," Spike says.
"Yeah, it doesn't look like I'll be eating anything on my own," Kyon says. "So I might as well get rid of my Tokens as soon as I get them. I'm in."
"Great," Gary says. "We'll buy that Medallion of Power, then go up 10-8 in numbers."
"The Medallion of Power is key to stretching our dominance over this game," Gary says. "We can take a big lead in numbers if we can win this challenge. Then, if we pull out a win in the next reward challenge, the Women still won't have the Tokens to pay for the Medallion. But it will all depend on what those two crackpots Konata and Haruhi decide. There's no way to know what they're going to do."
Michiru tries to comfort Jasmine, who is distraught over what happened.
"I know, we know, everyone knows you didn't do it," she tells her. "No one is naïve enough to believe that you'd purposely leave hints that could catch you. That was so obviously planted. Plus, everyone knows your character. They know you would never do that, even by accident."
"Thanks, Michiru," Jasmine says, as she buries her head in Michiru's arms, crying.
"Jasmine is completely innocent, and for her to be criticized like this is unreal," Michiru says. "I hope we get to the bottom of who actually stole our rice – and punish that person appropriately. Whoever did it deserves to go home, pronto."
"I can't understand why anyone would try to blame this on me," Jasmine says. "Losing the bag of rice is the last thing I would do. I would never sabotage my tribe. I just don't understand."
A little later, as everyone is sitting in the shelter, Cato has an idea.
"I got to go take a poop," he says. "Anyone want to come with me?"
He looks directly at Karen and Lucian.
"Sure thing," Lucian says.
"Not a problem," Karen says.
Prussia also perks up. "Hey, I got to go too!"
"No, no," Cato says. "No one wants to smell your poop."
"That's not fair!" Prussia replies. "Yours probably stinks pretty bad too!"
"Just shut up!" Cato says, as he leaves the shelter alongside Karen and Lucian.
"I don't understand why Cato wouldn't let the awesome me come along for the poop!" Prussia says. "I don't like feeling left out!"
Killua notices the situation with Prussia being left out, and he starts thinking about why that might be.
"I smell a rat," he says. "Why would Cato be so particular about who comes with him to go take a dump? I'm guessing that means they're in an alliance which doesn't include Prussia, and probably doesn't include the rest of us either. Yet, there's no way we could vote out Cato. He's way too good at challenges."
Meanwhile, Cato, Karen, and Lucian head off into the jungle.
"'Operation Hunger' has had mixed results," Cato tells the other two. "The use of Fire Tokens is mitigating any chance of anyone panicking in hunger."
"But those goody-two-shoes on the Women Tribe seem to be suffering without food," Karen remarks.
"It's working to an extent," Lucian says. "However, at this point, everyone has figured out that it wasn't Jasmine. We need to find a new scapegoat."
"Who in the opposite alliance is good to blame it on?" Karen says. "Killua seems the most plausible."
"The trouble with that," Cato says, "is that it's a transparent move."
"Transparent?"
"Everyone will see right through it," Cato says. "Everyone will say, 'Cato's alliance did this to screw over the opposing alliance. That means that he clearly did it.' What we need to do is blame it on someone in our own alliance!"
"I see," Karen says.
"But who do we blame it on?" Lucian asks. "Spike is too lazy to get off his butt. Kyon is too involved with those two girls that there's no chance we could dump the blame on him."
"That leaves us with Gary Oak," Cato says. "He's the one we need to blame."
"But wouldn't blaming him automatically hurt your alliance?" Karen asks. "Everyone will vote for Gary, and your alliance will instantly be down 5-4."
"Not at all!" Cato replies. "Because I will make sure that Gary is on board with us, and that none of us will flip on him. Then, if they put five votes on Gary, we put five votes on one of them, and we revote and try again. Then, after a second tie, we go to rocks. Gary will be immune in the revote. In essence, it actually helps him."
"Makes sense," Lucian says. "When do we set the plan forth in motion?"
"After the immunity challenge," Cato says. "Once we've gotten our idol from Jet, we can immediately go to work on blaming Mr. Oak."
"Let's do it," Karen says, as the three put their hands in the middle. "Here's to the LUCK Alliance!"
"LUCK?" Lucian asks.
"It's the first letter of each of our names, plus a U," Karen explains. "It can stand for 'underestimate,' because that's what everyone else is doing."
"I like it," Cato says.
"Let's get LUCKY!" Lucian exclaims.
"Gary is going to be the second one to suffer thanks to the LUCK Alliance," Cato says. "First it was Jasmine, now it will be him. And it's actually going to help him more than it hurts him. I intend on walking into today's immunity challenge, throwing down a win, then going through with this second operation. Call it, 'Operation Oak.'"
