Survivor Fan Characters 9: Alternate Ending
AN: So, I just read SFC9, and I personally found Bonnie to be such a horribly spiteful, undeveloped, and disrespected character, that I could not feel anything other than disgust when she had her downfall. So, in an attempt to show how important respecting characters can be, I've decided to construct an alternate ending that I hope will actually detail why Bonnie/Priscilla acted so spiteful during her 39 day stay on the island. SFC belongs to SWSU-Master, and this is partially an AU story. Bonnie and Priscilla in this fic are two separate characters, and both Bonnie and Priscilla also have clearly defined backstories. Other than that, this story does follow canon events, for the most part, and I tried to use the combination of AU and canon to truly dissect Bonnie's character. Reading Survivor Fan Characters 9 before reading this is recommended, as it will allow you to understand the events in this story more, but I do not believe it is absolutely essential. With that said, I hope you enjoy this attempt to redeem Bonnie, and I hope it will show you that any character can be redeemed no matter how badly they are mistreated and underdeveloped in the past.
Day 39. The Final Day of Survivor. The day where the winner of this long and grueling journey to a million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor is finally revealed. And one particular contestant is feeling extra confident that title will go to her.
"Hail to the Queen, bitches."
Those words were spoken by a blonde bombshell with a black bikini casually rafting through one of the island's many rivers. She had an extremely smug smirk on her face, was covered in tattoos, and had beautiful baby blue eyes. In addition, upon closer inspection, someone appeared to be sitting, no, floating right beside her.
If one was watching the situation unfold, he or she may proclaim they had drunk a few too many beers, as the mysterious floating woman looked identical to the rafting woman, although the floating woman was actually dressed in decent clothes. She had a hat with a red cap and a pink bottom, a long dress that was red around her chest area and pink the rest of the way down, white stockings, and somewhat plain brown shoes.
"Congratulations, Bonnie! I can't believe we did it!"
"Yup. And you did great too, kid. Way to put those fuckers in their place, eh? You socializing plus me fuckin' people over and winning challenges, what a perfect fuckin' combo, huh? And I didn't even let the confessionals know that we're two different people."
The floating woman sighed. "Still, I felt so bad having to say goodbye to some people. Starr especially… she was a good friend."
The tattooed woman shivered for a brief second, but then realized that she told Priscilla she'd be here to make friends, so she couldn't get pissed about who she got chummy with. "Don't worry, kid, you'll get to see her again in a few hours."
"I know. I'm so glad we were able to record some of her songs on the island! Maybe Princess Barbie would…"
With that, her statement trailed off, and she sighed. However, the tattooed beauty suddenly looked as if she had just seen a ghost, and quickly paddled to shore.
"No… no fucking way!"
The floating woman looked worried. "Bonnie, are you alright?"
There were tears in the tattooed woman's bloodshot eyes, and it was extremely clear that she had just remembered something horrible. "No I'm fucking not, Priscilla! I could have just completely fucked us up for good! That fucking bitch-ass pile of scrap and bolts has a goddamn tape recorder which I completely forgot about! Shit!"
"Wait… why is that a…"
All of a sudden, Priscilla connected the dots from her previous statements, and her once bright smile contorted into a concerned frown. Oh, no! she thought. Cherman could have given Barbie a tape recorder so she could have recorded Bonnie bragging about eliminating so many of my friends! But wait, how would he have known something like that? Bonnie only used the confessionals and… I think I did a good job with socializing. Oh dear… I'm getting worried now.
"Fuck me!" the enraged Bonnie proclaimed. "Shit, kid, I totally owe ya one. Thank fuck we still have time to prepare for that… holy fucking shit. I almost got outsmarted by an intellectually disabled bucket of shit and cast iron that did nothing all fucking game! Wow… that was a close one. Way too fucking close…"
The once cocky bitch was now reduced to a shivering, scared mess, if only for a few minutes. The look on her face told the story; she had no idea a conversation from a reward could have been recorded and used against her. However, with that, the black bikini-clad babe took some deep breaths and started to rack her crafty mind to formulate a plan to deal with the upcoming Jury Ceremony. She knew that if she did not think of something quick, there would be no chance for her to gain any votes once everyone realized what sort of terrors lurked behind the sweet, innocent Priscilla.
After about five or so minutes, Bonnie finally lit up and proclaimed, "I've got it! This is gonna be a risky plan, but we've gotta do it. We need to play our trump card."
