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Episode 5

I Kissed a Girl and I Liked It

Previously on… Survivor…

Chiyo found another idol…

Chiyo's face turns bright red. "No way to hide it," she says.

She pulls out the metallic object that she found. It is a golden head of Meilin Rae from Cardcaptor Sakura.

Jet then had a big surprise for everyone…

"What's this for?" Aqua asks.

"Silly, we're going to pick new buffs!" Hestia answers.

"That's right," Jet says. "Reach in, pick one out, then find the mat with your new color."

Alice pulls out a black buff, and Meat Meat takes out a green one. Erina pulls out a red one, and Aqua is shocked to see that she has a blue one.

"We are going from three tribes to four," Jet says. "Four new tribes, four new colors."

At the immunity challenge, Mine got injured playing Schmergen Brawl…

"Shut up, she needs help!" Ais shouts.

"Bring in medical!" Jet yells.

Mine's tribe managed to win immunity without her, while two other tribes were sent to Tribal Council. At the Ren Tribe, three out of the four players used immunity idols…

"All right," Jet states. "This is also a hidden immunity idol. All votes cast for Azusa will not count, either."

Meat Meat has her head in her hands, with tears forming in her eyes.

"Meat Meat, do you have anything?" Jet asks.

The meat master shakes her head "no."

"Then there's no reason to read the votes or to revote," Jet states. "Meat Meat, I'm sorry, but because everyone else is immune, you are eliminated."

At the Ten Tribe, Sakaki bought an extra vote to give her alliance the edge…

"Very well then, Sakaki's got an extra vote," Jet says. "That changes the whole dynamic, doesn't it?"

Sakaki proceeded to get revenge on Esdeath, who forced out her alliance mate Tsumugi in the previous Tribal Council. Fourteen are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

Day 13

Ten Tribe

(Anthy, Erina, Sakaki)

Anthy thanks Esdeath for buying the extra vote the next morning.

"Without you, I'd be headed home," Anthy says. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sakaki says. "Now we turn our attention to voting out Erina."

But Sakaki secretly has other ideas.

"I do want to win this game," Sakaki says. "I'm not just playing here to make friends or to be nice. I need to think about what's going to happen after the merge. And that's kind of obvious: Anthy is going to go with her lover Utena, and the two of them are going to dominate the game. I've got to work with Erina to get her out."

So, as Erina makes some rice, Sakaki whispers to her.

"Anthy," she says.

Erina looks surprised. "Okay," she replies.

Sakaki walks away, and Erina smirks.

"So, Sakaki is ready to turn on Anthy," Erina says. "Perfect timing for me. I want her out myself, but more importantly, I want to be safe. I was expecting a fight for my life with Anthy and Sakaki locked in as an alliance. Now I have a way out. I hope Sakaki's telling me the truth."

Anthy seems completely oblivious to a plot to get her out.

"I am looking forward to playing with Utena," she says. "As long as she makes the merge, then I'm going to get my chance to play with her. Sakaki and I are set as an alliance, and we'll vote out Erina should we lose the next challenge. I just hope no one turns on Utena."

Ren Tribe

(Azusa, Chiyo, Hestia)

The Ren Tribe is still reeling from that crazy Tribal Council.

"We're all out of idols after that," Chiyo says. "Which tells me that there should be one to find out here, and now everyone's looking for it."

Hestia, Azusa, and Chiyo are going through the jungle, trying to find an idol. Each of them goes to different parts of the jungle, unable to see what each other are doing.

"Everyone needs that idol," Azusa says. "No one knows who's on what side when it comes to voting, but the one thing we do know is that we need to find that thing."

After a bunch of searching, one of the players finally finds one in a hole of a trunk of a tree.

…

…

…

…

…

"Aha!"

Hestia pulls out the idol, which is a golden head of Kaname Chidori from Full Metal Panic.

"I've now got the idol, which means I'm in a position of power should we go to Tribal next," Hestia says. "I can choose who I want to go home, whether it's Chiyo-chan or Azu-nyan. I'd rather send neither of them home, though, so I hope we can win immunity."

