Ticket here, and welcome to another chapter in "Fight for Fiji"! This is a lengthier chapter, being around 3,000 words rather than 2,000. It'll feature the fallout from last nights tribal, strategic content, and a new twist that forces some players to scramble for a plan.

Enjoy!

Fatu: Gordon, Toriel, Bandana Waddle Dee, and Luigi

Roku: Matt, Sonic, Li Mei, Little Mac, and Monty Mole

Toka: Kano, Kabal, Tremor, Kristine, and Blu

14 are left, who will be voted out next?

Toka: Night 11

After last night, the five Toka enter camp and lean their torches on that tree as per usual. Kristine tries to catch up with the blue Yoshi afterwards, and do some damage control.

Unfortunately for her, the damage has already been done.

Kristine: Out of all the ways she could have handled it…this is the worst.

"Do you know how frustrating it is to be stabbed in the back?" Blu asks, laying in to the koopa. "I knew those guys were after us, but you didn't have to lie to me…you could have at least given us a heads up instead of teasing us."

"Can you hear me out?" the koopa asks.

"What do you have to say?"

"It was a game move to leave you out. You could have ratted me out, and gotten me kicked off." she reasons, and that reality may have happened if the Black Dragon weren't dead set on the Yoshi alliance. "It's not personal."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? You just screwed me over…"

Safe to say, damage control wasn't going well.

Blu: This is the worst thing that could have happened to me! My best friend's gone, Kano was LAUGHING..

Her hands shake.

Blu: And now I'm all alone…I hate being alone. Are my last days going to be like this?

She sniffles. It's just shot after shot for her.

Blu: I..still won't give up. I have a purpose on this island: Eliminate the Black Dragon.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" Kristine asks.

"..can we just talk tomorrow? I need some space."

"Ok…"

Blu: If she thinks I'm going to trust her again, she's living in her own world! YOU crossed me, let's see how YOU like it!

The koopa returns to the alliance, greeted by Kabal. "Did she take it well?" One head shake answers his question. "Our morale is as good as dead now."

"I'm sure she'll be over it tomorrow…"

"You'd think."

Kabal: This night has went perfectly. The Yoshi's are split, Blu hates Kristine, and we have the numbers. It's at the cost of morale, but nobody on Toka cares about morale. Everyone gets their hands dirty eventually.

Challenge Area: Day 12

"Come on in!"

All three tribes enter, ready for another challenge. Some expected production to throw in a twist, and others expected a run of the mill day.

The tribes stop on their colored mats, and eye the Toka. "Get a look at the new Toka tribe, Red voted out at last nights Tribal Council." Not much of a shock to anyone, since he was last seen sitting out.

"Alright. Normally I'd explain the rules to the next challenge..but today's gonna be different."

Boom.

"DROP. YOUR. BUFFS. We're switching tribes."

Those who expected the swap are calm about it, but those who didn't have to speak.

"What? We swapping?" Monty asks, the mole not knowing a tribe swap is.

"This can go a number of ways." Toriel comments.

With buffs dropped, Jeff has a bag of rocks in store, and fourteen buffs on standby. "We'll draw by random for tribes. The white rock means you're on the Tatu Tribe, and the black rock means you're on the Foka tribe. So hope for the best…"

The fourteen castaways dig into the bag, each drawing one of two rocks. When all's said and done…

"Reveal."

Blu draws the white rock.

Kano draws the black rock.

Kristine draws the white rock.

Kabal draws the black rock.

Gordon draws the white rock.

Tremor draws the black rock.

Luigi draws the white rock.

Toriel draws the black rock.

Sonic draws the white rock.

Bandana Dee draws the black rock.

Little Mac draws the white rock.

Li Mei draws the black rock.

Monty draws the white rock.

Matt draws the black rock.

"Little Mac, Sonic, Monty, Gordon, Luigi, Blu, Kristine…you are the Tatu tribe. Matt, Li Mei, Toriel, Bandana Dee, Kano, Kabal, Tremor…you are the Foka tribe. For the next few votes, these will be your new tribemates." The fourteen take a minute to look at each other, confessionals airing for some of them.

Toriel: Even though I've been separated from my allies, I can always make new ones. Keeping calm in the chaos has its benefits.

Little Mac: Getting out of Roku is the best thing that's happened to me. I still have two to deal with, but that's STILL good. If I'm a betting man, the Roku stay strong, even when we target each other later.

Kabal: This swap could have killed our momentum. It's helped us instead. Black Dragon is three out of seven, and if we get power? We'll be sitting pretty another week.

"Tatu, you will head to the Roku camp. Foka, you will head to the Toka camp. Head over, and I'll see you in two days." the host says, dismissing the now two tribes and leaving them to play this game their own way.

A couple more confessionals air.

Matt: I'm gonna stick with my Roku, but someone else can lead the tribe. I need to be the team coach, coaches don't play.