Priscilla's eyes widened. "You mean… you want me to let everyone know that I have two souls?"
Bonnie sighed, actually appearing to show sympathy for the floating woman. "I didn't want to do this until after we won, but now, I think this is the only way we can win. After that tape is done, I'll possess you. Then, with a little intimidating courtesy of yours truly, the jury's pants will be wetter than my panties after I sent someone off the island, and so sympathetic for your plight that they'll have no choice but to vote for you. After all, I was the only one who talked in that tape, and everyone thinks you're Priscilla. I mean sure, that fuckin' bitch of an angel knows who I am, but that's only one vote lost. We just need a majority. Yeah… this could work after all."
"You want… to possess me to gather sympathy from the jury? That's… that's horrible!"
The cocky, manipulative bitch now spoke in an extremely somber tone. "I know, kid. Believe me, your innocence and purity is such a special gift, and I'd hate to be the one who breaks it for you, but, well… you know what happens if we lose. And hey, if anyone hates you for this, I'll take the blame. I'm already the biggest bitch this show has ever had, so hell, I don't mind. Seeing others in pain is such a fuckin' turn on for me, so I can handle a little more hate from those thumb-sucking shitheads in the jury. I don't give a damn about them. You're the only person I care about anymore, and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way."
The floating woman gulped, remembering the stakes of this little game, but was nonetheless flattered and slightly relieved by Bonnie's words.
She always had the ability to make me feel more confident in myself. ...But I'm starting to get worried about her. She used to be nicer before... we got sent to jail, and she went through eight years of prison without me. I hope she doesn't get any worse... she's been so kind to me, but how can I forgive what she did to everyone else? And is this the only way we can counter the tape? No... I have to trust her. She saved my life, and she's been protecting me ever since.
With a sigh, the girl managed to say, "Well, if that's the only thing we can do now, I do not have much of a choice. I did partake in many drama classes back when I was training to be a princess, so I will do my best to look as helpless as possible."
"That's all I ask, kid. And hey, you might not even need to. But this game has thrown every single curveball in our way thus far, so just… be ready."
That devilish smirk finally came back to Bonnie's face, as she added, "I'll let you know when the curtain rises, alright?"
Priscilla nodded, and Bonnie, knowing that they had formed a plan, decided to go back into the raft and continue her trip down the vacant lazy river. As Bonnie floated down, she no longer had the complete confidence that she was going to win, but she knew the ceremony was going to be easier if she knew at least one of the punches that were going to be thrown at her.
About fifty meters from where the two blondes were, a small Chao from the Sonic franchise coated in white with a red and white cap and arm rings named Tofuchao and a robot from the Portal series with a green circular core in the center of his humanoid body were discussing how they could stop the supposedly fake, cruel, deceitful bitch, 'Priscilla'. Fortunately for them, Cherman had the tape recorder, which he believed would reveal the monster that was Priscilla. It would catch her off guard, and force her to show composure when being taken down bit by bit, and both of them knew she would be unable to do so. Or so they thought…
Two hours later, the final jury ceremony took place, and the chao, the robot, and the now innocent girl named Priscilla came down and took their seats: Tofuchao to the left, Priscilla in the middle, and Cherman to the right. Ten minutes later, the host announced the return of the jury: Robert, Frank, Starr, Donovan, Madison, Jocasta, Brenton, Sanza, and Kathy, and announced that the fate of each contestant was in the jury's hands, but before they asked each contestant questions, he gave each contestant a brief window of time to explain why they should be the Sole Survivor.
Tofuchao was first, and he said, "Well, I'm sure I'm the last person you expected to be here… but I played a good game. I knew it would hard for me to survive the first few rounds without help. So whenever there was a chance for me to make a move to help myself, that's what I did. And with my alliance, we took control of the game, and I feel like I'm going up against the two people I have the greatest chance of winning against. And the reason why you didn't see me break out was because of all of the shields I put myself behind, but rest assured, I think I played the best game I could. Thank you."