"We have succeeded so far by putting all the blame on Jasmine," Lucian says. "But at this point, we've got to pivot, and move all of the blame over to Mr. Oak. That way, we have a much more culpable scapegoat. If we pull this off to perfection, as we pretty much have already, then we can cause even more chaos around camp."
Immunity Challenge
"Come on in, guys!"
The nineteen players walk into the immunity challenge area, which is a large field with dirt at one end of it.
"First things first, I will take it back."
Gary hands over the Ranma immunity idol to Jet.
"Thank you. Once again, immunity is back up for grabs. For today's challenge, we will have another Olympic sport: baseball."
"But I thought baseball got kicked out of the 2024 Olympics!" Konata says.
"It has been played at the Olympics before, so it counts," Jet states. "This will be a three-inning game of baseball. You'll set your lineups and positions with me before the challenge begins. Since there are nine players on a baseball field, that means the Men will have to sit someone out. Who's that gonna be?"
The Men huddle together to pick out someone to sit out.
"We'll sit out Gary," Cato says.
Killua's eyebrows raise when hearing this, but he says nothing.
"Very well, then, Oak, take a spot on the bench. Now, about the Medallion of Power. The Women lost the previous immunity challenge, meaning that they have the first option as to whether to buy it."
"What is the advantage?" Ami asks.
"If a tribe uses the Medallion of Power, they will get a 'ghost runner' on second base to begin each inning," Jet states.
All the players look at each other in astoundment.
"Wow, that's a big advantage!" Michiru says.
"I'd buy it," Ami says, "but I'm out of Fire Tokens."
"Same here," Jasmine says.
"Come on, Haruhi!" Misty says. "You've got the Tokens to spare. Buy it for us!"
"Nonsense!" Haruhi exclaims. "I would never approve of cheating in a baseball game!"
Konata rolls her eyes. "Come on, let's just do it," she says.
"Fine, then," Haruhi says, pulling out her Tokens. "I've got three."
"And I've got two," Konata says. "Let's go!"
Haruhi and Konata toss the Tokens over to Jet.
"Very well, then," Jet says. "Here you go."
Jet hands the Medallion of Power over to Haruhi.
"Now, you have the choice of using this in this challenge, or saving it for a future challenge."
"Why wait?" Haruhi says. "We're using it now!"
"All right," Jet says, taking the Medallion back. "I'll give you a minute to strategize and set your lineups, then we'll draw for who gets to bat last, and then we'll get started."
Cato takes the leading role for the Men. "I want the heavy hitters up first," he says. "Killua, you're pretty strong, you'll go first. Next will be Kirito, then Spike. I'll go fourth. We'll follow that up with Kyon, Mayuri, Joe, Lucian, and Prussia."
"Why do I have to go last?" Prussia asks.
"Because, to put it frankly, you're $#*%-ing useless," Cato states.
For the Women, Ami tries to put together a good lineup. "We're starting this game with someone already on base, and that'll be the ninth person in the batting order. So, we need someone fast. I think that Konata fills that role well."
"Can't wait!" Konata says.
"Then we need a fast leadoff hitter, so I'll put in Haruhi. Second, we'll go with Alice, then Karen, then Mine. Fifth will be Misty, then myself, Michiru, and Jasmine. Konata goes ninth, but she starts the game on second base."
"Sounds good," Mine says.
"Let's go!" Misty exclaims.
The players then take their spots on the field.
"The Women have drawn the right to bat last," Jet says. "Up first will be the Men, with Killua at bat. Alice is on the mound, pitching, with Mine at catcher, Jasmine at first, Ami at second, Michiru at third, Misty at shortstop, then Haruhi, Konata, and Karen in the outfield. Survivors ready? Play ball!"
"I'm not taking it easy on you, Albino!" Killua calls from the plate.
"Neither am I, Albino!" Alice replies.
Alice zooms a pitch past Killua for a strike. Next she throws a couple of balls, before Killua connects on her fourth pitch.
"Zoldyck has knocked this one into left field for a base hit!" Jet shouts. "Next up, Kirito!"
Alice pitches to Kirito, who takes one ball before missing on two big swings.
"1-2 count!" Jet shouts.
Alice throws a curveball, and Kirito swings and misses badly.
"Strike three! You're out!" Jet yells.
Kirito walks away disappointedly, as Spike comes up to bat. Alice throws him a couple fastballs, and Spike just looks at them.
"1-1 count!" Jet says.
Alice sees Spike's strategy of not swinging, so she puts two pitches right over the plate."
"Strikeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee three, you're out!" Jet screams.
"Stupid game," Spike says, tossing his bat aside.
Cato comes up to bat. His imposing figure makes even the cheerful Alice tense up a bit.
"Don't give him anything to hit!" Mine calls from behind the plate. "Put him on board!"
Alice nods. She then fires a fastball – right at Cato!
