...
Day 8
Keep the Flame Alive
Camp
Men: Joe, Killua, Kirito, Kyon, Lucian, Mayuri, Prussia, Spike
Women: Alice, Ami, Haruhi, Jasmine, Karen, Konata, Michiru, Mine, Misty
Killua wakes up before everyone else, as usual. He tends the fire and makes sure it is burning, before going to his bag.
"I put a small coconut in this bag last night," he says. "I wanted to eat it by myself in peace."
But when he opens his bag, he finds a torn piece of paper.
"NO VOTE," he reads.
He then does a double take.
"No vote?"
"This is nuts," Killua says. "I got this piece of paper this morning that says 'NO VOTE.' I guess that means I lost my vote, but I don't understand the reasoning why. And I know these producers aren't going to tell me. So, I've got to figure out what I'm going to do now that I've lost my vote."
The morning goes by, and most of the other characters wake up. When Alice goes into her bag, she finds a torn piece of paper as well. She immediately goes to Killua to tell him about it.
"Hey, Albino!" she calls.
"What is it, Albino," a disappointed Killua says defeatedly.
She points toward the woods, and the two of them leave everyone else and go over to talk.
"Okay, what is it?" Killua says.
"Lookie what I got here!" Alice replies.
She pulls out the torn piece of paper and shows it to Killua.
"'YOU GET AN EXTRA VOTE'?" Killua says. "What the hell!"
He pulls out his torn piece of paper and shows her the "NO VOTE."
"Why in the world would I lose my vote and you get an extra one overnight?" Killua says.
"Maybe Karen and Lucian made a decision together to do it," Alice says.
"No, that can't be it," Killua says, putting his arm up against a tree. "Maybe they'd make me lose my vote, but I think they'd choose someone else besides you to give a vote to."
"Hey!"
"I'm just being honest."
Killua puts his arm down, and as he does, he upsets a tree branch, which drops a piece of paper to the ground.
"What's this?" he says, picking it up. He hands it over to Alice to read.
"'YOU MAY NOT VOTE AT TRIBAL COUNCIL,'" Alice reads.
"Huh?"
"Hey, I'm just reading it," Alice says. "I don't know whether to believe this. Are they really putting advantages and disadvantages right in our bags? And are they making people lose their votes just for finding these things?"
"Maybe," Killua says. "But I doubt it."
"I should just leave it here," Alice says. "Or am I not allowed to?"
Alice stares into one of the cameras.
"Hello, producers? Jet Black? Jeff Probst? Mark Burnett? Am I allowed to just leave this note where I found it?"
There is no reply at all.
"Very well then," Alice says. She puts the piece of paper back on the branch it was hanging on.
"Well, if you're going to do that, then I'm going to do the same," Killua says. He pulls out the "NO VOTE" note and is about to rip it up, when Alice stops him.
"Hold on, this could be useful," Alice says. "We could potentially use these to trick someone. Let me have yours."
Killua hands over his note to Alice, who now has both notes.
"Now I'm going to hang on to these until it's necessary that I use them for deception purposes."
"That sounds good," Killua says. "Now, come on, let's get out of here before anybody sees us."
"Alice and I don't really know what we're doing with these supposed advantages and disadvantages," Killua says. "It almost seems like they're fake, but we have no way of proving that they're fake until we go to Tribal Council ourselves. This is a difficult position to be in."
"Albino and I both got these weird messages in our bags this morning," Alice says. "I don't know what they mean, nor do I know what that message in the tree meant. Oh, sure, I understand the words 'NO VOTE' and 'EXTRA VOTE.' But whether these are actually real advantages slash disadvantages, or whether they're a ruse from someone who's trying to play a prank on us, I really don't know. I do have my eyes on one person, though."
Lucian sits around camp, eating a bit of rice, while pretending to be completely innocent. Karen walks by him, then looks around and sees that most of the other players are distracted. She motions for him to come with her into another part of the woods.
"So, did you do it?" Karen asks.
"Yep," Lucian replies.
"Great!" Karen says. "Now, how exactly did you pull it off?"
Lucian pulls out a piece of paper, which has several parts of it ripped out.
"Here's what it said," Lucian says.
"Go ahead," Karen says.
