Replies, cooked up like a crab:

Tech-Star 2.0- I think because Harumi is such an unserious character she's seen as not strategic, but she found herself as the Dante swing vote and found an idol without anyone finding out (for a day). I definitely consider her the dark horse of the season with how much she's gone unnoticed.

leafstar41- Ushi at night is really a big issue, and that's why they're still in. You're definitely right about everyone underestimating them. This one was definitely a Survivor challenge. Maybe somewhere in the 20s in terms of seasons? Not entirely sure. The pre-challenge was from like, Season 6.

Space Zodiac- Yeah, like I said, that challenge was a last minute swap that I did because the other one would have been like Cultivated Will's giant chess. It would have been awesome in an actual episode, but translating to written form would not have made it look good, so I just stole a Survivor challenge from whatever season I was on at the time, and I know it wasn't my best one.

AZW330- Glad to see you fully caught up! I will absolutely miss Caia, other than Ochain, who's barely around, there's just not enough 'I'm the best' types of personalities. I think part of my Wade revisions will be making him comedically edgy once he's out in the open, and the scene with him and Vi really sold me on that.

lordgemini- Always great to hear from you! The first two merge episodes to me were more of a team warfare phase rather than a full merge, but Ardella dragging Ike over (at least for that vote) makes it so people are going to have no choice but to turn on their alliances. It's officially time for the strategy to start moving into full swing, and the next three episodes are gonna be jam-packed with it!

The crabs are ready, here we go!


Episode 7: Gettin' Crabby

The episode opened up with clips of the beach in the morning- Yuri and Ardella talking, Ushi and Ike talking, and Xerxes and Harumi talking. "Last time, on Total Drama Diairesi Island," Chris narrated, "we felt the full effects of the merge! Caia's elimination taught everyone they need to step their game up like crazy, but the person who heeded that the most was Ardella, who worked with Yuri to get over her rage. Good for her, boring for us!" The scene flipped over to Wade and Vi. "While one Snake worked on bringing another up, another Snake worked on bringing the others down…and miserably failed at it, like, comically lost." The scene showed Wade stomping on Vi's potato, Vi ignoring him, and Oscar chewing out the satanist.

"At our challenge, we asked everyone to say important things about the others, like who they think is the most dangerous, who they think will never get votes, stuff like that! The results were telling!" The next clip played of Ushi being told they would never win the game. "Ardella used her social skills and ability to learn about others to the extreme, and earned herself a handy advantage- a second life in the second challenge!" A clip played of Ardella cutting Ike's final rope and winning the advantage. "Unfortunately, Ike chose that very moment to reveal that he had an eidetic memory, and without breaking a sweat, stomped out everyone, including both Ardella tries, in our memory challenge." The next clip was of Ike winning immunity and telling Ardella he was perfect.

Chris continued as clips of the post-challenge scramble began to play. "Looking for a personal vote, Vi rallied up the Falcons to go after Wade, something she was happy to see everyone on the same page with, but Ardella's return to power meant that she had one more trick up her sleeve- getting the deal monger on her side." Clips played of the Falcon meeting, as well as Ardella and Ike discussing a deal. "After a tense elimination ceremony and vote, Ike's decision to side with the Snakes meant that it ended up being Oscar who was submarine-d away." The next clips were of Oscar's elimination and Vi's shock at the result, as well as her confronting Ike afterwards. "We're down to eight! Who will escape Vi's rageful gambit? Will Wade get his head on straight today? Will anyone think about stopping Ardella? Find out today, on Total! Drama! Diairesi Island!"


OPENING SEQUENCE

*Opening Instrumental Music*

[A slew of cameras began to appear out of various locations on the island. The first shot out of a tree that was located in a rather dense part of Diairesi Jungle. The second camera appeared out of the roof of a cave, likely in the Deep Zone. The final camera dropped out of the sky, landing on the Falcon campsite and shattering into pieces.]

Hey what's up, I'm here to slay,

[A new camera started flying down that mountain of the Sky Zone, where at the very top Ushi could be seen taking a nap. Once it got to the ground, Ardella was using a punching bag while Wade openly observed the protective leader, taking notes on her form.]

Don't know why the rest even bother to stay.

[The camera moved a bit further into the jungle, where Zena was on the ground, splitting some huge logs with her bare arms. Meanwhile, Harumi and Xerxes were at the top of a tree, enjoying the much clearer view. Xerxes seemed to be observing a bird above them, while Harumi was watching Zena down on the ground.]

I know the game and I've brought the skills

[There was a cut to the beach of Diairesi Island, where a makeshift table had been set up. At it, Ike and Matt were seen discussing certain points of a contract. Matt appeared rather intimidated, while Ike was sitting there with pure excitement. Nearby, Vi could be seen digging up a potato from the ground at the edge of the beach, brushing off her suit and then taking a giant bite of the potato.]

Crushing player's dreams, yeah, you know the drill

[Trinity was near the cave of the Deep Zone, flipping her coin in the air and doing tricks. Nearby, Oscar and Caia watched on. Oscar looked seriously impressed with her coin tricks, but Caia seemed totally unimpressed by it. On the last trick, the coin missed, and Trinity knocked it into Dante, who also flung the coin into Yuri by accident.]

I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous

[Yuri checked their reflection in the mirror upon the impact, and whatever reflection the mirror showed them was enough to force them to run off and drop the mirror. The mirror dropped to the ground and shattered in half perfectly. The camera zoomed into the mirror, reflecting out the nighttime scene, where everyone including Ushi was awake, whistling the last few notes of the theme while 'Total Drama Diairesi Island' appeared over all of them.]


The sun came up on the merged camp for their seventh day on Diairesi Island. Up bright and early to start her day was Ardella, who was out for a run, taking in the breeze along the ocean. "Time to bring it!" she said cheerfully to herself. "I really hope this will go okay today…"


Ardella: "Last night, I was able to turn the tides and get Oscar out," she said carefully. "But, that only worked because Ike's loyalty can be bought. If I could do it, Vi or Xerxes could buy it back. My goal needs to be making sure Ike stays on my side. If he doesn't, we're right back where we started. The three of us have dodged two merge eliminations so far, hopefully we can make it a third."


Ardella continued to run along the beach for about twenty more minutes. As she got back to the merged beach, she found Wade wandering around by some rocks. "Wade! Good morning!" she said cheerfully to the satanist. Wade merely looked up and rolled his eyes at the cheerful girl's comments.

"I suppose you are pleased with the result yesterday," Wade pointed out, still with an annoyed tone that the protective leader had. "However, the fact you pulled that off in mere hours is astounding to me."

"I'm sure you would have gotten it!" Ardella offered. "You did pull off the Zena ploy right under my nose!" Despite how nicely she said it, Wade hesitated upon hearing Ardella having knowledge of that. "Plus, you set Xerxes up to gamble on a fake idol on the same night! That required a ton of smarts, I'm sure!"

Wade narrowed his eyes. "I…I did not know you were aware of those things. However, my point is not that I have done nothing. I did manage to expel Zena and set Xerxes up for failure, but that scheme took three days. You did yours in about three hours. How do you accomplish such speed?"

Ardella put a finger to her chin. "Hm…if I had to guess…I would say it's because I know exactly who I need to talk to. It helps when you know a lot about other people and that they trust you! That's why we had to sit you out of the vote-getting yesterday- people don't trust you."

The satanist sighed. "I am aware of that. I need to figure out how to change that…in some other way than your obscene fact-learning. That is not me, and it is not useful."

"I disagree," Ardella said calmly. "I'm not learning facts to mess with people, I'm learning them because I care." She looked at Wade. "Did you know that Vi has two younger siblings? Their names are Jett and Emmi. All of her family members are named after gemstones."

Wade shook his head. "I hardly see what that has to do with-"

Ardella simply continued rattling off facts. "Caia was raised in Russian embassies her whole life, that's why she has such a good poker face. Ushi works at a warehouse with nine other people, and one of them was the reason that Ushi discovered they were non-binary. Dante moved schools two times because of incidents revolving around self-defense, it's part of the reason he thinks he's cursed." She quickly tried to think of one more. "Oh! Harumi's middle name is Tsubasa."

"Harumi was born in Japan," Wade corrected, "she would not have a middle name."

Ardella winked. "Not unless she gave herself one when she moved to America to fit in, which she did!" She laughed. "See! None of those are facts that make me understand them better in the game. I know Ike used to run an information brokerage at his high school, but that doesn't let me know that he has an eidetic memory. It's because I keep talking to people. I'm not learning facts to further myself. I'm learning them because I care about these people."

Wade nodded. "That is the difference then, I suppose. I have no care for any of these people. I doubt I will see them again, so I believe I should be using every possible chance to further myself in this game, and drain their life forces until they are useless husks. In the context of this game, I fail to see why that will not work. Sharing things about myself seems absolutely worthless."

Ardella frowned as she heard Wade say that. "I think that's my big problem with you," she admitted. Wade seemed confused, as if he hadn't been aware this was the problem. "Wade I could rattle off facts about anyone here, like how Oscar dyed his hair red when he ran away to hide his identity, but I can't do that with you. I don't know anything about you, and you're the person I've worked the most with."

The satanist shrugged. "That is not an issue for me. I understand you may not like it, but keeping myself guarded is important. There is no need to share my life with the world."

"Then share it with me," Ardella demanded. "Give me something. You have obviously had a very interesting past. No one does what you do without some sort of glaring reason. If you share nothing, people will hate you."

Wade shook his head. "Hardly relevant. When I win the money, it will not matter if people hate me. I will be richer than them all…except for Matt, maybe."

Ardella sighed. "I suppose so. But, you won't get voted into the finale like that." Wade raised an eyebrow. "If we make it together, they will take me over you, no question, and if Harumi is with us, your chances are even worse. If I end up getting to cast a vote, you may not even get mine."

"Suppose I go with Xerxes?" Wade asked, flipping the situation back on the pink-haired girl. "Who would you eliminate if you had the choice to do that?"

Ardella sat quietly for a second as she considered the situation. "I would eliminate whoever answered my questions worse." Wade gaped at the calm answer. "Wade, Xerxes may have betrayed our team, and that is deplorable in its own sense, but you did something far worse, and I only weigh them equally because I was the only one hurt by your actions towards me. Xerxes hurt everyone a small amount, but you hurt me on a large scale." Wade sat in silence as Ardella explained her reasoning.


Wade: "Perhaps that jury vote is something I had not considered," he admitted. "Getting there would be no problem, but without Caia in the picture anymore, I believe my only way of getting through would be to bring two people who have not played the game…and losing Oscar means only Harumi is left that fits that bill." He shook his head. "Perhaps Xerxes and I are in the same danger of that vote. He has been working to earn status back. I have done no such thing. I must adapt."


"Fine," Wade relented eventually. "What do you wish to know?"

Ardella smiled politely. "Anything. How about…how do you think your parents would react if they saw how far you've made it? Do you think they would be proud?"

Wade couldn't help but snicker at the question. "My parents are surely not watching me. They do not even know I left. Although, it has been a week. Perhaps they have noticed my absence by now." He let out a huff. "That is it. That is all you get."

Ardella smiled excitedly. "That's enough for now! I will have more questions for you soon, so be ready to share more!" Wade rolled his eyes and began making his way back to the campsite, where Ardella followed him, skipping cheerfully.


Back at the campsite, Harumi zipped open her tent, but instantly jumped back when she realized someone was there. "Woah! Ush! How are you? Great weather! That's something I'd talk about!"

Ushi stared blankly as Harumi fumbled around for a second. "Uh-huh," they responded back plainly. They pulled out the vote-steal idol. "Here's the idol back. If you have Ike's, I would appreciate it."

Harumi laughed. "What idol? I thought Xerky was the one who had it."

"Mhm, so that's why he went to you after talking to me?" Ushi asked with a sly smile. Harumi sighed in defeat. "Harumi, if I can offer a suggestion…stop lying. You're really, really bad at it."