The host nodded, and then motioned to Priscilla. However, asking Priscilla to severely exaggerate a sob story about her life, Bonnie, using telepathy, asked Priscilla to speak from the heart, and so, with a relieved smile, she did. "Thank you, everyone. You have all been amazing friends, and I assure you, if we did not have to eliminate someone every three weeks, I would have been more than content to get to know you a little bit better. Before I came here, I lived with my overprotective parents, and so I was not able to go out as much as I would have liked. But this contest changed that. For the first time in my life, I can say that I have made some of the best friends ever, and I will never forget that, even after I leave. I may have already been wealthy coming into this competition, but I did not enter this to make money. I entered it so that I could meet many other people from around the world, and I am so grateful for that. I hope that I have done my part to be friendly with you, even with my sheltered past, and I hope that you consider me worthy of this title. This game… has certainly not been easy, but I knew that I could not simply leave and return to where I came from. The experiences I have had here were truly magical, and I am so grateful to have been a part of this adventure. I can only hope I have made enough of an impact on each one of you, so that you could consider voting me for the Sole Survivor. Thank you."
When she had concluded, Bonnie whispered, "Nice job, kid. Just stay strong, 'cause it may be about to get ugly", and the host motioned to the last, but certainly not least contestant, Cherman.
Cherman began his speech, and then quickly turned to address the finalists. He had nice words to say regarding Tofuchao, but those words certainly did not apply to Priscilla. After he had called her "the fakest person I have met in my entire life", the girl looked like she had just gotten punched in the gut.
Bonnie continued whispering, "It's alright, he's talkin' 'bout me, kid. Just act normal and wait for him to play his trump card. He wouldn't do this if he didn't have it."
Under normal circumstances, Cherman may have been able to hear Bonnie. However, the two spirits had merged together, so Bonnie talking was the equivalent of using telepathy on Priscilla. So, not realizing that the two knew of his plan, he continued breaking down Priscilla's actions until Priscilla finally convinced him to show the damning evidence. And so he did.
Right after hearing her voice, Bonnie did her very best to comfort Priscilla, and Priscilla hung her head to complete the ruse. Soon enough, Bonnie would tell her when the tape finished so that she could start the final act. They both could only hope the whole rush of emotions might be just enough for Priscilla to get the win. However, before the tape finished, Priscilla thought, "Bonnie… were you really going to burn these? I love these clothes…"
Bonnie responded, "Fuck, kid, that's not important right now! And no, I fuckin' hate them, but they fit you, and that's what matters. Now get ready!"
As expected, once everyone heard what kind of secret Priscilla was hiding, they were shocked and appalled. How could anyone stoop so low as to do what Bonnie did, and take so much joy in those actions? Murmurs of 'bitch', 'backstabber', and 'monster' circulated among the crowd, and it seemed like an eternity before the tape stopped. However, as the host was about to add his commentary on the matter, he was interrupted by an extremely loud scream.
"Ah! Help me, please help me!"
All of a sudden, Priscilla grabbed her head with her vibrating hands, and she appeared to be experiencing a severe migraine. The jury, of course, thought she was faking the whole thing, until Bonnie stepped out of Priscilla's body with an opened hand in front of, but not touching her forehead.
Then, she, in her ghostlike state, turned to the jury, and causally said, "Hey, Bonnie here."
The host decided to take this time to echo the thoughts of all of the campers by yelling, "What is going on?!"
Priscilla, still in intense pain, managed to mumble, "She's got me… I couldn't hold her back, and… agh!"
Bonnie took this time to intensify the pain her vessel was feeling, and Priscilla dropped down to the floor, quivering like an egg with the most intense pain she ever felt in her life.
Bonnie was the next to speak, and made sure to speak as threateningly as possible. "I'd start voting now if I was one of you fuckers. I've been here since day one, and at long last, I have complete control over sweet little Prissy. Oh, and one more little thing: if you don't give her the win right now, I'll kill her. It's as simple as that. And yes, that was me you were listening to earlier, but that other jury speech was all her. So, what's it going to be?"
Just like Bonnie had predicted, most the cast was so jumbled by those two events happening back to back that they felt the need to listen to the evil spirit. Donovan the angel and Cherman attempted to stop them, but it was too late. The nine slabs of paper had reached the pot, and amidst the chaos, Priscilla could only murmur, "It hurts… help me… help me…"
The host's head was spinning as the world appeared to be slipping away from him, but Bonnie interrupted him to say, "Hey, the votes are cast, asswipe. Make it quick and you might get Prissy back."
"Help… it hurts…"
The host nodded, and rushed to grab the pot, counted the votes as quickly as he could, and after counting all nine of the votes, he announced, "ThewinnerofsurvivorisPriscillawithninevotescongratulations!"
