Survivor CH5: Day 37

(N.P.Z.R. Tribe)

"Well, as we were suspecting, Reginald had an idol that he ended up playing. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get him to waste it and Inferno got blindsided." Tempo sighed. "Thankfully, we're still in an okay position. We outnumber the other two 3-2, and we can totally use that to our advantage here."

"Man. I was hoping he'd think we'd gun for Grace." Mel sighed, arms folded.

"Nothing we can do about it now, though." Tempo said. "Our best bet is to just vote them out together now."

"Which one do we go for?" Krash asked.

"I'd say Reginald. If he wins Immunity, we'll gun for Grace."

"That works for me." Mel shrugged.

"I'm actually surprised that they've lasted this long." Krash scratched his head. "I mean, it's basically been just the two of them since Molly left, hasn't it? Wasn't that, like, the final TEN?"

"I think so." Tempo nodded.

"We're coming into the last three days here, and we need to make sure that we keep an advantage." Mel explained. "That being said, Inferno was my closest ally remaining, so I know that I'm technically on my own. If it comes down to me against Tempo and Krash, there's no way they'll keep me over each other."

"Man. I never thought I'd be here, to be frank. I mean, we're at the final five and I'm still here, PLUS I've still got an ally left." Krash said. "I don't think I've ever been in this good of a position, considering the last season I had an alliance, it was just with one person and I ended up getting eliminated before the merge hit."

Grace and Reginald sat near the small lake, appearing to ponder their next move.

"Well, your plan worked." Grace admitted.

"Thank you." Reginald smirked.

"I'm not congratulating you. Keep in mind that we HAVE no more aces in the hole." Grace reminded. "We're STILL at a disadvantage."

"Then we just need to get the others to turn on each other." Reginald shrugged. "Should be simple enough."

"Simple? Mel has it in for me and Krash is blindly loyal to his alliance!"

Reginald turned and cast a sly look. "And who, pray tell, does that leave?" He quizzed.

Grace blinked a few times. "…Tempo?"

"Tempo."

"The way I've been seeing Tempo play, he seems to have an understanding of how we all play because he's studied past seasons." Reginald said with a smirk. "Why not use that to our advantage? I mean, who's the biggest threat by a logical standpoint? On paper, it sure doesn't sound like Grace and I."

The final five decided to go to bed. They had a feeling there would be a challenge tomorrow and they wanted to prepare for it.

(N.P.Z.R. Tribe; Day 37)

"Tempo, can we talk?" Grace asked as she and Reginald approached Tempo while Krash was getting treemail.

"Uh…Okay." Tempo said hesitantly.

"Good. We were hoping there would be a chance that we could sway you to our side for the vote." Grace said.

"And…Why would I do that?" Tempo lifted an eyebrow.

"You're not thinking, Tempo. Who would you say is the biggest threat left in the game?" Reginald folded his arms. "That would be Mel, wouldn't it?"

"I guess so."

"Then why would you want to take her to the final three?" Reginald asked.

"For our sake, I hope our words get through to Tempo because we know the other two will be impossible to flip." Grace explained. "If we can convince him that Mel is a better choice to boot over us, then we can turn a 3-2 disadvantage into a 3-2 advantage."

"Just…Just tell us how you would win against her in the finale." Reginald pointed out.

"You really think booting us over her this late in the game is a good idea?" Grace asked.

"You guys have a good point, but I'm not turning on the others that easily." Tempo said determinedly.

"We'll see about that." Reginald said.

"The thing with those two is that I know they're trying to stay in the game. The problem is that they indeed know how to make a point." Tempo folded his arms. "That doesn't mean I'm going to turn on the others, though. I just need to think about this a little more…"

"Guys! We've got treemail!" Krash announced as he walked into camp.

"So who's reading it this time?" Mel asked.

"Uh…Eeney, meeney, miney…Moe!" Krash said before passing the treemail into Reginald's hands.

"…Fine. I'll read it." Reginald said as he opened the letter. "It's wondering if we're any good at obstacle courses."

"Obstacle courses? Can they DO that?" Mel asked.

"Apparently so."

"I watched an episode of Takeshi's Castle before. Does that count?" Krash asked.

"Obstacle courses on a deserted island…I mean, I guess they've done that before, but I'm just wondering how this is going to work." Mel said. "They could either get us to run one course together, one at a time or have five different courses set up so we can race each other. Either way, I'm sensing a lot of pain coming up..."

(Immunity Challenge)

The final five walked out onto another clearing, this one looking somewhat larger than usual. Seeing their mat on the ground, everyone walked over and stepped on.

