"Roomies 3: Digital Frontier," written by Freedom Fighter Ready to go? Look who's back on its regular day of the week! It's a new episode of Roomies 3... and with 'outside distractions' taken care of, in more ways than one, the game starts to get a bit sneaky and underhanded, as all reality shows are supposed to be! Disclaimer: I do not own any of the anime series, characters, or locations represented in this fanfic. I also do not own any of the reality show elements presented as well. = = = = = = = = = = Tenchi: (VO) 16 contestants from 12 anime shows. 42 days living by themselves in the wild Digital World. But only one will walk away with a grand prize of one million dollars. (Begin theme song, showing each of the contestants one at a time for 1.5 seconds each) - Tally, working with partner Riley as they boot up the Juggernaut program - Amy M., studying for high school entrance exams with her friends - James, being swindled by the Magikarp seller - Jet, piloting the Bebop as Spike looks on from the side - Takuya, diving out of the way of a truck that spins to avoid hitting him - Keith, observing a duel between Yugi and Kaiba atop Pegasus's castle - Amy R., freeing her idol Sonic from a cage upon the Death Egg - Yugi, putting together the Millennium Puzzle - Rally, driving her Shelby GT down the highway at more than 120 mph - Rini, chatting with her own Moon kingdom kitty, Diana - Trunks, practicing how to fuse with Goten - Haruka, showing the dilapidated Hinata Summer House to the Hina crew - Yusuke, facing off against the three-eyed demon Hiei - Nabiki, standing in front of the Anything-Goes Martial Arts dojo - Whitney, ordering Milty to roll down and back up a hill - Trowa, slipping on his circus costume (Show scenes of Keith walking to Salt Lake City, Haruka in a giant Bowser suit, Takuya sitting in a square, and Amy M. carrying a tent building kit.) Tenchi: (VO) Some of them will become the best of friends. Others will develop grudges against those they hate. But only one will walk away with up to a million dollars or more in cash and prizes. (A log cabin appears in the background.) Tenchi: (VO) These men and women are... Roomies! (End theme song, with a picture of all 16 contestants standing with Flame Terminal behind them in the background.) = = = = = = = = = = Episode 11 - Just When You Thought Things Were Okay (05.13.03) Day Twenty-Two A group of eight Roomies make the trek from the challenge field back to the cabin. A majority of them were in low spirits, as five of the eight were heading back to pack their things and move over to the campsite. One of them in particular, Jet, seems to be particularly distraught, as he walks with his head lowered. Jet: (CC) I've been in the cabin long enough to watch several of the DVDs. How did I not know that that it was Androids 17 and 18 were the ones that were siblings? Tally is seen patting Jet on the back, in hopes of cheering him up. But she becomes distracted when she sees Keith jog up to Yusuke to chat with him. Tally: Jet... don't look now, but Keith's talking with Yusuke. That snapped Jet out of his funk, as he looked up at the two guys in question. Tally: He's talking to Yusuke, trying to get him to vote for our alliance. Just like we had planned. Jet: But why? Does he still think he's part of our alliance? Tally: Technically, he still is. Remember that we tried forcing him out, but he turned it against us. Jet: I wonder if he's trying to help us or if he's just doing this to further himself in the game. Up ahead, we get to see for ourselves what Keith wants to talk about. Keith: I wanna talk to you, Yusuke. Yusuke: What about? Keith: What if I told you that there's an alliance that's plotting against you? Yusuke: (CC) Keith thinks that a few of the others are trying to force me out of the game. Not that I believe him... but why would someone want to do that anyway? Keith: (counting off the alliance members) Jet, Haruka, and Tally. Yusuke: Those three? You're joking, right? They're hardly a threat. Keith: I'm not joking, and it is a real threat to you. I should know... they were trying to convince me to join them. Yusuke: You mean they wanted you? Keith: Can you believe it? Yusuke: No, I can't. You don't fit in with them at all. Keith: Well, it's true. And I want to turn the tables on them before they get to you. I want to form a partnership with you. Yusuke: Me? Why me? Keith: We're the two toughest guys out here. The manliest of the men! You've got to trust me on this. We can win this! We can take them down! Yusuke: If you say so. 