Harumi sighed. "I've never had a need for it before," she admitted. Eventually, she reached into her sleeping bag and grabbed the immunity idol. "Here you go. Can I at least ask what you needed it for first? Xerky said that this would help you out big time, so I think I've earned it."

Ushi thought about it for a second. "Who knows that you have this?"

"Just me, Xerky, you, and I guess now Wall Street."

The nocturnal teen laughed. "Actually, I don't know if I told Ike it's yours yet. But, I can tell you under one condition. You can't let Ardella or Wade know you have this idol."

Harumi giggled nervously. "Weren't you the one who just told me to stop lying? If I couldn't lie to Zena, there's no way I'm going to hold the truth in from Spooky Man or The Della!"

"But you've had it for days now, right?" Ushi reminded her. "They're not asking because they don't think you'd be able to find it. Other than your suspicious day on the beach where everyone else was too busy scrambling for the vote, you haven't been looking, because you know all four idols are accounted for. They just think it's because they think you're bad at the game."

"I'm not bad at the game!" Harumi countered. The weather girl then gasped. "Wait, that's right- you have the fake! Did you turn my idol into a fake one?"

"How would I have done that?" Ushi said back blandly. "I used your idol to help me out with a small side project. You can have my complete insurance that you will not be eliminated because of this project. If you want Ike to tell you too to confirm it, I'll let you ask for him."

Harumi shrugged. "Nah, I can take your word for it. You wouldn't offer up Wall Street like a truth serum unless you were certain it'd work out for you. You promise I won't be eliminated because of this project?"

Ushi nodded. "Positive. Are you worried I swapped them out?"

The weather girl shook her head. "Nope! Because before Xerky came to take the idol, I did this!" Harumi showed Ushi the bottom of the idol, which underneath the hand had a small pencil sketch of a heart with the letters 'H Z' written inside of it.

The nocturnal teen looked surprised. "Wow, you really covered your bases." Harumi nodded as she finally handed back the immunity idol. "Well, good luck with the challenge today. I probably won't be around for it, but I doubt you'll get immunity handed to you today."

"Heehee, probably not," Harumi said. "I'll give it my all anyway!"


Harumi: "I'm only like, sixty percent sure Ush is telling the truth," she admitted sheepishly. "They don't get much from lying to me, but they also get me eliminated if they are. I'm not a big fan of that. I guess if Wall Street and Ush are on our side now, we don't have much to worry about."

Ushi: "In her seemingly innocent bombardment of questions," Ushi analyzed, "Harumi accounted for every scenario of what I could need her idol for, and what I might be using it for." They laughed. "Did we totally misread her? Is Harumi way smarter than we thought?" They shook their head with another chuckle. "Well, that keeps it interesting, at least. Harumi is an ideal candidate to get me to the final two, but after I get my big project done, I don't think I'll have to worry about finding ideal candidates- I'll just get there no matter what."


Meanwhile, Xerxes and Vi were eating breakfast on the outside of the campsite, keeping their distance from everyone else. "So, I have to ask," Vi spoke plainly to the falconer. "You, who ruined their reputation on day three, are obviously part of Ike's final four plan, right?"

Xerxes stopped eating for a split second as he was called out, but continued to keep up appearances. "Ike would be stupid to bring me," he said. "Sure, I have a real solid chance of just losing at the jury vote, but let's say I do get to that finale with him. He loses, no matter what. Chris basically confirmed in that letter that it's physical."

Vi couldn't help but laugh. "Very well-spoken," she complimented. "Complete truths among other things, but a complete dodge of my question. Ike has taught your cohort well." She sighed. "It is plain as day that you, Ushi, Yuri, and Ike are in a large alliance. To me, that means I have no choice but to make a plan to sever your group today."


Vi: "After spending four days on a team with Ike, and working with him on the first day of the merge to oust Caia, I figured out how Ike thinks, how he acts, and how he functions. If I simply target a member of that four, it will not work. Ike's idol can guarantee him a safe person if he plays it. Ike will expect me to target Ushi or himself, so I need people around me who can make something else happen." She glared at the camera. "Oscar's elimination puts a big hurt on my game. Ike will pay for that in a way he is not expecting."


"I take it you plan on working with Ardella then?" Xerxes asked. "No offense, but Ardella has it made with them. All she needs to do is keep them happy, and her little group goes to the final five. I doubt she'd work with you."

Vi nodded. "True, but Ardella is currently figuring out a way to keep Ike happy. I can offer something better, with your assistance of course."

"You want my help?" Xerxes asked. "You want me and her to vote together? If it's a good play, I'm in, but I doubt you'll get her to work with me. She's much better, but resentment like that doesn't go away in half an hour. It's still lingering."

The farmer took a giant bite of her breakfast. "Which is why, in my plan, you two will be voting differently. It does, however, require us to oust one of our own again."

Xerxes shook his head. "One of our own? That phrase barely has meaning anymore."


Xerxes: "The way I see it, we have three groups in the game. There's the Loyal Snakes- Ardella, Harumi, and Wade. There's the Deal-Mongers- Ike and Ushi. Then, there's Vi, Yuri, and me. I wouldn't call the three of us allied, more of…voting together. If things stay the same, then the three of us are getting picked off. If Ike commits to his ideal final four…I don't know what happens." He began counting on his fingers with his left arm. "He can't vote for Vi, Yuri and I are technically with him, so that means a Snake is going." He clutched his head. "None of this makes sense, but it means I should do…nothing?"


Vi looked at Xerxes. "Xerxes. I need you on my side. If you do not assist me with this vote, I am not going to win."

The falconer sighed. "Vi, I want to help, really, but if I do nothing, a Snake goes home tonight. Isn't that sort of what we want?"

"It is what you want," Vi retorted. "At eight, things are still dangerous, but if a Snake leaves today, that leaves your merry band of four to run the game. May I ask who you think has the greatest chance of winning right now? Consider all avenues."

Xerxes nodded, putting up some of his fingers. "Ardella could easily win, she'll crush the jury vote and the final challenge. Ushi could do the same if the challenge is at night or early morning, and I would say Oscar, but Ike turned on us." He pointed at his first finger. "Right now, Ardella has the greatest chance of winning."

"Wrong," Vi corrected. "Consider this option: a person who has fought through trauma, who has made critical game-changing plays, pissed off exactly one person on the jury and the island who will target Ike no matter what, and has a physical strength they could unlock to win a final challenge. Someone with no downsides at all, and people have kept them in because they deserve to be here."

Xerxes got the hint. "You're talking about Yuri," he concluded. "I believe I could beat them in a final challenge. Plus, I've been working with Ushi and helping them out on the side. I truly believe when we get to four, we will three-one vote out Yuri."

Vi shook her head. "Then how about another offer?" she said candidly. "A final four arrangement of myself, you, Harumi, and Wade? Naturally, we would eliminate Harumi at four, and Wade would be simply…annihilated by the jury." She raised an eyebrow. "Harumi is your friend, yes? There is a high chance that if you do nothing, she goes tonight."

That offer seemed to hit the falconer a bit. "I…I would have to consider that. It is a good play, but how do we get that off the ground?"

Vi smirked. "Leave that to me. I have scheduled a meeting with the strongest alliance on Diairesi Island."


Vi: "It irks me to take Wade that far," she complained. "But, to sit there when he is taken down and voted out over Xerxes would be entertaining." She laughed. "Sometimes you have to cultivate an odd gourd just to see what it looks like after growing." Ignoring the plant joke, she turned back to the camera. "I have played this game far too much like Violet the lawyer. I gotta start playin' like Vi the farmer instead." Her Georgian accent broke out a little bit there.

Xerxes: "Vi is very desperate right now…for what?" he asked. "She knows she's guaranteed to reach the final five. A Snake has to go tonight if Ike stays honest, and that is exactly why we should do nothing. If I can make sure that Ardella is the one who goes today…I could pick which final four I want. Ike's idol certainly sells it one way though."


Meanwhile, in the jungle, Yuri was searching vigorously for something. "The vote-steal idol has to be here somewhere," they said with a determined look. "I need that power if I'm going to get any further."

"Then I'd stop looking and start asking questions," Ike advised, appearing on the scene with a few rocks in his hand. "I was gonna chuck these in the ocean, train up my throwing arm. You want in?"

Yuri looked confused. "What do you mean by asking questions? Has it been found yet?"

Ike rolled his eyes. "Yes, an undetermined number of days ago, someone found it already. All four idols have been accounted for."

"You're talking secretively, like I can't know," Yuri deadpanned.

Ike laughed. "Bingo! Ushi found out but forbade me from telling anyone. But, since you're my ally, I wanted to spare you the search. Someone has the idol, and I can't tell you, as much as I want to."

"Seems like that list of secrets is piling up," Yuri reminded the bargainer. "Ike, I want to know why you didn't include me on the Oscar vote. I would have gone with it, but you chose not to include me."

The bargainer froze for a short second. He didn't like the pressure Yuri was putting on him. "Well, it wasn't a decision I made easily," he admitted. "I simply decided that Oscar was a larger threat than Wade to me. It happened at the last minute, right before I voted."

"Right before?" Yuri asked accusingly. "Even so, I vote after you. You could have given me some sort of signal. I am concerned that I am not on the same level in this alliance as I had originally thought."

Ike put his hands up defensively. "Look, I voted for Oscar without telling Xerxes too. Ushi only did what they did because they had to if we wanted the Oscar vote to go through. I'd rather you and Xerxes stay close with Vi for now. We're gonna need her for this next vote."

Yuri rolled their eyes. "And is today the day we finally put Wade back on the submarine?"

Ike shook his head. "Nah. Why shoot at the foot soldiers? Ardella needs to go. She'll win this game if we let her get any further than this."

The bookworm glanced away from Ike for a second. "Do I need to vote for her too, or do you have the numbers to do that too?"

"No, of course I need you for this," Ike commented. "If I'm voting against the Snakes, I'll need every other vote but theirs." Yuri stared cautiously at Ike for a second.


Yuri: "Despite Ike's claims of full truthfulness," they said with a heavy tone, "it is hard to trust that. I think it comes down to how he's playing the game. This is not a final four group that brings ourselves to the end, it's a final four deal where he brings all of us to the end. We're not playing, we're following." They shook their head. "It was a nice thought, but perhaps this deal has run its course. Siding with Vi and Xerxes would be easy, maybe I could grab Harumi as one more vote."

Ike: "Yuri trust me way less," he noted. "I guess that's fair, I made a last minute decision and they weren't included in it. All I need to do is make sure they stay on my side. Risking a tie in the final eight would be insanity." He stroked his chin. "I do have my idol still, but playing it now when I don't have to is pretty stupid too. Then there's the vote-steal idol. Tonight's the perfect time for it to be played. Maybe all the work I put in today will be for nothing if that idol spares Ardella."


Yuri eventually broke the silence. "Ike," they said with a suspicious tone. "Why did you decide that you wanted me in your final four?"

Ike laughed. "To be honest, we needed a number, and Vi's reputation means that she's too good at this game. Out of the people left, you were isolated after Dante was eliminated. It also was a suggestion from Xerxes. He felt like you deserved to go far the most."

"Xerxes said that?" Yuri asked, surprised. "What about you? Do you think I deserve to win?"

Ike nodded. "I do. To be honest, I think you have had the roughest go of it so far here- even more than Xerxes or Ardella. Their games are rough because of things they did or actions that backfired. Your game has been rough for reasons out of your control…and yet you find yourself in a good position anyway."

Yuri sighed. "Don't talk about Ochain like she's a curse," they deadpanned. "But, thank you. To me, even if it's not the case, that felt like the first truthful thing you have said to me so far." As they complimented the bargainer, they never met his piercing gaze.


Yuri: "That question settles it," they decided. "In a final four alliance, only three can go to the jury vote. If Ike thinks I deserve to win…he doesn't plan on taking me that far. I need to find a different way in, because this one won't work." They began taking a lot of deep breaths, panic appearing on their face. "I think I'm in danger…"


After his conversation with the bookworm, Ike meandered back to his tent, where Ushi was waiting, holding onto the immunity idol. "Swap is done," they said confidently. "Harumi was a bit suspicious about the intention, but she has nothing to worry about."

