Survivor CH7: Days 9-11

(Pansay Tribe)

“Thanks for coming through for us, girls.” Daniel said. “We were really counting on you there.”

“It was actually a pretty easy choice.” Robyn shrugged. “An alliance of four on a tribe of eight?”

“Indeed, it would have been far too-powerful to leave be.” Zed nodded. “Nevertheless, we’re thankful for the assistance.”

“Frankly, Felipe was asking for a blindside like that. I was always going to pick off some of his alliance after getting rid of Violet, actually. Zed and Daniel just had similar plans as I did.” Robyn said. “They may still not know that they’re right about me being evil, but hey, if votes go my way, then I’ll hold off on the complaining for now.”

“So what’s the plan now?” Daniel asked. “I mean, if we stick together the four of us have an advantage over Felipe’s alliance.”

“Unless, on the off-chance, that if we lose Immunity and the other tribe gives Immunity to someone on Felipe’s side.” Zed reminded. “They could give it to one of us to negate a vote.”

“Yeah. That was the first vote we had that we saw the full extent of what the Immunity twist can do.” Sparky scratched her head.

“I guess the plan for now is for the four of us to stick together. If he twist is used against us, Felipe can only force a tie at best.” Daniel said. “That being said, we still need to find that idol. All it’ll take is a lucky break for someone on Felipe’s side and all of a sudden one of us sinks like a rock.”

Felipe sat on a log, looking frustrated. Jerry and Syndrelle stood nearby, looking a little worried.

“I actually wasn’t expecting the vote to go like that.” Syndrelle admitted. “The first two votes were so easy, I guess we just forgot what the twist was capable of doing.”

“Yeah. I have to admit that it was pretty tense.” Jerry agreed. “I wonder why they went for Phil, though…”

“We were dealt our first major blow and lost Phil, and Felipe hasn’t really said a word to anyone since Council. He’s just been brooding about something, and I can only imagine that he’s doing some serious plotting.” Syndrelle admitted. “I mean, he’s always seemed pretty calm and collected up until this point…”

“What do you think, Felipe?” Jerry said.

Felipe paused and looked up. “…We need to find the idol.” He said. “We need to find it before we lose again.”

“What if we tried to sway Robyn and Sparky again?” Syndrelle asked. “There’s still hope for that, right?”

“No. They’ve shown that they’re willing to take us down, so we can’t rely on them.” Felipe said. “The idol is our only guarantee of survival with the twist in play.”

“But we’ve looked pretty much everywhere, haven’t we?” Jerry asked.

Felipe paused in thought. “Not quite. We need to act fast, though.” He said.

“I’ve been treating Zed with relative disinterest since we started. I admit that he’s intelligent and a decent rival, but he crossed the line.” Felipe said. “If he thinks I’m going to let him get away with voting out one of my alliance because of this stupid season twist, then he’s got another thing coming. I’ll make sure of it.”

(Cosmor Tribe; Day 9)

“It has to be here somewhere.” Kasha muttered as she felt around in some bushes.

“What are you doing now?” Patchwork asked as he approached from behind.

“For your information, I’m looking for an idol.” Kasha explained. “I think it’s obvious that I’m going to need it against those cretins.”

“How are you looking for the idol when you always have your eyes closed?”

“My other senses are spectacular! Now shut up and help me look!”

“I don’t know why I’m having so many problems getting people to join me, but this means that I need that stupid idol.” Kasha folded her arms. “Ugh. I was thinking I’d be able to get all the way to the end without having to worry about the idols, but it looks like that isn’t the case. At least Patchwork has the common sense to give me a hand out here!”

“I worry that Kasha might be catching on to how little power she has if she’s looking for the idol. If she finds out I’ve been using her, she won’t let me hear the end of it and I’ll be forced to pull the plug on her.” Patchwork mused. “I’ll need to watch what I say around her, because the last thing I want is for her to make herself a bigger target than she already is…”

“What’s she doing NOW?” Qing Long asked as she came over. “I could hear her across the camp.”

“Looking for the idol.” Patchwork explained. “Obviously with not much luck.”

Kasha lifted her head up and turned to look at Qing Long. “Wait. You have heightened senses! You can sense what’s around you!” She said. “Find the idol!”

“I can’t do that.” Qing Long narrowed her pale eyes. “Yes, I can sense what’s around me, but if the idol hasn’t been found since we started, then I can’t tell. It all just seems like part of the camp. The only way I’ll be able to tell where it is is if someone MOVES it.”

“Ugh. What use are your abilities if you can’t use them to our advantage?” Kasha grunted. “We need that idol and we need to find it before that idiot military guy’s alliance does!”

“More like YOU need the idol.” Qing Long replied dryly.

“Sure, being blind gives me powers. There’s a difference between having powers and having heightened senses, you know.” Qing Long explained. “Kasha, of all people, should know that. Part of me’s thinking she’s just trying to get pressure off of herself for not finding the idol. Doesn’t really bother me, though. I’ve dealt with people with WAY bigger mouths than her.”

“I still don’t see why we can’t just vote her out.” Qing Long muttered as Kasha went back to work. “Seriously, she offers NOTHING.”

“Nothing except being a meat shield to us.” Patchwork smirked. “I intend to take full advantage of that.”

Qing Long sighed. “Sounds like something you would do.”

“I’m waiting for some help in my search, you two!” Kasha called out.

(Pansay Tribe; Day 9)

Zed appeared to be putting something together, which looked a little weird since it appeared to be floating and rotating in midair as Zed put it together. Daniel saw this and wandered over.

“I’m REALLY never going to get used to your invisible hands. What are you doing there, Zed?” Daniel asked.

“I’m going to throw the Mob off our tail, my friend.” Zed replied simply.

“Is that a fake idol you’re building?”

“Indeed it is. At this point, I’ll try anything to keep Felipe’s alliance from eliminating us.” Zed explained. “I can only hope that he’ll fall for it.”