Zetsu Tribe

(Aqua, Darkness, Tomo, Utena)

Utena decides to go looking for Tomo that morning, but she can't find her anywhere. She comes back to camp frustrated.

"Were you looking for Tomo?" Aqua asks.

"Yes," Utena replies.

"Why waste your time?" Aqua wonders. "She's a lost cause. Almost as bad as that Kazuma. Completely oblivious to reality."

"We can't just abandon one of our own," Utena says. "I don't care if she's on the outs, we must stand up for those on our own tribe."

"Who says she's on the outs?" Aqua replies. "Darkness and I were talking about voting out y… I mean, yeah, you're right!"

Utena walks away shaking her head.

"So, Aqua is really going after me," Utena says. "Darkness and I have been close, but Darkness says she won't turn on her. That makes me even more dependent on Tomo; she has to come back, or I'm going to be the next one out."

But Darkness tries to ensure Utena that this isn't the case.

"I'm not going to turn on you," Darkness tells her. "Aqua was just talking out of her #$*. She can sometimes do that."

"So, you plan on voting out Tomo?" Utena replies.

"Of course," Darkness says. "If Tomo ever comes back, that is. I bet she's at camera camp, suffering with those cameramen having their way with her! Oh, if I could have that opportunity!"

Utena facepalms.

"I have to count on Darkness, but she's absolutely nuts," Utena says. "Nevertheless, I'm still more concerned about Anthy than myself. Did she survive that last Tribal Council? I want to see her face when it's time for the reward challenge."

Hatsu Tribe

(Ais, Alice, Mine, Mio)

Ais is still tending to Mine's wounds, as she cut up her legs pretty badly in the last challenge.

"You're doing better," Ais says. "But I'm not sure you should compete in the next challenge."

"I'm competing," Mine replies. "There's no way I'll sit on the sidelines over something as small as this. I've been through a lot worse than this!"

Ais looks intently at Mine. "Do you… have someone back at home?"

Mine blushes. "Maybe…" she says.

"Oh," Ais says, with her eyes dropping.

"But nothing can break our bond," Mine tells her. "Maybe I've found love, maybe I haven't. You and me – we're going down together. I won't let any harm come to you."

Ais smiles. "Thank you," she replies. "I'm going to fight for you. And I won't let Alice put you out of this game."

"Alice is a pushover!" Mine says. "It's those other tribes that concern me more."

"Mine is very special to me," Ais says. "She and I have hit it off great in the time we've been together. I don't know if I… if I…"

A tear rolls down her cheek.

"I don't know what I'll do without her."

Meanwhile, Alice is trying to poison Mio against Ais and Mine.

"I heard Ais saying that you're the next to go," Alice says.

"Really?" Mio replies.

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone. We're going to have to do a 2-2 split vote."

"But why would they go after me, if you're Mine's enemy?"

"Because if it ends up double tied, then the non-tied people pick rocks. Either they go after you and have me pick a rock, or they go after me and have you pick a rock. Safe to say, you're in trouble."

"Okay," Mio says. "Thanks for letting me know."

"I didn't realize what position I was in until today," Mio says. "Apparently I'm in danger. I thought Mine and Ais would team up with me to put out Alice, but it looks like that's not the case. I'm going to have to really think about what to do next."

"I've lied to Mio, but that's just the beginning of my lying," Alice says. "My next goal is to turn Ais and Mine on each other. Break up that little bromance they've got going. I'm going to be the queen of chaos!"

Reward Challenge

"Come on in, girls!"

The Hatsu and Zetsu Tribes walk in first, with the Ren and Ten Tribes a bit behind them.

"Hatsu and Zetsu, getting your first look at the new Ren and Ten Tribes, Meat Meat and Esdeath sent home."

Utena breathes a sigh of relief, then waves over to Anthy, who gives her a thumbs-up. Mio looks a bit scared after hearing a rumble of thunder in the distance.