Bonnie couldn't help but indulge in a little laughter but after a second or two, she released her grasp from Priscilla and phased back into her.
Priscilla spoke first via telepathy, "Ow… my head feels like it's going to explode. Did you really need to actually hurt me, Bonnie?"
"Yup. The difference between real pain and fake pain is easy to see, even for the best actor. But who the hell cares, we won!"
The innocent girl smiled as she lay down on the floor. "Thank goodness…"
But just as the host was about to crown the winner, another surprise took place.
"I won't allow this!"
This loud, high-pitched voice penetrated the already tense atmosphere, and Priscilla was stunned once she saw who the voice was coming from.
"…Princess Barbie?"
The tall blonde ran out from behind the jury with tears in her eyes and sat down besides Priscilla.
Once there, she managed to choke out, "I've been looking everywhere for you for ten years! Why… why didn't you tell me she possessed you before you left the castle? And to make you go through with these horrible, nasty strategies, I won't allow her to win! She can't win!"
Priscilla's eyes widened. Those three sentences explained everything that happened in her life perfectly, and it caused her eyes to well up and say, "…Is that what you think is important, Barbie? Me not becoming like her?"
"Priscilla, I gave you a pure soul and took Bonnie out of you… and I wanted you to help you become the best princess you could be. I know I may have had other royal duties, but I always had your best interests in mind! Please… come back, and let me purge Bonnie from you, so you can be a princess once more."
The girl looked concerned, but all Bonnie said, in a somber tone, was, "Hey, it's up to you now, kid."
The jury at this point was too stunned to say anything, and simply accepted the events taking place in front of them, as they had already voted, and, well, the boat to take them off the island hadn't arrived yet.
Meanwhile, Priscilla racked her brain and thought of everything she had went through to this day. Did she want to stay with Bonnie, or did she want to listen to Barbie and become a princess once more? After about a minute, she cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and spoke the word that would decide her fate: "No."
Barbie looked like she just got hit with a truck. "What?!"
"I said no." Priscilla took a deep breath, and finally mustered the courage to say, "And I'll tell you why. Bonnie has always been there for me. Did you know that when I was fifteen, I… walked out into the forest and got stung by a poisonous bug?"
Barbie's eyes widened, but before she could speak, Priscilla continued, "I was afraid of that. But yes, I did. In fact, bugs still frighten me. I never knew that the forest had those bugs, because you never told me about them; merely that the forest was a place of mystery that I could explore when I grew tired of the castle. You told me about fashion and how to be a princess, but I always felt like I was missing parts of the world, which made me curious enough to explore what was beyond the castle. But when I did, I barely escaped the forest before passing out for… do you know how long it was, Bonnie?"
"Two days."
Suddenly, Barbie knew that she was in trouble, and her already wide eyes inflated to the size of saucers.
"Thinking back, I know I was not entirely blameless in this situation, but I was still angry at how, in those two days, you did not search for me, and that you did not tell me that the forest had bugs that… could have killed me. Did you know about them, Barbie?"
"I mean, I knew there were a few bugs, but… I didn't think…"
Priscilla sighed. "I don't want to blame you for my struggles, Barbie. I really don't. But what else could I have thought at that time? I know you still care for me deep down, but I simply feel like Bonnie cares for me more. She took me to her castle as a special guest, showed me some of the darker parts of life without truly spoiling my innocence, protected me from experiencing an attack on your castle as well as the eight year jail sentence, and allowed me to progress further in this game so that I could make all of the friends I never had back when I was training to become a princess. Sure, she is really mean now…"
Priscilla took a deep breath, and managed to continue. "Still, before that jail sentence, she was mostly just mischievous and crafty. Even now, after asserting her dominance over eight years in jail, I know that she would never try to kill or even severely harm anyone; even with her life on the line…"
All of a sudden, that doubt about Bonnie's actions started to fester in Priscilla's soul, and her confidence in Bonnie began to suffer as a direct result. "I mean, I really hope she wouldn't do anything like that… And yes, our lives were on the line, because Bonnie made a deal with Barbie regarding this game. If we won, we would get to leave the jail, but if we lost… we would get the death penalty… I guess, maybe we had to do whatever it took. Maybe... that's the only way we could have won, right? Right?"