"'YOU HAVE A DECISION TO MAKE. YOU MAY CHOOSE TO PROTECT YOUR VOTE OR RISK YOUR VOTE. IF BOTH OF YOU PROTECT YOUR VOTE, YOU KEEP YOUR VOTE. IF BOTH OF YOU RISK YOUR VOTE, THEN BOTH OF YOU GET NO VOTE, AND YOU MAY NOT VOTE AT TRIBAL COUNCIL. IF THE OTHER PERSON PROTECTS THEIR VOTE AND YOU RISK YOUR VOTE, YOU GET AN EXTRA VOTE.'"
"You ripped out those parts and put them in their bags?" Karen says. "Brilliant!"
"And get this! I put one in Killua's bag, one in Alice's bag, and another out there in the woods for someone to find," Lucian says. "Now they aren't going to understand a thing about it."
"It's too bad we both lost our votes," Karen says.
"That's your fault," Lucian says.
"Yours too!"
"Hey, I need all the help I can get," Lucian says. "But I've created some chaos around here. Now it's up to you to keep the flame alive."
"I'll throw this next challenge, I promise you," Karen says. "Whatever it is, I'll make sure we lose."
"Good," Lucian says. "Then vote out one of those goody-goodies like Jasmine or Misty."
"Sure thing," Karen replies. "I can get Alice and Mine, along with Konata and Haruhi."
"But that'll only be four, because you lost your vote!"
"All I need is to go to Mine and Alice and get some extra Fire Tokens. Then we buy Steal-a-Vote and win this thing!"
"Good thinking," Lucian says. "But remember: don't put the target on yourself, like Cato did."
"Absolutely."
"Karen has a plan to throw the next challenge and get the Women back to Tribal Council," Lucian says. "I like the idea a lot, mainly because it buys me more time in this game. But I also like it because I can get one of those goody-two-shoes girls out of this game. I can't stand those posers."
"I want to eliminate everyone who was in our original alliance formed by Sabrina," Karen says. "I want Misty gone. I want Jasmine gone. I want Ami gone. I want… who's the other person again? Oh, yeah, Michiru. I want her gone too. And I want them gone soon – so they can't team up to put me out in time."
The two then go their separate ways, in order to make sure no one saw them. Lucian comes back to the fire, while Karen takes a spot out on the beach.
Ami and Michiru are down by the shore, with the waves coming in and touching their bare feet.
"I miss her," Michiru says.
"Who?" Ami asks.
"You know who."
"Oh, Haruka?"
"Yes. I miss the touch of her lips on mine."
Ami blushes but says nothing.
"I love her," Michiru says. "I want to get married, but she doesn't seem to want to."
"Why not?" Ami asks.
"I'm not sure," Michiru replies. "I think she's just not ready for a commitment. Sometimes I worry; she seems to flirt with pretty much every girl she meets. But I know she loves me, deep down inside."
Ami puts a finger to her lips. "You know, I used to hate you two, cause I was jealous."
"It's okay," Michiru replies. "I forgive you."
"Haruka might not," Ami says.
Michiru giggles. "Oh, she's just rough around the edges."
"I'm not jealous anymore, though," Ami says. "Because… I now have Makoto. She and I are now together, though it's still a secret. I miss her lips too."
"How does she kiss?" Michiru asks.
"She has an electric kiss," Ami says. "Somehow, her lips send a jolt of enthrallment into my body when I kiss her. I think she's using her Sailor power, and I am too. The electricity and the water meet each other and give a feeling like you could never imagine."
Michiru puts her arm around Ami's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear you're happy," she says. "Just remember: I have nothing against you, and I'll stand by your side to the bitter end in this game. You're the only friend I've got out here. So, let's make Final Three a thing."
"Absolutely!" Ami says, as the two pinky swear to each other. Karen watches from a distance, having heard the whole conversation, but she doesn't say a word.
"Yes, yes, yes!" Karen says. "I got it right out of the horse's mouth herself! Ami is going to get so blindsided by me. Once I spill the beans on what I heard today at Tribal Council, everyone's going to want to vote out Ami! Lucian may not like it, but Ami's the biggest threat out here, and she's going to get stunned!"
"Ami is a good friend," Michiru says. "She's just ultra-competitive. She doesn't like losing. When she ended up getting outfoxed by others, she took out her frustrations on my beloved Haruka. But really, she's a good girl, and I hope we can go far together."
