“Roomies 2: Country Living” Fanfic Written by Freedom Fighter After a slow week, things are finally going to pick up! The first week will close with a bang, as evident with the two challenges that dominate most of the coverage in this episode. So let's begin, shall we? Episode Rating: PG Episode 3 begins in five, four, three, two... Disclaimer: None of the characters in this fanfic belong to me. ***** Tenchi: (VO) Previously on Roomies... Kiyone: Come on in! The water's fine! Melfina: (smiles happily) There's nothing to worry about. You're among friends. Tenchi: (VO) A few of the girls have some time to themselves in the mansion's indoor hot spring... Jeri nods before slowly inching her way into the pool. Eventually, her whole body, with the exception of her head, is submerged under the water. Kiyone: See? That wasn't so bad, was it? Tenchi: (VO) Unfortunately, that doesn't last long... And that's when three high pitched screams can be heard ringing through the entire mansion. All of a sudden, Keitaro comes running up the stairs wearing only his glasses and a towel around his waist. Keitaro reaches the second floor, as Duo steps aside and allows him to run to the nearest bathroom to dry off. As the door closes, Duo hears Kiyone yelling from the basement. Kiyone: Somebody tell Keitaro that he needs to learn some manners! Roger: I've never seen someone that desperate for a peek. Tenchi: (VO) But as Keitaro pisses one group of housemates off, Jessie does the same to another for a different reason... Jessie: (growls) Oh, that is it! Jessie rips the puppet from Jeri's arm, heads to the front door, opens it, and throws it out into the yard. She then turns towards Jeri. Jessie: I didn't come here to see a kid's stupid little pet show! I came here to win some money! Jessie then walks off, heading to the computer room. Jeri stands there, stunned with disbelief. Jessie: (CC) Bit calls the puppet stupid and Jeri didn't seem mad about it. But I call the puppet stupid and she's over there crying with that other kid! What's up with that? Over in the white bedroom, we see Jeri crying her heart out... right into Mondo's lap. Mondo: Jeri, get a hold of yourself! What happened to the cheerful young girl that I woke up to this morning? Jeri: (stops crying) This morning... Mondo: You woke up at that exact moment, sat up, turned to me, and smiled! Jeri: (blinking her eyes in confusion) I don't quite remember it that way. Jeri pulls her right hand up to her face and starts wiping the tears off of it. She then smiles a bit evilly before reaching for one of the pillows and hitting Mondo playfully with it. Jeri: You were the one still in bed this morning when I opened the blinds, silly! The two continue to go at it for a few minutes, laughing and giggling as feathers start flying around the room. In all of the melee, they fail to notice Melfina walk into the room. She stands there and watches them for a minute before leaving the glass of water she had in hand on a nearby table. She then exits, closing the door behind her. Tenchi: (VO) And as the group competes in their first prize challenge, a few feathers get ruffled there too... Faye tries desperately to pop one of the yellow balloons, but everytime she attempts, she misses because it slips down to the floor. Finally, she pops one, but as she runs back to mix her drink, time expires. Faye: (yelling as she stomps away) What's up with the balloon? It's too slippery! Jeri heads to the booth to pop the balloons. But before she can even figure out the right one, she runs out of time. Surprised and dejected at the same time, she exits the booth with her head hanging down. Tenchi: (VO) With Jessie, Faye, Jeri, and Bit already out of this challenge, which of the remaining eight will finish it? Joey: (CC) I'm not so sure about this one. Melfina: (CC) I've never stuffed a fish before. Kiyone: (CC) I really want that CD player, so I'm going to have to buckle down and hope that I get through this. Tenchi: (VO) See what happens tonight on Roomies... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tenchi: (VO) 12 contestants from 12 different anime shows. 42 days living by themselves in a mansion. But only one will walk away with a grand prize of up to one million dollars. (Begin theme song, showing each of the contestants one at a time) - Bit, pilot of the Liger Zero - Chi-Chi, housewife and daughter of the Ox King - Duo, Gundam Deathscythe pilot - Faye, a bounty hunter/cowboy - Jeri, Digimon tamer - Jessie, member of Team Rocket - Joey, a card duelist - Keitaro, manager of a girls' dorm building - Kiyone, a Galaxy Police officer - Melfina, navigator of the Outlaw Star - Mondo, a Mon Colle Knight - Roger, negotiator and pilot of Big O (Show scenes of Duo carrying a haystack, Bit throwing a picture frame at someone, Kiyone trying to crawl under a security sensor, and Faye pumping her fist in the air in glee) Tenchi: (VO) Some of them will become the best of friends. Others will develop grudges against those they hate. But only one will walk out with a million dollars or more in cash and prizes. (The mansion appears in the background, with the two minivans parked out front.) Tenchi: (VO) These men and women are... roomies! (End theme song, with a picture of all 12 contestants standing in front of the mansion.) ********** Roomies 2: Country Living Story Written by Freedom Fighter ********** Episode 3 - No Time for Slacking Off Day Five Tenchi: On your mark! Get set! (dropping his arm) Go! Mondo takes off for the fish tank immediately. Grabbing one of the miniature fishing nets, he dips it into the water and tries to pull a fish out. After a few seconds of the net being submerged underwater, Mondo slowly brings it back up. He finds that he hasn't caught a fish, but luckily the net is still intact. He submerges the net and tries again. On the sidelines, Jeri is cheering him on as Jessie, Faye, and Bit watch from the sidelines, all of them not happy with their respective performances. Bit: (CC) I can't believe I'm out of it just like that! Joey better pull through, or we're going to be in a lot of trouble. Faye: (turning to Jessie) Some alliance. How are we both out of the challenge? Jessie: (turning to Faye) Why don't you tell me? I was doing perfectly fine! How was I supposed to know that red and yellow make orange? Faye: You learn the color wheel in grade school! Any idiot knows how to mix primary colors! Jessie: And any idiot knows how to pop a balloon with her body! Bit: (to Faye and Jessie) Will you two keep it down? I'm trying to watch Mondo. Faye and Jessie: (pushing him forward so that