"Mine," Jet says. "Because you outlasted both Chelsea and Esdeath, you ARE Best Girl. You will receive $10,000 extra on top of your winnings."

Mine shrugs her shoulders, but Ais hugs her to congratulate her.

"You guys ready to get to today's reward challenge?"

"No," Darkness says.

"No?" Jet replies.

"We're down one member," Aqua says. "Tomo disappeared and nev-"

As she says this, Tomo comes rushing in.

"Where the #$*& have you been?" Darkness asks.

"Oh, I've been with medical helping take care of Chelsea!" Tomo says. "She really needed to be patched up. And the medicine they used on her-"

"You need to suffer along with the rest of us," Utena says. "You can't just keep on playing hooky like this."

"Fine, I'll sit out this challenge," Tomo says.

Jet grins. "Tomo, you're getting ahead of me here. For today's challenge, on my go, you will push your way through a bunch of sticks, walk across a balance beam, crawl under an obstacle, and retrieve a key. After that, two tribe members will dig up a bag of puzzle pieces, then the other tribe member will ride down a flying fox to unlock the other two members. You'll then use those puzzle pieces in the bag to solve a pyramid puzzle. First three tribes to finish, win reward. Wanna know what you're playing for?"

"Let me guess," Darkness says. "Fire Tokens."

"Not just Fire Tokens," Jet says. "You are also playing for these."

He unveils some rain parkas.

"In case it gets rainy again, which I can tell from the darkening sky that it will, you'll have these. First tribe to finish wins rain parkas plus two Fire Tokens each. Second tribe to finish wins rain parkas plus one Fire Token each. Third tribe to finish wins rain parkas but no Fire Tokens. Last place, nothing. Zetsu and Hatsu, you've got one extra member. Zetsu, you're apparently sitting out Tomo. Hatsu, who are you sitting out? Remember that the same person cannot sit out in back-to-back challenges."

"I'll sit out," Mio says.

"Very well then, sit-outs take a spot on the bench. The rest of you, I'll give you a minute to strategize, then we'll get started."

The players all line up at the starting line, ready to go.

"For reward! Survivors ready? Go!"

All four tribes charge head-on into the obstacle course. Aqua runs head on into one of the sticks, and it pokes her in the elbow.

"Owwww! It hurts!" she cries.

"Keep going!" Darkness says, as she pulls Aqua along.

The Hatsu Tribe is the first tribe to get through the sticks obstacle, and they start out on the balance beam. Ais easily makes it across the beam, with Mine struggling a bit. As she takes her time, the Ten Tribe makes it through the sticks obstacle, with the Ren Tribe right behind them.

"Gotta make it across that balance beam without falling off!"

The Zetsu Tribe is finally through the sticks, with Aqua pulling her tribe down. After some struggles, Mine and Alice get across the balance beam, and the Hatsu Tribe is the first one to the crawling portion.

"A big lead so far for Hatsu!"

Sakaki and Erina make it across the beam easily. Anthy has some trouble, and she loses her balance and falls off.

"Oh, come on!" Erina shouts. "It's not that hard, Anthy!"

"Shut up!" Utena says, as she starts on the beam.

The Ren Tribe now heads across the balance beam, and all three players struggle to keep their balance. Azusa makes it without falling off, and Chiyo makes it across a bit faster than her. But Hestia falls off the beam a couple of times, slowing down her tribe.

"Hatsu Tribe now almost through the crawl!"

Mine gets out of the crawl, then she helps Ais out. Alice comes through several seconds later.

"Ren and Ten now across the balance beam!"

The Zetsu Tribe is having a ton of trouble, because Aqua keeps falling off the beam.

"Take your time, Aqua," Utena tells her.

Aqua finally manages to get across the beam, but her tribe is way behind. The Ren and Ten Tribes are getting through the crawl, with Anthy taking up a bit of extra time for the Ten Tribe. As this is going on, Ais grabs the key and heads up the stairs to get to the flying fox.

"Mine and Alice have to dig up that bag of puzzle pieces for Ais to go!"