"I can't believe that Michiru actually forgives me," Ami says. "I've said terrible things, terrible words, terrible insults. I am so happy that she no longer holds anything against me. Now I've just got to keep my alliance with her till the end. I believe we can make it, but it might require my being selfish with this immunity idol."
Misty and Jasmine are also plotting their path forward.
"I want you to win," Misty says. "You deserve the money more than me. I'm just here to prove I am better than a 22nd-place finish."
"Oh, don't say that," Jasmine says. "I know that Silver and I could use the money, but you have just as much right to it as me."
"So, how are we going to survive this next vote?" Misty asks. "It's five against four."
"But didn't Karen go on that journey?" Jasmine asks. "She could have gotten an advantage… or a disadvantage."
Misty puts a finger to her chin. "You're right," she says. "And if Karen's out a vote, all we need is to stay strong with four."
"But if she got an extra vote, then she makes it 6-4."
"The extra vote would be meaningless," Misty says. "I got a better plan."
She starts drawing in the sand.
"Konata and Haruhi are way off over here," she says. "Alice and Mine are here. Then here are the rest of us Pokémon people. 5-4, right? But what if we get Konata and Haruhi on our side? Then it's suddenly 6-3. I doubt those two are set in their ways. I bet we can convince them if we try hard enough."
"I hope so," Jasmine says.
So, Misty goes over to talk to Haruhi and Konata.
"You two are voting together," Misty says. "Why not vote with us?"
"We're not set on who we're voting with," Haruhi says.
"Yeah, we're just out here to have fun," Konata says. "So, we might vote with you, we might not."
"Well, if you do vote with us, vote for Karen," Misty says. "She is a miserable human being."
"We'll take it into consideration," Haruhi says.
"We are going to vote the way we want to," Haruhi says. "Not the way Misty wants us to, not the way Alice wants us to, not the way Karen wants us to. We are going to vote our way, and who knows what will go down. It's our choice."
"Misty is trying to strongarm us," Konata says. "But I'm out here to hang with my idol, and I hope that we can make it a long way without ever really having to align with anyone."
Mine finds herself in a conversation with Spike and Kyon.
"So, you have no motivation to play?" Mine asks Spike.
"None whatsoever," Spike replies.
"Then why the hell are you here?"
"I got roped into it by Jet," Spike says.
"I don't really feel like playing either, but I'm here," Kyon says.
"Oh, and why?"
"Because if Haruhi gets upset, she's going to let off a whole bunch of closed space," Kyon explains. "I'm here just to satisfy her. If I'm able to get through this game without her going off, I will have accomplished my goal."
"And if you don't?"
"Then I'll see you in hell!"
"Kyon and Spike are a curious bunch," Mine says. "If they were on my tribe, I'd make an alliance with them. I think I'll support them from afar, just because they have the same view of this game as myself."
Kirito and Joe are speaking with Mayuri and Prussia, trying to figure out their next move.
"We're all voting together, right?" Joe says.
"Exactly!" Mayuri says. "We've got everything under control."
"It's going to be awesome when we reach the Final Five together with Killua!" Prussia says.
"But who is our next target?" Kirito says. "Lucian?"
"No, not Lucian," Joe says. "Killua wanted him around; why else would he use his advantage on him?"
"Then either Spike or Kyon," Mayuri says.
"Either choice would be awesome!" Prussia says.
"We'll have to figure things out with Killua," Kirito says. "I think Kyon is more dangerous, because he has a connection with Haruhi."
"But Spike has a connection with the host!" Mayuri says. "And that's even more dangerous!"
"I guess you do have a point," Kirito says.
"We aren't sure who we're going to target yet," Kirito says. "I like Kyon as a choice, while Mayuri prefers Spike. Killua has been the voice of reason, so I think we'll defer to him when it comes to making a choice."
"This is so awesome!" Prussia says. "I'm in the right alliance, the one in power. I'm going to go a long way again!"
Immunity Challenge
"Come on in, guys!"
The 17 remaining players waltz into the immunity challenge area, seeing a large grassy field with two goals with nets on each side.
"You guys ready to get to today's immunity challenge?"
"Yeah!" Konata screams, with most of the others cheering as well.
"First things first, I will take it back."
Karen hands over the Ranma ½ immunity idol over to Jet.