Bit falls on his face) Watch him from the ground! Jeri: (cheering, ignoring the trio) Go Mondo! You can do it! At that moment, Mondo was pulling up an empty net for the fourth time. This time, though, one of the goldfish had managed to bust through the net, requiring Mondo to use another. Mondo: I won't let some stupid goldfish get the best of me! I'll catch one, even if it takes me all day! Mondo then spots a goldfish swimming towards him. He excitedly dips the net into the water. But before the goldfish can react, Mondo brings his arm back up, forcing the net to hit the underside of the fish as it comes out of the water. The fish flips head over fin as it flips several times in the air. Mondo throws the net off to the side and reaches for the small bowl of water. He raises the bowl over the tank and catches the fish in it. In the process of doing so, he leans over so far that he falls head first into the tank. Luckily, the tank doesn't tip over. He also keeps his hands and the bowl above water, though the rest of his body wasn't as fortunate. Mondo pulls himself out of the tank and places the small bowl back on the table where he got, with a fish now in it. He grabs another net and attempts to catch another fish. Using the same technique, he succeeds on the first try while avoiding a fall into the tank again. Mondo then proceeded to the large bowl of water, where he dropped his newly caught fish in. He grabs the rod with the small ring on the end and places that end into the bowl. He waves it around to try and get the fish to swim through it. Mondo: Come on, fishy! Swim through the ring! Swim through the... no, the other way, fishy! It takes some time, but Mondo succeeds in getting the fish to go through the ring three times. He then runs over to the last table. He pulls a flounder out, weighs it, and then proceeds to stuff it with ice. Chelsea: (while looking at the stopwatch) A minute and a half left. Mondo: (gritting his teeth as he holds a handful of ice) This stuff is cold! As Mondo proceeds to stuff the first of his three flounder, there seems to be some discussion going on between the remaining competitors off in the sequestered area. Joey: Mondo sounds like he's struggling a bit. Keitaro: I'm more worried about what will happen when I go up there. Kiyone: It didn't sound like it would be that difficult. I'm sure that this will be a piece of cake. Back over with Mondo, as he is in the process of weighing his second fish. Chelsea checks the weight and nods, signaling that he can start on the third fish. Back with the others... Roger: I still can't believe that we've been reduced to catching goldfish. Duo: Me neither, but at least this will be easy. Joey: It better be... Mondo finishes stuffing the third flounder. He weighs the fish and gets a thumbs up from Chelsea, as she stops the clock. Chelsea: Three minutes, 58 seconds. Mondo walks off, rubbing his hands together so that he can regain the heat they lost from holding all of that ice. Mondo: (shouting) This CD player had better be worth the frostbite! [Challenge Fast Forward] Duo is the next to go. He completes the fishing task rather easily and gets the second goldfish to go through the small ring three times without any problems. But even Duo could feel his hands freezing up when he started stuffing the flounders. The blustery winter weather was helping much, either. He bears the cold, though, and finishes with time to spare. Time: 2 minutes, 20 seconds. Duo: (CC, shaking) That *bleep* ice was cold! Whomever thought of this challenge must have been out of their minds! Keitaro does his best to catch a goldfish in his net, but he keeps on missing. After trying for what seems like forever, Chelsea finally calls time. Keitaro: What's up with the fish? It's so cold that they don't want to come out of the water! Chelsea: (shrugs her shoulders) What can I say? Some people have it, some people don't. Keitaro: (yelling angrily as he points at the tank) Well, I don't see you over there getting a fish out of that tank! Chelsea: Is that a challenge? Keitaro: You bet it is! I bet you can't get a fish out of there on the first try! Chelsea walks over to the tank and grabs one of the nets. She then dunks it into the tank and waits patiently for a few seconds. Keitaro looks on with interest as Chelsea slowly lifts the net out. And there, looking as if it was almost lifeless, was a goldfish, planted right in the center of the net. Keitaro: (in surprise) What? How can that be? There must be some trick or something to it! Chelsea: There is, sort of. Unfortunately, you're going to have to learn it on your on. Chi-Chi: (walking towards them) Give it up, Keitaro. It's my turn now. Keitaro: (sighs) I guess I can kiss that CD player goodbye. Chi-Chi ends up having a little trouble of her own with catching the goldfish. But she catches on and pulls through. Making it over to the flounders, she stuffs all three of them with ice in the nick of time. Time: 4 minutes, 11 seconds. Roger, on the other hand, flies through this part of the challenge rather easily. Quickly catching a goldfish on each of his two tries and completing the appropriate tasks, he starts stuffing the flounders. His hands are freezing cold when he finishes, but he has the fastest time thus far. Time: 1 minute, 56 seconds. Joey is the next to go. He also seems to be on the right foot as he catches a goldfish on his first try. Joey: That was easy enough. (shouting as the fish breaks through his net) Ah! It doesn't want to stay in! Joey fishes several more times until he's able to successfully capture the first goldfish. He dumps it into the small bowl of water and proceeds to catch a second... which takes him another few attempts. He finally moves on to stuffing the flounders. As Chelsea checks the weight of the first fish, she calls time. Joey: What? No way! Chelsea: Sorry Joey, but time's up, and you're out. Joey: (sulks as he heads back) I was so close... Melfina also struggles as she attempts to catch the goldfish. She manages to catch one after about a minute, but her luck runs out as she is unable to snag a second one. Melfina: (glancing at Chelsea) It's harder than it looks, that's for sure. Kiyone is the last to go at this level. Using a technique that she knew worked well (after all, Tenchi is an expert at this), she catches her two goldfish... but not without a few slips and misses. After completing the first two tasks, she runs over to the far table and pulls a flounder out from one of the coolers, placing it on the weighing scale. She pulls the flounder off the scale, reaches into a different ice