"Welcome to your next Immunity Challenge, N.P.Z.R. Tribe. Here, we will be testing your endurance and abilities to overcome obstacles." SSBFreak said. Everyone saw that there was a long ramp behind the host, going up a few stories. "You will each take turns running up this ramp while at the same time avoiding barrels that will be rolled at you from the top of the ramp. Your run ends when you make it to the top of the ramp, and the person with the fastest time overall will win Immunity and be safe from elimination at tonight's Tribal Council."

"If you'll all come this way, the order of which you'll be going was randomly determined earlier…"

(Later…)

Reginald was the first one up. The tall Rabbid gave a sigh as he stepped onto the bottom of the ramp. "Just my luck that I get chosen first." He muttered.

"Okay. Reginald is the first to attempt." SSBFreak said. "Start!"

Reginald took off running and started up the ramp, but saw that barrels were indeed being rolled at him. Reginald slowed down a bit to let himself step over the rolled barrel, but this slowed him down a bit and he was forced to regain speed again.

Reginald saw that another barrel was being rolled at him, as well as another one shortly after. Reginald jumped over the first barrel, but the second barrel hit him in the legs, knocking him over and, quite ironically, barreling over him.

"Ouch. That looked like it hurt." Grace blinked.

Reginald staggered to his feet, holding his head, and looked ahead in time to see another barrel coming at him. Reginald tried to step over the barrel, but clumsily tripped over it by catching his foot on it. Reginald stumbled forward a step, but managed to regain his footing.

"The clock's still ticking, Reginald." SSBFreak announced.

Reginald pressed on, stepping over another barrel as he neared the top. All it took to get him up onto the top of the ramp was one more step over one more barrel.

"Reginald completes hit run and sets the time to beat at 41 seconds."

Reginald sighed. "Glad that's done with."

(Later…)

Krash scratched his head as he observed the ramp and barrels. "Why am I suddenly reminded of that Donkey Kong ape?" He asked aloud, not getting an answer.

"Krash is up next." SSBFreak said. "Start!"

Snapping to attention, Krash made his way up the ramp, watching as the first barrel came towards him. Krash tried to jump over it, but caught his feet on the barrel as it went under him, causing Krash to fall on his face.

"Ouch. That hurt." Krash muttered as he got to his feet, only for the next barrel to plow into his knees, knocking him over again. Krash again staggered to his feet as he managed to jump the next barrel rolling at him.

"Krash is losing time. If he wants to beat Reginald, he needs to pick up the pace."

Krash continued up the ramp, almost tripping over the next barrel. Krash stumbled a few steps, which didn't give him the time to avoid the next barrel. Krash was bowled over, knocking him over the barrel completely as it continued on its way.

Staggering to his feet again, Krash rushed up the remainder of the ramp before another barrel was rolled at him. Krash ran up onto the top of the ramp, ending his run.

"Krash's time was well over a minute, so he's out." SSBFreak said. "Reginald still leads."

"Man. Those things hit hard." Krash noted.

(Later…)

Grace was next as she stepped onto the bottom of the ramp. "I'm not really looking forward to this." She said.

"Grace is next to try and take victory." SSBFreak said. "Start!"

The brunette woman ran up the ramp, easily leaping over the first barrel and landing on her feet to keep momentum. Grace saw that the second and third barrels were coming at her almost together, and while Grace was able to jump over the first, she tripped over the second and landed on her side.

"Ugh. How'd that hit me?" Grace muttered as she pushed herself to her feet and continued on her way. Grace jumped over the next barrel easily as she got closer to the top of the ramp.

"Grace is making good time, but there's still plenty of time for errors."

Trying to block out the announcement, Grace managed to get herself over the next barrel, finding herself close to the top. However, in taking her eyes off the next barrel, she tripped over it and stumbled on her feet for a couple of steps. Quickly recovering from this, Grace jumped onto the top of the ramp and ended her run.

"Grace managed to score a time…Of 35 seconds." SSBFreak said. "She had taken the lead from Reginald."

"Being a former cheerleader really helps." Grace panted.

(Later…)

Mel stepped onto the bottom of the ramp. "Okay. I can do this. I just need to jump over some barrels." She told herself.

"Mel is next to go." SSBFreak said. "Start!"

Mel started running up the ramp, and stepped over the first barrel easily. However, much like the others before her, Mel jumped over the first barrel and tripped over the second, falling on her face.

Mel pushed herself to her feet, only for the next barrel to hit her in the face and bowl over her. Mel quickly got to her feet again to avoid a repeat performance and leapt over the next barrel. Mel continued on her way, stepping over the next rolled barrel but clipping her foot on the way over, stalling her.

"Mel's getting closer to the top, but she's running short on time."

Hearing this, Mel knew that she needed to pick up the pace and rushed forward. However, because she wasn't thinking ahead, Mel couldn't jump over the next barrel well enough to clear it altogether and stumbled again.