"Thank you. Once again, immunity is back up for grabs. Let's get to today's challenge. As you can see here, we will be playing another Olympic sport."
"Soccer again?" Haruhi says.
"Not soccer," Jet says. "But rather, field hockey."
"Field hockey?" Killua says, as many of the characters look at each other in disbelief.
"We will be using modified rules," Jet states. "Since it is very hard to score goals in field hockey, we will be playing to two goals. First tribe to score two times, wins. You'll each get a field hockey stick, and each tribe will choose one player as goaltender. Women, you have one extra member, and you cannot sit out the same person in back-to-back challenges. Karen sat out last time. Who's it gonna be?"
Jasmine raises her hand. "I guess, me," she says.
"Very well then," Jet says. "Sit-out, take a spot on the bench. Now, do the Men want to buy the Medallion of Power? If you buy it, then your opponent must sit out one extra player."
Mayuri and Prussia look around, while Kyon and Spike remain silent.
"Okay," Jet states. "The right to the Medallion of Power now shifts over to the Women. Do you want to buy it?"
Ami looks over at Misty. "We'll be okay without it," she says.
"All right. I'll give you a moment to strategize, then we'll get it on!"
Jet claps his hands as the players discuss their strategy for the game.
"We need a good goalie," Misty says.
"Is that you?" Mine asks Alice.
"Yeah, I guess I'll give it a shot," Alice says.
"But I wanted to be goalie!" Konata complains.
"Just shut up and play defense, you and Haruhi," Ami says. "Karen, Michiru, and myself will be the midfielders. Misty and Mine, you be the forwards."
As for the Men, they put Mayuri in goal, with Kyon and Lucian staying back on defense, Prussia, Spike, and Joe as midfielders, and Killua and Kirito up front.
"For immunity! We are playing to two! Survivors ready? Go!"
The Women get control of the ball first. Michiru passes over to Ami, who passes it to Misty. Mine and Misty start going down toward the opposite net.
"Stop her!" Mayuri calls.
Lucian collides into Misty as she tries to pass it to Mine, and the ball comes loose. Kyon gets control and passes it to Prussia.
"That's the way to do it!" Mayuri exclaims.
"That should be illegal!" Misty says.
"It is," Mine says. "Jet's just not calling it."
Prussia finds himself surrounded by Michiru and Ami, and he passes back over to Spike. Spike finds Joe open, but Haruhi knocks the ball away from him and takes back possession.
"Push! Push! Attack! Attack!" Konata shouts.
Haruhi runs downfield with possession of the ball, and then she passes it over to Misty. Misty sees Lucian headed for her again, but this time she is able to get the pass over to Mine. Mine then dekes around Kyon and blasts the ball into the net over Mayuri's right shoulder.
…
…
…
"Goal!" Jet shouts. "That's one goal for the Women! One more and they win!"
As the Men try to regroup, Lucian goes over to Karen and taps her on the shoulder. Karen nods.
"Man, this is so easy!" Haruhi exclaims.
"I know!" Konata says. "With Cato gone, they're a joke!"
"Let's not get too carried away yet," Ami says.
"Keep on playing all out!" Misty says. "The Men may be nothing without Cato, but we can't let our guard down."
"We'll start again!" Jet announces. "Women lead, 1-0! Survivors ready? Go!"
The Men take possession of the ball, as Spike passes to Prussia, who gives it over to Joe. Joe then gets the ball to Killua.
"Finally!" Kirito says, as Killua passes it over to him. Kirito then slaps a shot as hard as he can.
"It is…"
…
…
…
…
…
"… NOT a goal!" Jet yells. "It misses the net to the right!"
The Women take back the ball, and Haruhi passes it over to Ami, who gives it to Michiru. Michiru then sees Misty breaking wide open down the left side of the field, and she passes in her direction. As the ball is rolling toward Misty, Karen reaches out her stick and deflects the ball away. Spike then takes possession.
"Karen! Why the hell did you do that?" Misty says.
Spike passes it over to Prussia, who gives it to Joe. Killua, Kirito and Joe go on an all-out attack at the net, but Haruhi skillfully breaks it up with an intercepted pass from Joe to Killua. She then slaps the ball away, with Ami getting it next.
"You guys aren't scoring on us!" Haruhi exclaims.