“Felipe’s a smart guy, Zed. I really don’t think he’ll be one to fall for a fake idol.” Daniel shook his head.

“You underestimate the human mind, my boy.” Zed reminded. “Under these circumstances, I’d say he might.”

“It’s a gamble to get Felipe to fall for a fake idol, I’ll concede. However, since he and the Mob have been searching for it, I think he’ll take what he can find at this point.” Zed explained, showing his crafted idol. “I’ll admit that it’s not my best work. Given some additional time, I know for a fact I could have done far better.”

Meanwhile, Felipe was busy as well, crafting something of his own. Jerry, while looking for the idol, saw this and looked at what Felipe was building.

“That kinda looks like an idol, Felipe.” Jerry said. “Did you find it?”

“No. This is a fake.” Felipe explained. “I intend to plant it in a place the Outsiders will find.”

“Oh! And get them to stop looking for the real one?”

“Right. Time to show that smug, armless thing what I’m capable of.”

“I wish we could know what the real idol looked like. Then I’d have more to go on. However, I think I’m satisfied with what I’ve done here.” Felipe said, showing an idol that looked drastically-different to Zed’s. “If they find it, they’ll stop looking for the real one. After losing Phil, the last thing I want is to have the idol fall into Zed’s non-existent hands.”

“How goes the search?” Felipe asked.

“Not good. Syndrelle and I still haven’t found a trace of anything.” Jerry shook his head. “We’ve got a lot of ground to cover with just the two of us.”

“I’ll give you a hand in a second. I want to finish this…”

“Felipe’s a good leader, and I think he’d be a great business manager. I wonder what he does where he comes from...” Jerry pondered.

(Cosmor Tribe)

“We need to eliminate Kasha as soon as we can, Franz!” Manitoba said. “She’s done nothing but harass me about joining her and its long-since stopped being funny!”

“I’ll admit that she’s annoying, but she doesn’t have any power.” Franz reminded. “Patchwork came to us with some ideas and I think they may be sound.”

“You’re taking advice from THAT guy?” Manitoba asked. “His face is in segments!”

“I’ve seen stranger.” Franz shrugged.

“I’ll admit that Patchwork doesn’t seem the trustworthy type, but I know from experience that sometimes the strange-looking people are the most-helpful.” Franz explained. “He’s come to us with some ideas and, until he shows otherwise, I’ll trust him cautiously.”

“Sometimes I feel like I’m the only one on this tribe with a brain. It’s not the first time, either. Back on the object show I was on, the other players voted me out over the obvious idiot and villain.” Manitoba rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m NOT making the same mistake again. Kasha needs to go and I intend to get people behind me to do it.”

“Look, just think about it. Kasha is literally the only one any of us can afford to lose.” Manitoba reminded. “She offers nothing useful and complains about everything.”

“I understand your concerns.” Franz nodded. “I completely agree that we’d be better off without her. But the fact remains that she isn’t a threat.”

Manitoba sighed. “I’m just not getting anywhere with you, are I?” He asked. “Fine. Do things your way if you want, but don’t come crying to me when she annoys you!”

Franz watched as Manitoba walked away. As he did, Honey approached him. “What’d he want?” She asked.

“Just telling me what we basically already know.” Franz sighed. “I can’t shake the feeling that voting out Kasha is the best choice after all…”

“Don’t second-guess yourself again, Franz.” Honey scolded. “Remember; She’s not a threat. Even if she thinks otherwise, Kasha’s got NO power.”

“I’m aware of that, but wouldn’t it be better to just get rid of her?”

“We may lose Patchwork’s vote if we do.” Honey reminded.

“I know. I know.”

“I actually worry that Franz will second-guess himself at the wrong time and completely ruin things for us all.” Honey sighed. “But we need to keep Kasha for now. Patchwork will vote with us if we do, and at this point we could really use all the help we can get.”

(Pansay Tribe)

Syndrelle was still searching the trees, looking around for the idol. So far, she hadn’t been having much luck.

“I really don’t think the idol’s in the jungle area here.” Syndrelle sighed to herself. “I feel like I’ve been looking through these trees all day…”

“Felipe insisted that I search the trees for the idol because of my height. While I don’t want to argue with him, I really don’t think it’s here.” Syndrelle explained. “I think I need to start searching elsewhere, and we have a lot more ground to cover since we lost Phil.”

“I have to keep looking, though. Felipe’s trusting me to look through this area thoroughly and I intend to do it!” Syndrelle said.

“Psst! Syndrelle!”

Syndrelle jumped before turning around, staring at a shrub. She watched as Sparky rose from behind the bush to look up at her.

“Sparky, don’t do that!” Syndrelle said. “You could have given me a heart attack!”

“I just wanted to talk to you for a second.” Sparky said.

“I think I’m going to need a concrete ally here. Felipe seems to be ignoring me at the moment to focus on Zed and Daniel, so I’ve got a bit of time to work.” Sparky explained. “I think that Syndrelle at least gives me the biggest chance of flipping on Felipe down the line because I don’t see Jerry doing it.”

“You want to form a side alliance with me?” Syndrelle asked, looking a little nervous. “I don’t know…I don’t want Felipe to get mad at me.”

“Syndrelle, you’re going to need to step out on your own eventually. Felipe can’t carry you the entire way!” Sparky insisted. “And…Do you think he WILL?”

“I have to trust him. He trusts me.” Syndrelle said. “He’s depending on me.”

Sparky sighed. “Look, I guess the reason I’m asking you this is because I need a solid alliance. I can’t go with Zed and Daniel because I know Felipe’s targeting them.” She said. “Could you at least give me the benefit of the doubt and keep Felipe from targeting me for now?”

Syndrelle sighed. “I can’t promise that, Sparky.” She said. “I’ll see what I can do, though.”

“Thanks.”