chest, and starts stuffing the flounder as fast as possible. Kiyone: (shouting as she stuffs this fish) My hands are going to freeze at this rate! Kiyone ignores the pain as her hands get colder and colder. Eventually, she does finish the challenge. Time: 4 minutes, 2 seconds. [Complete Challenge Fast Forward] Keitaro, Joey, and Melfina join the four already out of the competition. That leaves Mondo, Duo, Chi-Chi, Roger, and Kiyone to complete the final portion of the challenge. And Eli was waiting for them, as he explained the tasks for the last part. Eli: You will have six minutes and 30 seconds to complete the three tasks I have in store for you. For the first part, you will get into this large mouse wheel. There is a light at the top. It will light up once the mouse wheel makes ten full revolutions. Once it lights up, you can move on to the next part. Eli points out the mouse wheel and the light at the top of it. Eli: In the second portion, we have this cylindrical wind tunnel. Inside, as you'll see inside the peephole here, is a small rubber ball. Your objective is to use these controls to guide the winds to the right direction and speed that will allow the ball to fall into the hole on the other side of the tunnel. Once it gets into that hole, it will take a ride on a slide and exit the tunnel here. About ten meters from here is a small ring. Take the rubber ball, run over, and place the ball in this ring. Make sure it stays in place before moving on. Eli points out the wind tunnel and hole where one can look in. Looking through the peephole, the rubber ball and the exit hole are plainly visible, with the hole on the opposite wall, about a foot off of the ground. On the other side of the cylinder is the exit from which the ball will emerge. The ring, as Eli mentioned, is ten meters away from the tunnel cylinder. Eli: If you have any energy left, you'll have to get on this stationary bike and pedal fast enough to get this large 120-watt bulb to light up. If you manage to do that, you will complete the challenge and become eligible for that CD player. Eli shows them the bike and the large 120-watt light bulb. Eli: I wonder how many of you will be lucky enough to survive this ordeal. [Round 3 Assignments (in reverse from Round 2 results): Chi-Chi, Kiyone, Mondo, Duo, and Roger] Chi-Chi is the first to go. The other four head back to the sequestered area. Eli smirks as Tenchi prepares to send her off. Tenchi: On your mark! Get set! Go! Chi-Chi gets over to the mouse wheel and starts running inside of it. She makes ten revolutions without any problem. She then heads over to get the ball out of the wind tunnel. She seems to have a bit of trouble because she turns some of the control wheels a bit too much. Eventually, she manages to get the ball out. She runs over and places it in the ring solidly. She then jumps onto the bike and starts pedaling. This turns out to be a piece of cake for her, as it only takes her a handful of seconds to light the giant bulb completely. Time: 2 minutes, 39 seconds. Chi-Chi: Is that all you got? That was easy! Kiyone drew number two. She also easily gets through the mouse wheel. But the wind tunnel puzzle takes up a lot of time because she is having trouble figuring out the right wind speed. Finally, after several minutes, she blows the ball out of the wind tunnel. She places it on the ring and heads over to the bike. She starts to pedal as hard as she can. She unfortunately tires out rather quickly, thus causing her to have to stop and rest every fifteen to twenty seconds. And everytime she stops, the intensity of light emanating from the bulb decreases once more. Eventually, Kiyone just runs out of time. Kiyone: (breathing heavily as she lowers her head onto the handlebar) This is too much! It's too hard! Tenchi runs over and helps Kiyone get off the bike. She takes them back to the others and has them get her a glass of water. The group then talks to each other as Mondo goes to complete the course. Duo: Gee, you look really winded there, Kiyone. Kiyone: (pants) Pedaling that bike is harder than it looks. Chi-Chi: I thought it was easy. Roger: You mean a Galaxy Police Officer like yourself isn't in enough shape to light a giant bulb? Kiyone: I haven't exactly been keeping myself in perfect shape... Duo: I just hope that bike isn't as hard as you say it is. Back out on the course, Mondo starts. Being a natural athlete as well, he gets through the mouse wheel without any trouble. But once again, the wind tunnel poses problems for another competitor. It seems that everytime the ball gets close, he accidentally blows it pass the hole. Mondo finally sinks the ball, puts it in its proper place, and starts pedaling on the stationary bike as fast as his tired legs will allow him to. But it soon becomes apparent that even this happens to be a daunting task for Mondo. Mondo: (shouting angrily) Whomever thought this was an efficient way of creating electricity needs to be struck by lightning! The light continues to get brighter and brighter until finally the bulb is fully lit. Eli gives him the okay signal and Mondo stops pedaling. He gets off the bike and immediately collapses to the ground. Time: 5 minutes, 3 seconds. Mondo: Yow! That bike's killing my legs! Tenchi: Are you okay? Mondo: I'll be fine. Somebody just carry me back to the others, please? Tenchi sweatdrops and does so as Duo, nervous as ever, steps up for his turn. He starts the course promptly, heading for the mouse wheel. He starts running as fast as he can on it. Duo: (CC) As I started running on that wheel, I wonder if I can get through this. Kiyone came back out of breath, while Mondo had to be carried back after his legs gave out on him after he finished. Eventually, Duo completes the ten revolutions and moves on to the wind tunnel. Peering into the peephole, he spots the rubber ball in the center. Thinking out his strategy, he tries to guide the ball towards the hole using small gusts of wind. Duo: A little to the left... no, make that right... I mean, left. Now up a few inches... shoot, it's drifting the other way! No matter which way Duo makes the wind blow, the ball continuously misses the hole. Duo is now frustrated, as he is aware that he is running out of time. But finally he succeeds thanks to a stroke of luck, as an unexpected error actually blows the ball to and into the hole. Duo: (wiping the sweat off of his forehead) Whew! I'm glad this is over! Eli: You have yet to finish this! Duo: Oh, the bike. Almost forgot... Duo runs to the other side of the wind tunnel cylinder and sees the ball already waiting for