Ticket here, welcome back to yet another chapter of this series: Man versus Machine! In this chapter, someone's free from a toxic ally, another kickstarts their run in the game, and (most of) castaways in the tribe relax during camp life, even having a conversation about casting that they can bond over.

With that being said, enjoy :)

Players: Chun-Li, Cyrax, Daisy, Dark Samus, Monty, Rocket, Silver Sonic, and Ulala

Jury: Rick Grimes, Drax the Destroyer, and Sektor

Eight are left. Who's getting voted out next?

Merge: Night 29

The final eight enters camp, and leans their torches onto the Torch Tree, prestigious as always. Tonight marks a downfall of a villain, who fought hard to antagonize another day. This will be a breath of fresh air for the players, who don't have to worry about his domination, deceit, and draining nature.

He took unnecessary shots, and paid in full. If Sektor can't learn, he'll have a hard time if he ever comes back.

Daisy high fives Cyrax and Rocket the first chance she gets. "Yeah! You got him!"

"That we did.." The cyborg responds, hands on his mechanical hips. "It will be weird without him."

"It'll be better." She catches a dead look from him. "I can't hold back on him, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I understand."

Imagine if it went the other way for her.

Daisy: Sektor was always negative, and moody, and served me a plate of confusion with the stuff he talked about. Now that he's out, we can relax for a few minutes.

Knowing what she saw last night, a thought pops into Li's head. "Cyrax."

"Yes?"

"Did you have the idol? Or did you drop it somewhere? It's odd he held his hand out." She notes.

"Rocket always had it. I just told him I did so he wouldn't go searching for it." The cyborg lies.

"Ooooo..sneaky sneaky!" (Daisy'

Li smirks. "Appreciate your honesty.

In her confessional…she's not 100%.

Chun-Li: Cyrax is playing sneaky. He has advantages we didn't know about, and is under the radar. Daisy questioned his loyalty, but now I am too. Originally, I wanted Rocket and Silver to go so we can pull him in. Now? They can all go.

The two involved, get time to split from everyone else. People love splitting off tonight.

Rocket overcomes his height and soars into a high five with Cyrax! "Hahahaha, that's what he gets!"

"I won't deceive you..I feel GREAT. A giant weight has been lifted." Cyrax admits.

"You're not in prison anymore!"

In confessional, the raccoon leans on a log.

Rocket: I don't care if they see me as a threat, I'm always gonna be the boogeyman. They don't know Cyrax caused the play, but I'm not selling him out. We need each other.

Silver Sonic walks into their conversation. "Are you both satisfied?"

"Damn right." (Rocket)

"With him out of the picture, we can make our next move. Either send one of his allies home, or split up the women. The women scare me." Cyrax plots. "It's our faction against theirs."

In his confessional, he just stares at the stars above.

Cyrax: ..I'm finally free. My journey with Sektor is done. We had a tumultuous relationship. Even though the toll will be taken, i'm done living in the past. My journey to the end has begun.

Back to the talk, Silver has a name. "Might I suggest someone."

Rocket looks dead. "..Ulala?"

"Yes."

"There's bigger fish over there. You sure we should go for HER?" The raccoon asks.

"She's sliding under the radar. Under the radar players should go." The clone responds.

"Any one of them will do us good." Cyrax chimes in. "We let them get an advantage..they have a jury biased towards them."

Silver Sonic: I've had it out for that woman ever since she threw me under the bus.

Cameraman: …you're taking it personally.

Silver Sonic: If you target me, I will target you. That is how I play the game.

With that being said, Cyrax heads to Dark Samus and Monty, a crew without a leader.

"What we did wasn't personal. Sektor was overbearing. We didn't let either of you in because we thought you'd spill." Cyrax reveals. "I'm still open to working with either of you."

"I'll go anywhere that takes me. Straight up." Monty says. "If you want me, you got me."

"You seem desperate..but I understand. We'll be sure to keep you in the loop." The cyborg responds.

"You're right about Sektor." Samus shade? "He was a toxic ally, and we all deserve better."

"We're on the same page?" Cyrax asks.

"Fuck it, let's do some work. Got a name?" Monty asks.

"Not at the moment. I need a night to recover..but if you ask Rocket, or even Silver, then they should have one." The cyborg responds.

"We'll get with them tomorrow." (Dark) Samus says.

Segway to a confessional…

Dark Samus: We want these sides to believe we're helpless. We're the numbers they'll need when they go to war, but when the time comes to flip, I'll chomp at the bit. I owe these players nothing.