“I hope I can at least keep Felipe’s attention off of Sparky. She seems like a nice girl and I’d hate for her to go just for associating with the Outsiders.” Syndrelle said. “While I don’t really want to form another alliance, I don’t really want to say no to her, either. It’s…Not like she’d be in danger for a while, though. Especially if Felipe wants Zed and Daniel out, first.”

(Cosmor Tribe; Day 10)

“What IS it with you and those shades, darlin’?” Danielle asked Gord. “Honey says that you acted a little weird when she tried to see what your eyes looked like.”

“Let me just say that you don’t want to know why I keep these on all the time and leave it at that.” Gord explained. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why are you being such a grouch about it, though?”

“I’m just annoyed with how people are constantly asking about them!” Gord said. “I mean…How would you feel if someone kept pestering you about why you’re always wearing that cat suit?”

Danielle fidgeted and looked away. “Um…I probably wouldn’t like it.” She admitted.

Gord paused, then sighed. “Sorry. I’m just annoyed about it.”

“I hate losing my temper like that, but my shades are a sensitive topic for me. I need them to keep my ‘episodes’ in check.” Gord explained. “I really don’t like going into detail about it, so let’s just leave it at that and never talk about it again, okay?”

“I’ll admit that it stung when Gord brought up my suit, but…I guess I can’t fault him for being annoyed. I’m not ready to talk to the others about my suit, though.” Danielle shook her head. “The only place I can walk around without my suit is the town I’m the mayor of, because the townsfolk understand what happened to me…”

“We’ve got treemail, everyone.” Manitoba announced.

“Probably a Reward Challenge.” Tongoro noted. “I’d say we’re overdue for one.”

“Considering we haven’t had one yet, I’d say so.” Honey rolled her eyes.

“It’s wondering how good we are at tic-tac-toe.” Manitoba read. “What kind of challenge is that?!”

“There’ll probably be something to make the challenge interesting.” Franz said. “They wouldn’t have a game of tic-tac-toe with no strings attached be the challenge.”

“Not if they want to keep their audience, no.” Louise agreed.

“Good thing we can sit three people out.” Qing Long said. “Kasha and I are pretty much write-offs.”

“I’ll admit that I’ve never really been big on games. They serve no purpose other than to briefly distract you.” Tongoro folded his arms. “The only use I’ve seen for tic-tac-toe is to distract some people long enough to blast them with a fireball.”

“I hope it’s a Reward Challenge, and if it is, I hope the reward is some decent food. I know Danielle’s been catching fish for us, but we could use some different tastes.” Qing Long explained. “Anything to get this fishy aftertaste out of my mouth…”

(Pansay Tribe; Day 10)

“I wanted to talk to you about something, Felipe.” Robyn said as she approached the suited man, who was putting out the remnants of the previous night’s fire.

“Is it about the vote?” Felipe asked, eyes narrowed. “Because I really don’t feel like talking about that to someone who helped vote out an ally of mine.”

“Felipe, hear me out! You had an alliance of four in a tribe of eight!” Robyn said. “You guys were too big of a threat! Zed and Daniel were just two people!”

“I need to make sure I don’t burn any bridges. Even if no one’s buying the nice girl act, I still need to play it smart, and I don’t want to completely-alienate Felipe.” Robyn explained. “If I can cast the blame of Phil’s elimination onto Zed and Daniel, he may still decide to let me into his alliance down the road.”

“Why would you want to come to me, someone you blindsided, with hopes of peace talks?” Felipe quizzed. “I thought you’d be smarter than that, being a supposed villain and all.”

“Will you people STOP that?!” Robyn asked. “And I’m not here for peace talks! I’m saying that I only voted out Phil because you guys were threats! Zed and Daniel are still just an alliance of two!”

“The fact remains that you voted against me. Even if Zed and Daniel were the ringleaders, it doesn’t get you any sympathy.”

“I’ll admit I’m more-mad at Zed and Daniel than I am at Robyn, but the fact remains that she’s still an accomplice, and you should know that, where I come from, accomplices are just as guilty as the true culprit.” Felipe folded his arms. “Robyn’s giving her reasons for voting Phil out, but at the moment I don’t want to hear any of it. I’m just not in the mood.”

“Treemail’s arrived.” Syndrelle announced. “Looks like we’re having a big game of tic-tac-toe.”

“I’ve always liked that game.” Jerry noted. “It’s a good way to pass the time when there’s nothing going on during a shift.”

“Then you’re going to have to hope you’re good at it, Jerry.” Daniel explained. “We can’t afford to keep losing challenges.”

“I know. I was just saying that I liked the game.” Jerry shrugged.

“Some of my shifts can get a little boring when there’s nothing going on, so I usually like playing a few games to keep myself occupied.” Jerry said. “I prefer word searches myself, but if there isn’t one handy then I usually play a couple rounds of tic-tac-toe against myself. I usually win those.”

“I hate losing so much. We NEED to win something, if just for a boost of morale. If we can’t win at a game of tic-tac-toe, then we’re REALLY screwed.” Daniel sighed.

(Reward Challenge)

The Cosmor Tribe stood on their mat by the beach, waiting for the challenge to start.

“Before we begin, let’s bring out the Pansay Tribe.” SSBFreak said as the mentioned tribe walked into view, showing who among them was eliminated. “Phil was voted out at the last Tribal Council.”

“I guess we shouldn’t be too surprised.” Louise noted as the Pansay Tribe stepped onto their mat.

“Welcome to your first Reward Challenge, everyone. Here, we will be testing your ability to play tic-tac-toe in a rather big way.” SSBFreak said as everyone saw two large, glass boards set up, each split into nine squares. “Each team will be given a board, and take turns one person at a time throwing rocks at it in attempts to break through one of the nine provided squares. Simply put, the object is to break through three squares to form a complete line, and the first team to do that will win Reward, which is a large mattress and blankets for your tribe.”

“We could definitely use that.” Franz pointed out.

“Cosmor, you are up three people. Who is sitting out of this one?” SSBFreak asked.

“Kasha, Qing Long and myself.” Gord explained.