"Huh, didn't think she'd think through all that," Ike mused. "Guess she's smarter than we thought. How's that project of yours going?" Ushi then held up the fake idol to Ike, who stared at it with amazement. "Wow, having a reference really got you through that quickly! Where'd you learn to carve like that?"

Ushi smirked confidently. "When nothing is open during your waking hours, you learn how to handle things on your own…or just get weird hobbies. I invented a slingshot game for the warehouse guys once on a slow night. We didn't get work done for a week…"

Ike smiled. "I keep underestimating you, it's very impressive. That said, now we have this. What's the game plan? I still want it to be used with us in control."

The nocturnal teen examined the idol. "Well, it's circumstances for using it have changed. We cannot pull a similar stunt to what we tried to do with the Snakes. I think at this point, it's gonna have to be me who does this. There'll be too much lying involved for your convoluted philosophies."

The bargainer rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh, unless we can find a way that avoids it." His confident smirk stood tall for a while before disappearing. "I guess I don't know though. Yuri seems to trust us way less because of the Oscar vote. They say they would have done it with us if we asked."

"And risk that information being leaked to Vi?" Ushi responded plainly. "Not a chance. We did the right thing. Speaking of, you might be in danger today. I don't think Vi is gonna be as chill about this vote compared to Matt's elimination."

Ike grimaced at the thought of the angry lawyer. "Yeah…she let me know last night that she was mad. I can't vote for her, but in the worst case scenario, we need to split our votes. We know she doesn't have an idol, so scraping by with one over majority shouldn't be a problem."

Ushi nodded. "Agreed. But, I believe getting rid of Vi is still not in our best interest yet. She is smart, but we haven't seen her excel at any challenges. Yesterday was an academic challenge, but we ended up not seeing any raving success from her."


Ushi: "I haven't told Ike that Vi is not-so-secretly a hillbilly farmer," they explained. "It helps keep my trust with her a bit as we dwindle in numbers. Despite her early control of the team, I haven't really seen her do any big eliminations. She was strung along for the Caia blindside, and other than Trinity, she voted wrong in every other vote. Is she a strong player? You bet. The best? Not so much."


The Filipino teen tossed the idol aside. "So, back to Yuri. I assume that they weren't too keen on the Ardella suggestion?"

Ike nodded. "Yeah, I think Wade would be an easier vote to convince them…but I really think we can leave him be until Harumi and Ardella are gone. He won't win any challenges, and he has no power that Ardella doesn't. We'll have to think it through."

Ushi waved a hand lazily. "Well, I don't think we'll have to worry. We just see who wins immunity today, then decide when we see who's left." They turned to Ike. "I got a question for you though. You said you hate your name. Why is that?"

Ike laughed. "First of all, I don't hate it. It'd just be way too annoying to change all of my legal documents with it on there. Don't you know how many I have? Way more than the average chump."

"No, you were definitely annoyed when I asked you yesterday," Ushi argued. Ike's confident smirk disappeared. "Yeah, like that right now. I can't help you and be your perfect ally if you're not willing to share information with me."

The bargainer narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, well, that piece of information you got was free, so I get to charge you double to elaborate on it. Name the price you think that information's worth."

Ushi thought about it for a second before coming to a conclusion. "You can save the immunity idol for yourself only, even if you think I'll be eliminated."

Ike seemed exceptionally surprised to hear that offer. "That's…at least double. Huh."


Ike: "That's annoying," he complained. "I didn't actually think they had something worth that info. Totally forgot about the double-edged sword of that contract. Well done." He facetiously slow-clapped.


Ike stuck out his hand. "Fine, deal. Well done." Ushi quickly shook it before Ike could change his mind.

"Immunity idol is all yours," Ushi agreed. "Now, it's your turn. Pay up."

"Well, you know my parents are divorced," Ike explained. "Probably around the time I was ten. But, did you know that there was another event that happened around then?" He sighed. "Two weeks before my parents told me about the divorce, I came out to them and told them I was gay."

Ike flopped onto Ushi's sleeping bag with annoyance. "I mean, they tell me they both support me, but that obviously isn't true! One of them doesn't and I don't know which! But all the time when I was younger, I got bullied for that middle name, then when I told my parents, it was all 'boys can have that name too', and those conversations evolved to be more specific when I was older."

"So, you think it's because your parents told you that boys and girls can share names that you 'became' gay?" Ushi asked. "You know that's not how it works."

Ike shrugged. "Duh, I know that, but it helped me realize it. I stopped being so concerned about gender norms, and then…boom. Then, I told them, and they got divorced two weeks later. I looked up to both of them. My mom stayed home and provided for us, but my dad is a legendary stock broker. He's so committed to that role that he works constantly to keep that title, like, sixty hours a week."

Ushi blinked in silence for a bit. "Ike. Yesterday, Xerxes told us to let Harumi win immunity if we had the chance to. Then, a few hours later, you got the choice to give up immunity to her. Do you think Chris did that on purpose?"

"No, of course he didn't," Ike said back, still annoyed from his venting session. "That was a coincidence. Anyone who won immunity would have had the same option."

Ushi nodded again. "Right, and do you think having the memory challenge a few hours after you talked about your eidetic memory was planned?"

Ike shook his head. "No, that was a coincidence too. Real lucky one."

"Right, so you agree correlation and causation aren't the same thing," Ushi said carefully. "Could there have potentially been other reasons your parents split? Ones that weren't your fault?"

The bargainer paused. It looked like he had never really considered that. "Hm…I guess. But at the exact same time? Who does that? They should know better."

Ushi nodded. "Probably. But, sometimes you grow up, and you learn that adults are tall children. I manage about six people on my warehouse night shift, and four of them are older than me, some by a lot. I think you try to be so much like that legendary stock broker that you haven't considered working eighteen hours a day to be a bad thing."

Ike's face fell. "Do you…do you think I'm as bad as that?"

Ushi laughed. "No, not at all. The fact you're willing to talk for almost an hour without a lick of strategy coming out of your mouth proves that."

Ike glanced outside at the sun. "Holy crap, an hour? We have a challenge soon! Guess that means you'll be out for the count. Guess I need to win that one for us again."

"There he is," Ushi said playfully. "Our deal-monger has returned." Right after that, they yawned and dropped right onto their sleeping bag.


Ike: "Ushi offered way more than they should have, then helped me out of a big rut I've been dealing with…for free." He sat, shocked. "Perhaps I was wrong. They might be way worse at bargaining than I thought."

Ushi: "I learned some interesting things about Ike today," they said. "It helps me work with someone when I have a real connection with them, and I feel like I have that with Ike. It might have started off contractual, but I'm not so sure it is anymore. I wonder what he thinks about that."


Back at the campsite, Xerxes was sitting by the fire, staring up at the sky. The falconer glanced around to see if anyone was nearby, then stuck his arm out. "Pétra, katéva káto." On command, Petra flew down from the sky, perfectly perching herself on Xerxes's prosthetic. Xerxes tossed some bacon into the bird's mouth as it squawked excitedly at the meal.

"What an interesting bird you have," Wade commented as he emerged from his tent, startling the falconer. Xerxes got ready to send Petra off, but Wade held his hands up defensively. "Feel free to keep her here, I was simply observing."

Xerxes narrowed his eyes. "That…doesn't seem like you. What are you actually after?"

"Do you have proficiency with all types of birds, or are only falcons responsive to you?" Wade asked curiously, ignoring Xerxes's question.

The falconer didn't change his unwavering suspicious gaze at the satanist. "No…I can work with all types of birds. But I guess you don't care about that. Jump to the point."

Wade did not relent. "I was wondering about your experience with crows and ravens. Those are my two favorite types. Do they fall on your ranking anywhere?"

"They are up there," Xerxes answered. "I prefer ravens, they are slightly smarter and easier to work with, though when I lived in Greece, they were harder to find." He sighed. "I am going to ask you one more time. What do you want?"

Wade shrugged. "I do not have any specific agenda. I was hoping to form some sort of bond with you."

Xerxes couldn't help but laugh at the remark. "You? The person who forced me to coinflip on an idol? The person who forced my arm to be exposed? Yeah, right. Tell me why you're here and why I should entertain it."

The satanist sighed. "An expected response. Believe it or not, that is what I am after. Ardella mentioned that it might be in my best interest to make friends."

"And why did you think I was the best option?" Xerxes asked cautiously.

Wade gestured to the campsite, which was pretty much empty. "You are the only one present. Do not flatter yourself with the thought that I selected you intentionally."

"There he is," Xerxes responded. "Sorry, you blew that chance with just about everyone. Do you expect me to believe that if I asked you a question about your life, you'd entertain it?"

The satanist shifted awkwardly next to Xerxes. "I would consider it."

The falconer nodded. "Okay, tell me one thing. I'll let you pick, then I'd love to go back to talking about birds." Wade sat in silence for a while. He clearly did not wish to say anything. "Sorry, but if you have nothing to say, neither do I. If you want something, you have to pay up."

Wade sat silently as Xerxes got up to release Petra back into the air.


Wade: "Nobody wishes to make any sort of deal or even speak with me," he admitted. "I truly have become the new Caia." He sighed. "Something needs to change. Maybe I will ask Ardella what I need to do. It appears that our roles have totally reversed. My game is now in her hands."

Xerxes: "Part of me wants to believe Wade is trying to change," he analyzed, "but let's face it. He's trying to make friends because he just realized that in a jury scenario, even I would scrape by over him. Huh. Maybe Vi's plan isn't totally unfounded."


In the jungle, Ardella walked around, holding a note. "Who wanted to secretly meet with me?" she asked herself as she wandered around the jungle.

From a tree, Vi jumped down, landing almost like a cat before dusting off her suit. "Glad we could connect. I had been wanting to find time to speak with you for quite some time, but the elimination of Oscar has made it a top priority."

The protective leader nervously laughed. "Right…sorry about that. It was the only move I could make to keep my three safe."

"Of course it was," Vi agreed, much to Ardella's surprise. "That was a decision you made because you had no choice. Ike demanded it." Ardella once again seemed shocked that Vi had deduced that. "Are you sick of Ike making decisions every day that change this game? Ike has had some say in the eliminations of everyone except Dante, while being the person to actually select Caia and Oscar."

Ardella nodded. "He has been playing an amazing game. I would be afraid to go against him."

"Exactly," Vi responded calmly. "So, what I offer is a chance to change your fate. Ike has created a final four in which none of your three, nor myself, are included. Today, at eight, we have one chance to change the game for the last time. If we miss this opportunity, the four will run us over, and you will be first."

The protective leader nodded. "That much I understand. Can I ask why we don't just vote Ike out then? That seems like a really easy option."

"It does," Vi explained, "but Ike being in possession of an idol, and being adept enough to win certain immunities puts him in a position where I cannot find a safe manner of eliminating him. We have to ensure that the idol is flushed."

"So threaten Ushi," Ardella suggested. "Wade said something about Ike having to protect Ushi. So, if we threaten them, Ike will be forced to play that idol."

Vi nodded. "Astute. However, simply having the six of us vote out Ushi is just as poor. If Ike catches wind of it, then he plays an idol and decides who goes home, and that person will be you."

Ardella's face lit up slightly. "Are you…you're suggesting that we get rid of Xerxes instead? Is it finally time? You obviously want to target a member of that alliance that doesn't have Ike's full protection."

"Not him," Vi stated plainly. "Although they saved us in the merge vote, it may be time for Yuri to go. However, this is a complicated process. The unknown location of the vote-steal idol complicates this further."

The protective leader shook her head. "I can't believe no one's found it. It's almost halfway through the game." She extended a hand to Vi. "I am excited to work with you though. You're definitely someone I wish I had on my team at the start. Let's see who wins immunity today, then we can reconvene."