While they get some work in before bed, the three women repping mankind are laying down after a draining night.

"We need to do damage control. The machines have a head start." Li points out.

"It'd be nice if they come to us..buuut if they don't, I'm on it." Daisy responds.

A silhoutte blocks out the moonlight. "No need." It says, closing in.

Surprise, it's Dark Samus. "I have unfinished business with those machines. It's not black and white." She says, crawling into the shelter.

"..so you're fine? It's not personal?" Li asks.

Samus scoffs at the idea. "Yes. I need a planet to live on, and you need another lifeform to help you. I'll do what you want. Say a name, I'll strike them down."

"..You got the spirit." Daisy says, offering a fist bump.

The clone just looks at her first. "I'm not accustomed to this."

"We're basically teammates."

"Oh. How hard do you want me to punch your fist?" she asks.

"Just a slight bump."

Samus has a slow approach, but they make it happen. "Woohoo.." Daisy mutters, trying to protect feelings the clone doesn't have. "Teammates.."

Li and Daisy look at each other, and back at her. "Glad that you're hear." Li opens. "We have a move we want to make ourselves, and I think you'll love it…"

Chun-Li: When Daisy and I met eyes, we knew that she's shady..but we need people, and she just got burnt by everyone. if she's offering herself, there's no way we can say "no."

Li let's her know what's up. "Rocket's the easy vote. But If he wins immunity, or pulls out another idol, we have two choices."

"Silver and Cyrax." The Samus deduces.

"Yes. We don't want to get rid of him yet, because Silver's sketchier." Li explains, and Ulala jumps right in. "We have beef too..so if anyones gonna come for us, it's him."

"He's stubborn. Always has been. Back when we started he refused to talk to people who weren't in his alliance." The clone points out. "He needs to be taken care of."

Li keeps up the eye contact. "Does that sound good to you?"

"Kills two birds with one stone. I'm in."

Dark Samus: Those women have the upper hand. Daisy tries to make me feel included, and Li is good at keeping you in the conversation. Unfortunately, I don't see two alliances. They're two groups that need to be cut down, no matter what motives they have. I can't be the sadist out here, but when I play dirty, it will feel so good.

Merge

Day 30

Chun-Li, Cyrax, Daisy, Dark Samus, Monty, Rocket, Silver Sonic, and Ulala

It's a new day, yes it is!

Cloudy, gloomy, and making people groggy. Luckily for them, it isn't foggy. Imagine not being able to get your way around in times like these. Tragic for not just strategy, but the view as well.

On the shore, Monty's hanging with Cyrax and Rocket. The Silver Sonic's just a silent bystander.

"Sometimes I gotta two do at once." That gator's rambling about something. "It's hard work on the stage."

"They have you doin' backflips?" Rocket asks.

"If I'm feeling flashy, I pull something out." The gator responds, flashing his guitar again. "I try not to talk about this damn guitar all the time, but it just sticks out."

"You have animosity towards Jeff, that's something they'll remember you for." Cyrax chimes in.

"Yeah…" Monty trails off for a second. "I'm so fucking exhausted."

That gets a laugh from Rocket. "Me too, man. Me too. How do you get through those shifts without cursing up a storm?"

"Freddy is my therapist. Big bear with a smile, who can get pissed at that?" Does the Gator have a point?

"Wish he was here to sing us a song."

Cyrax chimes in. "We are days away from Tribal Council. I suppose we need entertainment." The cyborg crouches down.

"You about to break it down?" Monty asks.

"I've seen it. In practice it could be tricky…" Cyrax looks for The Worm, but with how uncoordinated he is, it certainly doesn't look like it.

"Hahaha!"

"What's humorous about "The Worm?"

You're doin' The Frog!" Rocket shouts, getting a snicker from the cyborg. He has a sense of humor after all. "I try my best."

The gator steps in..and does it the right away! The smoothness of his moves are incomparable.

Cyrax: Montgomery may have the finesse, but give me ONE best of seven. I'll outclass him.

Cut to Rocket's confessional.

Rocket: Cyrax needs training BAD. I know he wasn't hitting the Worm on his missions. How would you react if you saw your assassin doing the Harlem Shake? Not so scary is it?

After that one-upping, the four make the walk up shore.

"You got Gator'd."

"If we used different moves, I can win. The Harlem Shake. The Charleston, perhaps." The cyborg retorts.