him. He runs over and places it over in the ring before running over to the bike. He then starts pedaling as hard as he can. But as soon as the bulb begins to light up... Eli: Time! Duo slows down and hits the handlebars with disgust as he stops pedaling completely. He then hops off of the bike and walks back, unhappy about his performance. Duo: (CC) I thought that I would be able to do it, but it took me forever to get that ball out of the wind tunnel. Looks like I'm out. Roger appears as the last remaining competitor. He starts off by running inside the mouse wheel, finishing that up easily. He then approaches the wind tunnel and goes to work. With some quick thinking and a few near misses, Roger quickly gets the ball out. After placing the ball in its proper place, he runs over to the bike and starts pedaling with all of his might. It takes him just over a minute to get the light bulb fully lit. He rejoices in celebration as he starts to slow his pedaling. He had managed to get through it. Time: 2 minutes, 52 seconds. Roger: I don't see why the others were struggling with this. The bike was the easiest part! With the challenge now complete, the twelve competitors, Tenchi, and the three 'wizards' are gathered back in front of the course. Tenchi: Well, it's been one grueling day, but I can safely say that it's all over. In the end, only three of you completed the entire challenge, so only those three have a shot at the CD player. They are Chi-Chi, Mondo, and Roger. Let's give them a hand! The others clap enthusiastically as Eli hands an orange index card to Chi-Chi. Zachary and Chelsea give the same thing to Mondo and Roger, respectively. They each then hand them a black permanent marker. Tenchi: To signify that these three have completed the challenge, each of them will now write their name on their cards. This will signify their eligibility for the CD player. At the end of your stay here in Okayama, each of you must return all of the cards that you collect from the prize challenges in order to be entered in the drawings for those prizes. Each of the cards will be a different color, so make sure you don't lose track of yours! There's handshakes and hugs abound for the three winners as they are congratulated by their fellow peers. Tenchi: You're all done for the day! You can head back to the mansion. The celebration continues as the twelve residents depart from the forest clearing. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Night Five Poised to spend their first Friday night together having fun, Kiyone, Roger, Faye, and Keitaro pull out some of the best outfits from their closets. Over in the red bedroom, Keitaro is staring at a mirror as he checks out the tuxedo he is wearing. In fact, the tuxedo looked the same as the one his roommate wore regularly, only a little smaller. Keitaro: This is great! Maybe now I'll get a few girls to pay attention to me! Roger: The clothes make the man, Keitaro. If you want a girl to fall in love with you, you've got to look like a million dollars. Keitaro: But I don't have a million dollars. At least, not yet. Roger: (smiles) The money's not important right now. You don't have to have the money to look like you have the money. Keitaro: Come again? Roger: You don't have to have a lot of money like me to get a girl's attention. You just have to look like someone like me. All you have to do at that club tonight is get with a girl, buy her a few drinks, and then dance the night away with her. That's all there is to it. Keitaro: Really? Roger: Trust me. Why don't you practice on Kiyone? She's probably more your type than Faye is. Keitaro: (a little nervous) Are you sure about that? What about... Roger: I'm sure she's forgotten all about that already. Just keep calm and everything will turn out right. And if you can't get Kiyone to fall in love with you... I'm sure there's plenty of other girls itching to get their hands on you. Keitaro: (cries happily) This is going to be the best night of my life! *** A few minutes later, Roger and Keitaro are waiting by the front door, ready to leave. But Kiyone and Faye are nowhere to be seen. Keitaro: Maybe we should go to their room and check on them. Roger: (shakes his head, disagreeing) Nonsense. They'll come out when they're ready. *** At that exact same moment in the recreation room downstairs, Mondo, Jeri, Joey, and Bit are getting ready to play a video game on the Playstation 2. Jeri: (pleading) But I've never played this game before! Joey: Neither have the rest of us, so we're all pretty even. Mondo: I'm sure this game can't be that hard to play. Bit: Besides, all we're doing is trying to kill each other. Mondo: Free for all? Joey: You bet! Every man for themselves! *** Back up in the lobby, Keitaro's patience continues to run thin. Keitaro: We can just go without them, right? We do have two vans, you know. Roger: We're driving all they way to Osaka to find a nightclub. The last thing we want is for one of us to get lost out here in the countryside. We're better off going together. Kiyone: (entering the room) Sorry it took us so long. Keitaro and Roger turn towards the hallway and see Kiyone and Faye standing there, both dressed up in beautiful gowns. Kiyone's is a simple, form-fitting lime green dress with matching colored shoes. Faye's dark brown dress is similar to Kiyone's, except for the fact that the neck is low-cut and there's a slit running almost all the way up her leg. Keitaro and Roger are just standing there in awe. Faye: (smiles) I see that even in the early 21st century, men still fall head over heels for a pretty woman. Kiyone: (sighs) I just wish one would fall for me. Roger and Keitaro: Um... Faye: Let's go, before all of the clubs get full. Kiyone: I agree. As the two women walk past Roger and Keitaro and out the front door, the two men remain speechless as they follow the women out to the van. *** Back downstairs... Bit: (presses a button on his controller) Ha! My set of remote mines is ready! All of a sudden, the sound of a shotgun fills the air. An instant later, one of the mines blows up, causing the others, which were all so close together, to go off... killing Bit's character in the process. Bit: Hey! Mondo: (laughs) No trap will ever kill the great James Bond! Another character runs up behind Bond and starts firing several shots from his PP-7, eventually killing him. Joey: (in a calm, villain's voice) Die, Mr. Bond. Mondo: No fair! Bit: Jeri, you joining us or what? You look like you're in the middle of nowhere. Jeri: I'll get the hang of this game eventually. Give me a minute. Joey: In a minute, you'll be joining 007... dead on the ground! Bang! Joey's character dies as he is shot in the head from behind. Mondo laughs hysterically as Bond appears and runs over the now dead body. Mondo: Did you say I was dead? I told you, no trap will ever kill me! *** A little later that night, Kiyone, Roger, Faye, and Keitaro had already arrived at a dance club and were dancing the night away. Well... Kiyone and Keitaro were. Roger and Faye were at the bar, drinking. Faye: So there I was, drifting out in the middle of nowhere, stranded because my spaceship had run out of fuel. All of a sudden, another ship appears. So, I try to flag it down, but the pilot ignores me and flies right by! Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Roger: Sounds like a cheap way to get a date. Faye: But I wasn't trying to get a date! My ship had run out of fuel! Roger: (smiles goofily) Sure... you're just afraid to tell me the truth. Faye: Are you even listening to me? Roger turns his head towards the dance floor, where Kiyone and Keitaro are dancing to high energy pop song that was playing in the stereo. Roger: (points at them) Look at that. Faye: Will you pay attention to me? Roger raises his hands, grabs Faye's head, and turns it to the dance floor. Roger: It seems that they've hit it off. Faye removes Roger's hands from her head so that she can turn it by herself. Faye: So what? They're just dancing. It's not like they're in love with each other. They're not even dancing that close. Roger: (squints his eyes) It sure looks like it to me. Faye: That's because you've already had more to drink than I have. Your vision's getting blurry. Roger: (looks at the glass in his hand) Probably. (to the bartender) Another round for me and my friend! Faye: (taking out a cigarette) No need. I still have some left. Besides, I feel like smoking right now. Roger smiles as he watches Faye take out her lighter and light her cigarette. As he does, the bartender appears with two more full glasses of beer. Faye: (after taking a puff of smoke) I say it's time to call it a night. Roger: What makes you say that? Other than me drinking too much, of course. In the background, although hard to see from our current distance, it looks like Keitaro trips and falls. Kiyone catches him, but not before Keitaro's face lands in the middle of Kiyone's chest. She then proceeds to kick him halfway across the room and into a table or two. Faye: (shrugs her shoulders) Just a hunch. *** Back at the mansion, the foursome in the basement had been playing the same game for three hours now and are still going. Bit: Hey! Come back here, you chicken! Joey: You've got to catch me first! Bit's character is firing shot after shot after Joey's character, who is running away because he has no ammo. Then, out of nowhere, somebody shoots Joey's character in the head. Bit stops before entering that open area until he can find out who shot Joey. Joey: I can't believe you got me, Bit! Bit: It wasn't me. None of my shots were even close. Joey: Mondo? Mondo: Don't look at me! I'm only making my way towards you guys now. Joey: Then that means... Jeri? Jeri: (smiles) What? Joey: How did you... Jeri: A sniper rifle. Watch. Jeri moves her character around so that she can now see Bit from his hiding place. Bit, instead of running, tries to shoot and kill Jeri first. No luck, as Jeri fires an accurate shot right at Bit's head. Bit's character goes down. Bit: She fires so good, she reminds me of Naomi! Joey: Geese, only three hours of playing time, and she's better than any of us. Mondo, or James Bond, appears on a platform just above Jeri. But she notices him and runs for cover. Mondo jumps down and chases after her. Mondo: You're mine, Jeri! Jeri: (giggles as her character drops something onto the path) Not if I get away! Bond runs down the corridor after Jeri's character. He runs over the dropped object just as it explodes. Mondo: What? A proximity mine? Jeri: Actually, a timed mine. Goes off automatically five seconds after it's set. Joey: Man, she is good! Bit: We'd better gang up on her to even the score! Jeri: If you guys can kill me, that is. Bit, Mondo, and Joey then proceed to chase after Jeri. The foursome continue to play for a few more hours before they finally quit and head off to bed. *** Day Six Most of the group decides to sleep in on their first Saturday morning together. The only two up this early are Chi-Chi and Melfina, who are in the kitchen preparing brunch together and swapping the recipes at the same time. Chi-Chi: And so, that's how you prepare French toast! Melfina: I didn't realize that there was so much you could make out of bread! Chi-Chi: You can make a meal out of just about anything. Melfina: There's a recipe that I've always wanted to try. It's called a grilled chicken fajita. Chi-Chi: A fajita? That's easy. Here, I'll show you how to make it right now. Melfina: (smiles) Great! We can serve it to the others later! *** Later on in the day, all of the women are busy doing chores. Chi-Chi and Jessie are cleaning upstairs. Faye is in the basement, cleaning the recreation room and the hot springs. That leaves Melfina to do the laundry and Kiyone and Jeri to clean the first floor. It doesn't seem that any of the men are around. Kiyone: (to Melfina) Where are the guys? Melfina: I think they said they were going shopping for groceries. Kiyone enters the white bedroom... and finds Mondo taking a nap on his bed. Kiyone: (shouts) Mondo! Mondo: (wakes up and jumps out of bed) Huh? What? Is it time to go after another Monster Item? Kiyone: (puts her hands on her hips) Weren't you supposed to go with the guys to the supermarket? Mondo: They went to the supermarket? Joey told me that there were going out to get a bite to eat. Kiyone: What? The telephone begins to ring. Jeri: (shouting from another room) I'll get it! As Kiyone continues to ask Mondo a few questions, Jeri goes to answer the phone. Jeri: (picking up the receiver) Hello? Rockna: (VO) This is Rockna. May I speak to Mondo, please? Jeri: May I ask why you want him? Rockna: (VO) Because I'm his girlfriend and I want to see how he's doing! Jeri: Oh, that's right. Mondo did tell me about you. Rockna: (VO) And who are you? You haven't been flirting with him, have you? Jeri: Of course not! Mondo enters the room, picking the inside of his ears with his pinkies as he walks towards Jeri. Mondo: I never thought Kiyone would stop asking me questions! (to Jeri) Who's on the phone? Jeri: (handing him the receiver) It's your girlfriend. Mondo's face went white with fear. Jeri gave him a light pat on the shoulder as she walked past