As Mine and Alice try digging, they keep shoving each other and splashing sand up into the other's face.

"Stop it!" Mine shouts. "Let me at it!"

"You're digging in the wrong spot, #$*%&!" Alice yells back.

As the two struggle to find the bag of puzzle pieces, Hestia grabs the key for Ren, and she heads up the stairs to the flying fox. Sakaki gets the key for Ten, and she too races up the stairs.

"Get digging for those puzzle pieces, Ren and Ten!"

Azusa and Chiyo start digging for their tribe's pieces, while Erina and Anthy do the same for Ten. The Zetsu Tribe finally finishes crawling, and Utena heads for the key.

"Zetsu Tribe way behind here!"

Alice and Mine continue fighting while digging for the puzzle pieces, costing them time. Chiyo gets the Ren Tribe's puzzle pieces out of the sand, with Azusa helping her pull it out.

"Hestia, you can use the flying fox!" Jet shouts.

Hestia heads down the flying fox, while Erina gets the puzzle pieces out for Ten.

"Sakaki, use the flying fox!"

Sakaki slides down the rope, right behind Hestia. The two of them reach the ground, then they rush over and unlock their tribe members.

"Hatsu losing a lot of time here!"

Alice finally gets the bag of puzzle pieces out, but by this point, even the Zetsu Tribe has almost caught them. Darkness digs the puzzle pieces out, and Utena and Ais head down the flying fox almost simultaneously.

"Hestia and Sakaki have unlocked their tribe members! Get to the finish line so you can start working on that puzzle!"

Hestia and the Ren Tribe are the first ones to the puzzle, with the Ten Tribe just a bit behind. Ais and Utena unlock their tribemates, then they head for the finish line.

"Get to work on those puzzles!"

It's Utena working on the puzzle for Zetsu, Ais for Hatsu, Sakaki for Ten, and Chiyo for Ren. Chiyo takes an early lead, but Aqua notices how she's solving the puzzle.

"Utena!" Aqua calls. "Put that piece over there!"

Mine bristles while Aqua calls out instructions to Utena, who listens carefully. Utena takes a lead in the challenge thanks to Aqua's help, and she is close to finishing.

"Utena's almost got it! Chiyo-chan needs to try to catch up!"

Sakaki follows Utena's lead and starts copying off the other two. Ais is having a hard time keeping up.

"I've got it!" Utena shouts.

"Utena thinks she has it… and she DOES! Zetsu wins reward! Looking for two more!"

Sakaki and Chiyo race to finish their pyramid puzzle first. Chiyo actually beats Sakaki to the finish, but Sakaki calls out to Jet first.

"I have it," Sakaki says.

"Sakaki thinks she has it… and she DOES! Ten wins reward! Looking for one more!"

"I've got it, Jet!" Chiyo shouts. "And I had it before her!"

"Chiyo thinks she has it… and she is RIGHT! Ren wins reward! Nothing for Hatsu!"

Ais hangs her head over the pyramid puzzle, which Mine grabs a couple of pieces off. She then hurls those pieces at Aqua.

"You big cheater!" Mine yells. "You can't do anything for yourself!"

Meanwhile, the Ten and Ren Tribes are arguing with Jet.

"Chiyo-chan had it first!" Hestia complains.

"But she didn't call out," Erina says.

Jet raises his arms to stop the squabbling. "Since Sakaki called out first, her tribe gets priority of finish over Ren. Ten finishes second, Ren finishes third."

Hestia kicks the pyramid of pieces, while Mine continues to shout at Aqua.

"You little $*#%&!" she yells. "You get by on what other people do, not what you do yourself! You never earn anything for yourself! You're a cheat and a loser!"

Aqua begins to cry, and Darkness rushes over to protect her.

"Stand away from her," she tells Mine, putting out her arms.

"Cheater," Mine mumbles, as she walks away.

"Okay, time for the reward," Jet states. "Zetsu, come over here and get it, then head on out."