'Cause if they do want to eliminate me, I'll do everything to get back at them and make sure they go first! The two high five each other, sealing the deal. But as they did, Keith looked out of the corner of his eye and spotted his 'alliance' members watching him. Keith: (CC) I'm not sure how much they heard of my conversation, but no matter. This is only stage one of my plan. There's more to come, and before they know it, not only will they be out of the Final Four, I'll make so that they won't get any votes at all! ====== Over at the campsite, James, Rini, Takuya, Trunks, and Yugi are all feverishly packing in order to get out and to the cabin to relax indoors. While Amy Rose and Nabiki were nowhere to be found, Amy Mizuno was just sitting by the pot and a stack of new supplies, preparing to cook lunch all alone. She seemed to be a bit disappointed. Amy M.: (CC) Who would have thought that my downfall would be spending too much time working and studying and not watching TV with the others? Obviously, I need to rearrange my priorities. Takuya: (coming over to Amy) You okay, Amy? Amy M.: I'll be fine. Just disappointed that I didn't do as well as I thought I would. Takuya: We all have our bad days. You've gotta get over it! You're better than this... I know you are! Amy M.: That's the thing... I'm used to doing so well when it comes to mental challenges. But how could I not know that Love Hina question? Takuya: To be honest, I wouldn't have known that either. Rini: Come on, Amy! Cheer up... there will be other challenges! Takuya: Rini's right! You've been doing so well! You can let one little challenge slow you down! Amy M.: I guess you're right. Takuya: I don't guess I'm right... I know I'm right! Takuya reached out and helped Amy get to her feet. He then wrapped his arms around her in a comforting help, getting some help from Rini who also showed support for her fellow Sailor Scout. ====== Although those at the campsite were about ready to leave, those that were at the cabin had taken the long route around back, and were only now getting back. But not only did they found boxes of fresh supplies, they also found Gatomon and Guilmon waiting for them. That naturally excited Tally and Whitney. Tally: Gatomon! Guilmon! Guilmon: Yeah! You're back! Gatomon: Miss us? Whitney: Boy, I'm glad to see both of you safe and sound! Rally: (CC) It was surprising that both Gatomon and Guilmon are safe and sound and finally back. I was wondering if they were safe after we had to leave when the whole Marik thing started. Yusuke puts his hands up as if they were pads and kneels down so that Guilmon can get in some punching practice. Jet wasn't impressed with the results, though. Jet: (scratches his head) I thought he'd be better than this. Rally: It would help if you were training him along with the rest of us. You know, someone as strong as you could strengthen Guilmon as much as Yusuke has. Gatomon just stood there, being smothered with relieving hugs from Whitney, as Trowa looks on. Trowa: I know you're happy to see Gatomon again, but go easy on him. We might not have a Digimon left if you squeeze her to death. Whitney: (finally letting go) Sorry about that... I guess I'm just so glad that things are going to get back to normal. Haruka: Normal's right... we've got to get all of these supplies inside, and then those of us that are leaving have to pack our things. (claps her hands once) Let's go, everyone. The gang turned their attention to the tasks at hand as lunchtime quickly approached. ====== The changing of the 'living sites' is seen as James, Rini, Takuya, Trunks, and Yugi head for the cabin, while Haruka, Jet, Rally, Trowa, and Yusuke go to the campsite. Of course, the group heading to the cabin was practically there already when the group leaving finally departed. Rally: See you guys later! Keith, Tally, and Whitney waved goodbye to the departing cast members as the Duel Monsters player put his arms around the two women. Keith: Tell the others to take their time! (smirks) Me and the 'Mon girls have some catching up to do, if you know what I mean! Tally/Whitney: (simultaneously, as they push Keith inside) Get a life and start cooking lunch for us! At that exact time, while the departing group was still in sight, the crew that was arriving had, well, just arrived. Tally and Whitney turned and greeted the group, but they weren't the only ones as Guilmon and Gatomon come running out. Guilmon: I missed you! James: I can't believe it... you actually missed me? Guilmon: Of course I missed you. You're one of my partners, aren't you? Tally: Awwww... isn't that nice? Yugi: I'm glad that the Digimon are alright! After all, it feels like we've been apart so long. Trunks: I know! I can't wait to see what Gatomon can do now! As the others give their 'welcome backs,' the group heads back into the cabin to get settled. ====== Jet and the others weren't surprised at all when they arrived at the campsite and saw that lunch was still being cooked. Both of the Amys were hard at work, searching through the newly opened crates for spices and other trimmings. Amy R.: Hi everyone! Amy M.: I'm afraid it's still going to be awhile until we can eat. We just started a few minutes ago. Jet: Forget about it... nothing had been done at the cabin when we left. The group dispersed, off to choose which tents they were going to take, at least until the next challenge. Once that was taken care of, they started to