Vi smiled. "Excellent decision. Now, off the record, I wanted to ask. Why do you continue to indulge Wade and his antics? He clearly is an unsavory individual."

"I promised him I would keep him safe," Ardella insisted. "As the days go by, I trust him less, but I believe that he could become good. Has he apologized for that nasty thing that he tried to say to you yesterday?"

The farmer shrugged. "Speaking candidly, I do not recall what he said. I was not paying attention. Still, I believe that if you were to detach yourself from that pitiful game he has played, you may find yourself in a better position."

Ardella flipped the question right back. "If his game is so bad, shouldn't you take him to the end?" Vi looked surprised by that response. "Vi, I spent the first half of this game being selfish. I wanted my dream to come true of a perfect merge, and when we lost, I wanted to keep playing. I believe that if I were to have eliminated myself that night, Wade would not have done what he did. I am hoping to learn more about him. Someone with thinking that broken has something going on."

"I suppose," Vi responded. "Very well. Meet here after the challenge then. I will handle everything in between." The two split ways inconspicuously and went elsewhere.


Ardella: "Vi is a tough cookie, and she's clearly thought about this game a lot," she noted. "She is a bigger threat than people are giving her credit for, but I think right now the only way the three of us keep going is if we do what she says."

Vi: "Ardella is by far the largest threat remaining in this game," she said definitively. "In order to best her, I need to do it from within. But the first order of business is snuffing out this final four alliance. I believe I have the perfect plan created to ruin the games of Ike and the Snakes." She smirked. "The only wrench in the plan would be if any of them win immunity, but I plan on winning today myself, even if it means showing my hand."


Near the entrance to the Cave Zone, Harumi popped up out of the jungle after exploring for a bit. She glanced into the cave's entrance and noticed someone nearby, reading a book. "Ochi!" Harumi called out excitedly, waving her arms to the silver-haired person.

"Ugh, I'm not Yuri, I'm-" Ochain paused dead in her tracks. "Wait…you got that right. How did you tell us apart from so far away?"

"Different facial expressions!" Harumi answered cheerfully. "I didn't know you read too, I just thought that was a Yur thing."

Ochain shook her head. "Well, I'm also just as stuck in that Dallas library as Yuri is," she explained. "There's quite literally nothing else to do there. So, sometimes I find something I like." She winked at the weather girl. "If you know my tastes, you'll know what I am reading right now!"

Harumi's face reddened for a second as she glanced at the book Ochain was reading. "Is…is it smut?"

"You think so little of me!" Ochain retorted with a playful smirk. "But…yeah. It is."

The weather girl sat down next to the recluse. "What's wrong today? You don't look injured at all, so obviously something had to have happened. I just want to make sure you're both okay."

Ochain seemed shocked by that. "Both of us?"

"Yeah!" Harumi responded. "Yur might be the one we talk to the most, but you're a person too, right? I was just checking in."

Ochain scoffed. "Ike. Personally, I'm fine, but Yuri's worried about him. They think Ike's gonna make a move against them. Apparently, a lot of people are talking about voting us out. Xerxes mentioned it to me a bit ago. Plus, Ike left me and Xerxes out of that Oscar vote. So, Yuri's unsure of their safety level right now."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Harumi assured her, "Wall Street would need five votes. You know I won't, and if you won't, that'd mean basically everyone else has to vote you out! Plus, you could still win immunity!"

Ochain rubbed her hands together excitedly. "Immunity…that'd be cool to win. Well, what about you? Have you been trying to make any humongous moves recently?"

Harumi giggled. "Eh, not really. Even with Wall Street's flip, there's no telling what he'll do next. I could still be on the bottom. If Wall Street really meant that he'd take you, Xerky, and Ush to the final four, I feel like I'd believe that. He hasn't lied yet."

"Which'll make his first lie ever all the more believable," Ochain pointed out. "He's been sitting here being the eternal truth-teller, but we can't just take that at face value." Ochain gasped. "Oh! You should start learning how to lie! I could teach you!"

The weather girl hesitated. "Learn to lie? I don't think I could do that very quickly…"

"Sure you could! I think you'd do really well!" Ochain complimented.

Harumi giggled nervously. "Aw, thank y-"

"That was one," Ochain deadpanned. "All you gotta do is let that sadistic side inside you take over! Remember, other than Zena, you'll never see these people again! You can lie, cheat, steal, do whatever it takes to get to the next day! Without immunity, you need to lie to someone!" Harumi grimaced at the thought.


Harumi: "It's not like I can't lie," Harumi said defensively. "I kept it a secret that I liked Zena for a whole…twenty-two hours." She sighed. "Maybe I can't. I have to practice at some point. I think other than Wall Street, everyone will be lying at some point. I'll do Ochi proud and tell some awesome fibs. I mean, I made it this far, I can get a little further!"

Ochain: "I gotta start thinkin' about who I wanna have with me at the end," Ochain explained. "Harumi's really nice, but she's also done nothing so far. Someone like that won't hold a candle to Yuri, so as long as they can sit there in front of the jury and talk their lil' sob story while I easily beat Harumi in the end, who knows? If Bargain Boy doesn't wanna play with me, I'll make sure he doesn't!"


"I don't really have a sadistic side," Harumi said nervously. "I uh, don't think a lot of people do."

Ochain rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't know. Well, you'll need to figure something out, because I need that immunity win. You ain't getting it today." With a flirty wink at the weather girl, she closed her book. "Let's get ready to rumble!"

"Rumble indeed!" Chris's voice sounded over the speakers. "Sorry, that'll only make sense to two of you. Anyway, meet me at the bottom of the Deep Zone in the Snakes' old campsite, because it's time to atone for your past failures…or maybe continue your successes!"

Harumi grinned. "Oh, I wonder what it'll be? I'll try my best!" The weather girl skipped down to the old Buried Snake campsite as Ochain shook her head with an annoyed look as she followed the japanese girl.


The final eight, minus one, gathered at the Snakes' old campsite, the torches still lighting up the walls and the middle. As they entered, they saw nothing but Chris, Chef, and a monitor sitting between them. "Ah, the old campsite," Wade mused as they all entered. "Not many good things happened here."

"Most of them were your doing," Xerxes commented dryly. Wade nodded excitedly, proud of his work.

"I had a lot of awesome things happen here!" Harumi countered. "I met all of you and Zena! Well, most of you."

Chris cleared his throat to get everyone else's attention. "We done?" he asked sternly, eyeing Harumi with a piercing gaze. The weather girl promptly shut up and faced forward. "Great. Now, with this amount of people left in the game, we have a fun little trip down memory lane today!"

Chef turned on the monitor to reveal a video of Matt sitting in a chair. "As a reminder, we asked you a ton of interview questions before you started your time on the show. Here's a quick idea of what you might see today." The host went to turn on the monitor before looking around. "...Where's Ushi?"

"Down for the count already," Vi stated. "The other seven of us decided that it would not be worth it to bring them down. We also did not want to waste any of our own physical strength to do that."

"Seriously?" Chris complained. "This whole challenge revolved around eight people! It's the same time we started yesterday, what gives?"

Ike sneered at the host. "Well, maybe someone messed with their sleep schedule by moving the challenge yesterday to an earlier time!"

Chris frowned. "I don't care for any of your tones," he stated dryly. "Whatever, just watch the video." Chris hit 'play' on the monitor and took a step back. Everyone watched some people answer questions.

Matt, what will be your greatest strength on Diairesi Island?

The Matt from the video thought about the question for a second. "I believe I could diplomatically make decisions. It would not be so hard, and it is what I do every day here!"

"Lotta good that went," Ike said proudly, failing to notice the harsh glare he was receiving from Vi right behind him. The video continued.

Trinity, how would you fare eating only food that is found on Diairesi Island, with a few additions?

Everyone watched Trinity flip a coin, the coin landing on heads. On cue, the gambler spoke. "Well, I'm a vegetarian this year, so it'd be tough probably, but that's what the coin said! It knows best!"

Harumi laughed. "I suddenly don't feel so bad that Zena knocked her out. That must have been annoying to deal with."

"Oh, it was," Vi lamented. As a few people laughed, the next part of the video played.

Zena, do you think that you would be able to handle large twists in the game?

Harumi gasped excitedly as Zena came onto the screen, her eyes basically glued to it as the video Zena answered. "I don't know. I'd have to see what they are. I would imagine everything also has a consequence. People who have advantages are targets. I would try to avoid them all together."

Ardella sighed. "She did her best to avoid them. It's my fault she didn't fully steer clear."

Xerxes scoffed. "Yeah, right. It's Wade's fault." Ardella shot the falconer a quick glare before taking a deep breath, choosing not to respond further. The video continued.

Dante, what sort of game do you want to play? Cutthroat or passive?

"You make it sound like those are the only options," he replied nervously. "I-I don't wanna get in anyone's way, but I could also help! I think…probably not…"

Ochain waved at the video of Dante answering the question. "I miss my little pet," she said flirtatiously. "No one here's a good enough replacement. Well, Oscar was, but someone shut that window pretty quickly!" Ike averted his gaze from Ochain as the video kept going.

Caia, what are your weaknesses?

"I don't have any," the false apathetic answered smugly, sure of her safety in that room. "There's not a thing that would stop me from winning the whole game!"

"Oh, how wrong she was," Wade said, shaking his head. "Her whole plan at the merge was foolish. Would have liked to have her at the end though." The final clip then played.

Oscar, what sort of challenge would you be perfect at?

Oscar rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Uh…these cliparoonies ain't gettin' out, right? I'd beat anyone in a fight, tussle, or throwdown. It'd be uh…not too close neither."

"These questions sound familiar?" Chris asked. Everyone nodded. "We asked all of you questions like this when your interviews happened, and the question you saw Oscar answer will show you the challenge today! But first, everyone else's clips!" Chris let the rest of the clips answer the final question in a rapid-fire style.

I cook crab all the time, so it'd be easy for me to prepare one sooner than everyone else! Baltimore pride!

I could predict the weather! No one else is as good as me!

I'm probably one of the smarter and more strategic contenders, so I'd beat anyone in a chess match.

Any contest of raw strength is something I'd do okay with.

Oh…I am not too sure I should answer…but I would be unmatched in a cow-roping competition.

I have quite the outdoor rapport. I could build a fire faster than anyone else.

Obviously I could call a bird and have it do commands faster than anyone. It's my best skill by far.

Chris then turned to Ochain. "And our silver-haired friend, which of you is joining us today?"

Ochain scoffed. "Take a wild guess," she spat back facetiously. Ardella quickly looked over as she noticed Ochain was with the group and not Yuri.

Chris nodded. "Gotcha."

Oh, that's easy! I could win a dance contest! I have the best moves. Just don't ask poor little Yuri to do that.

Chris turned to everyone else. "So, obviously, your challenges have been picked for you today. We will be running this tournament-style, and the winner of the challenge is immune, and guaranteed a trip to the final seven. Of course, since Ushi's missing…" Chris gritted his teeth in anger. "Ushi will forfeit immunity and one random person will receive a free trip to the second round. In addition, their raw strength contest is also gone."

"Right," Vi responded with a polite nod. "However, that would mean that to complete the bracket, one other challenge will not happen. We only require six challenges."

Chris nodded. "Right you are, Vi," the host confirmed. "So, Ike!" The bargainer looked at the host with an excited look. "We are not doing your challenge. Sorry, chess takes too long for this. Also, who'd want to watch a chess match? Boring."

"I wouldn't mind it," Ardella offered.

Wade nodded in agreement. "A tactical game is something of interest."

"We already said 'no' to it," Chef told the two former Snakes. "But, I guess that's something to keep in mind…"

The cook began to do some work behind the monitor. "Chef's gonna randomize you all into a list. Just because you chose a challenge doesn't mean you're gonna get it. Good luck, your challenge will start soon!"

Ardella went over to Ochain. "Hey, just checking in. I wanted to make sure you're okay."

Ochain's eyes widened. "Aww, you? Really? It'd really make me feel better if you let me fight you! I thought that'd be your challenge, so I'm a bit upset."