Utena, Aqua, Darkness, and Tomo grab their rain parkas, and Jet hands each of them two Fire Tokens. On the way out, Utena silently drops her two Tokens into Anthy's hand. Anthy looks surprised, but she says nothing.

"Ten, come over here and get your reward."

Erina, Sakaki, and Anthy each get a Token off Jet, then they grab their parkas and head out.

"Ren, sorry, you don't get any Fire Tokens," Jet states. "But you do get these."

He hands out the parkas to Hestia, Chiyo, and Azusa, before they walk on out.

"As for Hatsu, I got nothing for you. Head on back to camp."

Mine gives Jet the middle finger, then Alice tries pulling her back.

"Come on, it's your fault we lost, not Jet's," Alice says.

Mine turns over to Alice and keeps her middle finger raised.

"You are nothing but a %&$*#," Mine says.

"Don't anger her," Ais says, putting an arm on Mine's shoulder.

"Hey, I've got thick skin," Alice says. "I don't care what she does."

The squabbling Hatsu Tribe heads on out back to camp, with Ais having to restrain Mine from going after Alice, while Mio looks on silently.

"This tribe is going nuts," Mio says. "Alice hates Mine, Mine hates Alice, Mine and Ais seem to have something going on… I don't know what to do with them. And I'm afraid that while they're all fighting with each other, they'll eventually go ahead and vote out me instead."

Ten Tribe

(Anthy, Erina, Sakaki)

Anthy takes the time to count out all her Fire Tokens by herself.

"Let's see, I had four coming in, Utena gave me two, and I won one more," she says. "That gives me enough to buy an idol. I think I'm going to need it at some point in this game, so I'll buy it now."

She trades in her Fire Tokens with a producer for a golden head of Satsuki Kiryuin from Kill la Kill.

"I hope this idol of Lady Satsuki brings me luck," Anthy says. "Satsuki played one of the best games ever, she just came up two jury votes short. But I won't be afraid to pull the trigger and use it if I have to."

As predicted, the skies turn threatening, and the rain starts to come down. All three girls go inside the shelter, wearing their rain parkas to keep them warm.

"I'm not really sure what the point of this game is," Erina says. "I have to sit out here in bad weather, eating bad food, and spending time with bad people. I want that million bucks, though. That way I could buy Soma out and put him out of business. I can't quit, though; I must beat my cousin Alice."

"Turning on Anthy is really mean, and I know it," Sakaki says. "But I've got to play this game for myself. While Esdeath didn't let me in her alliance, she was right; if Anthy gets to the end, she wins. She's not a Jimmy Johnson, who no jury would give a million dollars. She's more like a Natalie White. And that scares me if she makes the merge and hooks up with Utena – in more way than one."

Zetsu Tribe

(Aqua, Darkness, Tomo, Utena)

As the rain comes pouring down, Utena looks off into the distance, trying to see if she can see any of the other camps.

"It looks like there's a camp over there," she tells Darkness.

"Yeah, you're right," Darkness replies. "I think I can see people moving around."

"I have no idea whether that's another tribe, or the camera camp, or even the medical camp," Utena says.

"Are you worried about Anthy?" Darkness asks.

Utena blushes. "Yes. I gave her all my Fire Tokens for her to have a chance to save herself. I have no idea how many she has, or even what she's been through. I'm sure it's been rough. I just want to have the chance to play with her, and the only way for that to happen is for her to make the merge."

"The merge must be coming soon," Darkness says. "And a knight like myself will defend my friend Aqua, no matter what it takes!"

Utena laughs. "Don't ever change, Darkness."

"I am ready to fight, ready to battle," Darkness says. "I will defend Aqua no matter what! Although, she's not my goddess. I follow Eris. Even if the goddess Eris pads her chest, I will serve her!"

"It's tough being out here with someone you love," Utena says. "You're supposed to be playing the game for yourself, but I've got someone else to worry about. I'd rather Anthy win this game than me; she deserves to be in the limelight for once, and not just a prop to be used in duels. I hope she uses those Tokens the right way and finds a way to make the merge."