take care of things around camp. Trowa helped Amy M. prepare lunch, relieving Amy R., who joined Haruka in checking for any goodies inside of the crates. Jet and Rally had quickly gone out, taking the axe with them as they went out to get some extra firewood. But Nabiki had no intention of doing any work... only because she wanted to talk with Yusuke. She dragged him away from camp, towards the Pagumon village. Yusuke: Darn it Nabiki, where the hell are you taking me? Nabiki: Will you cool it for a minute? I don't want anyone else to hear what I have to say! Yusuke: I think we're far enough from camp as it is! He pulls out of Nabiki's grip easily, pretty much keeping her from pulling him any further. Yusuke: So, what do you want? Nabiki: I was thinking... we need to add some new members of our alliance. There's only three of us now, right? Yusuke: Last time I checked, yeah. And your point is... Nabiki: With three people in alliance, if we vote for each other, that's only two guaranteed votes! But if there are five... we double that amount! Yusuke: Five, huh? Nabiki: Yeah! You, me, Trunks, plus Trowa and Whitney! Yusuke: What? I'm not going to let your boyfriend be part of our team! Nabiki: Trowa's not my boyfriend! Besides, we haven't talked that much since the first few days! Yusuke: But you're still too comfortable with him! There's no guarantee he'll be loyal to me or Trunks. And you know there's no way I'm working with Whitney. Nabiki: We're at the halfway mark, Yusuke, and the game was put aside after that sorceror or whatever cut in. Everything's changed, and so has the game! I say we start over with a clean slate... and that means forgetting the differences you and her have had and come together for the alliance! Yusuke: I don't care even if Whitney suddenly transformed into the hottest girl here! There's no way I'm working with her! Nabiki: Have you forgotten about our deal? If I leave the alliance, I'm going to tell everyone how strong you and Yusuke really are! Yusuke: What good will that do you? Everyone knows how strong we are physically... the Marik incident revealed that. You have nothing to gain by dropping out! And that's why I'm kicking you out! Nabiki: Kicking me out? You can't kick me out! Yusuke: Hey... Trunks and I have been working together since Day One, and you forced us to let you join us! Now that you have nothing to use against me or him, we don't have a use for you! Yusuke turned and started walking back to camp, but Nabiki wasn't giving up that easily, grabbing Yusuke's ankles and trying to stop him. Nabiki: (starting to cry) You can't... you just can't... Yusuke: Do I look like the sentimental type to you, Nabiki? Nabiki: But... we need each other! Yusuke: You need a reality check! Now, let go before you get yourself hurt. He pulled his way out of Nabiki's grip, but she continued to persist to hold him back. She obviously wasn't strong enough to stop him from leaving, and Yusuke knew that as he got more annoyed by the second. Yusuke: (shouting) LET GO ALREADY! Nabiki finally did let Yusuke go, as the spirit detective headed back to camp. She began to cry loud, hoping to tug at Yusuke's heartstrings and get him to come back and reverse his decision. But Yusuke kept walking, ignoring her cries. Yusuke: (CC) I've never seen such a pathetic girl in my life. Does she think she can be part of the alliance and get what she wants without giving anything back? Trunks will agree that she's been nothing but trouble for us. I say good riddance to bad rubbish. ****** Takuya: (holding up his D-Tector) Execute... spirit evolution! In a flash, Takuya transforms into Agunimon. Agunimon: Agunimon! Alright... give me your best shot! Gatomon comes flying in and starts attacking Agunimon. She scratches left, right, up, down, and all around, as Agunimon blocks every single strike. Agunimon: Come on! Is that the best you got? Gatomon: Lightning Paw! With one quick strike, Agunimon is sent flying head first into a nearby tree. Trunks claps happily as he runs over to check on Agunimon and see if he's okay. Trunks: Yeah! That's the firepower we need! That's exactly what we told you to do! Gatomon: That was child's play. Wait until I really get focused. Agunimon gets up from the ground, shaking his head to get all of the cobwebs out. Agunimon: Okay, I admit... you caught me off guard there! Gatomon: I betcha I can do it again! Agunimon: (smiles) You're on! Trunks steps out of the way as Gatomon charges in again and Agunimon begins to block and parry as he did before. Trunks: Wow... at the rate we're going, Guilmon won't last five seconds against Gatomon! Agunimon: (ducking under a kick) I told you picking Gatomon was the right decision! ====== Everyone at the campsite is busy eating a lunch of chicken and potato soup, but for some reason, it's eerily quiet. Too quiet. Maybe it's because everyone has noticed that both Nabiki and Yusuke have avoided making eye contact the whole time. Purposefully avoided eye contact, that is. Jet: Alright, what's going on between you two? Nabiki just looked down at her bowl and continued to eat. Yusuke was about to do the same, but not wanting to follow Nabiki's actions, he decided to answer Jet. Yusuke: It's nothing any of you should be concerned about. Rally: Oh really? And what is that supposed to mean? Yusuke: We had a disagreement about something... that's all you need to know. Trowa: (glancing at the girl next to him) Nabiki? Disagreement about what? Instead of answering, Nabiki hands her bowl to Trowa, gets up, and walks away. Trowa: (getting up to go after her) Nabiki? Nabiki, where are you going? Trowa puts both bowls on the ground as he leaves. As the two disappear from camp, all of the remaining pairs of eyes focus on Yusuke. Yusuke: Hey! There's nothing wrong with what I did to her! Amy M.: Then maybe you'd care to explain why she just walked off like that. Yusuke: She's just upset because I didn't want to work with her anymore. Jet: Wait... you mean you two were in an alliance? Yusuke: Three... Trunks is in too. (sighs) I guess I'd better start at the beginning... ====== Trowa chased Nabiki into the woods behind the camp, hoping to get her to talk about her problems. But it seemed Nabiki was satisfied with just running away from them. Trowa: Nabiki! Nabiki: Go away, Trowa! But Trowa was too fast for Nabiki, and soon enough he caught up and stopped her from getting any further. Trowa: Nabiki, you need to tell me what's wrong with you! Nabiki: (turning around to face Nabiki, teary-eyed) Yusuke... he did this to me! Trowa: What did Yusuke do to you? Nabiki: Well... he broke off the alliance that we had... ====== Yusuke: I decided to cut her out because she wasn't contributing to the alliance. That, and she wanted to have Trowa and Whitney become a part of group too. Rally: Couldn't you have talked about first, instead of just dropping her like that? Yusuke: Wouldn't you do the same thing in my situation, Rally? Rally: What? No, I wouldn't! Yusuke: You can tell me the truth. You wouldn't to be partners with someone that just reaps the benefits of the work you do yourself. (glances at Jet) You agree with me, right? Jet: (scratches his head) I guess. Amy M.: In principle, you do make sense. But I still say you shouldn't have been so mean to her. Amy R.: Yeah, you meanie! Yusuke: I wasn't that mean to her at all! In fact, you should've seen her begging for me to take her back! She needs me, and you know what, I don't care, 'cause I don't need her! ====== Trowa: So he just dumped you, just like that? Nabiki: Yeah... he didn't give me any reason at all! Trowa: Just as I thought. It's just not meant to be. Nabiki: Huh? You mean between me and them? Trowa: (apprehensively) Actually, I was talking about us. Nabiki: Us? Trowa: I can't be sure of Yusuke's reasons for dumping you and if they're legitimate or not. I am sure of mine, though. Nabiki: What... what are you saying? Trowa: Nabiki... it's over. Nabiki, with mouth hanging wide open, realizing that Trowa was dumping her too. Nabiki: (angrily) Yusuke... he told you to do this, didn't he? Trowa: Yusuke has nothing to do with this. This is my personal decision. Nabiki: But why? Trowa: Because I can't trust you. Nabiki: What do you mean you can't trust me? Trowa: I just can't. I've noticed that about you from the first day of the competition. You have not and never will look like someone trustworthy. You're not someone I can trust with my fate in this game. Nabiki: (starting to cry) You... you can't do this to me! Trowa: I don't want... but you see Nabiki, I have to. I think it's better if we just find other people to work with. Trowa started to walk back to camp, and Nabiki thinks about pleading her case to him as she did to Yusuke. But she thinks twice of employing the same strategy, and instead turns to walk deeper into the woods. Nabiki: (kicking a small rock aside) I just hate this game! Why did I form partnerships with the worst guys? As Nabiki debated that very thought and tried to decide where to go from here, the skies opened up above her as rain began to fall over the area. ====== Night Twenty-Two That evening, it was still raining, and thus everyone staying at the campsite had turned in for the night. Haruka and Jet, surprisingly sharing a tent, were doing anything but sleeping... Haruka: So you believe he staged the whole thing? Jet: (nods) Yep. And I bet Keith told him to do the whole thing. Haruka: Yusuke turns against Nabiki, but reveals that they were together with Trunks. And as far as we know, Yusuke and Trunks are still working with each other. So why reveal it all to us? Jet: I'm sure he was trying to convince his that dumping Nabiki was justified. But still... I can't shake that theory about him being told to do that. Haruka: So what's our next move? And how do we tell Tally about this without getting Keith or Yusuke suspicious of us? Jet: Leave that to me. I think I can figure out something. The two of them laid down in their sleeping bags, separated