To Ochain's surprise, Ardella simply wrapped her arms around her. "It'll be okay…I'm gonna figure something out with Vi. Ike won't have all that power after today." Upon whispering that, Ochain shuffled around for a bit.

"If you're gonna touch me, you've gotta take me to-" The dazzling nymph simply stopped. "Huh. Whatever you did worked. They're ready to come back. See ya later, losers."

Yuri blinked a few times as they gathered their surroundings. "Yay, hi, Yur!" Harumi shouted loudly.

A 'ding' sound on the monitor showed the randomization was done. "Okay, round one has the following games! Xerxes will go against Harumi in fire building, Ardella will go against Wade in crab prepping, Ike randomized into the free move to round two, and Vi will go against Ochain in the dance contest!"

Yuri gasped. "No…Ochain…"


Yuri: "I cannot dance. I have the coordination for it, because people have told me I can dance. I do not recall myself ever dancing well." They shook their head. "Guess I'm not winning immunity. I need to figure something else out." They shrugged. "Still, I'd rather be the one competing today. Ochain's done enough."

Ardella: "Oops…I didn't mean to make Yuri do a challenge they can't do. That's my fault…" She sighed. "But, I got pretty lucky, I can easily win my own challenge!"

Vi: "Did…did Yuri just come back? I suppose that is lucky for me."

Ike: "Another stroke of luck. My challenge isn't there, but who cares? A free pass to round two, and Yuri will probably get there, with their challenge gone. Looks like I don't need to be the strongest to keep winning immunities!"


"Our first contest will be Harumi and Xerxes, doing fire making!" Harumi and Xerxes stepped forward as Chris brought them to two tables. "Alright, at each station there are identical amounts of various fire-making supplies. Your goal is to build a flame high enough to burn through the string above you." The two glanced at the string that was sitting about two feet above the table.

Wade sighed. "I suppose this means I will not be doing my own challenge."

"Bingo!" Chris confirmed as Harumi and Xerxes got to their fire-making stations. "First one to burn through the string will move onto round two, and go up against Ike in whatever contest is next. Ready…go!"

As soon as the two contestants heard the 'go', they were off trying to make a fire. Xerxes quickly grabbed a bundle of coconut husk that was sitting in the basket and threw it onto the table. Harumi watched Xerxes and copied his move. "You never made fire at the Snake camp," the falconer reminded her.

"We always had someone do it for us because he was really good at it," Harumi said back with a pout. "Thanks, Spooky Man!" Wade rolled his eyes at Harumi's cheerful comment. Xerxes began stacking a small pile of sticks next to him.

The weather girl then made a different decision, trying to strike the flint and get the flame going instead. "Harumi opts for a new strategy compared to Xerxes," Chris narrates, "will cutting that corner be enough or is he going to catch up?"

Xerxes finished making the small stack of sticks over his fire, then also began working with the flint. "Xerxes now trying to get a flame going," Chris announced, but within a few seconds, Harumi's fire lit. "Harumi with a flame now, can she keep it?"

Harumi gasped, almost surprised she got the fire going. "Oh, crap!" she shouted in shock, quickly grabbing small sticks to put on top. "Gotta keep it, gotta keep it…" Unfortunately for the Japanese girl the sticks she threw on burnt out the flame. "Nonono- come back…"

Meanwhile, Xerxes was no longer focused on Harumi. He had his entire attention on his own fire, which he had just successfully struck the flint into a flame for. Xerxes carefully placed the sticks he had nearby in order from top of his table to the bottom. "Xerxes's more careful approach looks like it has a chance of paying off."

"It will pay off," the falconer muttered, stacking a few more sticks on top and using his air to fan the flames a little bit. After a few more seconds, the sticks caught, and his flame got even bigger. Harumi desperately struggled to get her fire going again, but she had much less material to work with after burning through a bunch of it.

As Xerxes continued to make his flame larger, Harumi's flint strikes got quicker and quicker. "Harumi is desperately trying to catch Xerxes, but it's looking like it's over," Chris commented. Xerxes took a deep breath and blew at the base of his fire, making the flame get high for a couple seconds, enough to start burning through the string.

After a few more seconds, the string snapped. "Xerxes wins the round, meaning he now has a one-in-four shot at immunity today, Harumi wins nothing but being super vulnerable at the elimination ceremony, with no free immunity to save her this time." The weather girl sighed.


Xerxes: "Making fire is a skill everyone should have," he said plainly. "There is a certain amount of patience it requires, so a speed competition like that can be misleading. I have more than enough patience. Harumi…does not."

Harumi: "I've made fire before," she said with a pout. "I spend most of my time outside! Of course I know how to make it." She sighed. "Just got panicked. Oh well, I don't think I'm in any danger today. But if I won, I could have given Yur my immunity. That woulda been good."


"Alright, time for game two!" Chris announced. "This is going to be Ardella and Wade, competing in crab meat preparation!" As Chris said that, Ardella grinned excitedly, while Wade simply sighed. Chef cleared off the fire-making tables, and placed a full crab on either table instead. "Step over to the tables for your challenge!"

As the two made their way over, Chef stole the fire Xerxes made and lit fires underneath the stove area of the table. "Your challenge is as follows: using the whole crab sitting in front of you, you are to spend twenty minutes frying the crab meat on the skillet provided. We are not judging this on taste, but temperature only."

Ardella raised her hand studiously. "May we keep any crab prepared today and take it back with us after the challenge?"

Chris and Chef exchanged odd glances at the girl, and then at each other. "We'll…allow it," Chris said cautiously.

"Alright, get ready for this one…go!" As soon as the word 'go' was heard, Ardella got to work, pulling off the tips of all the legs with extreme precision. "Ardella off to a quick start!" Chris narrated. The host glanced at Wade, who was simply observing the crab. "Wade has done…nothing?"

Wade grumbled. "Crab is not as common in London as it is in Baltimore," he stated bluntly. "No one else is going to handle themselves around the odd crab girl either." Wade attempted to copy Ardella and pull off a leg, but his lack of meticulousness forced an entire leg off. "Ah. Not ideal."

Ardella had already moved on from prepping the legs, taking off the main shell and working with the insides of the crab, placing everything on the side. The protective leader watched her time carefully, like she was waiting for something as her pan heated up. "Wade, remember, closer cuts means more meat!"

"Is she…helping him?" Vi asked with a confused tone. "Is she actually helping him in the actual challenge that he is supposed to beat her in?"

Xerxes sighed. "I looks like it."

"I think it's funny," Ike commented. "She's that confident that she's going to win. I think that is really impressive. I'll root for her. Go, Crabdella!"

"Look at you, Wall Street, doing a nickname!" Harumi cheered.

With most of her meat out of the crab and on the table, Ardella's eyes lit up as soon as the remaining time hit fifteen minutes left. She instantly tossed the crab meat into the pan and began spacing it super evenly. "Crabdella has very precisely thrown all her meat onto the pan, while Wade has not! Is Ardella too early or is Wade too late?" Chris laughed at the use of the new nickname.

Wade grumbled. "Take a wild guess. No matter. I will butcher this crab regardless. It's all about temperature, correct?" Wade, without having fully de-shelled his crab, throws all of his meat onto the pan as well. "I can still come back from this."

"Wade has chosen to forego finishing the preparation of his crab meat and is trying to heat it up! Will that pay off?" Chris asked.

Ardella sighed. "We will have slightly less crab meat at camp, then," she lamented.

"Oh, it was really about crab the whole time," Yuri realized. "She didn't help Wade, she helped Wade's meal."

Vi shrugged. "Eh, I get it."

Without much else to do but watch, fifteen minutes quickly elapsed by. "Time is up!" Chris called out. "Chef, please check the temperature of the two crabs!"

Chef placed a meat thermometer into Ardella's crab meat. "Hm…143 degrees," the cook stated. "Pretty much exactly where it needed to be. Probably tastes bad since we gave you no spices."

"Well-prepared crab doesn't need spices," Ardella testified.

"Now I'll check Wade's," Chef announced. The cook picked up a piece of Wade's crab meat from the shell. Upon touching it, he put it back down. "Never mind. That thing is not warmer than Ardella's. It's way colder."

Chris threw his arms up. "That settles it! Crabdella wins this round and will go on to face the next round against either Vi or Ochain!"

"Oh, it's um…me again," Yuri offered up.

The host looked surprised. "Oh. You're uhh…not gonna like this one."


Ardella: She laughed tensely. "I uhh…don't care for the new nickname," she admitted. "But, it's also not the first time I've been called 'Crabdella'." She sighed. "I'm more upset we didn't get any spices, but I stand by what I said. It'll taste good tonight even without any." The protective leader giggled a bit. "I'll have to fix Wade's poorly prepared meat."

Wade: "I have now done abysmally poor in all three individual immunity challenges," he said. "While not intentional, I have been able to make myself seem like much less of a threat. Hopefully it is enough to buy me a few more days. Ardella's plan for me to make real bonds has…merit."


Chef picked up the two tables that were previously cooking stations and moved them to the side. Underneath each of the tables were dance pads. Chef then pulled the cover off of an object in front of it, revealing a TV. Chris turned to Vi and Yuri. "Our final round one competition will be a game of Just Dance on the Wii."

"Oh, so we're using real brands now?" Harumi asked innocently.

"What?"

"What?"

Silence.

"...Anyway," Chris continued, a bit weirded out by that conversation, "You will both agree on one song to pick, and then you two will play through that song. Highest score moves onto the next round to compete against Ardella."

Yuri stared at the screen. "Do…do you have any preferences?" the recluse asked Vi, who was mesmerized by the screen.

Vi continued to study the game before turning to Yuri blankly. "I have never seen this game in my life."

"Guess lawyers wouldn't be out partying much," Yuri noted. "You okay just picking a random song?" Vi nodded. "Chris, we're okay just randomly selecting."

Chris nodded. "So be it. You'll be playing…'I'm Still Standing' by Elton John!"

"Woah, real names too," Harumi mused.

Chris shot the weather girl a glare. "You need to stop that."

Vi raised her hand. "Excuse me, how does this game work? I have never seen it before."

"Ya put this thing in your hand and you copy the moves. Do it in rhythm," Chef explained bluntly as he tossed remotes to both contestants. "I'll do ya both one better. If either of you can beat my run of this song, I'll move you straight to the final round."

Yuri sighed. "That will not bode well. But, deal."

Chef hit 'play' on the song, and the three of them were off. Moves began to flash on the bottom of the screen. Chef was moving in perfect rhythm with the game, while Yuri was fumbling immensely. Vi, on the other hand, was not moving at all, simply watching Chef. "This is…hard to watch," Xerxes commented.

"Yeah," Ike agreed. "I mean, it's what we expected, but it still looks terrible."

Wade shrugged. "I sort of believe that I would have performed better here."

Xerxes let out a laugh. "You know? I'll give you that. I think I agree." Wade smiled at his first successful non-strategy talk, and decided not to push his luck any further.

Chef's movements continued to be flawless, Yuri's movements continued to be bad, but something finally clicked with Vi. "This device…cannot possibly read full dance moves," she analyzed. "It could potentially just need certain motions."

Vi began to simply move her remote where it needed to be, not dancing at all but just swinging the remote around. "That's not how you play," Chef told her.

"Correction: it is not how you play," Vi retorted. The three of them continued their song, and Vi's score began to creep up on Yuri's, eventually passing it.

After another minute the song ended. "Looks like Vi wins this one by a little bit! This was somehow our closest competition so far!" Chris pointed out. "That means Vi will move onto the next round against Ardella."

Yuri took a look at Chef's score, which had 'PERFECT!' underneath it. "You got a perfect score?" Yuri asked the cook. "How were we ever supposed to beat that?"

Chef laughed. "Ya weren't. I just wanted to play." Yuri was not amused by that joke.


Yuri: "Call it my own fault I can't get immunity," they said with a sigh. "If Ike is telling the truth, then I might have to fall back on him for another vote. Unless Ardella is willing to take me in again…that may be an option I could consider."