Although Mel managed to get to her feet relatively quickly, she saw another barrel coming at her, which she was able to jump over this time. Mel raced up to the top of the ramp and stepped on.

"A good attempt, but not enough to beat Grace's time." SSBFreak said. "She stills leads."

"So much for that." Mel sighed.

(Later…)

Tempo, the last one to go, stepped onto the ramp and looked up. "Okay. Doesn't look so bad from down here." He noted.

"Tempo is the last one to go. If he wants to win, he needs to make it to the top of the ramp in less than 35 seconds. If not, Grace will win Immunity." SSBFreak said. "Start!"

Tempo was quick to start his run and easily leapt over the first rolled barrel without losing any steam whatsoever. Tempo continued going until he saw the infamous double-barrel rolling at him. Tempo tried to time his jumps so that he'd be able to jump over both barrels, but ended up waiting too long and the first barrel bowled over him, followed closely by the second barrel.

"Ouch." Krash winced. "Double the barrel."

Tempo staggered to his feet and rushed forward in an attempt to make up for lost time. He leapt over the next barrel easily enough, but caught his foot on the next one, causing him to stumble a bit.

"Tempo's getting near the top. This could be close."

That gave Tempo added motivation and he continued upwards, leaping over the next barrel. Tempo tried to make it to the top before the next barrel was deployed, but took too long and was forced to make another jump before he could get to the top of the ramp and finish his time.

"Tempo's time was definitely close to Grace's, but in the end…He was a few seconds too slow." SSBFreak announced. "Grace wins Immunity!"

From the ground, Grace cheered. "That's a little added assurance if I ever saw it!" She said.

(Later…)

"Congratulations on winning Immunity, Grace. You have a one-in-four chance at winning the game." SSBFreak said as he handed the Immunity Necklace to Grace.

"Took long enough, but I'm glad I have it." Grace nodded.

SSBFreak turned to the other four players. "Grace is safe tonight, but I'll be seeing you all at Tribal Council, where another of you will be voted out." He explained. "Keep in mind that we're in our last few days of competition, so choose your targets wisely. You can all head back to camp."

(N.P.Z.R. Tribe)

"Grace won Immunity, which unfortunately means it's MY hide on the line tonight. If we're going to avoid getting outnumbered, our best bet is with Tempo." Reginald explained. "I think we were able to get him thinking about voting out Mel, which s a start. Now we just need to make him act."

"This may be your last chance, Tempo." Reginald explained. "If you don't take Mel out now, there's a chance she may win Immunity, and then she'll pretty much be a lock for the finals."

"Sounds like you're getting desperate." Tempo smirked.

"I know for a fact I'm the other target." Reginald rolled his eyes. "Just think about it, though. Would you really have a chance against Mel in the finals?"

"I still think you're downplaying your own chances." Tempo noted. "That could even be your plan, for all I know."

"You'll never really be sure, won't you?" Reginald sighed.

"I've always known that Reginald will say whatever he can to stay in the game, especially since we're so close to the end." Tempo said. "That being said, I need to think about this. Who do I think I could have a better chance against in the finals?"

After Reginald walked off, Krash and Mel walked over to Tempo. "You about ready to go?" Krash asked.

Tempo sighed. "As ready as I'll ever be." He admitted.

"The vote will be easy, Tempo." Mel said. "The three of us can take out Reginald now since Grace has Immunity."

"Yeah. That's right."

Mel paused, looking suspicious. "Has Reginald been talking to you to try and get your vote?" She asked.

"…Maybe?"

"Tempo, I of all people know what Reginald's capable of!" Mel explained. "Believe me, we need to get rid of him!"

"If Reginald's been talking to Tempo to try and get his vote, I imagine that he's trying to get me out. Looks like this vote isn't going to be as easy as I thought." Mel sighed. "I'm going to have to try and plead my case at council to cement Tempo's vote…"

Grace watched as Reginald came walking over after talking with Tempo. "I guess all you can do is wait." She shrugged.

"I hate this feeling." Reginald muttered.

"Now you know how I felt when you were waving around that idol." Grace said flatly.

(Tribal Council)

The five remaining players walked into Tribal Council and saw the dwindling numbers of seats available. Everyone sat down and waited for council to commence.

"Before we start, let's bring out the current members of the jury." SSBFreak explained. "Edwina, Renaldo, Molly, Chloe, Erica, Sandy and Inferno, who was voted out at the last Tribal Council."

Inferno strolled into council, following the others. He was wearing a white disco coat that looked to be sparkling under the lights, an ascot, a pair of bright white pants and platform shoes. Inferno looked quite a bit like how he had dressed back in season three. The seven jury members sat down on the jury benches.

"The jury is only here to witness the outcome of council. You will not address them and they will not address you." SSBFreak said before he started asking questions. "Tempo, the last time you were here, an idol was played. Were you expecting that?"