"Ooh!"
Jet rushes over to Cato, who has just been beaned near the head with Alice's fastball.
"Medical, medical!" he screams.
Retsu Unohana and Isane Kotetsu, the chief doctors on the medical team, arrive over at home plate, where Cato is bleeding pretty badly from the shoulder.
"He'll be all right," Unohana says. "I'll wrap him up and he will be just fine."
"Very well then," Jet says. "Take your base!"
Unohana shoots Jet a glare. "Not now!" she says. "He needs some time to recuperate."
"Okay," Jet says, as Isane helps Unohana walk Cato back to the bench. "Since Cato is unable to continue playing, I am allowing Gary Oak to replace him in the lineup. Oak, take your base."
Gary jogs from the bench over to first base, while Killua moves to second base.
"As for the Women, I am giving you my one and only warning," Jet states. "Any other chicanery, and your tribe will forfeit the challenge."
"I was just putting him on base!" Alice pleads.
"There are other ways of doing that," Jet replies. "Kyon is up."
Kyon walks into the batter's box, and Alice pitches him a slowball. Kyon swings and misses badly, thrown off by the changeup.
"0-1 count," Jet says.
Kyon then swings and misses badly at Alice's next pitch. But on the third pitch, he connects.
"Kyon makes contact – and it goes right to Misty! She tags second base, and that's it! Side retired!"
The Women jog off the field, whooping it up. The Men run out to take their positions, while Cato sits on the bench, seething.
"IF I could vote Alice out of this game right now, I would," Cato says. "She just beaned me for no good reason at all. If my shoulder didn't hurt so bad, I would have rushed the mound. What a major $*#%&."
"All right," Jet says. "For the Men, it is Lucian pitching, Kyon catching, Killua at first, Joe at second, Mayuri at third, Kirito at shortstop, and Spike, Prussia, and Gary in the outfield! Konata starts on second base as per the Medallion of Power. Haruhi, you're at bat!"
Haruhi takes the batter box, and Kyon tries taunting her.
"You aren't going to get a hit," he says from behind the plate.
"Shut up, you jerk!" Haruhi replies. "I really wish I could hit a good one!"
Lucian fires his pitch, and Haruhi connects on the swing. The ball goes into right field. Konata takes off, rounding third and heading for home. But Gary gets a hold of the ball and rockets it to the plate. Konata wisely decides to head back to third.
"Runners on the corners!" Jet exclaims. "Next up to bat – Alice!"
"Bean her!" Cato calls, as Alice takes her spot in the batter's box. Lucian throws her a couple of balls, then Alice swings and misses.
"2-1 count!" Jet shouts.
Lucian puts the next one in the dirt, before firing one right over the middle for a strike.
"We've got a full count!" Jet exclaims.
Lucian pitches the next one a little to the inside, and Alice holds back her bat.
"Walk!" Jet yells. "Take your base!"
Haruhi jogs over to second, while Alice hops on over to first.
"The bases are juiced, as Karen comes to the plate!"
Karen steps up to the plate, and as she does, she looks over to Cato and nods to him ever so slightly. Cato nods back.
"I decided to throw this challenge, like the previous one," Karen says. "My only problem in throwing it was, how could I do the most damage to my tribe? Swinging three times and missing isn't going to hurt all that bad; it's only one out."
So, as Lucian tosses the first pitch, Karen lays down a bunt.
"No!" Misty exclaims, with the other players joining in her cries. "This is not the time to bunt!"
The bunt lands right in front of home plate. All the runners are completely stunned by Karen's move, and they all freeze in place for a moment. That gives Kyon enough time to get up and grab the ball and step on the plate. He then tags Karen, who has not moved from her spot in the batter's box. Haruhi panics as she sees this, and she gets caught between the bases. Halfway to third, she turns around.
"No, no, no!" Ami shouts, as the other tribe members also cry out in shock.
Kyon fires the ball to the shortstop Kirito, and he tags Haruhi out.
"That's three outs, on one play!" Kyon shouts. "A triple play!"
The Women are completely shell-shocked from the result of the play, so much so that most of them don't even know what to say. Karen walks off the field with a slight smile.
"I did exactly what I needed to do to screw over my tribe," Karen says. "A triple play was the best-case scenario for me, and I pulled it off."
"Change sides!" Jet shouts.
Alice takes her place back on the mound, and the other Women take their places. A bit thrown off by what just happened, Alice grooves one over the plate to Mayuri.
"Swing, and a fly ball, hit deep in the hole, base hit to left!" Jet shouts. "Mayuri is on base with a double!"
Mayuri scurries into second base as Konata throws the ball in to Ami.
"Next up to the plate, Joe!"
Joe takes his spot in the batter's box, then looks at three straight pitches. After building up a 2-1 count, he swings on the fourth pitch, but misses badly. On the fifth pitch, he swings again, and this time connects.