It was clear Priscilla was struggling deeply to defend Bonnie's actions, and to the naked eye, there was no reason for this poor girl to defend the actions of someone who severely hurt her and others just to save both of their lives. But Priscilla kept on remembering that conversation with Bonnie by the lake, and hoped that with these confessions, she would be able to find out why Bonnie acted in the horrible ways that she did.
With that, Priscilla took another deep breath and turned to the jury. "Now I'll tell you the truth behind all of our actions. First, the fire. Uh… maybe Bonnie simply wanted to burn things?"
Robert took this time to speak up. "Shouldn't that have been the point when you realized Bonnie was a really bad influence on you? I mean, can't you get out of her body?"
Priscilla cringed, feeling as if she had been stabbed in the gut, but one look in Bonnie's eyes tempted her to continue. "…I hate to say this, but however cruel her methods were, they allowed us to go further in the contest, so that our lives could be saved, so I guess… I don't know. I really don't know anymore!"
After a few tears fell from the poor girl's eyes, she continued. "So, next, the 'rape' call. I did not know what the term 'rape' meant, but I did feel uncomfortable around Adrian for some reason, so Bonnie told me to do it in order to get him away from me. Again, I had no idea how much I blew it out of proportion, so… oh, god, I'm so sorry!"
Frank shook his head. "Wow. I mean, I can tell that you're being truthful, but I had no idea how sheltered you really were. Don't you think that Bonnie was being kind of cruel by not telling you what that word meant?"
Priscilla continued to cry and struggle against the shackles of Bonnie's actions. "Again, I know we may not deserve your forgiveness, but had I known what that word meant, I would have never screamed that loud. Sure, I was uncomfortable around him, but I definitely overreacted there… big time. Oh my goodness, why did I do that?!"
She cried some more, but she still kept on going. "Next, I shall explain what happened with regards to Aleksan's broken leg. I was actually the one fighting, and Bonnie told me to grab Aleksan as he body slammed me. Afterwards, my reflexes took control of the situation, and I jumped and slammed my legs forward, believing that it would push me forward so that I could beat him. Unfortunately, it actually made him flip over me while we were in the air, and fearing for my safety, I let go of him. After I caught my breath, I saw Aleksan lying down in pain, and I reacted… as well as you may expect in that situation. I…"
Priscilla created a fresh wave of tears, and after a few second, Madison scoffed. "You expect us to believe that? Bonnie clearly targeted him!"
Bonnie took this time to speak up. "Look, I've been in enough fights in prison to know that even if you do target someone, actually injuring them is a whole other story. I wanted to take him out, sure, but not at the cost of exposing myself. So, I just asked Priscilla to grab him. Again, I didn't expect him to get hurt, kid. Thinking back, there really wasn't much I could do in that situation without exposing myself or hurting the kid, and… I didn't want to do either of those things."
Jocasta looked suspicious. "Wait, why are you feeling bad for her and not us? You hurt us, not her! You have your priorities seriously messed up, Bonnie!"
Priscilla was still crying, but after about a minute, she managed to muster up the courage to say, "Let me finish, please. And, finally, Starr. I'm really sorry. Bonnie just really hated you for some reason, and you were probably my best friend on the island…"
All of a sudden, a light bulb flashed in her head, and the droplets from her eyes slowly started to cease. At long last, she found the key to unlock Bonnie's soul; the reason behind everything Bonnie had done on the island, and she intended to make sure everyone knew it.
After about a minute, Priscilla finally managed to muster up the courage to proclaim, "Wait a second; I think I get it now!"
Starr looked confused. "Get what?"
"Of course, why didn't I realize that earlier? Bonnie… you always wanted to keep me safe and protect me, even when our lives were at stake! That's why you hated Starr, that's why you got so angry at the bugs, and that's why you stopped talking for a few seconds earlier!"
Right then, Priscilla gave the wide-eyed, stunned Bonnie the warmest smile she could muster, and said, "Bonnie… thank you. I know that you would never hurt me, and I apologize for putting you in a position where you had to get angry at all of my friends. Even with your darkest schemes, I know now you always had our best interests at heart. I'm sorry those years in prison changed you to the degree that it did, and deep down, I was worried that I had lost your positive traits for good. I really did. You were like my second mother after that bug incident, and after those years in prison, I saw how much you changed. I… was so worried that I would never see you smile or treat anyone with kindness ever again. You seemed… so bitter and ruthless about everything after those years. But now, I know that deep down, the same old Bonnie was always there. The woman that showed me all that life had to offer, and the woman that protected me through thick and thin… she was always there. And now… if you don't mind, I'd like to talk to her now."