Li Mei: Despite us being on opposite ends, I'll be playing with Matt. I know him better than a Fatu or a Toka, so why not keep your enemies close?

Tribes:

Tatu: Little Mac, Sonic, Monty, Gordon, Luigi, Blu, and Kristine

Foka: Matt, Li Mei, Toriel, Bandana Dee, Kano, Kabal, and Tremor

Tatu (Roku camp): Day 12

The seven Tatu enter the Roku camp, with Sonic giving them the tour.

"We have the best flint on the island, and the sturdiest shelter." he says, pushing on a bamboo wall. "Easy peazy." A chef looks it up and down. "That's better than ours." Gordon responds, and the hedgehog steps closer. "What did you do?"

"Just make a bamboo bed. Made out of laziness and exhaustion."

"I get that."

Sonic: Matt leaving is a bummer, but our friends can't carry us all the time. We have to do things ourselves, which can be better than following an alliance.

He pauses.

Sonic: I'm trying to lead one right now, but Matt, if you're watching this: I hope you had fun over there.

Kristine looks up at the cloudy sky. "I'm glad you have palm fronds. We have a storm moving in." The boxer of the tribe pats them. "The best in Fiji."

"Until it hails." notes the hedgehog.

"Let's hope that never happens."

While Kristine watches Mac and Sonic banter, Blu is behind her and has daggers in her eyes.

Blu: She needs to go, and there's no better way to start my plan than to take it to the head of the tribe.

The blue Yoshi hits the swap running and speaks with the hedgehog, who she perceives as the leader. It was risky throwing someone under the bus, but at this point she does not care.

She has a vendetta.

"I'm glad we could be alone because I just have to say: Kristine can't be trusted ." The hedgehog gets a mental dose of caffeine after that. "Strategy time already huh?"

"She's bad."

"Fighting words. What makes her so bad?"

"She just sent my ally home. She said she'd vote with us and couldn't keep her word. I know people will backstab, but she's already doing it." she explains. "It gets worse.."

"Oh does it?"

"She has three people on the other tribe. Kano, Kabal, Tremor, you know them?" she asks, and the hedgehog tries to recollect them. "One's a pile of rocks?" Not quite.

"A pile of rocks that's going to screw us if we don't break them up."

In one conversation, Blu just threw all of Toka under the bus. Now that Sonic knows about the Black Dragon, the big game they're playing may be in trouble, all thanks to a vengeful Yoshi.

"Let me hit up my council and we'll get back to you." The hedgehog responds, about to spread the word to the Roku.

"Thanks..anything to get rid of them."

The hedgehog's jaw is dropped in the confessional.

Sonic: She just..handed me targets on a golden platter! This is awesome! If this is the speed everyone's playing at, I can get used to this!

The hedgehog pulls Mac and Monty aside, with Blu's pitch being heard out. The mole pulls wheat out of his mouth.

"I'll do whatever. As long as we stick together."

The boxer isn't completely for that though. "She seems nice, but I saw this play out before." Oh, seems Little Mac caught 'Smackdown in Samoa.' Another contestant DID do this, her name was Cruella de Vil.

"Her name was Cruella, and she was the biggest snake on the season. She also sold her tribe out to cause a rift. How do we know Blu's not a Cruella?" he asks.

"She's not annoying for one."

"She's not, but we shouldn't get ahead of ourselves. Blu could be lying, and we have Fatu to consider." Mac responds, and the hedgehog just scratches his ear in response. "Monty?"

"If we gotta take it slow, let's take it slow."

Four eyes stare at the hedgehog. "Ehhh..we can take it slow. But if Kristine starts spilling secrets, don't say she didn't warn ya." he responds, and his allies accept it. "As long as we're on the same page, we'll survive." Mac says, and that could definitely be valid sentence coming into this swap.

"Yeah let's not fry each other."

Little Mac: Sonic's the fast paced, "take-it-and-run" player. I want to take it slower. Somehow, we came to a consensus. Will we stay together? Not all the way, but if we dissolve the sneaky players can wiggle through, and I know how "low threat" people can fare, so we don't need that.

Meanwhile, Gordon and Luigi are on the walking path.

"Sooo..I know we would have targeted each other, but we're still good right? It's all good?" Luigi asks twice, and the chef senses his nervousness. "It's water under the bridge. I've got your back if you have mine."

"Phew.." The plumber responds, wiping sweat off his forehead. "Trust me, I'm all over your back." The chef actually snickers. "You should work on your phrasing."

"Look man I'm just trying to be trustworthy. Don't want to backstab you like we tried last time."

"I'd be insulted if you didn't." Gordon responds.

Despite an alternate reality where one would have to take the other out on Fatu, in this reality they'd have to be cordial. Maybe it's for the best with some developments already.

Gordon: Out of all the combinations, I'm given Luigi. The gods must love messing around. But he's a walk in the park compared to who I've been around before. One contestant threatened me because he couldn't answer a simple question. They know who they are.