"Joe blasts one into right center field!" Jet announces. "Mayuri is going to come home to score! And Joe's going to reach second! It's an RBI double for Joe!"
Joe claps his hands at second base, while Mayuri starts high-fiving his teammates. Ami can only stand and stare.
"We had this challenge won," Ami says. "Then Karen threw down her awful bunt, and suddenly we were back in the hole."
Lucian comes up to bat, and he swings at the first pitch, hitting a pop-up. Michiru gets under it at third base and makes the catch.
"One out!"
Next up is Prussia, who can barely hold a baseball bat right. Alice takes full advantage, throwing three fastballs right down the gut. Prussia swings for the fences on all three pitches and misses them all.
"Strikeout! That's two outs!"
Killua comes up to bat for the second time, and Alice smiles with a finger on her chin as she prepares to pitch to him.
"I don't like that look," Killua says. "What's up, Albino?"
Alice doesn't say anything, then she pitches one far out to the right, so far over that Mine has to leap up and catch it.
"What in the hell was that?" Mine shouts angrily.
"It was a pitchout, silly," Alice replies.
"Uh, you're supposed to let the catcher know that's what you're doing," Mine replies.
"Oh yeah? Well, aren't you supposed to be giving me suggestions as to what to pitch?" Alice retorts.
"Enough with the fighting," Ami says. "Let's move on."
Alice puts her next pitch too high for Killua, making it a 2-0 count. Killua then swings as hard as he can on the next pitch.
"It's a high shot into center field… and Haruhi makes the catch! Side retired! With the score, Men 1, Women nothing."
Mine steps up to bat, before noticing someone missing.
"Hey, we get a ghost runner on second, right?" Mine asks Jet.
"You're right," Jet replies. "That player is the last person to bat from the previous inning. Meaning, Karen, you go to second base."
Karen shrugs, then trots out to second base.
"Play ball!" Jet shouts.
"I forgot that I had to go back out to second for the next inning," Karen says. "So, I had to make sure to screw over my tribe as fast as I could. If Mine were to hit a double, and I didn't score, then they'd definitely figure that out."
So, on the very first pitch Lucian throws, Karen takes off for third.
"No! No!" Misty calls. "The steal isn't on!"
Kyon catches the low pitch and fires it over to third base. Mayuri applies the tag to the sliding Karen.
"Caught stealing!" Jet announces. "One out, with a 1-0 count!"
Misty and Ami look at Karen in disgust.
"What the hell are you doing out there?" Ami asks.
"Yeah, what in the $*#% was that?" Misty says. "None of us told you to do that!"
Karen shrugs her shoulders. "I guess I just don't really know all that much about baseball."
"Karen really pisses me off," Misty says. "Just doing whatever she wants no matter what circumstances we're in at the time – man, I wish we could vote her out. But we can't, because she's the swing vote amongst us nine, and there's no way the other alliance is going to come over to JAM."
Mine swings angrily at the next pitch and misses badly. Lucian then throws another ball, putting her count at 2-1.
"Here comes a fastball by Lucian – and Mine connects! She's got a good hit into left field!"
Spike lollygags in left field, taking his time to get the ball. His tribemates start yelling at him as he takes his time getting the ball.
"Come on, slowpoke!" Killua calls. "She's going to have an inside-the-park home run!"
Spike finally gets the ball as Mine rounds second. He then throws in a super-lazy throw to third base. Mayuri tries to apply the tag, but Mine slides in safely.
"It's a one-out triple for Mine!" Jet announces.
"That's it," Killua says angrily. He jogs all the way out to left field to meet Spike.
"Go take first," he says. "I'll play left field if you don't want to."
Spike shrugs his shoulders, then heads over to first base.
"I've found that the best way to do things is the cool and collected way," Spike says. "There really isn't that much reason to put in so much effort."
"Next up to bat – Misty!"
Lucian stares down Misty, then fires a ball inside. Misty dodges the ball that comes close to hitting her. On the next pitch, Lucian goes downstairs and low, but Misty doesn't bite again. Finally, Lucian throws a strike on the third pitch, but Misty's bat is there to hit it.
"For the Women, it's good news! We got a hit!" Jet shouts. "Mine comes home to score on Misty's single! Tie game! It's 1-1!"
Mine gives high fives to everyone on her tribe save for Karen. As she does, Ami comes up to bat.
"A tie ballgame, and now Ami has the chance to put her team ahead!"
Ami takes two balls and a strike, before swinging on the fourth pitch. She ends up popping one up to Joe at second base.
"Two outs! Michiru's up!"
Michiru is patient at the plate, taking two balls and two strikes. On her fifth swing, she finally swings…
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"Foul ball!"
Michiru then takes another ball for a full count.