him and out of the room. Mondo: Rockna? Rockna: (VO, yelling) Who is that girl that answered the phone? You haven't been flirting with her, have you? Mondo: Well, allow me to explain... Rockna: (VO) Explain? So there is something between you two! Mondo: Rockna, calm down! I'll explain! Rockna: (VO) You'd better! Mondo gulps as he begins his explanation. He then starts talking. Mondo: You see Rockna, it's like this... * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Mondo finally finished his explanation. But it hadn't made Rockna any happier. Mondo: Jeri's just a good friend! We're the only two people our age in the mansion! Rockna: (VO) And I bet you spend every waking moment staring at her! Mondo: Trust me! There's nothing between us! Rockna: (VO) Then why are you talking about her as if the two of you are already married? Mondo: Well, we might as well be. I mean, we do share the same bedroom... oops. Rockna: (VO) You mean you sleep with her? Mondo: Not exactly. We have separate beds. We just share the room. Rockna: (VO) So you peek at her while she's changing? Mondo: Why would I do that? I've got you! Besides, it's not like you've ever changed in front of me before. Rockna: (VO) So you do look at her! Mondo: No, really! We've never come across a situation in which one of us is in the room while the other is changing. Rockna: (VO) How do I know that you're telling the truth? Mondo: I'd never fall in love with someone behind your back! Especially since she already has a boyfriend. Rockna: (VO, finally calming down) She's got a boyfriend? Mondo: Yes. So there would be no need for the two of us to flirt. Rockna: (VO) Okay, I believe you. But you'd better promise that you won't fall in love with her! Mondo: I promise! We will sleep in separate beds every night and neither of us will change while the other one is present. I promise! Rockna: (VO) Okay. Well, I gotta go. Bye! Mondo: Bye. See you when I get back in a few weeks. Mondo slowly hangs the phone up. He then breathes a sigh of relief. Mondo: I've got to be more careful. Otherwise, I'm going to get a beating from Rockna when I get back home. *** After recovering from his talk with Rockna, Mondo decides to help the girls clean the mansion, since he has nothing else to do. An hour later, the men return with a few grocery bags in hand. Kiyone, Melfina, and Faye greet them. Kiyone: What's this I hear about you guys going out for a bite to eat and not inviting us along? Duo: (as the group puts the bags down on the floor) Chill, Kiyone. We just wanted to have a talk among the guys, that's all. Roger: We needed a little time away from the mansion. Faye: And you left us to do all of the chores! Bit: We got the groceries, didn't we? Isn't that good enough? Joey: Guys... maybe we should be helping out a bit more. Keitaro: We should do our part. (turns to the women) We're sorry. How can we help? Melfina: One of you can come with me. I've still got a bit of laundry to do. Duo: (quickly jumps forward) Allow me! As Duo and Melfina walk off, Faye watches them out of the corner of her eye with a hint of suspicion. Joey: Anything else? Faye hands Joey and Keitaro hands them two empty buckets and two mops. She then points to the basement. Faye: The locker rooms still need to be cleaned from top to bottom. Keitaro: (sighs) We'd better get started, Joey. Joey: I'm with you, buddy. Keitaro and Joey make their way downstairs, leaving Kiyone, Faye, Roger, and Bit in the lobby. That is, before Bit walks off towards the computer room and Roger heads upstairs to take a shower. Faye: Where do you two think you're going? Roger: Taking a shower. Bit: Going to work on the computer. Kiyone: And what about helping out with the chores? Roger and Bit: (simultaneously) We'll cook dinner! With that, Roger and Bit exit, leaving Kiyone and Faye in the lobby... along with the grocery bags. Kiyone: Hey! Who's going to help us with the groceries? *** Night Six Faye and Kiyone are sitting in their bedroom, discussing the events of the day. Faye: Can you believe those guys? Kiyone: They thought that they could leave us with all of the chores! Faye: Those guys think they can do anything. Kiyone nods in agreement. Faye: Roger hitting on me, Keitaro getting a peek at you, Duo controlling Melfina... Kiyone: I have to agree. Men really are pigs. Well, most of them... Faye: Yeah. Joey may have a few redeeming qualities. Mondo too, possibly... but the others... Kiyone: Something has to be done! Faye: We'll think of something. For the moment, we should let them think that they're in control. Kiyone: Why's that? Faye: We don't want to blow our chances of winning so early! Let's earn their trust first, then sink 'em! Kiyone: I guess there's no other way. Faye: Don't worry, Kiyone! We won't let them have their way! *** Day Seven Kiyone is upstairs in the study, thinking about the talk she had with Faye last night. Kiyone: (CC) So maybe I don't agree with everything Faye said. They're not exactly running things... but a few of them have been slacking off. I'm just going to watch my back. Especially with Roger and Keitaro. Everyone in the mansion is seen putting on some comfortable clothes before they leave the mansion and start heading out to their next challenge. *** The group is at a place called Gojun Lake. To some dismay, they arrive and see that another obstacle course of sorts has been set up. A very long one. The course includes a rope climb, two balance beams, two golf karts, a whole set of cones, and two giant rubber balls. Tenchi is waiting for them, with twelve mesh net ponchoes in hand... six of them green, six of them red. Tenchi: Good afternoon, everyone! The group waves hello as they take their place in front of Tenchi. Tenchi: Well, after tonight, your first week here will be complete. And so far, you haven't had a chance to win much money. Today, that's all going to change. You will be competing today in your first physical challenge. You know what that means... every member of the winning team today will have $100,000 added to their personal jackpot. The audience claps with excitement, finally getting the chance at some big money. Tenchi: Today's challenge is called 'Obstacle Royale.' Two days, you guys subjected yourselves to a mental obstacle course. Today, you'll be taking on a physical obstacle course. It is split up into six parts. Each member of the team will be responsible for completing one part of the course. Allow me to explain the course! A bunch of small cones circle the outside of the lake. At two different locations, two large cones stand to mark the start and finish