Ami then tries passing over to Michiru, but as she does, Karen reaches her stick in again and breaks it up. She taps the ball in the direction of Konata, but she purposely doesn't put enough on it, making sure it comes up short of Konata. Kirito has time to go over and retrieve the ball, and he passes it over to Killua. After juking past Haruhi, Killua shoots…
…
…
…
…
…
"… SCORE!" Jet shouts. "And we're tied, 1-1!"
"Karen, what the hell are you doing out here?" Misty yells, running over to confront her. "Are you trying to make us lose on purpose?"
"I'm just trying to make plays," Karen says.
"Yeah, make plays for the other team!" Mine shouts. "You're outta here! We'll play a player down."
"You can't make me quit," Karen says.
"Let her go!" Alice calls. "Without Cato, we can beat the Men even if Karen jumped sides. Just play as if Karen is another Man!"
Mine and Misty both take deep breaths, while Karen smirks.
"It's 1-1!" Jet calls. "We are playing to two! Survivors ready? Go!"
Ami gets the ball for the Women, and she passes it over to Michiru. Karen then charges at Michiru, but Michiru skillfully gets the ball out and over to Mine. Mine then passes to Misty, who shoots.
…
…
…
"Misty…"
…
…
…
"… DOES MISS!" Jet shouts. "Wide right!"
Spike takes control of the ball, and he passes to Kyon. Kyon gets it over to Prussia, who passes it to Joe. Joe now goes on another all-out attack, with Killua and Kirito running with him down the seams. Haruhi tries poking the ball out from Joe's stick, but Joe manages to slap it over to Kirito. Killua calls for the ball, but Kirito chooses to shoot.
…
…
…
"Kirito…"
…
…
…
"… MISSES! Wide left!"
Alice takes the ball and passes it over to Haruhi, who knocks it over to Konata. Konata then tries to pass to Ami, but Karen reaches in and deflects the ball. Kirito gathers possession.
"I can't believe that you're throwing this challenge!" Ami shouts. "You are going to pay!"
Karen smirks, while Kirito passes over to Killua. Killua shoots, and Alice gets in position to try to make the save.
…
…
…
"Alice…"
…
…
…
"… allows the goal! And that's it! Men win immunity!"
Kirito and Killua throw their sticks high in the air and join Joe in a three-Man celebration. Ami also throws her stick, but in the direction of Karen, who dodges it. Misty slams her stick to the ground, while Mine takes hers and breaks it in two over her knee.
"What a battle!" Jet says.
The players walk over to their mats, where none of the Women want to stand near Karen.
"A lot of frustration out here," Jet says.
"And of course there is!" Ami calls. "We had a cheater!"
"Karen, obviously you weren't putting in a full effort for your tribe today," Jet says.
"That's one way of putting it," Misty says.
"Do you think this will come back to haunt you?" Jet asks Karen.
"Absolutely not," Karen says. "I'm good with my alliance. We need to take full control of the game, and the only way we're doing that is by cutting the fat and getting rid of those in the other alliance. We're going to Pagong them, one by one."
"Well, you'll have tonight to figure out who that's gonna be. In the meantime…"
Jet hands over the Ranma immunity idol to Spike.
"Men, you are safe at tonight's Tribal Council. You'll get to sit in the peanut gallery and even eat some peanuts as the Women go to vote. I will see you all tonight for Tribal, where one of the Women will be going home. Men, you know that is not you. Grab your stuff and head on out."
Ami shakes her head at Karen as the players walk out.
Camp
Men: Joe, Killua, Kirito, Kyon, Lucian, Mayuri, Prussia, Spike
Women: Alice, Ami, Haruhi, Jasmine, Karen, Konata, Michiru, Mine, Misty
When the tribes get back to camp, the entire Men's tribe gives high fives to Karen. Misty and Ami are utterly disgusted.
"I can't believe that $#%*^ did that to us," Misty says. "She turned on us like a traitor. And now, she thinks she's going to stay around because she has the numbers? Uh-uh. No way, not on my watch."
"Karen pulled one of the biggest sabotage moves in Survivor history," Ami says. "Yet she may get away with it, because she has the numbers. I have this idol, though, and I'm going to use it properly."
Misty tries talking with Konata and Haruhi to see if she can flip them.
"Look, Karen doesn't care about winning," Misty says. "If we want to win, we've got to get rid of her. There's no other way about it."