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"Ball four! Take your base!"
Michiru happily drops her bat and walks on down to first base, while Misty moves over to second. Jasmine comes up to the plate.
"Here's the situation," Jet says. "It's a 1-1 ballgame. The Women have two on and two out. A hit, and they can take the lead. An out, and the Men are assured of at least a tie going into the bottom of the third."
Jasmine looks at Lucian, trying to figure out where he is going to throw. At the last second, she lays down a bunt down the third base line.
"Let it go foul! Let it go foul!" Killua calls from left field.
But it is too late. Lucian picks up the ball and tries flipping it to third base. The swift Misty is able to slide into third base safely. Michiru takes second, while Jasmine gets on first.
"Billy Joel would love this," Jet says. "Here you are, Konata, two men out and three men on. Only in this case, it's two Women out and three Women on. Get on base, and your tribe takes the lead. But if you get out, the Men know the worse they'll have this time next inning is a tie."
"No pressure," Konata says, as she steps up to the batter's box.
Lucian throws the first two pitches outside. His next one goes inside, nearly hitting Konata. It is now a 3-0 count, so Lucian grooves on over the middle. Konata chooses not to swing, and it's a strike. On the next pitch, she does swing, and this one…
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… goes foul.
"It's a full count! Runners get a head start!" Jet shouts.
All the Women on the bases lead off, trying to get an early jump. Lucian then fires the payoff pitch to Konata…
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… and it goes foul.
"Still a full count!"
Lucian throws another one to Konata…
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"It's a line drive, deep into right center field! Misty's going to score! Here comes Michiru, she's going to score! Jasmine trying to run as fast as she can, and she is going to come home as well! Konata slides into third base! It's a two-out triple for the Women, and they now lead, 4-1! I don't believe what I just saw!"
"Yes!" Misty exclaims, hugging Jasmine and Michiru warmly. Ami comes over to join the hug. Mine and Alice give each other a high five, while Karen simply shakes her head and smiles. Haruhi then steps up to the plate. She swings at the first pitch Lucian gives her.
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"It's a base hit to right! Haruhi hits a single to score Konata! And it's now 5-1!"
Haruhi claps her hands as she stands on first base. Konata waves at her excitedly as she dusts herself off.
"Next up, Alice!"
Alice comes to the plate and takes a ball and a strike. She then grounds one over to first base.
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"It gets past Spiegel! It gets past Spiegel!"
Spike looks on as the ball rolls right between his legs. He finally turns around to pick it up, but not before Alice is safe at first and Haruhi has run all the way over to third.
"Next up, it's Karen!"
Karen shakes her head as she takes the batter's box. She purposely swings badly at three straight pitches, striking out easily. None of her tribemates even notice, because they are celebrating their newly found four-run lead.
"Side retired! One last chance for the Men here, in the top of the third! But first, it's time for a very special edition of the seventh-inning stretch!"
The two teams line up along each basepath with their arms around each other's backs, swaying as they sing.
"Take me out to the ball game, take me out with the crowd," the players sing, "buy me some peanuts and Cracker Jack, I don't care if I ever get back, for it's root, root, root for the…"
"WOMEN!" all the Women yell.
"MEN!" all the Men shout.
"If they don't win it's a shame," the players continue to sing. "For it's one! Two! Three strikes you're out at the old ball game!"
"Let's get some runs!" Gary shouts, as the players take their positions.
"Up first to bat is Kirito!"
Kirito takes two quick balls from Alice, then he swings and misses for his first strike. He then rockets one into right field, past Karen. Karen chases the ball but pretends to slip and fall down. As she lies in the grass, Haruhi has to scramble over to pick up the ball.
"Why didn't you get it?" Haruhi asks her.
"I'm hurt," Karen says.
Haruhi finally gets the ball and slings it in, while Kirito is rounding third and heading for home. Misty catches it and flips it home to Mine. It is too late.
"Safe!" Jet exclaims. "It is an inside-the-park home run for Kirito! And the score is now 5-2!"
"Hey, she's hurt back here!" Haruhi cries.
"Bring in medical!" Jet shouts.
"No, no," Karen says, but it is too late. Unohana and Isane come rushing over to her aid.
"What's the matter?" Isane asks.
"Oh, nothing," Karen says, "I'm all right."
"Karen, we're here to help," Unohana says. "We're going to take a look at you and see if you're fit to stay in this game."
Karen sighs, as Isane and Unohana check her out. After only a couple minutes, they determine that Karen is perfectly fit.
"She's fine," Unohana says. "She can stay in the game."
"But let's move her out of right field," Ami says. "She's too much of a liability. Send her over to third base. Michiru, you take right field."
Michiru heads on out to right field, while a disappointed Karen heads over to third base.