Ren Tribe

(Azusa, Chiyo, Hestia)

Hestia has the idol, but she doesn't want anyone else to find out, so she hides it in an interesting place.

"I put my idol right between my two giant breasts," she says. "By putting it there, there's no way it's going to be found out by the others."

Chiyo, meanwhile, is trying to decide what to do next.

"It seems Azu-nyan and Hestia both want to play with me," she says. "They both want me to team up with them to take out the other. I really don't know which way to go right now. I'm going to try some calculations and permutations while the rain pours down."

Azusa is shivering because of the cold rain.

"The parka helps, but it's not enough," she says. "This is a rough experience. Playing Survivor is like playing a sport. There's going to be adversity, and you've just got to press through it. But right now, I feel about as miserable as Mogo Mogo was in Survivor: All-Stars."

Hatsu Tribe

(Ais, Alice, Mine, Mio)

"This is miserable," Mine says, as the rain pours down, the wind blows, and the tribe has no parkas.

"It'll be all right," Ais says, rubbing Mine's shoulders.

"Yeah, and besides, it was your fault we didn't get those parkas," Alice says. "You were so incompetent at digging up those puzzle pieces that you cost us a ton of time."

"Shut up, you little &$#*%!" Mine says. "You say one more thing, and I'll tear out your esophagus!"

Mio tries to stop the arguing.

"Could you please calm down?" she asks. "The best way of getting through this storm is to do it together. Let's stop the squabbling."

"She started it!" Mine exclaims, pointing at Alice.

Ais hugs Mine close. "It's okay," she says. "We're going to get through this."

"Ais is unbelievable," Mine says. "I've never known someone who's cared so much about me. Sure, Tatsumi and I have a little fling going on, but I feel like Ais gets me. She fits me like a glove. If I didn't have her out here, I would have been the next Brandon Hantz."

"It's hard to believe this is a cutthroat game," Ais says. "Because I've gotten so close to Mine, I don't want to cut anyone's throat at this point. I just want to spend time with her. Hopefully, that time will be a few more weeks."

Day 14

Ren Tribe

(Azusa, Chiyo, Hestia)

The Ren Tribe tries to get a fire going after the storm, but it is to no avail. Chiyo slashes desperately at the flint, but she can't get a spark.

"It's too wet," she says.

"Let me try," Hestia says.

Hestia then spends her time trying to get it to spark, but even she can't. Azusa stands by, wondering what to do.

"If we can't get fire, we're in a bad situation," Azusa says. "We desperately need to have that to keep us warm from these cold winds. This is not good for us going into the challenge.

Hestia then suggests something that has both of her tribemates curious.

"Say we go to Tribal Council tonight," Hestia says. "Why don't we purposely split the vote three ways? I vote for Azu-nyan, Azu-nyan votes for Chiyo-chan, and Chiyo-chan votes for me. Then the only solution is to have all three of us make fire. That seems like the fairest way to do it."

"You have a point there," Azusa says.

"But wouldn't that be counterintuitive?" Chiyo asks. "If we're not truly playing the game, how is any of us going to end up winning?"

"Wouldn't it be great to have it on your resume, though?" Hestia says. "You made fire to stay alive. It would help the game of the two winners by a lot."

"It could be fun," Azusa says. "I'm just not sure I want to risk my fate in the game like that."

"Come on, give it a try!" Hestia says.

"Hestia has some hair-brained idea about the three of us purposely splitting the votes in order that no one gets voted off and it comes down to fire," Azusa says. "I don't think that's the best thing to do, though. In fact, it makes me more want to vote out Hestia."

"Hestia's plan may actually backfire on her," Chiyo says. "It makes no mathematical or strategic sense. She looks like a better target than Azu-nyan for me. I think that if Hestia had just come up to me and asked me to vote out Azu-nyan, I would have done that, but now I think I'm voting her out."

Azusa and Chiyo confirm their plans later in the day.