Vi: "To dance horrifically on national television would be equivalent to speaking regularly for an entire season," she admitted. "So, I found my own way to victory. But, I fear some truths of my past may require explanation soon. My challenge has yet to be selected, but if it is, I plan on winning it."


Once things were cleaned up, the three losers sat on the side of the cave's walls, while Vi, Ardella, Ike, and Xerxes stood in front of Chris for the next round. "Let's randomize those challenges for the next round! So far we've seen every challenge but Harumi's, Xerxes's, and Vi's."

The monitor began flashing names at random before deciding the next two games. "First up will be Ardella and Vi competing in Xerxes's challenge, bird commanding! Then, Ike and Xerxes will face off in a weather prediction challenge. That means the winners of this round will compete for immunity in Vi's challenge."

"Stellar," Vi said dryly.

Chris rubbed his hands together excitedly. "Well, luckily, we knew this was a challenge we would do, and Xerxes's, Vi's, and Trinity's challenges involved animals, so we got a head start to showcase these!" Chef walked over and pulled out another curtain, which revealed robotic birds. "We would have stolen Petra for this challenge, but she only responds to Greek, which means only Xerxes or Zena would have gotten anywhere."

The two contestants stared at the robotic birds sitting in front of them. "Your challenge is simple. Each of you will be given a bracelet that can detect certain movements. Your job is, without talking, to have the robot bird fly over and perch onto your arm for ten seconds. This is the exact amount of time that Ike had Petra on his arm as Xerxes was throwing the challenge!"

"Thanks for that reminder," Xerxes deadpanned. "All you're going to do is piss off Ardella more."

Ardella took a deep breath. "No. I will simply show off that I learned enough about you in our brief time together, and that you were always a welcome presence on our team…until you did what you did."

"Go!" Chris told the two girls. Ardella moved her right arm up and down, then tried to keep it still for a little bit. Her bird did not move at all. "Ardella appears to be struggling immensely," Chris narrated. "Vi is still studying her bracelet like she did last round."

Xerxes shook his head. "They are totally botching this. It's harder to watch than the dance round."

"I disagree," Yuri complained from the edge of the cave. "Only you are affected by this round."

Ardella continued to move her arm around, and eventually, with a small circular motion, the protective leader got her robot bird to follow with its head. "Ardella finally has some movement with the bird, but all she can manage is head movements," Chris stated.

As Vi watched Ardella, she quickly replicated the motion, and her bird followed suit. "This is hardly bird commanding," Wade commented. "It feels more like a robotics lesson."

Vi then took a step backward as she continued to have the circular motion going in her arm. The bird began to slowly start flying over. "Vi looks like she might have it," Chris announced. "Ardella needs to get back in this quickly!"

Ardella began stepping backwards too, and once the bird started to move, she started rotating her arm at an even faster interval. The bird followed suit, and began to move more quickly. Vi gritted her teeth and also sped up her arm.

Both birds began actually flying over to the arm, and both were picking up speed. Right at the last second, Vi pulled her arm to a halt, slowing down the bird slightly, and causing Ardella's bird to fly past hers. "Ardella overtakes Vi, but she needs to hold the bird!" Chris called out.

Ardella's bird tried to latch onto her arm, but she was still moving too fast, and the bird instead snatched the bracelet and flew into the wall. Meanwhile, Vi's bird managed to grab hold of her still arm. Ten seconds passed, and the round was over. "Time's up! Vi wins round two and moves on to have a fifty-fifty shot of immunity…in her own challenge!"

Ardella sighed. "Maybe I didn't learn as much as I thought."

Xerxes shrugged. "No, of course you didn't learn that. Your move is how you lose an arm. No way was I going to share that with you."


Vi: "While immunity seems guaranteed," she analyzed, "there still lacks one concern. Winning that challenge would mean that I show my hand. I need to decide if I actually want to do that. Perhaps a free trip to the final seven is reasonable trade."

Ardella: "Another immunity challenge where I get super close," she said with a sigh. "But, if Xerxes loses this challenge, then I can get him voted out. It actually makes sense to do so today, and it'll feel good to get that vengeance for Zena and Dante."


"Alright!" Chris called out. "It's time for our next game! Ike and Xerxes will be doing a weather prediction. Luckily, we are in the cave, and we have been for hours now. So, to speed this one up, we will have you guess the current temperature in the jungle- not the cave."

Chef walked over to Harumi and gave her a piece of paper and a pen. "Harumi is going to write down the temperature she thinks it is outside, and the person who gets the closest number to her will move on!"

"And what if Harumi's wrong?" Ike asked sternly.

Harumi laughed. "That's funny, Wall Street! I haven't been wrong for three years! I uh…had a bad guess when I was fifteen."

Harumi jotted down a number quickly. "Two and a half of you are American now so…I guess use fahrenheit," Chris told them. Ike rolled his eyes at being called 'half'.

"This'll be the quickest challenge of the day," Yuri said.

Wade nodded. "Thank goodness for that. I am growing quite tired of this cave."

After a few more seconds, both boys had something written. "Okay, hold your numbers up!" Everyone held up their numbers. "Xerxes writes…eight-two! Ike writes…seventy-four! Harumi wrote…eighty-five! Both of you guessed under, but Xerxes was closer. To the final round!"

Ardella grumbled for a second, which Vi took note of. "Sorta an anti-climactic round," Yuri commented.

"It's guessing numbers, Yuri," Chris deadpanned. "What did you expect?"


Ike: "Burned twice by that guessing game," he said with a grumble. "Harumi's 'talent' is not something I'm a fan of. But, it doesn't matter. No more Snakes in contention for immunity means one of them goes away. Tonight's vote will be a cinch."

Xerxes: "Maybe it's the fact that I wear the heavy coat," the falconer noted, grabbing the sleeve of his still-torn coat. "But, I guess I generally think it's hotter out. I also spend way more time outside than Ike. That had a lot to do with my accuracy."


Vi and Xerxes exchanged determined looks as they stepped forward for the final round. "I guess you can enjoy your immunity," the falconer complained. "But, I'm still going to try my hardest. I assume there's some reason you chose a challenge like this."

"Perhaps I did not want to reveal my true answer," Vi responded. "Alas, that method has come back to bite me."

Xerxes raised an eyebrow. "Really? I guess you really don't seem like the type to do this. But, you handled the bird well. You clearly have some animal experience."

"Ahem!" Chris called out. "Chef, bring them out!" Chef walked over to the final covered object, and upon pulling it back, revealed two robotic cows. "Here's the final challenge for immunity. You need to take these ropes-" Chris tossed the two a lasso. "And rope the cow. Once you do that, the cow will slow down, and you need to guide it back to me. First person to give me their lasso with the cow on it wins immunity and a free trip to the final seven."

"Ready…go!" With that, Xerxes and Vi rushed to attempt to grab the cow. Xerxes made the first attempt to try and rope the cow. He threw the lasso at the cow running near him, but the loop simply landed on the cow's back and slipped off.

Meanwhile, like her first two rounds, Vi stood there. "She's done this every time, she just sits and watches before doing anything," Ike pointed out.

"I suppose that is what has gotten her this far," Wade pointed out. "However, this challenge rewards the most possible attempts."

Yuri shrugged. "It's her challenge. It's not like she wouldn't be good at it." As Yuri said that, Ardella looked like she was keeping quiet about something. She was also watching Xerxes carefully.

Vi lightly tossed a lasso hoop at a cow that went near her. It wrapped around one horn, but the cow shook it off instantly. Xerxes threw another attempt too, only to fail. "You're really not good at this, huh?" Xerxes asked, still trying to chase the cow he had been chasing.

The farmer sighed. "No, just deciding if it is worth it to play my hand completely." She started counting on her fingers. "Ushi knows…Matt and Oscar are gone…it may not give away everything if I…" Vi glanced over to Xerxes. "Sorry, I need immunity more than you do."

"That's objectively not tr-" the falconer started, but paused as he watched Vi instantly rope the next cow in her line of sight with her lasso. She pulled it as hard as she could, keeping the cow completely still with a single pull.

"Woah, that was crazy," Harumi said excitedly. "Briefcase has some serious skills."

Ike let out a huff. "Would have loved to know about those before I agreed not to write her name down…"

Vi began pulling the cow over to Chris, and even though it was resisting, Vi's efforts brought it over to the host in about a minute. "Okay, that finishes that up then!" The host announced. Chef quickly hit a button on a remote, and the two robotic cows went to sleep. "Vi wins immunity, guaranteed to get to the final seven. The other five of you here and Ushi, you're in danger."

Ardella grinned at the results of the immunity challenge. "He…isn't immune. I can finally do it." Everyone else began to make their way back to the beach, while Ardella walked behind everyone with a giant smile on her face.


Vi: "I will have to create some sort of lie to justify my success," she noted. "But, with immunity, I can dictate how this vote goes, as long as one thing happens- I need to convince Ardella to not target Xerxes. That will not be easy."

Xerxes: "Vi doesn't need immunity!" he complained. "I'm definitely in danger tonight. I know Ardella technically doesn't have the votes tonight to get me out, but Harumi has a vote-steal idol that could shake this vote up and wreck any plan anyone else had."


Once everyone made it back to the campsite, they were greeted by Ushi, who had finished making everyone dinner. "Looks like you all just left me here today," they complained. "Woke up in shock to see no one. Thought I won the game for a second." They got a couple laughs. "Anyway, how'd it go?"

"It was awesome!" Harumi gushed. "Well, not for me, I got out in the first round, but Vi roped a cow to win immunity!"

Ushi raised an eyebrow at that comment. "Vi really roped a cow? Huh. So if she's immune, then I guess it's time to get to work, right?" To their confirmed suspicion, the Snake Alliance disappeared into the jungle to make a decision. Even Harumi had completely gone away.

"So, yeah, we might have a giant problem," Ike said. "Vi is way stronger than we gave her credit for. She might mess up this final four alliance."

"She won't," Ushi defended, shaking their head. "Vi is only one person. Xerxes can beat her. That's why he's in the alliance. We just need to keep him in the game as long as possible. But, him not winning immunity means Ardella has a clean shot."

Ike looked over to his tent, where his idol was. "Well, worst comes to worst…I could save him. It would keep him loyal to us. Where is he, anyway?"

Ushi looked around. "Oh. The rest of our alliance is gone too. That could be bad."


Ushi: "Vi is clearly pissed that Oscar is gone. She plans to launch some sort of counter-attack today. That would mean trying to axe one of the people in the alliance, and my guess is that Xerxes is her target. It's a vote she and Ardella can agree on, but we need his strength to beat Vi in an immunity challenge at the final five." They sighed. "This means that I need to pivot this vote, or we need to use the idol well. There's also Harumi's vote-steal idol. All this work could be for nothing."


Xerxes and Yuri were back at the cave, trying to figure out their move. "I had a conversation with Vi today," Xerxes told the bookworm. "I think at this point, it's clear that the Snakes will try and target one of us. Whether it's me or you…I don't know."

Yuri sighed. "Plainly speaking, I would imagine it's me. But, Ardella's grudge isn't fully gone, and that means that she could make the objectively wrong choice."

Xerxes nodded. "There is…another option," he suggested. "We could try and knock out Ushi right now. Ushi has way more power than they let on, and just because they can't win immunities, doesn't mean they can't win this game."

"I thought about that too. I think it's a plan Vi would be in on," Yuri agreed. "Targeting Ushi will require assistance from the Snakes though. I could probably get Harumi to join us, but that's only four votes. We can't risk a tiebreaker against Ushi. We will lose."

The falconer shook his head. "There is no way Ardella will vote with me on anything. That means we need Wade's help to make this happen."

Yuri groaned. "And Wade is loyal to Ardella- for real this time." She sat in eerie silence for a while before turning to Xerxes. "Xerxes, I want to be clear that I have no intention of doing this, but I truly think right now our smartest options are to target each other."