"I did all I could to try to blow this challenge for my tribe," Karen says. "But ultimately, Ami moved me to third base, and I never got another chance to throw the challenge."
Spike comes up to bat, and he stares at four pitches – one ball and three strikes.
"Steeeeeeeee-riiiiiike!" Jet yells. "That's three, Spiegel! You're out!"
Spike walks away, seemingly completely oblivious to the game.
"Next up, Oak!"
Gary steps up to the plate. Alice throws him a couple balls, before Gary swings at a low ball. It rolls right back to Alice, who tosses it over to Jasmine for an easy out.
"Two outs! The Men need three runs before their next out, or the Women win immunity!"
Kyon comes up to the plate in despair, knowing his chances of keeping the game alive are remote.
"This is it!" Jet says. "Can Kyon keep the game alive?"
Alice throws her first pitch…
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"Foul ball!"
Alice smirks, then throws her second pitch…
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"It's deep to right field! But Michiru is under it! She catches it! And that's it! Women… win immunity!"
The Women, save for Karen, all throw their gloves off and rush toward the pitcher's mound. There, they tackle Alice in a scene right out of a World Series celebration. Karen looks on in annoyance, as the rest of her tribe whoops it up.
"All right, all right, break it up now," Jet says. "We've got this for you."
Jet hands over the Ranma immunity idol to Alice.
"With this, you are safe tonight," Jet says. "You will get to go to Tribal Council tonight as spectators, and even get to eat some peanuts for some much-needed protein. Men, I got nothing for you, except your first date with me at Tribal Council, where someone will be the second person voted out of this game. You've got tonight to figure out who that's going to be. Head on out, I'll see you all for Tribal."
The Women celebrate as they go back to camp, while the Men shake their heads in frustration.
"Man, this sucks," Gary says. "What a way to lose. We had the lead and then we blew it. No one ever wants to go to Tribal Council, but especially not me, because I have a terrible track record there."
Camp
Men: Cato, Gary, Joe, Killua, Kirito, Kyon, Lucian, Mayuri, Prussia, Spike
Women: Alice, Ami, Haruhi, Jasmine, Karen, Konata, Michiru, Mine, Misty
Coming back from the challenge, the Men are very disappointed having lost.
"I can't believe we lost," Gary says. "I thought for sure we'd beat them, and I wouldn't even be necessary. Instead, I get pressed into the game thanks to Cato's injury, and Lucian stunk it up on the mound."
Cato, nursing his shoulder, pulls Alice aside and threatens her over that injury.
"You dare mess with me, you're gonna pay!" he yells at her. "You don't get away with just beaning me like that!"
"Hey, my tribe won, and that's all that matters," Alice says.
"Look, I have no qualms killing people in the Hunger Games," Cato says. "You dare doing anything the rest of this game, I will take revenge. Make no mistake about it: you will suffer."
"Yeah, yeah," Alice says. "Good luck surviving your first vote tonight."
Cato storms away from Alice in fury.
"Alice dared to come after me, the mighty Cato," he says. "I grew up in District 2. There, it was kill or be killed. I became a Career, and I trained for the Hunger Games for years. She doesn't know who she's going up against. For crying out loud, she's just a chef. She better not ever cross me again, or it will be war."
Karen and Lucian go to put Cato's "Operation Oak" plan in motion.
"You spread the rumor with the Men, I'll do so with the Women," Karen says.
"Right," Lucian says. "But be very careful with the way you do it."
"I tried to throw that challenge today," Karen says. "But my tribe was just too good."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I pitched terrible," Lucian says. "Just try not to get caught."
"Karen could blow this thing for us if she doesn't come across genuine," Lucian says. "I appreciate her efforts to throw the challenge, but she's got to make sure she doesn't get caught."
Karen starts talking to Alice and Mine about "Operation Oak."
"I'm hungry," she tells Alice.
"Well, that isn't my problem!" Alice replies. "Someone decided to get rid of our rice and throw it in the sea!"
"I think I know who did it," Karen says.
Mine's ears perk up. "Who was it?'
Karen leans in close to the two of them. "Gary Oak," she whispers.
Mine nods her head, while Alice puts a finger on her chin in deep thought. "I see. But why would he do such a thing? All it does is paints a target on his back."
"It's because he's trying to create chaos amongst our tribe," Karen says. "We've got to aim to get him out."
"I hope this doesn't mean I've got to cough up any Fire Tokens," Mine says.
"Not yet," Karen says. "We'll see how the Men vote, and if it looks like Gary is gaining in power, then we support an alliance that will take him out."
"Makes sense," Mine says.
"I don't trust Karen one bit," Mine says. "When she comes over here and says 'oh, it was Oak,' I don't believe her for a second. She might just be making up rumors to try to influence our vote or get us to use Fire Tokens that are better off used elsewhere. We've got to be on our toes."