“NO. I’m playing this one.” Kasha said. “Sit out someone else.”

Gord sighed. “Fine. Manitoba.”

“Okay. If everyone else will step this way, we can begin.”

(Later…)

The first two were Jerry and Danielle. The two stood a good distance from their boards, each holding a rock.

“Okay. For Reward, you guys take your throw whenever you want.” SSBFreak said.

Jerry and Danielle threw their rocks at almost the same time, but Danielle had a quicker draw. The two rocks flew through the air, reaching their boards and hitting a square. Everyone watched as both rocks ended up flying through the middle square of each board.

“Good way to start us off. Both rocks hit the middle.” SSBFreak said.

“Impressive throw, Danielle.” Jerry nodded.

“Thanks, darlin’. It comes naturally when you shoot down balloons with a slingshot.” Danielle nodded.

The next two were Felipe and Patchwork. Still not used to Patchwork’s unusual face, Felipe tried to ignore it and focused on the target board.

“You two can go whenever you want.”

The two men threw their rocks, each one hitting the board. While Felipe’s rock hit and broke through a corner piece, Patchwork ended up going through one of the sides.

“Another couple of good shots. One good shot from either team could end the challenge right here.”

The next two were Syndrelle and Louise. The two looked ready to throw their rocks, although it was obviously harder to tell with Syndrelle.

“Go ahead, ladies.” SSBFreak said.

Louise waited for Syndrelle to throw her rock before throwing hers. Syndrelle’s aim was a little off, only managing to clip one of the corners of her target, but still breaking off a couple of pieces so it would count. Louise, however, saw her rock fly through the square already broken by Patchwork.

“Sorry, Louise. You missed your shot.”

Louise cursed herself. “I thought my aim was better than that.” She muttered.

The next two were Zed and Franz. Zed’s rock floated in front of him in invisible hands. Franz did his best to ignore it.

“Zed and Franz, you may take your throws.”

The two took their shots and threw their rocks. Zed’s shot ended up breaking a square, but it was the one Syndrelle had already clipped. Franz’s rock missed the target altogether, even though it was just by a hair.

“Looks like neither of you got the point, there.” SSBFreak said.

Franz sighed. “That could have gone better.”

The next two were Sparky and Kasha. Kasha’s eyes remained closed, even though she looked confident in her abilities.

“Sparky and Kasha, you may go when ready.”

Sparky threw first, and Kasha took a moment to concentrate before doing the same. Sparky missed the target, but Kasha ended up striking one of her upper square and getting a clean hit on it.

“Kasha manages to get her shot and brings Cosmor closer to victory.”

“How did you do that with your eyes closed?” Louise asked.

“As I said, my senses are superb.” Kasha smirked.

Next up were Daniel and Honey. The two looked at each other and seemed to size each other up before looking back at the target.

“Okay. Both teams are within one point of winning. It can still go any way.” SSBFreak said. “You two can go whenever.”

Daniel and Honey threw their rocks, sending them at their boards. Both Daniel and Honey managed to hit and break a square, but everyone quickly realized that, while Honey’s hadn’t connected a line of three, Daniel had managed to complete a line, going diagonal through his team’s board.

“Daniel completed a line! That’s it! The challenge is over!” SSBFreak announce. “Pansay wins reward!”

“Took long enough.” Daniel smirked.

(Later…)

“Congratulations on winning your first challenge, Pansay Tribe. The mattress and blankets will be delivered to your camp by the time you get back.” SSBFreak said before turning to the losing tribe. “Cosmor, you may have lost your first challenge, but take solace in that this one wasn’t Immunity. Tomorrow, we’ll find out who will win the important challenge. You can all head back to camp.”

(Pansay Tribe)

“Woohoo! Our first win! Freaking finally!” Sparky cheered before flopping back on the mattress the team had one. “Oh, this feels so soft…”

“How did it take ten days for us to finally win something?” Felipe rolled his eyes.

“I blame terrible luck, and the fact that we got stuck with Violet.” Daniel replied.

“It feels good to finally win a challenge, even if it was just a Reward. Hopefully, our morale will be up for the Immunity one tomorrow and we’ll win again.” Sparky crossed her fingers. “We just have to hope this wasn’t a fluke. We totally CAN win challenges!”

“I have to relent that your aim impressed me at the challenge, Jerry.” Zed noted. “Have you perchance ALWAYS had impeccable aim?”

Jerry gave a shrug. “I’m a cop. It’s part of the job.” He said.

“A cop?” Robyn lifted an eyebrow. “I’m not sure if I want to picture you with a weapon, Jerry.”

“Hey, I’ve had the job for as long as I can remember. I must be doing SOMETHING right.” Jerry replied.

“How long have you been on the force?” Felipe asked, a little uneasily.

“A long time. Longer than I can remember, anyway.”

“I actually find it ironic that a cop is willingly working with a mobster, and yet he doesn’t seem to realize it.” Robyn folded her arms. “I don’t know whether to laugh or facepalm.”

“I don’t know why people seemed surprised to learn what I do. I mean, so what?” Jerry asked. “It shouldn’t be much of a shock. It’s not like an, like an astronaut or something like that. I’ve got a normal job just like anybody else.”

“So what do we do for the challenge tomorrow? Just hope that our luck continues?” Daniel asked.

“What else can we do?” Syndrelle asked. “We don’t know what to expect.”

“I suppose our best bet would be to at least get a decent rest on the mattress we won.” Zed explained. “At least then we can be prepared after a good night’s rest.”

“That’s actually a good idea.” Felipe nodded. “It’s probably the best thing we can do right now to keep ourselves ready for the next challenge.”

“Winning the mattress will provide us with something decent to sleep on, so that’s a good start. We just need to keep our momentum going and I’m fairly positive we can win the next challenge.” Zed explained. “Still, I have to admit that the win felt good considering we were off to such a bad start to begin with.”

(Cosmor Tribe)

“Well, that sucked. I honestly thought we could win a challenge like that.” Honey folded her arms.