and facing opposite directions, as they tried to drift off to sleep. Jet: (CC) Keith seems to have everything planned out. But when did he think about going this far? Could he have wanted to get us to try to kick him out in the first place? Haruka: (CC) The consensus is that we have to stop him. Problem is, I don't think we can. And until we can, we're going to be in trouble. ====== Day Twenty-Three As morning arrived in the Digital World, the previous night's rainstorm finally began to taper off. The rain had steadied into a light drizzle, one that faded away as the clouds slowly separated in the sky. Trunks and Gatomon were about to head out together for a jog when they spotted a notice taped to the front door. Trunks ripped it down and read it. Trunks: Cabinmates, please make your way to the campsite by 11:30 a.m. today. You will then accompany the rest of your fellow competitors down to Flame Terminal in the Pagumon village below, where transportation will provided to take you to today's challenge. You do not need to bring anything, but wear clothes and footwear that are easy to move in. Gatomon: What do you think the challenge could be? Trunks: Something that involves a lot of running, I bet. (slides the notice under the door) Speaking of which... time for us to start! ====== Over at the camp, Amy Rose was presenting the same notice to the group, which she had pulled off from the water tank. Jet: So we're taking another Trailmon ride, it seems. Amy M.: We must not be going too far away if we don't need to bring anything with us. Trowa: What do you think we're doing? Rally: It's definitely something athletic today. It's gotta be if it says wear something easy to move in. Trowa: We'd better start lunch then. We've got to eat so we have something in our stomaches. ====== Right around midday, the 16 Roomies made their way from their forest dwellings to the Pagumon village and Flame Terminal, where Tenchi and a Trailmon awaited them in the station. Tenchi: The trip to the location of today's challenge will take about 10 to 15 minutes to reach. Before we board, I would like to announce the captains of this challenge. Today is a physical challenge, and the responsibility of leading their teams to victory goes to Haruka and Whitney. Whitney was ecstatic to finally get her chance to shine, while Haruka didn't seem to react one way or the other. Tenchi: I will not tell you what you will be doing today... you'll find out when we get there. But today the captains will have their teams selected before we leave. [Team Assignments: Brown - Haruka, Amy R., Keith, Amy M., Jet, Nabiki, Trowa, and Yugi White - Whitney, Tally, Takuya, Rini, Trunks, Yusuke, James, and Rally] ====== The teams rode in different cars of the Trailmon as they rode away from the village and into the desert that lied west of the village. At first they wondered what kind of challenge would involve coming out here. They then got their answer, as they saw a giant tent propped up in the sand. There was a whole bunch of equipment sitting outside. It consisted of body shields, helmets, and other padding materials, and some type of gun. Once the Trailmon had gotten to the designated spot, he skidded to a stop. The teams disembarked and headed over, where Tenchi began to tell them about the challenge. Tenchi: Alright everyone, today's challenge will require marksmanship, teamwork, and a tolerance for pain. Today, the two teams will face off in a game of... paintball. Some seemed thrilled of the idea, while others were scared stiff, and still a few others had no idea what it is. Tenchi: The object of the game is simple. Eliminate all of the members of the opposing team before they get you. To eliminate a member of the opposing team, they must be hit by a total of three paintballs. You may hit any part of the body except for any part of the head not protected by the helmet. If you hit someone in that area, you are automatically out of the challenge. Is that understood? Trowa: I have a question. Tenchi: Yes? Trowa: What did you mean by the challenge requires a tolerance for pain? Tenchi: (smiles) You'll see. Now, let's get you all suited up. ====== [Physical Challenge 5: Paintball Game] Once everyone was suited up with a front and back body shield, a helmet (of their team color), goggles, elbow and knee pads, and a paintball gun with 30 rounds, they all headed into a tent. Inside, they were greeted to a plethora of walls of different sizes and shapes, perfect to use for hiding places. The teams were sent to opposite ends of the field, where a box with refill paintball clips were. Both sides discussed strategy as they thought of how to approach this challenge. [Brown Team Strategy Meeting] Haruka: I believe the best option is to split the team in half. Half of us on offense will charge to the other team. The other half will stay back and try to ambush the other team. Trowa: We need people that are small and fast to be on the offensive side. Amy R.: That means me, doesn't it? Yugi: Me too... I guess. Keith: Let me go with the squirts... they won't stand a chance without some help. Trowa: Fine. Anyone else want to volunteer? Amy M.: (raises her hand) I guess I will. Haruka: Are you sure? Amy M.: (nods) I should be able to handle it. I am a Sailor Scout, after all. Jet: She's got a point... she's probably had lots of experience attacking and dodging. Amy'll be fine. Haruka: Okay... then Jet, Nabiki, Trowa, and I will stay back on defense. [White Team Strategy] Whitney: Yusuke, Rally, Trunks, James, and I will make up the assault team. Tally, Takuya, and Rini, you're on defense. Takuya: Why can't I be out on the attack? I'm pretty good, you know. Whitney: I know what I'm doing! Yusuke: Yeah! Give her a break! Whitney: (gasps in shock) I can't believe it... you're actually supporting me? Yusuke: Of course! Unless our plan backfires and we get creamed out there. Then I'll question your plan! Whitney: (sarcastically) Thanks for the vote of confidence! Rally: No worries, gang! With Rally Vincent, bounty hunter on your side, we'll win this challenge! We now go to the center of the arena, where Tenchi, wearing some protective gear of his own, holding up a portable starting horn. Tenchi: We will go in five minute shifts, everyone! After five minutes, the firing must cease and all players still alive will return to their respective sides. Once that's done, we'll restart and have another five minute session. We will keep going until one team has lost all of its members. When you have been eliminated, please make your way to the two marked tent exits. Both teams raised their paintball guns, just awaiting the signal to start. Tenchi: Without further ado, round one begins! Tenchi sounds off the horn, officially starting the challenge. ****** [Round One] The offensive squadrons on both sides move into the playing field. But while the brown team seems to be organized and slowly moving along, the white team is all over the place. Trunks and James both seem to be rushing in, with Yusuke not far behind them. Rally and Whitney are taking their time as they watch their teammates charge to their doom. Rally: What are the guys doing? Are they trying to get themselves shot? Whitney: Obviously, there's not a brain among the three of them. The guys' plan works immediately, though, as Trunks quickly finds Yugi and fires three shots, taking him out with two in the back and one in his left leg... which he felt a lot. Yugi: Ow! That stings! Trunks: (celebrating) Woo-hoo! One down, seven to go! As Yugi trots off the field, Yusuke sneaks up on Amy Rose and shoots her in the right arm. Amy R.: Hey! Ouch! That's not fair! James appears in front of Amy, cutting off her path of escape. Both he and Yusuke fire a shot at her body, one in front and one in the back. James: Hit the road, hedgehog! But the Rocket is then hit in the back of the helmet. He turns to see the other Amy and Keith coming to the rescue, as Keith scores on Yusuke's right arm. Yusuke: Darn it, Bandit Keith! You're going to pay for that one! Yusuke and James take cover behind one of the barriers as they exchange paintball fire with Amy M. and Keith. As they do, Amy Rose dejectedly makes her way off the field, holding her arm. Amy R.: (CC) I never knew this game could be so cut-throat. They're playing for keeps out there! Meanwhile, Trunks sneaks behind enemy lines and gets into a position to snipe Amy M. and Keith. Unfortunately, he walks right into the opposition's defensive foursome. Even the pint-sized Saiyan isn't fast enough to dodge all of the paintballs being fired from Haruka, Nabiki, Trowa, and Jet, and so he's taken out. Rally moves forward to help Yusuke and James, but Whitney stops her. Whitney: Wait, Rally. Let's them get out of their own jam. The two-on-two firefight continues until the buzzer, but not before Keith takes a hit in the helmet. [Brown - Yugi and Amy R. out; Keith has two lives left White - Trunks out; Yusuke and James have two lives left] ====== [Challenge Fast Forward] [Round Two] The entire brown team hunkers down in defensive mode, waiting for their prey to come to them. Whitney and the rest of the offensive members of her team move in slowly, but only James gets in deep enough to do any damage. He manages to score hits on Haruka and Keith before James is seen running away at the speed of light... to avoid getting hit! James is plugged twice, once in each arm. [B - Keith has one life left; Haruka has two lives left W - James out; Yusuke has two lives left] [Round Three] Amy M. slowly sneaks her way into enemy territory, away from Keith and Nabiki, who represent the main offensive front on the other side of the field. Nabiki goes charging in like a madman... excuse me, madwoman... and gets her revenge on Yusuke, sort of. She manages to get him in the shoulder, but she's then ambushed by Rally, who plugs her twice before she can get to safety. Meanwhile, Amy M. gets an unsuspecting Whitney in the left knee pad. The gym leader goes after the sailor