"Lemme play with ya," says Jojo to Nico. Nico agrees, and they both head down from where they were standing. Nico stays at the front, where Sanjay had just played against Jack a few moments earlier.
Sanjay hands Nico a paddle with a smile. Jack approaches Jojo to give her his paddle. Nico is given the egg to serve first. He serves it over the net, and Jojo smashes it. It bounces off the floor, and Nico fails to hit it. It bounces a second time, meaning Nico loses the match.
"Oh yeah, Nico, if you can't beat five of us in a match, you'll lose, and we'll dump you in the sea," Sanjay says with a very serious expression. Nico is baffled; he thinks Sanjay is joking, but no one seems to be laughing.
The clown that Nico spotted earlier comes up from a staircase opposite him. Jojo drops her paddle and takes off her clothes, leaving only her bikini. She jumps into the sea to swim. "See you guys later!" she calls as she begins to swim.
The paddle Jojo dropped is picked up by the clown. "That's Clown, as in that's his name. He doesn't speak at all. He can if he wants, but he chooses not to; and before you ask, no, his breath doesn't stink," Jack says to Nico.
"Losers serve first," Sanjay laughs shortly afterward. In a surprising move, Jack punches Sanjay off the ship and tells Nico to serve. Nico serves the ball; it goes over the net, and Clown returns it. Nico hits it after it bounces in front of him, and the sound of ping-pong fills the air during the match. Clown performs a topspin, and Nico's reaction is akin to a boy witnessing Godzilla destroy his city.
Unexpectedly, Nico executes a reverse pendulum serve. Jack questions where the ball might go and how Clown will hit it, but he never considers where Sanjay might have gone after that punch.
On the deck, a haunting silence envelops everything, broken only by the sound of the ball making contact with the ground. "Pong!" The ball bounces between Clown's legs. Clown performs a backflip, and if you look closely, he resembles a scorpion in midair as he executes one of the best forehand drives ever seen in mankind. It isn't looking good for Nico.
Nico decides to go for a smash, but just like a one-year-old trying to speak, it's bad. The egg smashes on his side of the net, not too far away from him. Nico lost, and Clown won.
"2-nil," Sanjay chuckles, laughing continuously at Nico. "But wait, I haven't been healed by Iris yet," Nico says in a prideful tone. "That means all the matches have to be done again." He repeats this with even more pride.
Sanjay and Jack look at Nico the same way friends do after setting you up with the ugliest girl in school. Realizing his mistake, Nico asks, "But when was I healed?" in a frightened tone. Sanjay explains that Iris only needs to have come into physical contact with Nico before she can heal him anywhere, anytime.
Knowing he's about to fail the initiation test, Nico jumps into the water and starts swimming. Sanjay summons his skateboard and flies to Nico. "Nuh-uh, amigo, you're staying here until you fail. Then I'm dumping you, got that?" Sanjay says, attempting to frighten him. Nico pleads with Sanjay to at least let him dry off, and suddenly, flames conjure up behind Sanjay. Nico feels his body, and to his surprise, he's no longer wet.
"Let's play this match, Nico!!" Sanjay shouts at him. Frightened, Nico thinks for a moment and asks Sanjay where Clown is. Sanjay shrugs, saying Clown isn't important right now, and he doesn't care where he could be.
"NOW SERVE, LOSER! I'M GOING TO BEAT YOUR ASS IN THIS GAME!!!" Sanjay exclaims, wearing the ugliest smirk imaginable. Nico zones out, and for some reason, all he sees is himself—or rather, his reflection—because he's looking into a mirror. His reflection urges him to beat Sanjay, as it's clear he doesn't like him. An aura begins to overflow from Nico's body, though he doesn't realize it—everyone on the ship can, even Jojo, though they all refuse to say anything about it.
Taking his stance, Nico serves.