Tongoro grunted. “I know for a fact I could have won my round if I were given the chance.” He said gruffly. “Why did you decide to put me up last, anyway?”

“You yourself said that you didn’t play the game.” Patchwork explained with a shrug.

“I can throw a rock through glass! My aim is perfect!”

“Tongoro’s been a little upset that we didn’t end up putting him earlier in the lineup because he says that he could have won.” Patchwork said. “Well, you know what? Who cares? A loss is a loss and we’ll have to move on.”

“It hurts my Shokan pride that our team lost, and I wasn’t able to do anything to stop it from happening. It’s frustrating living with humans sometimes…” Tongoro said. “I assure you that if I was with the rest of my race, they would do everything they could to send their best athletes up first.”

“At least it wasn’t Immunity, right?” Franz asked. “Maybe it’s good that we get the loss out of the way first and then we’ll be in better shape for tomorrow.”

“You can be optimistic all you want, Franz.” Manitoba said. “We could have really used that reward, you know.”

“Of course I know. I also know that we may as well take that loss in stride and try to do better tomorrow.”

“Oui. Franz has a point.” Louise nodded before turning to Kasha. “Tell me. How exactly are you able to have good accuracy with your eyes closed?”

“Ninja, lady. I don’t even NEED sight to hit a target.” Kasha smirked. “My senses are heightened to three times what yours are, and don’t forget it.”

“Whatever you say.”

“I’m trying not to dwell on our loss, because that’ll just make it harder for us to win tomorrow. Just keep our heads clean of regrets and we’ll be in good form.” Franz pointed out. “However, I know that half my tribe is likely to not forget the loss, so this may be a problem…”

“I hate to say it, but Kasha was one of the only people to score anything for our team during the challenge.” Honey explained as Kasha walked off.

“I know. I hate it, too.” Qing Long sighed. “This still doesn’t do her any favours for me.”

“Me neither, but we can’t deny that she gets results.”

Manitoba moaned. “This is exactly what she wants, you know?” He quizzed. “She wants us to think that we need her! We really don’t!”

“Just calm down. I mean, it’s not like she has a chance to win either way.” Honey shrugged.

“But do you really want to put up with her for any longer?” Manitoba asked flatly. He didn’t get an answer.

“Kasha’s still annoying, and the fact that she has a reason to brag now isn’t making her any more-bearable. I would still love to just get rid of her.” Manitoba said. “Unfortunately, the others are just too ignorant to realize that and they seem to want to keep her around.”

(Pansay Tribe; Day 11)

“Okay. Time for the Immunity Challenge. We all know the terrible luck we’ve had with them so far, but our luck has to turn around sometime.” Robyn explained. “Even still, I think I pitched myself to Felipe well enough the other day to avoid his wrath for now if we lose again. I just hope it doesn’t come to that because I don’t want to keep losing.”

“Well, I have to admit that I got a better sleep last night thanks to that mattress. I feel fully-rested for the first time since we started.” Daniel admitted.

“Good. Now maybe we’ve got a shot at the challenge.” Robyn sighed. “I’m tired of losing.”

“We all are, Robyn.” Daniel explained. “The only thing we can do is try our hardest.”

“Not that easy to do when we’re down THREE PEOPLE.” Robyn replied flatly.

“Quit being pessimistic, will you?”

“I’m not a pessimist, Daniel. I’m a REALIST.”

“Robyn is someone I think we need to keep an eye on. We may joke around about her being a villain, but she’s also the most-likely one to flip to Felipe’s side.” Daniel said. “I’ll need to talk to Zed about this, because if Robyn starts playing the swing vote, she’ll suddenly become the most-powerful person in camp.”

Meanwhile, Zed was walking to the treemail box alone, having said that he’d check on it. On the way to the box, however, Zed paused and glanced around suspiciously, looking to see if anyone was watching. Seeing that he was alone, Zed pulled his fake idol from his vest.

“Let’s just find a decent place to hide this, shall we?” Zed mused to himself before placing the fake idol under a bush. “There. That should be satisfactory.” With that, Zed stood up and continued his walk over to the box.

“I said I would go check on treemail alone, but I’ll admit that I was looking for the opportune time to hide my fake idol in an easy place to find it.” Zed explained. “I fully-expect someone in Felipe’s alliance to find it, and when they do, it’ll give us a better chance to locate the real one unhindered.”

“It looks like treemail’s arrived.” Zed said as he walked back to camp with treemail.

“So what’s it say about the challenge?” Jerry asked.

“It’s wonder how strong our strongest player is…”

Everyone suddenly glanced at Jerry, who looked around curiously. “What? Do I have a zit?” Jerry asked.

“This isn’t good. That four-armed guy the other tribe has can beat almost all of us!” Sparky cried.

“There HAS to be some kind of twist that can benefit us.” Felipe countered. “A twist like that helped us win the last challenge.”

“But the fact remains that we need to rely on Jerry for this one, right?” Syndrelle asked.

“No pressure, right?” Jerry rubbed his head.

“I really don’t like all the attention here. If the challenge comes down to my team trusting me, it just piles on the pressure.” Jerry admitted. “I’m just afraid that I’ll let my tribe down, and if I do, they may end up blaming me for the loss. I really don’t want that.”

(Cosmor Tribe; Day 11)

“Is the plan still to vote out Gord?” Tongoro asked.

“Oui. I know you have no desire to vote out Danielle yet and I told that to Patchwork.” Louise nodded.

“I’d rather keep her around since she contributes around here.” Tongoro folded his arms. “Gord’s just a floater.”

“Oui, oui. I know.”

“I’ll admit that I never would have expected this sort of reaction from Tongoro. He’s been quick to defend that Danielle girl when she was brought up for a potential boot.” Louise admitted. “However, I understand how he wants to get rid of the people who are, how you say, not doing as much around camp.”