"But if we join you, then you're going to turn on us once Karen, Mine, and Alice are gone!" Haruhi replies.
"Yeah, this isn't going to help us any!" Konata says.
"Just trust me on this one," Misty says. "Oh, and if you're going to vote, vote against me."
"Why would we do that?" Haruhi asks.
"Because…" Misty starts to say something, then pauses to make up a lie. "Because I am really homesick and I want to go home to see Ash."
"That's funny," Konata says. "I just heard Jasmine saying the same thing."
"You what?" Misty responds.
"Go ask her, she's ready to quit," Konata says.
Misty begins to panic.
"If Jasmine is now on the verge of quitting, we are in big, big trouble," Misty says. "Not even an idol will be enough for us to survive if she goes too. Jasmine and I are tied together at the hip. If she goes, then I go."
So, Misty goes over and talks with Jasmine by the beach.
"Jasmine, you're not feeling like quitting, right?" Misty asks.
Jasmine remains silent.
"You're not feeling like quitting, right?"
Misty's face then turns stern.
"Is that why you sat out the challenge?" Misty says. "What's up? Talk to me."
Jasmine sheds a tear as she begins to speak. "I-I really, really m-miss Silver," she says. "I am s-so homesick without h-him. Pl-plus I've been accused by others of doing bad things wh-which I knew I didn't do. I want to go home."
Misty puts an arm around Jasmine. "I understand, I really do," Misty says. "It's not easy saying goodbye to a loved one for an extended period of time. But you've got to realize that we're out here playing a game. Silver was able to do it for you, so he could bring the money back home. You've got to do the same for him."
"I-I guess," Jasmine says.
"Great, now with Jasmine close to quitting, I'm in big trouble here," Misty says. "All we need is for her to quit and reduce our numbers to three. At that point, we're getting close to splitting votes range, and Ami's idol will go for naught. Jasmine's got to fight through this."
Alice and Mine, meanwhile, talk with Karen, trying to take her temperature on the vote.
"Look, let me get one thing straight," Mine says. "I absolutely hate your guts, Karen. And I'm only voting with you because we have the numbers. You got it?"
"Sure," Karen says.
"Now, we'll relay our vote on to Haruhi, who will give it to Konata, in order to get our five votes. But who are we going to vote for?"
"I was suggesting Misty," Alice says. "Do you have a better idea?"
"Yeah, actually I do," Karen says. "Ami is the mastermind behind that other alliance. If we vote her out, it will utterly crumble."
"But what if she has an idol?" Alice asks.
"What if, what if, what if," Karen says. "Who cares? The best we can hope for is that whoever we vote for doesn't have an idol, or that they play it on the wrong person. So our Plan A should be Ami and our Plan B should be Misty."
"Got it," Mine says.
"I am literally running this entire game," Karen says. "I chose who won the immunity challenge. I am choosing who goes home tonight. I will be choosing who goes home for at least five more votes, until it's down to just myself, Alice, and Mine. I am in total control. There is nothing that can stop me now, not even an idol. And just watch, I'm going to flush out that idol tonight so fast that no one will see it coming."
Ami, Michiru, Misty, and Jasmine gather along with Kirito, Killua, and Joe for one last talk before Tribal Council.
"We have this idol," Ami says. "The one we bought with our Fire Tokens."
"Which you still owe us," Killua says.
"We will pay you back, I promise," Michiru says.
"We have pooled our Fire Tokens together," Ami says. "We've got six. That's enough for an extra vote but not quite enough for a steal-a-vote, and steal-a-vote is what we need tonight."
Killua raises both his hands. "Sorry, we're all flat broke," he says. "We gave you all our Tokens. It's now up to you to get by with what you got."
"Yeah, we're hoping you make it through, but all we can do is hope at this point," Kirito says.
"We've got no way to help you," Joe says.
"Except maybe by throwing peanut shells at Karen," Killua jokes.
Everyone enjoys a brief laugh. Then Ami turns serious.
"Who do we vote for tonight?"
"I'm saying Karen," Misty says.
"No argument there," Michiru says.
Jasmine silently nods her head.
"If you guys can get out Karen, that will help weaken Lucian," Killua says. "The faster we're free of him, the better."
"That's great thinking," Kirito says. "Lucian is being helped out big time by Karen. We need her out pronto."