The once cocky bitch, for the first time, actually appeared to be at a loss for words, but not at a loss for thoughts. This kid… she just defended my horrible actions against these… obstacles, and explained something I didn't know I still felt about her. But it all makes sense. The kid… she completes me. Now I know I need that kindness, otherwise I would have done so much worse. I would have killed people, and that stupid suicide bet would've actually come into fruition. Why the hell did I even accept that bet anyway? Did I really become that sadistic?! And did I really gain anything from acting like a nasty bitch to everyone? …I guess not, because everyone in the jury hates me now… and Priscilla… god, I feel awful! What kind of guardian am I, to expose this kid to all of this shit just so we could get out of jail! Plus, the whole jail thing was my fault in the first place! …I mean, we won the competition as a result of my bitterness, but… I feel nothing. I fucked up big time, and from now on, I've gotta do my best to change… for Priscilla.
Suddenly, the specter that was Bonnie, the arrogant, overconfident, ruthless, heartless bitch, cried harder than she had ever cried before as she took over Priscilla's body.
The jury and the host, naturally, were stunned as a result of this, and all the now ghostly Priscilla patted Bonnie on the shoulder, calmly cooing, "It's alright, Bonnie. Just let all of those negative emotions out."
Everyone just looked at that scene as if they had seen ghosts several times over, and Starr had tears in her eyes, as she said, "I can't believe it. This is amazing…"
After about thirty seconds of Bonnie crying, Barbie looked at the innocent girl and said, "Thank you, Priscilla. I… never should have doubted you for a second, and I'm so sorry… for how I treated you. Just… promise me you'll stay with Bonnie, OK?"
With a nod from Priscilla, Barbie used her magic to teleport back to her castle.
After about five more minutes, Bonnie had used up all of the liquid in her eyes, and, although incredibly embarrassed, said, with as much sincerity as she could muster, "I was such a bitch to you guys. Hell, after we won, I even thought that Priscilla was becoming less of a necessity in my life, and more of an object. Now, I realize how fucking stupid I was. After fifteen years of doing nothing but sitting in an empty dimension after Barbie removed my soul and eight years of fighting for dominance in prison, those two years of fun I had with Priscilla just didn't seem important to me anymore. Those twenty-three years taught me to use people as objects, to see you guys as obstacles for my freedom, and to hate everyone and everything, since they clearly believe keeping people in custody like that is fine. But after Priscilla told me all of that in this ceremony… yeah, those two years were important. Really damn important. I love the kid so much, and I truly need that innocence, that kindness, and that purity in my life. The laughs we shared, the pranks we played, the respect we had for each other, all of those things felt more amazing than inflicting pain ever could. And I'm a fucking sadist! I know none of you are going to forgive me for this, but I also know I don't deserve your forgiveness after what you heard. And I'll just have to accept that. But at the very least, I hope that you won't turn your back on Priscilla just because I share a soul with her body, and I'll try to see if I can use those two years… to get better. That's probably all I can do at this point. ...Well, you win, everybody. Priscilla, I'll just leave you be for some time."
Bonnie gave Priscilla full control over her body, and the jury couldn't help but give the girl a round of applause, and Starr decided to run up to the girl and give her a massive hug. All of the pain, deceit, and anger that this game caused had ceased, and the one standing on top of the mountain was the sweet, kind, and innocent girl known as Priscilla.
A few tears fell from Starr's eyes as she mumbled, "Congratulations…"
Sanza simply chuckled a little and asked, in a sarcastic tone, "Why didn't you do all of that before we voted?"
The girl failed to see the sarcasm, and muttered, "Oh, I'm sorry…"
"Huh? Oh, no, no, don't worry about it! It's alright. We know now. Heck, if we knew all of that before we voted, most of us probably would have voted for you anyway."
"Really?"
He shrugged. "At the very least, you probably would've gotten a majority. Heck, we can redo the voting process, if you want."
The girl smiled. "Could you? Oh, that would be fantastic! I did not want to win in such a deceitful way to begin with."
"But, before that, do you mind if I ask you two more questions?"
"Of course."
"Alright. First off, what's with this soul switching thing? I mean, I know some people here have supernatural powers, but this is still pretty ridiculous."