“Danielle may look foolish in the animal suit, but I can’t deny that her fishing skills are unmatched. She’s far more-useful around camp than half this tribe.” Tongoro pointed out. “If she continues to be useful, I’ll have no reason to get rid of her before the others. It’s as simple as that!”

“What about the blind girl and the Canadian?” Tongoro asked.

“Qing Long and Manitoba? Well, I believe Manitoba will only vote off Kasha.” Louise pondered.

Tongoro scoffed. “I still think we need to get rid of her first.” He explained.

“Doing so would lose Patchwork’s vote and we NEED it.”

“Hey, guys! Treemail’s here!” Danielle announced as she darted into camp.

“So what’s up?” Gord asked.

“It’s wondering how strong our strongest player is.” Danielle replied.

Tongoro smirked. “This should be easy. Even against that furry thing on the other tribe, I can out-muscle them all!” He said.

“There has to be a catch. This sounds too easy.” Franz muttered.

“I know. Like the one that cost us the win in the last challenge?” Honey checked.

“Right.”

“Well, we may as well go check it out and see what it is.” Gord shrugged. “We’re not getting much done just standing here.”

“Normally, a strength challenge would be a cakewalk with Tongoro on our tribe. But on Survivor, things are never that easy.” Gord explained. “I’m totally expecting a shakeup in the challenge to make things a little harder for everyone there…”

(Immunity Challenge)

The two tribes walked out onto a clearing in the jungle from different directions. Walking over to their respective mats, everyone stepped on to await the start of the next challenge.

“Welcome to your next Immunity Challenge, everyone. Here, we will be testing the strength and stamina of one of your own, but also your ability to work as a team.” SSBFreak said as everyone saw that there was a large pile of weights behind him. “Each team will choose one player to act as a weightlifter and hold up a scale. Everyone else on your team must then race back and forth between the pile of weights and load them onto your OPPONENTS’ scale, making it heavier and heavier for your opponents’ weightlifter. The team whose weightlifter drops their scale first will lose Immunity and be voting someone out at tonight’s Tribal Council.”

SSBFreak turned to the larger team. “Cosmor, you are up three people. Who are you sitting out?”

“Um…Kasha, Honey and Danielle.” Franz said.

“Okay. If you will choose who to represent your teams, we can begin.”

(Later…)

It was an easy choice. Jerry was Pansay’s lifter going against Tongoro for Cosmor. Everyone else looked ready to run at the weights.

“Okay. For Immunity, Survivors ready…” SSBFreak said. “…Go!”

The players took off towards the pile of weights and quickly started looking for the heavier ones, as they were all marked with numbers showing how much they all weighed.

“How do they expect me to lift one of these things?” Manitoba grunted as he strained to lift one of the heavier weights. “These noodle arms are worthless here!”

“Just pick up whatever you can! We need to act fast!” Franz said, grabbing a couple of weights.

“Why did we both have to sit out in the last challenge?” Gord asked Manitoba. “I knew I should have made Kasha sit out last time.”

Daniel grabbed a heavier weight and tossed it to Felipe before grabbing another one. “The twenties are the heaviest ones I can find!” He explained.

“Twenty it is.” Felipe nodded as he and Daniel put the heavier weights into the scale Tongoro was holding up.

Tongoro scoffed. “I barely feel that!” He insisted.

“This may work well in our favour for once.” Robyn smirked. “We’re capable of carrying more than they are!”

The two teams ran back and forth between the scales and the weights, trying to take as much as they could. Qing Long was managing fine, as she was using her senses to guide herself to the weights with each, but Gord, Manitoba and Sparky were falling a bit behind due to not being able to carry as much as the others. The others raced on enough to make up for it, and the teams seemed to be moving at similar paces.

Zed tossed a weight into Tongoro’s scale and glanced at Jerry. “How’re you holding up, Jerry?” He asked.

“I’m fine. Just keep moving.” Jerry urged.

Tongoro looked at Jerry as the teams continued to pile weights onto their scales. “I respect your strength, but know that a Shokan will not be a pushover.” He warned.

Jerry managed a chuckle. “I’ve had an encounter with Neftin Prog and he’s twice your size.” He admitted. “I can manage. Believe me.”

Tongoro frowned. “A being twice the size of a Shokan? I find that hard to believe!” He said.

Felipe grabbed at a heavier weight and quickly tossed it to Syndrelle. “Let’s try to make a relay Syndrelle!” He suggested. “I’ll toss you the weights and you give them to Tongoro!”

Sparky grunted as she struggled to carry a weight with a 20 on it. “There’s no way I can keep doing this.” She muttered. “I don’t know how the others can just throw these things around…”

“Tell me about it.” Gord agreed, looking like he was struggling as much as Sparky.

Franz quickly picked up a couple of weights with 15s on them. “Try taking more than one if you can!” He suggested.

“Oui. That’s what I’ve been doing.” Louise said.

Time continued to pass. The weights were slowly starting to pull down on the grip of the strongmen, and the two were starting to show it, but they both refused to let go, knowing that a win relied on them. The weights continued to pile on, but the watchers to the side saw that Tongoro was getting weights faster than Jerry was.

“How are the other guys doing this so fast?” Honey asked.

“Felipe’s got that relay thing going with Syndrelle.” Danielle reminded. “And we’ve got Gord and Manitoba holding us back while the other team just has Sparky, darlin’.”

Honey gave a sighed. “This could be close. Tongoro’s stronger, but the other team’s giving him weights faster.” She said.

Honey was right. Tongoro was slowly finding himself weakening by the amount of weights he was being given, and by this point was holding on through sheer force of will alone. “How many weights have they put on?!” He demanded.

“Looks like about two hundred fifty pounds, Tongoro.” SSBFreak explained. “By comparison, Jerry’s holding up a hundred and twenty.”

“Pick it up, people! You guys are sucking at this!” Kasha yelled from the sidelines.

“Shut up, Kasha!” Most of Cosmor shouted at once.