"If Gary Oak really did that, would that be the reason he was initially benched at the challenge?" Alice says. "Do the Men know something we Women don't? These are fair question to ask. In the meantime, we're just going to keep on winning challenges, and then it won't be a problem either way."
Lucian passes on his "Operation Oak" to Prussia.
"Don't tell anybody this," Lucian says, "but Gary Oak is the one who threw away our rice."
"How not awesome!" Prussia exclaims.
"Just keep a tight lip about it," Lucian says.
"I know Prussia way too well," Lucian says. "He's not just going to tell it to someone, he's going to blab about it to the whole tribe. And that's all by design. Because in that case, Prussia gets all the blame once they find out that it wasn't Gary. This 'Operation Oak' is working, even though Cato's still in the shelter nursing his shoulder. I hope he gets better, cause we looked lost without him in that challenge."
Right before the vote, Killua brings over his alliance mates Joe, Kirito, Mayuri, and Prussia to talk about the vote.
"Now, we've got to figure out how to approach this vote," Killua says. "It's going to be 5-on-5. But I have an extra vote here that makes it 6-on-5."
Killua shows his alliance the extra vote.
"So, we just need to know who to vote for, and unless they think ahead of us and buy an extra vote of their own," Killua says.
"But who should we vote for?" Mayuri asks.
"Beats me," Kirito says.
"Yeah, I don't know," Joe says.
"I know!" Prussia says. "Lucian told me that Gary Oak got rid of the… I mean, never mind, I'm supposed to keep it a secret."
Killua nods to Prussia, then thinks hard about the situation.
"Prussia is claiming that Gary Oak's the one who ruined our rice," Killua says. "But how would he know that? Only if the other alliance is feeding him information. And in this case, it's got to be misinformation. There's no way they're going to come out and tell the truth about this. I am very cautious about this rumor."
Meanwhile, Cato is hammering out things with his alliance.
"This is going to be a 5-5 vote," Cato says.
"Are you sure?" Gary asks. "Because someone could buy an extra vote."
"We're saving up our Tokens for something bigger," Lucian says. "And so, probably, are they."
"Right, but one of us could go home," Gary says.
"This is all about the Men as a tribe, not about you and whatever alliance you think you have," Cato states harshly. "We are putting five votes on someone who we don't want out. That way, when we pick rocks-"
"I'm not picking rocks!" Gary exclaims. "I've seen this movie before!"
"In that case, we will direct the votes toward you," Lucian says. "That way, after a double-tie, you won't go home, and the rest of us will pick rocks."
Gary sighs. "Okay, I guess."
"I refuse to pick rocks, because I once was eliminated in Shamouti Island thanks to rocks," Gary says. "I'm not making the same mistake twice. Instead, I'm going to fight my way to stay in this game via a weird method – asking for the votes to be put on me."
"How will you direct the votes to him?" Kyon asks.
"Simple," Lucian says. "We make it out that Gary was the one who emptied the rice in the sea."
"But I-"
"Nothing to worry about," Cato says. "Because in a double-tie, you're immune. Just take the blame and move on."
"I don't trust Cato with this stuff about double-ties," Gary says. "I'm only doing this because I don't want my own alliance to turn on me."
"Gary is the perfect pawn in our scheme," Cato says. "If we're going to pull this thing out, we're gonna need to use Gary to get what we want."
"Now, who do we put five votes on?" Kyon asks.
"How about Kirito?" Lucian says. "He's strong and good at challenges, and we need that. I'd rather not lose him, especially since he hasn't done anything to cross me… yet."
"Sounds good," Spike says.
"I think we've successfully deceived most of the tribe and maybe some of the Women too that Gary Oak dumped the rice," Lucian says. "Now we are at the point where we need to follow through with the plan and see if we get the results we want."
Tribal Council
(Men)
The Women march into the Tribal Council area first, and they take their seats with the peanuts provided to them. The Men come in next, going over to grab torches.
"Men, behind each of you is a torch. Grab one and lower it into the fire to get fire. This is part of the ritual of Tribal Council. In this game, fire represents life. Once it is gone, so are you."
The Men get their torches lit, then go to their seats.
"Let's talk about the last two days," Jet says. "Anything happen?"
Everyone starts chuckling. "No, nothing of note," Spike says.
"I know you're lying, Spiegel," Jet says. "Tell me what was the biggest thing that happened in the past two days."
"Well, someone threw our rice into the sea," Lucian says. "And we at first thought it was Jasmine, but now we know that it was Gary."
"That's simply not true!" Gary exclaims. "I didn't do that and I would never do that!"
Cato motions Gary to calm down, but Gary continues.
"Someone in this tribe, or in the other tribe, is a mole. They're purposely screwing things up for us. We've got to figure out who that mole is. If he's in our tribe, we must eliminated him right away."