"We're going Hestia," Chiyo says. "She's the easiest target."

"I agree," Azusa says. "She wants us to throw away our chances in the game for a fire-making challenge, and that's just not going to work. We will simply put our two votes on her and send her home."

"The only thing is if she found that idol," Chiyo says. "I wasn't able to find it."

"Neither was I," Azusa says. "But if Hestia thinks we're following her plan, she won't play it anyway."

"It's a small risk to take, but I'd rather take that risk over making fire," Chiyo says.

"Hestia may have found the idol," Chiyo says. "So that could end up backfiring on us if she does have it. But if she doesn't – or if she chooses not to play it – her game will end here."

Hatsu Tribe

(Ais, Alice, Mine, Mio)

The rain starts pouring down again, and Ais huddles closely with Mine. Mine blushes as she hugs Ais, who puts her head on her lap.

"Mine…" Ais says. "Do you believe in… love?"

Mine blushes even more. "Of course I believe in it. Huey Lewis and Cher both believe in it, and I can't argue with them."

"No, that's not what I meant," Ais says. "Do you believe in… girls' love?"

Mine laughs. "Of course. Who do you think I am, Ami Mizuno? I'm not a homophobe!"

Ais pauses, then looks up into Mine's eyes.

"Do you believe in… our love?"

Mine looks deeply into Ais's eyes, and she finds herself completely speechless. A few seconds later, the two kiss on the lips.

"I can't believe it," Mine says. "I kissed a girl and I liked it. I never knew I was a lesbian… but I am now. Tatsumi will have to understand."

"Bell may not like it, but my future is with Mine," Ais says. "She's the one I've been looking for. She completes me. Our opposite personalities cause us to attract so much that we can't come apart."

Alice, meanwhile, watches from the jungle, as she peels off some berries from a plant.

"Oh, so they're kissing now?" she says. "Just wait until I throw a wrench into their relationship. There will be no wedding ceremony for that couple!"

Immunity Challenge

"Come on in, girls!"

The four tribes march into the immunity challenge area, seeing a massive challenge set up.

"You girls ready to get to today's immunity challenge?"

"As always!" Aqua shouts.

"First things first, I will take it back."

Mio and Aqua hand back the immunity idols.

"Thank you. Once again, immunity is back up for grabs. For today's challenge, you will row a boat out to a platform. One member of your tribe will then swim out and retrieve a key ring. Once she's back, all three of you will climb a couple of boxes and jump off into the water. You'll then go over a rolling pin, and you'll climb up a net ramp. Once you're back to shore, two members of your tribe will dig for two bags of puzzle pieces. Then, you'll use the keys to unlock a crate. The crate will have more puzzle pieces. At the end, you will put all the puzzle pieces together to create a ship wheel. First two tribes to spin their wheel and raise their flag, win immunity, safe from the vote. Losers, Tribal Council, where two more people will be voted out of the game. Make sense?"

"My head is spinning," Azusa says, and everyone has a good laugh.

"Hatsu, Zetsu, you've got one extra member, you've got to sit out someone. You cannot sit out the same person in back-to-back challenges. For Hatsu, Mio sat out last challenge. For Zetsu, Tomo sat out last challenge. Who's it gonna be?"

"Aqua," Utena says, and the other girls nod their heads, including Aqua, who did not want to participate.

"Hatsu?" Jet asks.

"We're sitting out Alice," Mio says.

"Okay. Sit-outs, take a spot on the bench. The rest of you, I'll give you a moment to strategize, then we'll get started."

Alice scurries over to the bench alongside Aqua. The other players talk over who they want to do each part of the challenge.

"For immunity! Survivors ready? Go!"

All four tribes get their boats and begin pushing them out to shore. Once aboard, they start using the oars to get away from shore and out into the sea. Zetsu takes a slight lead thanks to Darkness and Utena's muscles. Hatsu is right behind them. Ren is struggling, with little Chiyo not much help paddling her oar. Ten moves into third place past Ren, with Erina guiding her team behind the top two tribes.