"Ah, yes, I can certainly explain that. When Bonnie was an infant, my soul took the place of her soul thanks to Barbie, since Bonnie was technically a prisoner of war as an infant. After that bug incident, I had enough negative energy in my soul to allow Bonnie to fuse her soul with mine. Now, we can possess each other, communicate with each other using telepathy, physically appear before each other as ghosts, and shut the other person out of the soul for a seemingly unlimited amount of time. Magic is commonplace where I live."
"OK…" Sanza cleared his throat. "Second, did you actually have a sister named Leiomah who has brain cancer? I mean, everyone made a big deal of naming the merged tribe after her..."
Priscilla bit her lip, but buckled down and gave her answer in a sincere voice. "Leiomah was actually the name of one of my maids back when I was training to be a princess. The maids were exceptionally kind to me, so they were like sisters to me. However, a few days before I ran out to the forest, I heard that she developed breast, not brain cancer. It was terrible… so I rushed over to her aid and began to cry. I never heard how severe it was, and I do not know how she is now, as it has been ten years since she acquired the cancer. Still, I truly do wish her the best. She was one of my many maids, but I valued every maid as a sister and a friend, so it was very painful when I figured out the news. My mind has just been swirling around in circles for the last 39 Days. Still, in the end, before all of this happened at the ceremony, Bonnie convinced me to exaggerate something that happened to me that no one needed to know in an attempt to make myself appear more sympathetic, and I sincerely apologize for that."
Sanza nodded. "That's all I wanted to know. Thank you."
With that, Priscilla turned to the host and asked, "Can we please conduct the redone voting process now?"
The host shook his head for a little while, trying to figure out all of what just happened, but he did managed to shrug and, in an incredulous tone, say, "Sure, why not?"
And so, with permission from Tofuchao and Cherman, the jury voted once more. They asked a few questions to the other two along the way, but they already had a fairly clear idea of who they would vote for. A few minutes later, the pot was full, and the host took it back to the contestants.
With a firm, "I'll count the votes", he took out the slabs of paper, one at a time.
"Priscilla."
"Cherman. That's one for Priscilla, and one for Cherman."
"Cherman."
"Cherman. That's three for Cherman, and one for Priscilla."
"Priscilla."
"Cherman. That's four for Cherman, and two for Priscilla."
"Priscilla."
"Priscilla. That's four for Cherman, and two for Priscilla. It's time for the final vote."
Both Priscilla and Cherman gulped, but managed to keep it together as the host waited to reveal the final vote, to declare who was the Sole Survivor.
"The Sole Survivor of Survivor Fan Characters 9… is..."
After turning the paper around, he calmly stated, "Priscilla!"
The girl put her hands to her face, made a few squeals of joy, and allowed the tears to just fall down her face as she was hugged by the people that voted for her. True, some of the jury members believed Bonnie was not truthful, but enough of them believed that in that ceremony, the two had made dramatic changes for the better, and Priscilla intended to make sure they would not regret their decisions.
After a minute or so, the host went up to the gleeful girl and said, "Priscilla, after the most ridiculous jury ceremony in the history of Survivor Fan Characters, you managed to come out on top. How does it feel?"
She sniffed. "Oh, it feels amazing! I'm so happy for Bonnie, and I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful people I met on the island in spite of my secret. Thank you, everyone!"
"Now, the title of Sole Survivor does come with a million dollar cash prize, but in your own words, you said that you were not here for the money. Would you like to give the prize to someone else?"
Priscilla suddenly became nervous, but after a few seconds, she decided to say, "Yes. I'd like to give it to my best friend on the island, Starr. I really hope it will help her make more wonderful music later on!"
Starr was dumbstruck. "Really? Oh, thank you so much, Priscilla! You're the best person ever!"
With that, the two hugged each other, and although not everyone was completely thrilled with the outcome, they had to admit some groundbreaking things happened in this jury ceremony. All they could hope was for Bonnie to make due on their promise to the world.
Finally, the host turned to the camera and announced, "And that is it for Survivor Fan Characters 9! Tune back in later for SFC10, where All-Stars from all of our previous seasons will compete for another million dollar cash prize, and the title of Sole Survivor! Good night!"
AN: And there we go! I hope you enjoyed the story, and I hope it helps show how important respecting your characters can be. And, if you are moved enough, please feel free to leave your thoughts on the matter. Thank you for reading.