"Good luck tonight," Joe says. "We will be rooting for you."
The seven players all put their hands in the middle.
"We are the Lucky Seven!" Kirito exclaims.
"Lucky Seven!" all the others shout.
"This Lucky Seven is our last hope," Ami says. "If we don't make it through tonight's vote unscathed, then the Lucky Seven will turn into an Unlucky Zero. All seven of us will be voted out in due time, and none of us will have even a prayer of winning it all. After all, there are no individual immunity challenges this season, no place to hide from your tribemates. The next 90 minutes at Tribal Council will be the most important in Survivor history."
Tribal Council
(Women)
The Women march into Tribal Council with their torches ablaze, setting them in their designated spots. The Men watch from a balcony, eating peanuts as they do.
"All right, let's get to it," Jet says. "Karen, you clearly helped the Men win that last challenge. Do you feel like that puts a target on your back?"
"Absolutely not," Karen says. "That was a strategic move. It may not have made sense to some people, and it certainly didn't help some other people on our tribe, but it was the best move."
"Who would those 'some people' be?" Jet asks.
Ami raises her hand, and Michiru joins her. Misty and Jasmine also slowly put up their hands.
"You guys feel like you're at the bottom, right?" Jet says.
"Absolutely," Ami says. "We have been ostracized from the other five in this tribe. Karen is now ruling this game with an iron fist, and Mine and Alice have sworn fealty to her."
"What the hell are you talking about?" an angry Mine replies. "All we're doing is voting with her."
"Yeah, we're just trying to make it a bit farther in this game," Alice says. "This isn't like Queen Cynthia or anything."
"But in a way it is!" Misty says. "Karen played with Queen Cynthia. She learned from Queen Cynthia. She's emulating Queen Cynthia. For you two to just sit back and say 'oh, it's just for the moment' is ridiculous! She's ruling you guys! And that includes you two too, Haruhi and Konata!"
"I don't feel like that," Konata says.
"Hey, I'm just trying to make it further in this game than Kyon," Haruhi says. "And as far as I know, he's up there in that gallery choking on a peanut shell."
Kyon doesn't choke on a peanut shell, but rather facepalms in disbelief.
"If this is truly the way it is, five against four, then shouldn't the four be trying to look for cracks?" Jet asks.
"Jet, that's an old-fashioned way of playing Survivor," Ami says. "That's the Jeff Probst way. Begging and pleading only goes so far. We know what this game is about, and we know that there are advantages. And that's why…"
Ami pulls out Kon, the immunity plushie.
"I have the idol," she announces, causing everyone else to gasp. "So, you're going to have to play a guessing game. Try to figure out which one of us I'm going to use the idol on."
Mine and Alice start whispering frantically to each other, as do Haruhi and Konata.
"Lots of conversing going on here," Jet says.
"We just want to make sure we're on the same page, Jet," Alice says.
"Ami, you've talked a lot about how you have struggled in this game due to the fact that your IQ is far above anyone else's here. Explain a little bit about what that means."
Ami takes a deep breath. "It's tough," she says. "I in no way mean that the people I'm playing with are stupid. But it's like a chess game. If you want to beat a good opponent, you've got to imagine that they're going to make the right move every single time. To beat a weaker opponent, sometimes you can guess that they're going to make mistakes. So maybe you deceive them, they deceive you. But amongst all the deception, it's easier in my opinion when everyone's thinking on my level."
"Speaking of deceiving…" Karen says.
"Yes, what is it?" Jet says.
"Ami, why haven't you told anyone here that you're a lesbian?" Karen says. "It reveals your ability to deceive."
Ami's mouth drops open, and Michiru buries her head in her hands and starts to cry. Misty and Jasmine look furious.
"You can't out her like that!" Misty exclaims. "That had nothing to do with deception!"
"That's so wrong," Jasmine says.
The others in Karen's alliance also are angry. "I can't believe you just did that to her!" Alice exclaims. "Outing someone is so much different from playing the game."
"That's disgusting," Mine says. "Totally disgusting. Outing a person because you don't like them? Even I wouldn't do that."
"But she was deceiving people," Karen says.
"So, you're saying that being a lesbian means that you're deceiving," Konata says. "That's totally wrong."
"It was the ability to deceive that I was pointing out," Karen says.