lines. Tenchi: The first person will run a 400 meter sprint, which translates to eight and a third laps around the lake. You will start at the set of large cones behind me and run eight laps before finishing at the other set of large cones. That person will tag to the second one, who will run this mini-military course off to the side. In it, the second person will have to climb this cargo net, then come back down to the ground using the zip line, and then finishing by climbing up and over this eight foot vertical wall. Tenchi points at the mini-military course and then the balance beams off to the side of that. Tenchi: Person number three starts at that point, and will have to go from one end of this 20 meter long balance beam to the other. If you fall off at any point, you have to return to the beginning and start all over again. Once you finish, you tag off to the next person. Tenchi then directs their attention to the two idle golf karts, which are positioned just in front of a hill that slopes down. Tenchi: Leg four requires a good driver. As the person drives down that hill, they will have to slalom back and forth between the cones. Once they arrive at the bottom, they tag the fifth person, who has to push that giant rubber ball all the way back up the hill. The gang looks at the two giant rubber balls at the bottom of the hill. They then turn their attention back towards the lake, where a final set of cones leads back into the water. Tenchi: The last person will have to swim for 200 meters in between the center area marked off in the lake. That would be four times back and forth. The first team to complete all of these tasks will win the challenge. Melfina: That seems like a bit much... Kiyone: By the way... who's on what team? Tenchi: I'm glad you asked that Kiyone. Joey and Bit, would you two come forward? The two teenagers nod and do as they are commanded. Tenchi then hands Joey the green ponchoes and Bit the red ones. Tenchi: Joey and Bit, you two are the team captains for this first challenge. Joey and Bit are a bit apprehensive, since they are roommates, but they accept their fate. Tenchi: Before your stay is here, everyone will be a team captain for one of the physical challenges. (to Joey and Bit) It's now time to pick teams. Joey, you get to pick first. [Team Assignments: - Green: Joey, Roger, Duo, Melfina, Kiyone, and Mondo - Red: Bit, Keitaro, Chi-Chi, Jessie, Faye, and Jeri] Joey: (CC) I'm happy I picked first! I've probably got the better team! Kiyone: (CC) Maybe Faye was right. Look at the order Joey and Bit picked! Faye: (CC) With the exception of Mondo, Joey and Bit decided to pick all of the guys first! Is that sexist or what? Jessie: (CC) I'll show those guys the proper way of treating a woman! Duo: (CC) Something's up... did Joey and Bit do right in picking all of the guys before the gals? [Physical Challenge 1: Obstacle Royale] [Leg 1: 400 meter sprint - Duo (Green) vs. Bit (Red)] Everyone gets to their respective places. All of the members of Joey's team are now wearing the green ponchoes, while Bit's team is wearing the red ones. Duo and Bit have decided to run the first leg. They start side-by-side, with Duo on the inside. Tenchi: (raises his hand) Ready? Set? Go! Tenchi drops his hand and the two take off. Duo and Bit run at the exact same speed, with Duo just in front of Bit. They reel off lap after lap, with the two virtually inseparable. But as they reach the final lap, Bit slows down a little and falls slightly behind. Duo reaches the finish line first, with Bit about two and a half seconds behind. Duo tags off to Roger, while Bit tags Chi-Chi. [Leg 2: Cargo net climb / Zip line / Rope climb - Roger (Green) vs. Chi-Chi (Red)] Roger reaches the cargo net first and starts cllimbing up it. But Chi-Chi is right behind him. She shows off her superior muscle strength as she reaches the top just before Roger does. Chi-Chi: (reaching for the handlebars) Pick all of the men first, huh? Roger: (climbing over the top of the net) What are you talking about? Chi-Chi grabs a hold of the handlebars and slides down the zip line. Chi-Chi: (yelling back) I'll show you who the dominant sex is! Kiyone and Jessie cheer from nearby, applauding Chi-Chi's outburst. Tenchi looks on in confusion, wondering what's going on. Roger: Is that what this is all about? (grabbing the bars and sliding down after her) We'll see after this is all over. Chi-Chi reaches the ground and jumps off. She then heads for the rope climb. She leaps about halfway up the wall and climbs the rest of the way up before going over. As she goes over, Roger reaches the climb. He jumps up, though not as high as Chi-Chi did, as he tries to catch up. Melfina and Jeri wait to be tagged at the balance beams. [Leg 3: Balance beam - Melfina (Green) vs. Jeri (Red)] Chi-Chi tags Jeri's hand as she uses a small launchpad to get up on top of the beam. Slowly but surely, she makes her way across. Jeri makes it to the 5 meter mark by the time Melfina receives the tag from Roger and starts her leg. Melfina gets up on the beam and carefully makes her way across. Both Melfina and Jeri seem to keeping their balance well, although Melfina is going a little bit faster than Jeri, slowly closing the gap between the two teams. Eventually, both of them reach the end, with Jeri still ahead, but barely. Jeri hops off and tags Jessie, with Melfina right behind, tagging Kiyone. [Leg 4: Golf kart driving test - Kiyone (Green) vs. Jessie (Red)] Both of them jump into their golf karts and start them. Jessie manages to get hers moving first, maintaining the small lead Jeri had given her. Kiyone follows right afterwards as the two head down the slope through similar courses. The slalom course just requires the drivers to go through the cones, switching directions as they turn back the other way after getting through one set of cones. Both seem to be driving with ease, despite not having any experience driving go karts. With no problems from either of them, Jessie is still in the lead as she reaches the end of her leg. She hops out and tags Faye. Kiyone jumps out and tags Joey seconds later. [Leg 5: Ball rolling - Joey (Green) vs. Faye (Red)] Faye pushes her red rubber ball towards the hill and starts pushing it upwards, running after it. Joey, pushing a green rubber ball, is right behind her. Faye: (to herself) Joey will never catch me at this rate! It'll all be up to Keitaro. Keitaro... wait, I can't trust him! Faye pushes the ball and then stops walking as she begins thinking about Keitaro. Faye: But he's on my team. I'll have to trust him for now. Faye then realizes