scout, but time runs out before she can get an accurate shot off. [B - Keith and Nabiki have one life left; Haruka has two lives left W - Yusuke has one life left; Whitney has two lives left] [Round Four] Things get really crazy in the next round, as Nabiki stupidly charges in to get Yusuke again and get him out. But before she gets anywhere near Yusuke, Rally gets her with a long-range shot, taking her out. That left Amy M. and Keith to sneak along on opposite sides of the field. Rally spots Keith and shoots, hitting him in the left shoulder and eliminating him. This one didn't come without retaliation, as Trowa hits Rally in the helmet. Rally ducks for cover and stays there for awhile. Whitney goes charging forward with Yusuke in tow, as they go straight up the middle. Jet comes up to intercept them, and he lands a shot in Whitney's left leg. Yusuke shoots back and hits Jet, but the bounty hunter sends back a retaliatory shot. But it hits Yusuke's gun, just missing his hand... it doesn't register as a hit, so he's still alive. Meanwhile, Amy Mizuno continues her stealthy ways as she gets away with another free hit, this time on her fellow Sailor Scout Rini. And as before, she does it with very little time left in the round, giving her a second clean getaway. [B - Keith and Nabiki out; Haruka and Jet have two lives left W - Yusuke and Whitney have one life left; Rally and Rini have two lives left] [Round Five] Looking to end it while on a two-person advantage, Whitney orders her team to go completely on the offensive. Noticing her opponent's strategy, Haruka has her team hunker down and pick them off. The big scorers in this round are the bounty hunters. Jet scores five times, hitting Rini and Takuya once a piece, and Tally on three separate occasions. Rally gets four hits, getting two on Haruka, one on Amy M. and one on Trowa. They aren't alone in scoring, as Amy M. gets Rini again, this time in the right elbow pad. Yusuke fires a paintball towards Jet's helmet and scores. And finally, at the buzzer, Trowa scores a direct hit on Takuya's chest pads. [B - Haruka out; Jet has one life left; Amy M. and Trowa have two lives left W - Tally and Rini out; Yusuke, Whitney, and Takuya have one life left; Rally has two lives left] [End Challenge Fast Forward] ====== [Round Six] Yusuke: Look at them running around like their heads have been cut off! Yusuke's right, as Amy M., Trowa, and Jet run for cover, under fire by Yusuke and Rally. Meanwhile, Whitney and Takuya move in for a sneak attack, but they seem to be disagreeing about something. Whitney: I say we stay to the left! Takuya: I say to the right! Whitney: I'm the captain and you have to listen to me! Takuya: Nobody wished you were! Whitney: Well, fine! You go your way and I'll go mine! We'll see who's still alive! Takuya: Fine then! The two of them separate, going off on their own. Soon afterwards, Jet hits Takuya in the thigh, eliminating him. Meanwhile, Yusuke spots Trowa running and gets the Gundam pilot in the left arm. Yusuke: Got you! Whitney is crawling on all fours as she tries to get in position. She then hears paintballs being fired in her direction as she can hear footsteps. Whitney: It's either you or me, buddy! She came out of her hiding place and immediately fired a shot towards her intended target. Unfortunately, it was her teammate Yusuke, and she had aimed towards his face. Yusuke was able to block it with his hand, but it counted as his third hit. Yusuke: What was that for? Whitney: Sorry, sorry! Tenchi: (yelling from the sidelines) You're out, Whitney! Whitney: Me? Tenchi: Can't aim for the face, even the ones of your own teammate! Nearby, Rally gets the drop on Jet and hits him in the chest. But Jet fired a shot just as he was hit... and luckily Rally barely dodged it. Once she landed on the ground, Rally spotted Trowa coming to Jet's rescue. A dumb move as Rally easily plugs him, taking him out. Time runs out shortly thereafter. [B - Jet and Trowa out; Amy M. has two lives left W - Yusuke, Whitney, and Takuya out; Rally has two lives left] [Round Seven] Only one member of each team remains, and both have two hits to take. Both decide to go into stealth mode, hoping to surprise the other and get her in a uncompromising position, so to speak. The round would not last long, though. Rally's very proficient with firearms, even paintball guns, and although Amy M. gets in one hit, Rally gets in two quick ones before her opponent could connect again. ====== With the challenge complete and several people holding ice over the places where paintballs hit them in non-padded areas, Tenchi announced the results. Tenchi: It came down to the wire, but the winners of today's challenge are the white team! Every member of that team gets another $100,000 added to their jackpots today. Whitney and her team seem to be generally happy, but it's not smiles all around, as we will see shortly... ====== On the Trailmon ride back, Trunks is already busy searching for a new alliance