They sure do.

Gordon: At least Luigi's easygoing. I'll take him over Infinite.

Foka: Day 12

The seven Foka enter the Roku camp, with Kabal pointing out where objects are.

"We have a nice fire going here, and everything's around it. Easy and convenient." Kabal states, acting like a thirsty advertiser.

"Love the organization. Just like our camp." Matt compliments.

"Glad we have good taste."

Kabal: We're all friendly now, and I'll enjoy it in the short time it lasts.

Later, the two Roku on the tribe, Matt and Li Mei, head off for a check in.

"We're holding off our battle right?" She asks, hoping to bury the hatchet at least right now. "It's new dynamics, gotta go with the people you know." Matt, not saying that she was a target, but implying it.

"As dull as people think sticking to tribal lines is, we have to do it."

"What people think doesn't matter, what we do does."

Matt: We're off to a great start, all about that Roku love, but now I got obstacles. The Toka outnumber me, and I'm not in the drivers seat anymore, but you know what? It's okay to hop in the backseat.

He leans back on a tree.

Matt: Cause it's times like these where you can get sniped at the front.

Mei breaks down the numbers he already knows about. "There are three Toka. if we join Fatu we can pick them off." The Mii has a different take though. "I know we got three of 'em, but if one of them has an idol, we can't split votes. We're screwed."

"So we cut a Fatu instead…"

"You're reading my mind."

Matt arguably had a point about a 4-3 vote going wrong. They'd have to depend on two people they just got to know, and make sure an idol's not played. However, there's a risk to not taking the shot. If they vote out the Fatu, that may piss off another tribe.

But, Li Mei has more questions.

"If the five Toka come to merge and align, that will not go well. Are you sure we shouldn't take the shot when we get the chance?"

"…"

"They could be up for it as well."

"Let's chill with these Fatu first."

Not a direct answer, but shows that contrary to what he said earlier, he's actually willing to play slower.

Li Mei: It seems we'll be waiting to strike until a loss. A smart strategy on our end, but a tricky situation. We will be upsetting one alliance either way, but this is what comes with a swap. These are the consequences I'm willing to endure.

Meanwhile, the two Fatu in question are having a short talk of what to do next.

"I'm staying true to the Fatu Four. I will fight to protect you if they dare call you weak." Toriel promises, covering for her tribe mate.

"I'll do the same. I owe you one." The waddle dee replies, and that pledge of loyalty gets a smile from the goat. "You don't owe me anything, I'm doing this out of loyalty."

Bandana Dee: I miss my other Fatu, but at least I'm with Toriel! She's the nicest out of everyone so it'll keep morale high!

That bright look in his eyes starts to fade. Maybe this time he meant business.

Bandana Dee: But now we're on a tribe with people we don't know, so…I guess we have to adapt.

"The three Toka are a growing concern. We are lucky to have them for challenges, but their numbers could overwhelm us." Toriel states. "The last move we should make is turning on Roku."

"Guess we're after the trio then."

"All they need is one number to take power. WE will make sure they do not get this power." the goat dives further in to make it make sense. Luckily, the waddle dee isn't a total dummy. "That's a raw deal." he comments.

"They need to believe so."

Toriel: It's reassuring that Dee is willing to step up in strategy with me. If I am strategizing, I'd rather have someone who isn't scared of change.

Background footage of the two sitting down is shown.

Toriel: I've been quiet on the Fatu tribe, but when it comes to new tribe, it's time to step up and go back to my roots.

While those two duos make their plans, the Black Dragon are still together, and able to plot their next move.

"The breakups aren't finished yet. Who's next?" Kano asks, turning the forum over to his allies. "The Roku need to be broken down. Soon we will need immunities, so it's better to take out their strongest players." Tremor responds.

"Kabal?"

"Fatu's gonna sneak to the end. The smaller the numbers, the more you should be worried." he calls, setting his sights on both Fatu. "Roku has five, we need to cut them down."

"If we just get some Fatu with us, we can get it done."

"There's no guarantee they join us."

Knowing that Tremor and Kabal disagree on which duo to go to, Kano has one sentence in mind:"Enjoyed the easy votes while they lasted."

Kano: This isn't gonna work like the Yoshi alliance. We don't know what these new people are capable of. But, I've seen worse. It's just a new challenge for us, and we're gonna run away with it again.

After a swap, some people are in a better spot, and others are in a worse one. On Tatu, Kristine went from #4 in the Black Dragon, to targeted by Blu. Maybe the worst possible swap for her. Also, without Matt, Sonic is in the drivers seat, and dealing with Mac and Monty. As for Foka, the Black Dragon think they are in control, but the Matt/Mei and Toriel/Dee duos have a mind of their own. A coup is possible, but both sides will have to agree, and ones already on the fence.

Parts B and C will be out soon. Part B has some more strategy and camp life, while Part C has the first two tribe challenge of the season, and the first voteoff of the swap.

Ticket out.