that she has made a big mistake. A look of panic is on her face as she turns to go down the hill. Faye: (running down the hill as fast as she can) Why me? We see why she is running, as the giant rubber ball she had just pushed up the hill was rolling back down after her. Joey: (running past as he pushes his ball up the hill) See you later, alligator! As Joey makes it to the top of the hill, Faye manages to stop the ball from going any further. But she's already a few meters behind where she had started. Faye eventually gets her wits together and pushes the ball all the way up the hill. As she sees Keitaro waiting for him, without his glasses on and in his shorts no less, he sees something moving in the lake. Joey had already tagged off to Mondo and he was making laps! [Leg 6: 200 meter freestyle swim - Mondo (Green) vs. Keitaro (Red)] Faye pushes the giant rubber ball past Keitaro before turning around and tagging him on the hand. She then pushes him towards the lake. Keitaro manages to reach the lake and dives in, face first. He then starts his swim, but he sees Mondo complete his first lap and turn to run nearly side by side with Keitaro. Everyone on Bit's team tries to cheer Keitaro on, but he doesn't gain any distance on Mondo. In fact, he loses a little bit. As Mondo crosses the finish line, Keitaro arrives with still another lap to go. Keitaro decides to go ahead and finish his last lap, though it was useless at this point. Faye's big mistake had cost them the challenge. *** The two teams are now gathered back in front of the lake. Some of them have towels with them to dry the sweat off of their bodies, or in Mondo and Keitaro's case, dry the water off after their swim. Tenchi is standing with them. Tenchi: After a hard fought first physical challenge, I think you all should give yourselves a hand for doing so well. Everyone except for Faye and Keitaro clap in response. Tenchi: But the winners of the challenge, by a minute and eight seconds, are the members of the green team! Duo, Roger, Melfina, Kiyone, Joey, and Mondo are rejoicing, although solemnly. The whole uneasiness between the men and the women was still showing, as no one on the team gave everyone a high five. Tenchi: And with that, I'd like to congratulate you all for making it through your first week. You may head back to the mansion now. I'll see you guys tomorrow. The twelve of them head back, with a couple of glares bouncing between members of both the opposite sex and members of the opposite team. It seems like it's going to be this way for a few days... End Episode Three Tenchi: (VO) On the next episode of Roomies... Chi-Chi: I can't believe you'd be so unfair as to pick all of the guys first! Tenchi: (VO) There's still some tension between the members of the house after the physical challenge... Bit: I didn't think any of you were strong enough. Joey: (CC) I don't see what the big deal is. I did save Mondo for last, you know. Tenchi: (VO) This causes the residents to choose sides... Jeri: Why? Mondo: I don't believe this! Roger: If that's the way Faye and the others want to play, then it's fine by me. Tenchi: (VO) Could there be help on the way in the form of a former Roomie? Jessie: (pointing at the girl at the door) I know you from somewhere! Sasami: Who's ready for a free lunch? Kiyone: Sasami's an awesome cook. Heck, even someone without taste buds will enjoy it! Tenchi: (VO) Or two... Joey: The artist, right? Tenchi: (VO) Or three... Jeri: It's her! Oh my gosh, it's really her! Keitaro: She's even cuter than the girl who just cooked us lunch. Tenchi: (VO) Actually, they're hear to help out in the next challenge... Sasami: Today, we're going snowtubing! Melfina and Jessie run as fast as they can before jumping in the air and pushing the inner tube in their hands down to the ground. Their bodies land on the tubes as they go sliding down the hill. Melfina seems to be ahead and pulling away. Melfina: Are you sure that this is safe? Miss McKenzie: I assure you that nothing can go wrong. Prof. Oak: No offense Layla, but you weren't the one who just landed on his rear. (rubbing his butt) Ow... Tenchi: (VO) As well as the two hosts of last season's Roomies, and... Sasami: One more cameo to help out. And here he comes! A strange figure approaches the group. Although he doesn't look as if he's from this world, he looks quite familiar. Keitaro: He's the guy that runs very fast, right? About halfway down the hill, Joey tips over and falls out of his inner tube, separating from Bit and the guest star. He starts rolling down the hill as he tries to slow himself down. Everyone at the top of the hill looks on with worry as those now at the bottom check on Joey as his body comes to a stop. Sasami: Is he dead? Bit: I hope not. He owes me money from that lunch on Saturday. Additional Author's Notes: Sorry about missing last week, folks. As mentioned on my author's page, I've been preoccupied trying to get a summer job. I'll write two episodes for one week to catch up in the near future. I've just got to find the right time to do so. I'm trying to keep on schedule so that the halfway break will end up the week of Independence Day. My family uses goes on vacation for that entire week... at least, we have in the past few years. A few small notes. In the third leg of the prize challenge, the mouse wheel is taken right out of the "Double Dare" game show. Ah, the memories. And the use of a stationary bike to light a giant bulb comes from one of the games off of one of the "Mario Party" video games... I don't remember which one. For reference, Osaka is about an hour's drive east from Okayama. The game that Mondo, Jeri, Joey, and Bit are playing is "Agent Under Fire," a James Bond game that came out early last year. For those of you who don't watch "Zoids," Naomi is a Zoid pilot. She pilots the Gun Sniper, and appropriately enough, is one of the best, if not the best, at picking off her enemies from afar using her Zoid's long range blaster. And for the second episode in a row, a Japanese culture reference via the anime series "Card Captor Sakura!" During grade school competitions, one event that they run is a small obstacle course. One of the parts of the obstacle course requires the competitors to push a large ball a certain distance, usually part of the way around a track. Luckily there, the track is flat, rather than an uphill climb, as Joey and Faye faced today. But that doesn't deter the fact that the balls aren't easy to control. We've got cameos galore in the next episode, coming next Tuesday! Really! It'll be on time! Promise! Copyright Date: 5/14/02