partner, not aware that Yusuke had already gotten rid of Nabiki. Trunks: Are you sure about that? They really want to do that? (nods) Okay, I guess we have to go against them. I just hope Yusuke doesn't mind you... oh, you talked to him already? In that case... (shaking hands with someone) Welcome to the team! We see that Trunks is shaking hands with, yep, you guessed it, Bandit Keith. Keith: Pleasure doin' business with ya, kid. You won't be disappointed! ====== Waiting until he could have a chance to vent his frustration on his 'captain' alone, Yusuke pulled Whitney aside once the Trailmon had pulled into Flame Terminal. Yusuke: Okay, what was the idea of trying to shoot me in the face? Whitney: I told you, it was an accident! I'd never do that on purpose! Yusuke: Yeah, right! I'm tired of all of the decisions that you're making. You nearly took me out after Tenchi clearly said you're not supposed to shoot anyone in the face! Whitney: It was self-defense! What if you were the enemy? Yusuke: That's why I was wearing a white helmet! Oh, wait... there's no way you could've seen the helmet if you were aiming for my face! Whitney: Are you calling me blind? Yusuke: No, I'm calling you blind AND dumb. There's a difference! Whitney was about to leap right at Yusuke's neck, but she found herself being restrained by Rally. Rally: Whitney, forget him! He's such a jerk! Yusuke: Oh, so you want a piece of me too? Rally: What are you so irate over me for? I won the challenge for us! Jet: Alright, enough out of all of you! There's no need for this! (points to Rini) See what you've done? Rini: (holding back tears) Why is this happening? Why now? Yusuke and Whitney glare at each other, as it was obvious that they were both just one word from brawling right there and then. The situation was quickly resolved though when Rally started pulling Whitney away from the scene. Yusuke: That's right! You'd better walk! Whitney: (as Rally pulls her) You're just lucky Rally's here, or I'd send Milty to flatten out that ego of yours! Rally: Let's go already! Jet stays back with Yusuke, making sure he doesn't go after Whitney as Rally guides her to the cabin. ====== The sounds of different objects hitting the ground can be heard as a cameraman races to the scene. The teams have not yet returned from the challenge, but there's noise coming from inside the cabin. Looking inside, the cameraman spots Guilmon and Gatomon tossing around pots and pans. When the Digimon see they are being taped, they stop immediately. Guilmon: Uh oh... Guilmon in trouble? Gatomon: Oh yeah... we're in real trouble now. ====== Trunks and James are way ahead of everyone else, as they are the closest to the cabin. Actually, James was behind before he had ran to catch up. It seems that James had heard what had happened between Yusuke and Whitney from Tally. Trunks: I can't believe I wasn't there to see it! James: Why would you want to see that? Those two are going to kill each other... ooh, maybe that might improve my chances of winning the game! Trunks: And now they're going to be living in the cabin with us? That's not good at all. James: Let them work it out. After all, they are grown adults. They continued on, unaware of what awaits them inside the cabin. ========================= End Episode Eleven ========================= Tenchi: (VO) On the next episode of Roomies... Yusuke: Oh no... I'm not sleeping next to her! Whitney: Like I'd ever want to have you around me anyway! Tenchi: (VO) Better take cover, 'cause Yusuke and Whitney are at wit's end... Whitney: I'm not eating the same food he is! Yusuke: If you think I'm taking a shower after her, then you're nuts! Rally: (yelling) Will you two quit it already? You're acting like spoiled brats! Tenchi: (VO) Will their hate carry over to the next challenge? Haruka: Whatever you do, don't run off and go after Whitney. Yusuke is seen running off towards Whitney's signal. Haruka: I wasn't being sarcastic, Yusuke! Rally runs after somebody with her gun drawn. Rally: You're not getting away that easily! Amy R.: At least this isn't as painful as the paintballs were. Tenchi: (VO) Meanwhile, can Nabiki survive and find a new alliance partner? Yugi: Why is she acting like she's desperate? Keith: At your age, I'd think you'd know the answer to that question. Tenchi: (VO) And since it's a double-length eppie, here's another challenge... Trowa: I'll match your three coins and raise you three more. Amy M.: You shouldn't bet it all at once, you know. Tenchi: (VO) Peer mediation's in session on the next episode of Roomies... Yusuke: You first! Whitney: No, you first! Takuya: Why don't you both shut up and go first at the same time? Tally bangs her head against the table loudly. ========================= Next Episode ========================= No author's notes this week... just need to remind you that the next episode is a double-length, the third of the series. Episode 12 arrives next Tuesday, and there's a lot to see resolved and developed. Don't miss it!