"Why?" Xerxes asked. "If we can get rid of Ushi at four, why not wait until then?"

Yuri pointed back in the direction of the campsite. "Because letting Ike take us to the end means that we have no game for ourselves. We need to show that jury that we have played hard and deserve to go to the finale."

Xerxes nodded. "You're right. Caia's elimination won't be enough to sell it for you, and Zena's elimination won't be enough to sell it for me. We should find Vi and make a plan. If you're certain you can get Harumi, do it." Yuri nodded, and the two dispersed to do other things.


Xerxes: "Vi's new final four offer does not include Yuri, and maybe they are right. My smartest move tonight is to get rid of them, because I know if they are on that jury with me, that's one person who won't get a single vote to eliminate them."

Yuri: "Hopefully the damage control I have done with Harumi and Ardella the past few days will stop them from trying to get rid of me. But Harumi is also Xerxes's friend. I really can't tell how she's going to vote tonight…" she sighed. "If it comes down to saving myself, I won't hesitate to write down Xerxes's name."


Out by the ocean, Vi and Ardella were meeting. "Congrats on your immunity!" the protective leader said excitedly. "Where did you learn to do something like roping cattle?"

"It was an elective at my law school," Vi lied. As she spoke, she noticed Ardella was doing something odd. "Are…you okay?"

Ardella gasped. "You are doing it too! Yuri is from Texas, but they speak like they've been from the north their whole life. I know they're suppressing an accent because Ochain talks with her Texan accent in full swing. You sound like you're doing the same thing."

"That is not important," Vi protested. "There is an amount of secrets I am allowed to keep. Now, to the plan. My immunity win ensures that we can control this vote. May I ask what your current plan is?"

Ardella nodded. "My plan is to vote for the player who is the strongest in challenges, and has the most connections between everyone. That would be Xerxes."

"And that would be a miscalculation," Vi argued. "Xerxes has been keeping close ties with Ushi and myself, it would be foolish to make that attempt now. You do not possess the votes. Are you still holding a grudge against him?"

The protective leader stumbled over her words for a bit. "I'm…not…maybe…a little. But he deserves it still. I just happen to think it is also the correct answer."

"Xerxes is one person," Vi reminded her. "Ardella, would you care to hear why I do not plan on targeting Wade, and am even willing to take him to the final four despite my immense hatred for him?"

"I'll hear it out," Ardella relented.

Vi smirked. "I very much would enjoy watching the jury obliterate his hopes as I sit and watch him be voted out. It would almost be therapeutic. I imagine you watching the same thing happen to Xerxes would be equal in satisfaction."

The protective leader gasped. "It…would be nice. If you vote for Yuri, then we could split the votes and get rid of them. We'd just tell Ike or Ushi a different name."

"Which brings me back to the point- Xerxes is one person. My plan tonight is to convene with Yuri and Xerxes, and the three of us will be voting for Ushi. If you can bring your people on board, then it would be a six-two vote."

Ardella raised an eyebrow. "I guess with your immunity, you forgot to mention that Ike still has an idol he can play. You're not at risk tonight. My people are. I need to keep them safe."

Vi nodded. "Of course. I imagine between six people, there are sufficient votes to do so." She began walking back to the beach. "That is my report to you. I will leave the ball in your court now." She quickly looked back. "Oh, and tell no one of your discovery about my accent. It will not end well for you."

"I knew I could tell," Ardella said with a giggle. "Okay…time to figure this out."


Ardella: "This whole vote is like a puzzle," she explained. "With eight voters, the risk of a tie is crazy high. I need to find a way to get Ike and Ushi onto my side, or else this goes south. I don't think getting rid of Ushi is the right move."


In the jungle, Wade and Harumi were waiting for Ardella to return. "Do we really think Briefcase will work with us?" Harumi asked. "Weren't they like, the biggest supporter of the Falcons staying together?"

"That was before Ike betrayed her and removed Oscar from the game," Wade explained. "Although considering my actions yesterday, I can see why you would think Vi would be opposed to our aid."

Harumi tilted her head. "What exactly did you do yesterday?" the weather girl asked. "I heard your big announcement, but all I know is that it was something she and Red didn't like."

"Ah, the usual," Wade admitted. "I made an attempt to break her down and rebuild her in my image, similar to what I did with Ardella. It did not go as planned, and then Oscar intervened. I am relieved he is gone now."

Harumi laughed. "Wow, Spooky Man, you really are just out in the open now, huh?"

Wade shook his head and laughed. "I am always amused by how you perceive things, Harumi," he said. "Even on the night of the fight, you were still using your outlandish nicknames."

The weather girl giggled. "Hehe…I'm just bad at taking things seriously. I mean it's a game, you know? So I'm playing it like it's a game. Some people like taking it easy, other people like being the big scary villain." She pointed right at Wade. "That's you."

"I suppose," Wade admitted. "Despite my efforts to tear apart my team from the inside out, and your complete awareness of that fact, you still continue to be nice to me. May I ask why?"

Harumi shrugged. "Eh, you've been pretty nice to me overall," she pointed out. "Sure, you did that whole Zena play, but you didn't know about us, so I don't blame you. Plus, it's made me try harder at the game too. I even won immunity yesterday!"

"You were given that immunity," Wade reminded her. "Alas, my gameplan needs to change. Ardella has pointed out that I can't build any real bonds, and because of that, I will not be able to get to the finale. I made a pitiful attempt to connect with Xerxes. I don't understand how you're able to just talk to someone about anything."

The weather girl laughed. "Hey, look at what you're doing right now!" she mentioned. "If I was on that jury, I'd try to help you out. I know you're super evil or whatever, but you're still my friend." The two of them then saw three people approaching them: Ike, Ushi, and Ardella. "Hi, everyone!" Harumi called out excitedly.

"Good, now all of Diairesi Island knows this meeting is happening," Ushi complained. "Anyway, we're here because Ardella has news she wants to talk about with all of us here."

Ardella nodded with a cheerful look on her face. "That's right! I want to come up with a plan that lets us all vote together!"

Ike shook his head. "Ardella, I keep telling you, you have no deal with me today. I'm about to talk to Vi and get rid of one of you. Who that is, I'm not telling, because that could create a giant problem."

Ardella held her positive look at Ike. "That's perfect because I have a day-one Buried Snake that I think needs to go home as soon as possible. Yuri!"

Harumi looked shocked. "Wait, the vote's not for Xerky? Why would we do that?"

"It doesn't matter," Ushi reminded them all. "Ike and I won't do that vote, since it violates the final four contract we've made."

Ardella frowned. "Oh…you haven't heard yet? Vi is planning on getting rid of you tonight, Ushi!"


Ushi: "I'm the target?" they asked with a shocked look. "Me, who can't win challenges and literally will lose this game?" They shook their head. "What a day to let Ike not use the idol on me. This could actually get very bad."


"Vi doesn't have the votes," Ike argued. "She would be risking a tiebreaker, because Xerxes and Yuri aren't voting for Ushi."

"I would not want to take that risk," Wade warned him. "Should you fail this vote, you may be in violation of your contract."

Ardella crossed her arms. "Sorry, Ike. Yuri was mad that you left them out of the vote last night, and has been looking for ways to get you back. Vi is even more mad, and now the three of them are all writing Ushi's name down. Your only way to stop that is to join us and make it five votes."

Ushi rolled their eyes. "Of course, Vi won immunity, so even if Ike didn't join in, there was never a chance we could vote her out. Genius…" They turned to Ardella. "Why not Xerxes? He's a clear physical threat. With him out of the picture, you'd win every challenge."

"Because I believe he cannot win the game. Keeping him around makes me not as much of a threat, and it is clear you all have been trying to target me instead of my friends," Ardella answered.

Ike laughed. "Fine, I'll tell Vi we want Wade out. That'll get her on board instantly. We have proof of that concept."

Ardella grimaced. "Yeah…Vi already told me that she plans on letting Wade stick around. Again, we're sorry, but this is your only option. You need to vote with us, or Ushi goes home." All Ike could do was stand there in silence.


Ike: "So this was Vi's plan…" he thought carefully. "She screwed up my final four alliance, she forced me to vote for Yuri four votes early, and removed my ability to make any sort of deal by empowering the enemy alliance." He laughed. "Credit where it's due, but just because I don't have to use my idol for Ushi, doesn't mean I can't. I have to decide what's best for me."


"Della?" Harumi asked nervously. "I really don't want to have to vote out Yur. They're my friend."

Ardella sighed. "Harumi, I wish it didn't come to this, but this is our best move right now. We have to cripple the other side as much as possible." She knelt down and put a hand on Harumi's shoulder. "Can you do this with us?"

Harumi stared at Wade and Ardella for a while before letting out a quiet "...okay."


Meanwhile, Vi found Xerxes and Yuri to figure out the plan. "There you two are," Vi said plainly. "I would like to see your openness regarding an elimination target I was thinking of."

"Honestly, at this rate, we'll write down any name that isn't ours," Yuri admitted. Next to them, Xerxes nodded in agreement.

Vi seemed surprised by that. "Really? You would be willing to betray your own final four deal you have? Even without a better one?"

"It's obvious Ardella is targeting one of us," Xerxes told the lawyer. "She probably has found some way to get Ike on her side. At this point, the alliance is done, and the fact that we were both left out of the Oscar vote is telling."

Yuri sighed. "Our games are in your hands right now. Tell us how to vote and we'll make it happen."

Vi smiled. "I am glad to have some allies that are still working out well. We are voting for Ushi tonight. Ike will not see that coming, and targeting him would be bad for me, as I can rely on his protection until the final five."

Xerxes nodded. "Good, we'll vote for Ushi then. This'll be a blindside they won't see coming."


Yuri: "Hopefully Vi has done enough that we can both stay, but I wonder if Ardella and her alliance are actually on our side for this." She grumbled to herself. "I'd love to have some of that protection that Vi or Ike are in possession of."

Xerxes: "All coming down to the wire here," he said with a concerned look. "I think Ardella will still go after me. She has no reason not to, unless someone convinces her to not do that. Still, Ushi is crafty. To think they have no plan at all is ridiculous."

Vi: "Well, all my cards have been played," she stated with a smile. "I have spread truths around, I have made deals, and I have been brutally honest. Much like Ike, I have controlled this vote. Unfortunately, tonight it will be him who watches his allies drop like flies. I told you to watch your step, Bargain Boy."


The final eight all made their way down the beach, where the fire was waiting for them at the end. The stage was once again set as the contestants sat down- Ike and Ushi sat right in the middle, Ardella, Harumi, and Wade to their right, and Vi, Xerxes, and Yuri to their left. "Alright, after a fun day of lots of challenges, the time has come to put one of you in that submarine again. Vi, you're the only one who is truly safe right now."

"That safety feels good," Vi explained. "To me, it allows me to move a bit more freely today, and make new plans that I feel will benefit a lot of us in the long run."

"That 'us' doesn't include everyone," Ushi said back with a scowl. "Vi has created her own plans that benefit her. That's what she means. Everyone sat back today and let her do that, and now my name is on the chopping block."

Ike nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately, my master plan for a solid final four was snuffed out about twelve hours too early, and it seems like one of us is on our way out." He pulled out his immunity idol and held it in his hand. "But not me, because I'm not going anywhere."

Chris turned to Harumi. "Harumi, Ike is holding the immunity idol he got by giving you immunity. How would it feel if you went out because of it?"

Harumi laughed. "Well, he has to actually play it. If not, we could still vote for him. But, even though this whole day has been about keeping Wall Street's power in check, his name hasn't come up once."

"And who exactly is the Happy Family voting for?" Ushi asked, turning to Wade. "Who has Ardella conned you into voting for?"

"I believe we have done the conning today," Wade responded. "Against her wishes, we have opted to spare her nemesis for the third day in a row."

Chris turned to Yuri. "So, Yuri, by process of elimination, if it's not Ike, and it can't be Vi, and they're keeping Xerxes, it has to be you."