Patchwork rolled his eyes as he put a heavy weight onto Jerry’s scale. “I’m not even getting involved this time.” He muttered as he continued to work on the challenge.

Jerry grunted and strained to keep the scale off the ground, but it looked like he was starting to run into the problems that Tongoro was having. The two looked like they were ready to drop their scales at any moment.

“Jerry’s losing it! Hurry!” Syndrelle urged.

The two tribes rushed to get some last-minute weights onto the scales of their opponents. The Pansay Tribe had the quicker draw, as it turned out, and before the Cosmor Tribe could load up a new round of weights onto Jerry’s scale, Tongoro’s grip slipped and the scale of weights hit the ground with a loud crash.

“That’s it! Tongoro dropped his weights! The challenge is over!” SSBFreak announced. “Pansay wins Immunity!”

The Pansay Tribe cheered at their first Immunity win as Jerry released his scale, looking exhausted but extremely-relieved at the same time.

(Later…)

“Congratulations on your first Immunity wins, Pansay Tribe. You’re all safe for another few days out here, the first time since we started.” SSBFreak said as he turned to the larger, losing team. “Cosmor, for the first time, I’ll be seeing you at Tribal Council where you’ll be voting out your first member. Since you’ve had almost two weeks to get to know each other, you should know who to vote for in the end.” He turned back to the winning tribe. “Pansay, please choose someone on Cosmor to give Immunity to.”

“No question. Kasha.” Felipe said.

“Okay. Kasha is, for now, immune from the vote, but everyone else is up for eliminations. You can all head back to camp.”

(Cosmor Tribe)

“Well, we were on a roll, but we finally lost Immunity and we’re going to be voting out our first member pretty soon.” Gord explained. “Normally, you’d expect us to just dump Kasha, but we don’t want to run the risk of alienating Patchwork, or at least that’s what Franz is saying.”

“If Kasha is dumb enough to give up Immunity tonight, and I think she will because she’ll think she’s safe, we need to vote her out.” Manitoba urged. “She’s completely-useless and all she does around here is annoy us!”

Franz gave a sigh. “She’s a liability, but voting her out will send Patchwork to the other side.” He explained.

“Screw Patchwork! He’s just one guy!”

“And with the twist that prevents one person from voting, one person means a world of change, Manitoba.” Franz explained. “I’d rather keep on everyone’s good side here.”

“But you’re keeping someone who doesn’t DO anything!”

“We understand what you’re thinking, Manitoba.” Honey piped up. “Believe us, we want to just get rid of Kasha as well, but we need to wait a little while until we’re sure the season twist won’t give us any repercussions.”

Manitoba sighed and walked away. “You guys are completely hopeless.”

“Kasha needs to go! She seriously needs to go before she makes us want to kill ourselves with her constantly annoying us!” Manitoba insisted. “Why am I seemingly the only one here who realizes this?! It should be an easy choice!”

Honey sighed and looked at Franz. “So are we still voting him out?” She asked.

“He’s honestly not that much more-useful than Kasha, to be honest.” Franz admitted, shaking his head. “I don’t like saying this, but I don’t think it’ll matter which of them goes first.”

Meanwhile, Kasha was looking proud of herself, and looked like she was plotting something. Patchwork saw this and sighed. “I take it you’ve got an idea?” He asked.

“Of course I do. I intend to give Immunity to Danielle tonight. Then, everyone can blindside Franz and his alliance won’t be able to do anything about it.” Kasha smirked. “Can you imagine what his alliance would do without their leader? They’d come CRAWLING to us!”

“Indeed. That’s actually a pretty sneaky idea.” Patchwork smirked.

“It’s also an idea I have no intention of acting with. Franz may be the leader of his alliance, but he’s also too strong to vote out this early.” Patchwork said. “That being said, I’ll just let Kasha do what she wants and go do my own thing, which, by the way, seems to be leaning towards voting out Gord with Louise and Tongoro.”

“Those idiots aren’t even going to see this coming. They’re probably expecting me to hold onto this Immunity and keep myself safe, when in reality I’m in absolutely no danger anyway!” Kasha said. “Without Franz, I’m sure that his friends will join me like they’re supposed to since they’ll be without a leader.”

(Tribal Council)

The ten members of Cosmor walked into Tribal Council, carrying torches. Sitting down on the stumps provided, they all waited for the Council to commence.

“Welcome to your first Tribal Council, Cosmor Tribe. In a moment, you will be voting one of your own out of the game as your tribe’s first casualty.” SSBFreak said before he started asking questions. “Louise, how’s tribe life been doing since you started?”

“It’s been…A bit of a, how you say, mixed bag, I’ll admit. Oui, there are a few things we could probably do without, but you can’t deny that we’ve gone eleven days without losing.” Louise said.

“Why do you think you’ve gone so long before losing Immunity?”

Louise seemed to be in thought. “Oui, we’ve had some luck.” She admitted. “But the other team’s had a few people holding them back, and once they are gone, then they become stronger, no?”

“I still think it’s mostly been good luck.” Manitoba folded his arms.

“Maybe it is.” Louise shrugged.

“Danielle, what seems to be the divide in the tribe so far if there are any?”

“Well, Franz has an alliance, Louise has an alliance and it seems Patchwork and Kasha are somewhere in the middle, darlin’.” Danielle explained. “We’re not sure where they stand.”

“You know where we stand, Danielle.” Patchwork said.

“I just know to take what someone like you says with a grain of salt, darlin’.”

“Could you stop saying that word?” Kasha asked flatly. “It just gets annoying!”

“It’s something I just picked up from the people in my town and I never dropped it!” Danielle insisted. “You’re the only one I’ve seen complain about it, darlin’.”

“I just asked you to stop saying that!”

“Kasha, what seems to be your issue here? It’s clear that no one here likes you.” SSBFreak said.

Kasha folded her arms. “I tried to be a leader when we started, but no one here’s having any of it!” She said. “The only one who agreed to join me was Patchwork, but I know that’ll change after this vote.”