"Uh-uh, no way," Haruhi says.
"That's not why you said that," Misty says. "You said that to try to embarrass her. And now look what it's done."
Ami remains silent, while Michiru is bawling out tears. Misty and Jasmine go over to comfort her.
"Don't cry, Michiru," Ami says. "I can handle it."
"But it's my fault!" Michiru exclaims. "I'm the one who talked to you about it. And it got overheard… by her! It's all my fault!"
Ami puts her arms on Michiru's shoulders. "This is not your fault. You are like a sister to me. A sister who put up with me even through my homophobic days. And now you're standing with me on the day I come out to the world as a lesbian. You are a true heroine."
Michiru tries wiping away tears, while Alice and Mine keep yelling at Karen.
"You're a homophobe, that's what you are!" Mine yells.
"Yeah, you are treating someone like crap over her sexual orientation!" Alice shouts.
"Look, I'm a lesbian myself," Karen says. "Every day, I fight for the rights of LGBT people."
"That doesn't matter," Misty says. "To just go out and out someone like that… you aren't a good example to anyone."
Everyone takes a deep breath, then Jet addresses Karen.
"Karen, has it started to sink in, the gravity of what you just did?" he asks. "You haven't just outed her to just over a dozen people, you've outed her to millions of people out there watching this."
Karen looks despondent. "I went too far," she says. "I shouldn't have done that."
"That's all you can say?" Misty says. "She deserves a full apology!"
"I'm sorry, Ami," Karen says. "I really shouldn't have gone that far."
"Put her out of the game now!" Mine shouts.
Everyone freezes when they hear Mine say this.
"You heard me!" Mine continues. "I don't care that she's part of my alliance. I don't care that losing her will drop our alliance down to four. I don't care that we might have to pick rocks the next time we're here. Put. Her. Out. Snuff her torch now."
"I can only do that if it's unanimous," Jet says. "Who here wants to vote out Karen?"
All eight other players immediately raise their hands.
"Karen, that's eight, and it is enough."
"But wait!" Karen exclaims. "I still have my Shot in the Dark!"
The other players all gasp.
"Very well then," Jet says. "Go to the voting booth and play your Shot in the Dark. If it comes up "SAFE," then you will be safe from the vote."
Karen walks over to the voting booth and drops her die into the designated spot. She then pulls out one of the curled-up pieces of paper. She brings it back and hands it over to Jet.
"Now, to reveal your fate," Jet says.
He opens up the paper slowly. To everyone's horror, it reads "SAFE."
"No!" Misty yells.
Jet then moves his fingers on the paper, and now everyone sees that it actually reads "NOT SAFE."
"You got me there for a moment," Mine says.
"Karen, you need to bring me your torch," Jet says.
Karen reluctantly goes over and grabs her torch, then slams it into the slot.
"Karen, the tribe has spoken," Jet says. "Good riddance."
Karen heads on out of the Tribal Council area. She reaches the spot where there are treasure chests for all the remaining players in the game.
"I've got to bequeath my three Fire Tokens to another player," she sighs. "Fine, then. Lucian, they're yours."
She drops her Tokens in Lucian's chest, then walks away. The scene then cuts back to Tribal Council.
"If we've learned anything from tonight," Jet says, "it's that there are more important things in life than a million dollars. Like someone's sexual orientation. We can't treat these things so flippantly. As for now, grab your torches, head back to camp, good night."
The eight remaining Women take their torches and join the eight Men as they march on back to camp.
"I shouldn't have done that," Karen says. "I am a lesbian myself; I shouldn't treat a fellow lesbian the way I just did. I shouldn't have embarrassed her like that. To think, I ruled the whole game just 90 minutes ago. Now I'm out in that short period of time. I was wrong. I will have to come to terms with my mistake and make sure I learn from this. I guess the only thing I can say is, Ami, I'm sorry."
Next time on Survivor:
Ami tries to pick the pieces up after being humiliated so badly… bad weather conditions cause the players to be cold and hungry… and it's a four-on-four war in the Women Tribe.
Fire Token Count:
4 – Alice, Mine
3 – Lucian, Mayuri
2 – Ami, Kyon, Misty, Prussia, Spike
1 – Haruhi, Jasmine, Konata, Michiru
0 – Joe, Killua, Kirito