"The Charleston is laaame." Monty judges.

"You have your opinions."

Monty: I'm holding up my end, dancing with the stars over here. I dunno what in the blue hell she's talking over there, but if it's crazy, we're done.

The four women on the cast are chilling in the shelter again, and a topic that hasn't come up all season gets brought into the mix, by Ulala herself. "You know what's weird?"

"What?" The clone asks.

"A woman hasn't won in the series. Three in a row. I'm thinking somethings up…" the reporter theorizes.

"I know right? Casting's been real weird too." Daisy adds. Sometimes they'll put in seven, six, but we have FOUR. Could you imagine what would happen if we all left early? Jeff would get so much hate mail."

"Luckily the men are blowing up their games." The clone points out. "It's made it easier for us to get here."

Li chimes in. "Our fans must be so proud of us. We got here, with adversity some people won't have to deal with."

"I'm curious..what does that look like?" (Dark) Samus asks, oblivious to certain aspects of reality TV.

"We're judged more harshly than men in these games. They can play a ruthless game, and get praised. We do and get more criticism." Li explains.

"When a woman does it it's like "what a stupid b*tch,' and 'bad, bad bad.'" Daisy adds. "I love the people who don't, they see this for what it is. Winner takes all no matter what."

The clone nods. "We're doing what we can. There's no shame in that."

"Not to sound full of myself..but I'm going to sound full of myself. We're kickass! Came in with four, now we're half? How does that even happen?" The princess asks, hyped over the process.

Li chuckles at her energy.

Chun-Li: I didn't intend for an all girls alliance..but being with mine for so long, and struggling has brought us closer. Samus doesn't really have that closeness. She was stuck with a future tyrant, and a gator who hasn't done much to help her. People like that change your perception of trust. She's on an island, but we're on a rescue mission, so we can take her with us and build a new bond.

Li turns to said Samus. "What do you do for a living?"

"I teach the youth in a galaxy far away." That's definitely not your occupation.

"What do you teach?"

"Mathematics, foreign languages, it's a variety. It fills me with joy." Samus responds, trying to make the lie believable.

"I didn't take you as a TEACHER.." Daisy chimes in. "People have a way of surprising me."

"I don't blame you. Teachers don't usually look like this." The clone says, pointing to herself.

"You're a trailblazer." The princess compliments.

In confessional, the clones eating this up.

Dark Samus: These women have been nothing but kind to me…but they're giving me exactly what I need to fuel a raging fire.

After that conversation, she takes it, and makes sure to get Silver Sonic one on one.

"They are targeting you." She just says, flat out. "Ulala threw your name out, and has great backing. You have to end this."

The bot facepalms. "I anticipated this. Thank you for letting me know. Even if I just voted your ally, we can still work together."

"..yeah.."

"What else did they tell you?" He asks.

"They tried pulling me in for an all-womens alliance. You know how deadly those are when they get along. If anyone can lead the charge against this behemoth, it's you." Dark Samus, motivational speaker.

"Ulala lead these talks?"

"Yes."

"Then she's going to go." Target locked.

Silver: Those women tried taking our majority. Knowing Ulala is behind this will NOT stand. One by one they will all fall down, because I lead the rebellion.

The two clones make the trek back to camp, that talk ongoing.

"Sektor was a toxic prescence, but with him gone we could very well pick them off." The evil Samus suggests.

"That's the smartest move we can make. Take a look at the jury. If they get to the end, it's two locked. We'll have to fight for every vote." Silver adds.

"Let's put them on before they even start."

In confessional, Dark Samus smashes two rocks together.

Dark Samus: Two forces will fight for dominance, and I'll pick up the scraps.

She tosses those rocks behind her.

Dark Samus: Let these games begin.

Ok so Dark Samus and the Gator are spreading around, and so far it seems to be working, with people like Li and Daisy wanting to learn more about this mysterious figure. But, that Samus is just instigating the Ulala/Silver Sonic beef that's been shown ever since the merge feast. Two sides at war, she's covered. For now.

When it comes to the guys, Monty and Cyrax might need to have a dance off lol. It seems more relaxed on their end, but that might not be for long. Silver Sonic knows he's a target now, and he's looking to end this grudge with Ulala. Neither player will truly find peace until the other is gone.

The next chapter features the return of a twist that recently came back in "Survivor: 45." An oldie, but a goodie some people really wanted to see back. You probably know what it is. See you there :D