“What are you planning?” Franz asked suspiciously.

“You’ll find out, soldier-boy.”

“Franz, does Kasha need Immunity tonight?” SSBFreak asked.

“As much as I hate to say it, she probably doesn’t.” Franz shook his head. “I mean, we’d all love to vote her out, but doing so would isolate us from Patchwork and we all really need his vote with this new twist around.”

“Glad to see that you’ve got your head on straight, Franz.” Patchwork smirked.

“I’ll admit that there are a few people that aren’t keen on this idea, though.” Franz admitted.

Manitoba rolled his eyes. “I take it he’s talking about you, Manitoba?” The host asked.

“In my opinion, Kasha is LUCKY to have Immunity. She’s holding everyone back and is virtually useless.” Manitoba replied.

“I helped us win the Reward Challenge!” Kasha insisted.

“You don’t chip in around camp and lately all I’ve seen you do is search for an idol that we don’t even know EXISTS yet!” Manitoba shot back. “If it were up to me, you would be voted out unanimously!”

“Well, it isn’t going to happen like that, you stupid Canadian.”

“How many times do I have to say it?! I’m not Canadian! Why does everyone think I’m Canadian?!”

“Qing Long, how do you think the vote’s going to go?” SSBFreak asked.

“I expect the vote to go a few different ways, and while I’d like to vote a different way, I don’t want to be in the minority.” Qing Long shook her head.

“And how would that be?”

“Like I’m going to say anything about how I’m going to vote.”

“Okay. I think that’s enough questions. Before we continue, I need to ask…” SSBFreak said. “Kasha, will you be giving up Immunity tonight?”

“As a matter of fact, I AM.” Kasha nodded, holding the Immunity necklace up. “I’m giving it to Danielle.”

Danielle blinked in confusion behind her mask. “Um…What for?” She asked.

“You’ll find out.”

“I can’t believe you just did that.” Manitoba smirked.

“Okay. Danielle is now immune and cannot be voted out, but she isn’t allowed to vote, either. It’s now time to vote.” SSBFreak said. “Tongoro, you’re up.”

Tongoro stood up and left the hut to go vote. The four-armed Shoken approached the voting table and scribbled a name down before returning to the hut.

Kasha smirked and wrote a name down before she showed her vote to the camera. “No one’s going to see this coming.” She said, having voted for Franz.

Gord approached the table and quickly wrote a name down. Giving a sigh, Gord adjusted his shades before putting the ballot into the urn and walking away.

Louise scribbled a name down and showed it, revealing Gord’s name. “You are the weakest here and don’t do much. So sorry, but blame Tongoro.” She said before voting.

Honey walked up to the table and quietly wrote a name down. “I just hope Franz doesn’t second-guess himself again.” She said before voting and walking away.

Patchwork seemed in thought as he wrote a name down. “I just hope Qing Long is voting with us. She’s the only question mark.” He mused as he voted and walked away.

Manitoba scribbled a name down and revealed Kasha’s name on his ballot. “Giving up Immunity was stupid. I just hope the others vote you out for it.” He said as he put his ballot into the urn.

Franz appeared to be in thought, rubbing his head. “I hope I’m making the right choice…” He muttered as he scribbled a name down and voted, returning to the hut.

Qing Long was the last to vote. How she was able to write a name while blind was anyone’s guess, but she was still able to write a name and put it into the urn with little problems.

Once the nine people able to vote 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. Danielle kept silent, not bothering with the idol. “It’s time to read the votes…”

“…First vote; Kasha.” Kasha seemed unfazed, but narrowed her already-closed eyes.

“…Franz.” Franz tilted his head in confusion as Kasha gave a smirk.

“…Gord. It’s 1-1-1.” Gord seemed a little surprised.

“Gord. He leads with 2.” Gord looked a little nervous now.

“…Manitoba.” Manitoba lifted an eyebrow.

“Gord. That’s three.” “What’s with the votes, guys?”

“Manitoba.” “What?!” Manitoba demanded.

“…Manitoba. That’s 3-3-1-1.” Manitoba and Gord eyed each other, knowing it was between the two of them. “Final vote and fourth person voted out of Survivor: Central Hub…”

“…Manitoba. You need to bring me your torch.” SSBFreak explained.

“But…Kasha wasn’t immune! You guys had the perfect opportunity to get rid of her!” Manitoba insisted.

“Just admit that I’m a better player than you.” Kasha smirked.

“I’d tell you to go to hell, but something tells me you’ve already been there.” Manitoba muttered before grabbing his torch and bringing it to the host.

“Manitoba, the tribe had spoken.” SSBFreak said as he extinguished Manitoba’s torch. “It’s time for you to go.”

“You guys made a VERY serious mistake.” Manitoba warned as he stalked out of the hut and vanished from sight.

Once Manitoba was gone, SSBFreak turned to the remaining players. “You guys have ended your first Tribal Council in a very split vote. Even after spending almost two weeks before coming here, you guys still ended up with a vote that went several ways.” He said. “I’d recommend that you get your act together, because otherwise your winning streak will become a losing streak, and you don’t want that because we’ve still only just begun. You can all head back to camp.”

The nine remaining Cosmor players stood up, collected their torches and left Tribal Council. Patchwork brought up the rear, looking a little frustrated. He was hoping to make a dent to Franz’s large alliance, but things obviously didn’t go as planned. He’d need a new plan to get things to pick up. Kasha, on the other hand, looked furious that her plan to blindside Franz had apparently failed…

“I still can’t believe I’m sitting here right now. Even with us winning the first three Immunities, I think I would have lasted longer if I was put on the other tribe.” Manitoba insisted. “At least THOSE guys seem smart enough to know when to cut a liability. Whatever. My tribe sucked and they’ll pay for their choice to boot me before too long.”

Voting History:
Manitoba – Franz, Gord, Honey and Qing Long
Gord – Louise, Patchwork and Tongoro
Franz – Kasha
Kasha – Manitoba