"Well, it could be," Yuri admitted. "Or, they are all piling on the Ushi elimination, which I am in favor of. If they're truly keeping Xerxes around, I really hope that the friends I've made and the bonds I've formed are enough to keep me in."

"I think we all get it at this point," Ike told Chris bluntly. "We've narrowed the targets down to two." He still held the idol in his hand. "I can still play this tonight. Just remember that."

With those words, Chris smiled excitedly. "Well, this ought to be a good one. It's time to vote. Ardella, you're up." Ardella got up and voted, as more people followed behind her.


Harumi: "This is the toughest move I've had to make so far," she said nervously, "and I don't even think it'll pay off. But, I have to try."

Ushi: They very clearly held up Yuri's name. "All you had to do was lie to Vi today. You obviously didn't, so now it's you or me. Just know I'm craftier than I look."

Yuri: "I refuse to be dragged to the end," they said as they held up Ushi's name. "But if I get there, you better watch out, because the fact that I'm the one casting this vote instead of Ochain means I have a lot more fight in me than I did before."


Once Yuri returned, they sat down and Chris got the votes. "Okay, you all know the rules. If anyone has any idol they would like to play, this is the time to do so. Otherwise, you will lose your chance." Chris reminded them all. "If you have found the vote-steal idol, you must reveal who you are stealing a vote from and who it is for instead."

Silence filled the space for a bit, while people looked around and tried to get reads on what people would do. Harumi glanced down at her vote-steal idol, trying to figure out if there was a move to be made, but she quickly looked forward again.

Ike reached for his idol, but a hand caught him first. "Don't waste it," Ushi warned. "I think there's a chance."

"I'd rather you not go," Ike admitted.

Ushi grinned. "Then sit back down and watch me stay."

Ike relented, sitting back down and facing forward. "Okay, then if you don't receive a marshmallow, you will be sent to the edge of the beach, where Chef will take you away from Diairesi Island," Chris said. Chef got up and walked over to the Submarine of Shame.

"Immunity today went to Vi," Chris said, tossing the first of seven marshmallows to the lawyer. Vi smiled as she held her safety in her hand.

"Ardella." The protective leader sighed in relief as she got her marshmallow the earliest she ever had gotten it.

"Ike." The bargainer caught his marshmallow, but continued to glare at Vi, who maintained a neutral expression amidst the glares.

"Harumi." The weather girl tried to bite her marshmallow in the air, only for it to hit her mouth and fall on the ground. Harumi frowned as she watched it get covered in sand.

"Wade." The satanist smirked and snatched his marshmallow with one hand, content with his continued safety.

Suddenly, there were only two marshmallows left. Xerxes looked nervous that he had not gotten one yet, while Yuri and Ushi waited in silence to await their fate. The next one was then called.

"Xerxes." The falconer sighed in relief as he caught his marshmallow, happy to still be in the game. "And now we're down to one. Ushi, your strategic prowess has marked you a threat despite your challenge in-ability. Yuri, your social game has certainly been noticed and people are definitely worried you could win this game, which cannot be said for everyone here. Both teens looked indifferent as their names were said.

Chris held up the final marshmallow. "The seventh person voted out of Total Drama Diairesi Island is…

…Not decided yet! We have a tie!"

"A tie?" Ardella asked. "How did that happen?"

Wade shook his head. "Someone made a critical error."

"I flipped," Harumi admitted sheepishly. "Della, I told you I wasn't gonna vote Yur out!"

Yuri seemed really happy to see that Harumi had stuck up for them. "You…managed to lie to her?" Yuri asked the weather girl. "Ochain would be proud."

Chris sighed. "Well, rules of a tie mean a re-vote. Everyone will vote again except for Ushi and Yuri. At this time, no idols may be played. Idols will become playable at the next elimination, as the team swap idol has already been played."

Ardella looked at Harumi. "Harumi, please don't flip this time. Ushi is keeping us in the game."

"Ushi is literally the reason you're in this mess," Xerxes pointed out. "Harumi, you made a good choice."

Chris laughed. "This is fun, but neither of you are Harumi, and it's her choice. Everyone, go vote again!"


Ike: He held up Yuri's name again as he shook his head. "Harumi, you've moved up on my hit list now, but right now, I need your friend to go away."

Vi: "Sorry, Ike. I need you to watch your allies struggle. You did it to me twice, and I'm only doing it to you once. Tomorrow is a new day, maybe we will work together. That is what you said, right?" She held up Ushi's name. "We'll miss your cooking."


Once Xerxes returned this time, Chris began reading the votes one-by-one. "If this vote ends up as a tie again, then we will move to a tiebreaker challenge. First vote…Ushi." Ushi rolled their eyes.

"Yuri." Yuri took a deep breath, trying to keep their composure.

"Yuri." The bookworm shook their head, very nervous now.

"Ushi." As the votes tied. Ushi and Yuri simply looked at each other, out of control of their fate.

"Yuri." The bookworm seemed startled by three votes, very aware that one more was enough to send them home.

"Final vote…Ushi. We're tied again," Chris announced. Wade and Ardella looked over at Harumi, who was no longer looking their way. "So, that means we need to have a tiebreaker. Ushi, at the challenge today, a few people expressed interest in a chess match."

Ushi smiled. "Chess sounds good."

Yuri nodded. "I agree. That seems like a fair tiebreaker."

Chris's face fell. "You kids are weird. But, them's the rules. Here's how it'll go. You'll play a round, if it's a checkmate, you win. If you tie it here, we're gonna flip a coin or something." He looked at the others. "No one else is allowed to speak or do any communication with our tiebreaker participants.

"Bring it," Yuri agreed.

"Good luck," Ushi bragged. "You'll need it."

The two sat on opposite sides of the board. "Ushi, you're on white, Yuri will be black. Have fun!"


Yuri: "Ushi is very smart, but this is a challenge I can win," they said. "I just have to play perfectly and capitalize on any mistakes they make."

Ushi: "Yuri is really smart," they said carefully. "But, unfortunately for them, I'm way smarter. I just need to not make any mistakes."


Silence filled the beach as the two started making moves. Yuri watched Ushi's opening moves and countered accordingly. "Not going for a fool's mate?" they asked playfully. "I figured you'd at least try."

Ushi moved a bishop out into the center of the board. "And lose time making moves that matter? I think not." They watched as Yuri took one of their knights with a bishop. "Oh, wow, interesting play."

"Why is that?" Yuri asked. "Scared that I took a piece you were planning on using?"

The nocturnal teen shook their head. "No, I just thought you'd see the obvious trap." With that bishop out of the way, Ushi moved a rook all the way across the board, capturing Yuri's queen. "Check."

Yuri hesitated as they watched a lot of power on their board disappear. "Ah. That is unlucky." The game progressed another few minutes, but with Ushi's point advantage, Yuri could barely hold on, losing piece after piece.

After a few more moves, it was over…

…"Checkmate," Ushi said as they moved a rook into position to lock the king in place. "You definitely kept me on my toes. Even after one bad move, I had to play super carefully to stay in the lead. Shame we couldn't go to the final four together."

Yuri sighed. "Yeah, it is. But, I guess we did vote for each other, so I can't really be too mad about it."

Yuri went over to Ardella and Harumi. "Sorry for all the trouble I caused you two. Harumi, thanks for giving me that chance."

Harumi smiled. "I don't like it when my friends leave…but I'm glad you got a chance to fight Ush first."

Ardella sighed. "We're sorry. We had to make the best move. You would have won the game."

The bookworm nodded with a laugh. "Yeah, I probably would have, huh? It's been fun, everyone. Even with all the chaos that happened with me here, I think it was a great experience for me. See you." Everyone watched as Yuri departed with Chef to the Submarine of Shame, their head held high. After a few more seconds, they were gone.

"Well," Chris said to everyone else. "Obviously you'll have some things to sort out. Head back to camp, you have all officially made it to the top half of this game. Time to step things up." Ushi sighed in relief as they stood up from the chessboard and trailed behind everyone.


Ushi: "I had no clue Harumi would flip," they admitted. "But it's clear to me that Vi and Ardella have too much power. I have no choice but to speed up my project. I just need Ike on board with the plan."

Harumi: "Well, this'll be a fun night," she said sheepishly. "For the first time in this game, I voted against The Della, and then I did it again. I really hope I can pull through." She pulled out her vote-steal idol. "Seven's a bad time to use it, but I might have to."


"A big vote-out always means that someone is next in line!" Chris said excitedly. "None of them think it's them, which means our next elimination is sure to be a crazy one! What will Harumi do now that she's defied her alliance? Can Ushi get off the bottom a second time? How will Ike handle losing a member of his final four? Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Diairesi Island!"


Votes:

Ardella: She sighed. "For the third time, I can't do it, but Vi is right. Xerxes can't win. He will surely lose. Yuri, you're too good at this game. I can't have a threat like that around."

Harumi: "This is the toughest move I've had to make so far," she said nervously, "and I don't even think it'll pay off. But, I have to try." She held up a paper that said 'Ush'. "Even if it's a tie, I want Yur to have a chance, because they're my friend."

Ike: He grumbled as he started writing a name down. "I'm honestly super jaded about this one. How dare you force me to eliminate one of my own? But, I can't let Ushi lose, so Yuri, it has to be you."

Ushi: They very clearly held up Yuri's name. "All you had to do was lie to Vi today. You obviously didn't, so now it's you or me. Just know I'm craftier than I look."

Vi: She wrote down Ushi's name. "Sparing Ike is essential. Ike will not write my name down, which is why it is crucial that he remains in the game a bit longer. Unfortunately, that means the vote has fallen to you. I will miss your cooking."

Wade: "You were not my first choice today, but I see the reasoning," he admitted. "Yuri, you had a chance to remain with us, so I do not care that you are leaving. This is literally your fault."

Xerxes: "I know I spent yesterday being your best friend, but I need to take you out before you get me. Sorry, Ushi, leaving you unchecked is stupid."

Yuri: "I refuse to be dragged to the end," they said as they held up Ushi's name. "But if I get there, you better watch out, because the fact that I'm the one casting this vote instead of Ochain means I have a lot more fight in me than I did before."

Total: Ushi (4), Yuri (4) / Revote: Ushi (3), Yuri (3)

Eliminated: Yuri / Ochain Rill: The Library Recluse


Merge:

Ardella, Harumi, Ike, Ushi, Vi, Wade, Xerxes


This one hurts.

Yeah, I know this is not a favorable elimination, I'm gonna apologize for that one in advance. But, I think despite their time cut short, Yuri had a really awesome arc throughout this season. Logistically, I knew it had to be one of the final four alliance members here, or they would have just run the game. So, it came down to the major scene of the day: the non-binary chess match. The challenge itself I really enjoyed writing, my favorite minigames of the day were the dance off and the fire making.

Today's episode featured the elimination of Yuri Rill: The Library Recluse. Yuri quickly became a super popular character which I am happy to see, because I was always very concerned how their DID was portrayed. Yuri's final alignment comes out to be NEUTRAL GOOD. Yuri is clearly a very good person, but we see them able to avoid elimination by flipping sides like they did on the Caia vote. We also lose Ochain, who's final alignment comes out to be LAWFUL EVIL. While originally supposed to be a complete chaotic evil agent of chaos, upon more research I turned Ochain into more of a protector, and so her role is to protect Yuri, no matter what. As a character, Yuri did have finale plans, but they never lasted super long. I think once I decided to make them a DID character, that placement dropped quickly. Despite the late additions to their character, Yuri is not the last late addition to the roster. They are still in the game…hiding.

Anyway, we've officially gotten ourselves down to half the cast! I think this is a really strong upper half in terms of characters, and I am excited to get moving on the rest of the game. We still have 3 idols in circulation, 4 more immunities to be given out, 5 more non-finalists, and 6 more people to lose the game.

As much as the most recent elimination hurt and the episode itself was harder to write for that reason, the next episode is one of the ones I've been really looking forward to. Who do you think is going to win? Who do you think is going next? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the reviews! I will see you next time!