"In a way, yes. I mean, we were voting with the intent of making Reginald waste his idol, and that was if he HAD it." Tempo replied. "Obviously, it didn't turn out that way and Inferno got the boot instead."

"I'm too smart to fall for something like that." Reginald taunted.

"Just like how you were too smart to not see Jonathan play his idol that…Oh, I don't know…ENDED your game last time?" Mel taunted back.

"That was five years ago!"

"Reginald, you on the other hand used the idol." SSBFreak said. "Does this put you at a disadvantage?"

"You'd think so, but I'm not going down without a fight. I've still got a chance to survive, and I intend to take it." Reginald said. "I don't see how I could be considered a threat, though."

"Don't give us that, Reginald!" Mel said. "You're trying to sway Tempo's vote to me!"

"Who else is there to choose from? Krash is too stubbornly loyal to his alliance!" Reginald shot back.

"Mel, what's going on with this little dispute?"

"Reginald knows he's the main target since Grace has Immunity, and he's trying to sway Tempo's vote so that I'll go instead." Mel explained. "This kind of talking is exactly what makes people like Reginald a threat in the first place!"

"You wound me, Mel." Reginald said flatly.

"You know I'm right!"

"So do we, for that matter." Erica added from the bench.

"Yeah." Renaldo nodded.

"Krash, who's getting your vote tonight?"

"Well, there isn't really much choice, is there?" Krash shrugged. "I mean, I assumed that I'd just vote for Reginald and then he'd be gone with three votes, right?"

"Reginald's trying to prevent that, Krash." Mel explained.

"Really?...But I'm still not changing my vote, though."

"That's good to hear." Mel nodded as Reginald sighed.

"Grace, since you have Immunity, do you feel any better?" SSBFreak asked.

"For sure. I mean, we're all needing Immunity since we're down to the final five." Grace nodded. "At least I know I'm safe if I have this thing."

"Okay. I think that's enough questions." SSBFreak said. "Before I continue, I have to ask; Grace, you have Immunity. You keeping it?"

"This late in the game? Yeah."

"With that, Grace is immune and cannot be voted out." SSBFreak said. "Grace, you're up."

Grace got up and walked out of the hut to go vote. She wrote a name down and put in into the urn before turning and walking back.

Krash approached the table and wrote a name down, taking a little extra time as usual. Finished writing, Krash put the ballot into the jar and walked away.

Reginald wrote a name down and showed it to the camera. "Consider this a compliment, Mel." He said, having voted for Mel.

Tempo appeared to be in thought as he wrote a name down hesitantly. "I think this is the right choice." He said with a nod as he voted and walked away.

Mel scribbled a name down and revealed her ballot, showing Reginald's name. "I just hope I got through to Tempo." She said as she voted and returned to the hut.

When all five players had voted, SSBFreak left to fetch the urn and returned with it moments later. "When I read the names, the person with the most votes will be asked to bring forward their torch and leave Tribal Council immediately." He explained. "It's time to read the votes…"

"…First vote; Reginald." Reginald remained silent.

"Mel." Mel bit her lip.

"…Mel." Council remained silent.

"…Reginald. We're tied at two." Reginald and Mel exchanged glances. "Last vote, eighth member of the jury and sixteenth person voted out of Survivor: Central Hub…"

The final five remained quiet, most wondering how Tempo had voted.

The jury was silent, some hoping for one outcome and others for another.

SSBFreak turned the ballot.

"…Mel. You need to bring me your torch." SSBFreak explained.

Mel, realization kicking in, sighed as she stood up. "Man. I was real close to the end again." She lamented as she took her torch and approached the host.

"Mel, the tribe has spoken." SSBFreak said as he extinguished Mel's torch. "It's time for you to go."

"We'll see if you'll regret your decision soon enough, Tempo." Mel warned as she walked out of council and vanished from sight.

Once Mel was gone, SSBFreak turned to the remaining players. "And with that, we have our final four. Mel is gone just shy of matching her old record, and we're at a point none of you have been before." He explained. "Two days remain in the competition and we've still got another challenge tomorrow. Until then, you can all head back to camp."

The four remaining players stood up, grabbed their torches and left Tribal Council. Tempo brought up the rear, looking a little indifferent. He was still unsure if he had made the right decision and had simply gone with his gut instincts. Would he indeed regret his decision to boot Mel? Only time would tell…

"Five years ago, I made the final four, and here I make final five. That's quite the accomplishment even though I didn't beat my old record." Mel said. "I really enjoyed the experience and I met some people I don't think I'll ever forget. This opportunity to play the game again was rewarding and I would definitely do it a third time if I could."

Voting History:
Mel – Grace, Reginald and Tempo
Reginald – Krash and Mel