"Wow," Jet says. "Strong words from Gary."
"He talks a big game," Cato says. "But when push comes to shove, he's just a pushover."
Gary shoots Cato an angry glare.
"Now, have any divisions been created in this tribe already?"
"Absolutely," Killua says. "There's five of us who have no problem with the Women, and then there are five others who hate the Women. It's as simple as that."
"Okay," Jet says. "Who hates the Women?"
Cato, Lucian, Kyon, Spike, and Gary raise their hands.
"So, a big chasm in this tribe, huh, Spiegel?"
"Yeah, yeah," Spike says. "I don't feel it all that much, though."
"The tension is palpable," Kyon says. "None of us want to interfere with the five over there, and vice versa. It's a very divided tribe."
"I see. Did the challenge change anything?"
"The only thing it changed is that we're down here and they're up there in the peanut gallery," Cato says, pointing to the Women. "We will come back in our next immunity challenge stronger."
"Is that what this vote is about, keeping the strong ones, Kirito?"
"I think so," Kirito says. "Let's be blunt, no one's going to vote for Cato. He's so strong and powerful that we'd be fools to get him out anytime soon. We need him to win those challenges for us."
"If it's not about strength, then what is it about, Killua?"
"Trust, trust, and trust," Killua says. "And I say it that way on purpose. Do I trust my allies? Do I trust my foes? Do I even trust myself to make the right decision? It's way more complicated than you think.
"Very well then," Jet states. "With that, it is… time to vote. Cato, you're up first."
The Tribal Council theme "Tally the Vote" plays as the players go to the voting booth to cast their votes.
Cato goes to vote.
"If you think I'm too strong for your liking, then maybe you're too annoying than for my liking," Cato says, casting a vote for Kirito.
Gary goes to vote.
Joe goes to vote
Killua goes to vote.
Kirito goes to vote.
"I'm sorry I have to make this move this early," Kirito says.
Kyon goes to vote.
Lucian goes to vote.
Mayuri goes to vote.
Prussia goes to vote.
Spike goes to vote.
After the players are finished voting, Jet says, "I'll go tally the votes."
Jet walks over to the voting booth, mixes up the votes a bit, then walks back to his podium and sets the voting urn on top of it.
"If anyone has an advantage or an idol and you would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Everyone looks around, with nobody budging. But right before Jet can speak, Killua finally stands up.
"I've got this," he says, showing his extra vote to Jet.
"Very well then," Jet states. "Go ahead and take this voting urn with you to the booth, where you must vote again."
Killua obliges, taking back the urn and keeping his parchment with him. He goes to vote, then he returns the heavy voting urn to Jet at his podium.
"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."
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"First vote… Kirito."
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"Gary," Jet says. "That's one vote Gary, one vote Kirito."
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"Kirito."
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"Gary. We're tied, two votes Gary, two vote Kirito."
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"Kirito. That's three votes Kirito."
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"Gary. Tied again, three votes Gary, three votes Kirito."
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"Gary."
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"Kirito. We're tied once again, four votes Gary, four votes Kirito."
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"Kirito. That's five votes Kirito."
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Jet pulls out the next vote and opens it extremely slowly. "Gary. We're tied once more, five votes Gary, five votes Kirito, one vote left."
Everyone looks on with great suspense as Jet pulls out the vote and opens it slower than ever.
"Second person voted out of Survivor: Crazy Game Changers…"
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"Gary Oak."
"$%*# it!" Gary exclaims.
"You need to bring me your torch," Jet says.
"Sorry, Oak," Lucian says in a moment of sympathy.
"Whatevs," Gary replies.
Gary grabs his torch and brings it over to Jet.
"Gary Oak, the tribe has spoken," Jet says, snuffing out his torch. "It's time for you to go."
Gary shakes his head as he heads on out of the Tribal Council area.
"What was Oak's legacy like?" Jet says. "This one didn't make it past the Tribal Council area. I'm afraid it's been voted off the island. Grab your torches, head back to camp, good night."
The Women file on out, and the Men grab their torches and return with them to camp.
"Man, they got me!" Gary says. "We should have bought an extra vote, but I can understand why Cato wouldn't want to use it. He viewed me as disposable, and he figured he could buy an advantage later in the game. What a sucky way to go out."
Gary drops his remaining Fire Token in Misty's box as he walks on out.
Who voted for whom:
Cato – Kirito
Gary – Kirito
Joe – Gary
Killua – Gary, Gary
Kirito – Gary
Kyon – Kirito
Lucian – Kirito
Mayuri – Gary
Prussia – Gary
Spike - Kirito
Scenes from our next episode…
A reward challenge victory leads to lots of chaos… Cato tries to rebuild his alliance now that Gary is gone… and light the sky and hold on tight, the world is burning down.