"Gotta get out to that platform!"

Zetsu is first to the platform. Utena then swims off to get the keyring. Hatsu gets to their platform, and they send Mine out to swim to the keyring.

"Ren really struggling back here!"

Ten gets to the platform, and Sakaki swims out to get her keyring. The Ren Tribe is starting to go in circles due to Chiyo's poor paddling. Utena grabs her key and swims back, with Mine following closely behind her.

"Zetsu doing great so far!"

The Zetsu Tribe goes up the crates and jumps off. Tomo makes sure to do a cannonball dive off the crate.

"Tomo gets a 3.5 for that dive! Terrible form!"

Mine, Ais, and Mio go up their crates, and they leap into the water. They start to make up some ground on Zetsu. Meanwhile, Ten is also gaining ground, as Sakaki has gotten her keyring quickly. Ren, meanwhile, is still paddling in circles.

"Chiyo-chan, move over here!" Azusa says.

The Ren Tribe changes spots on their boat, and they start to make progress toward getting to the platform. Utena, Darkness, and Tomo go over the rolling pin, with Ais, Mine, and Mio just a bit behind them.

"Here comes Ten!"

Sakaki leads her tribe on a comeback, as Erina and Anthy follow behind, and they catch up to the other two tribes as they reach the net ramps. Ren finally gets to the platform, and Azusa swims out to get their keyrings.

"Three tribes fighting for two spots!"

The Zetsu Tribe gets over the net ramp first, but Ten and Hatsu are right behind them. They all reach the mats on shore at about the same time.

"Gotta get two people and start digging!"

Ais and Mio dig for Hatsu, Erina and Anthy dig for Ten, and Darkness and Tomo dig for Zetsu, although Tomo just pretends to dig. Azusa grabs her keyring and starts swimming back to the platform.

"Those bags are buried deep in the sand!"

Erina is the first to get a bag of puzzle pieces. Darkness gets one for Zetsu shortly after, and Ais grabs the first one for Hatsu.

"Very even challenge for these three tribes right now!"

Erina pushes Anthy out of the way, and she gets the other bag out for her tribe. Tomo is clueless, so Darkness is forced to dig for the second bag.

"Zetsu losing time thanks to Tomo's incompetence!"

Sakaki begins trying the different keys on the lock for Ten, while Mine tries the keys for Hatsu. Sakaki gets hers on the second key, and she flips open the chest and pulls out the bag of puzzle pieces.

"Ten has now taken the lead!"

Mine finally gets hers on her fifth key, while Darkness has finished digging out her second bag. The Ren Tribe desperately tries coming back, as they jump off the crates into the water. The Ten Tribe begins working on their puzzle.

"Sakaki and Anthy doing the puzzle for Ten!"

Mine gets out the puzzle pieces and rushes over to the puzzle to try to solve it with Ais. Darkness gets it right on the third key, and she pulls out the puzzle pieces. Immediately, Utena joins her to go work on the puzzle. The Ren Tribe, miles behind, has trouble getting over the rolling pin.

"This is just pathetic by Ren!"

Mine and Ais begin to make good progress on their puzzle. Just as they start figuring it out, Mine hears a voice she doesn't want to hear.

"Put that piece over there!"

It's Aqua, shouting out directions to her tribemates. She is standing away from the bench, looking carefully at Hatsu's puzzle to figure out how they're doing it.

"That's it!" she shouts, as Darkness fits in a piece. "Now get that one on your right!"

Mine begins to steam, but Ais puts her hand on her shoulder.

"It'll be all right," she says. "We only need to finish second."

Sakaki and Anthy become stumped on their puzzle, and this causes the challenge to come down to Hatsu and Zetsu.

"Ten has run out of gas! It looks like we have our two winners!"

Using Aqua's help, Darkness has Zetsu doing well, with Hatsu falling behind. But just as Ten looked hopeless, Sakaki starts figuring out some pieces, getting her tribe back in it. The Ren Tribe, still way behind, finally gets over the net ramp.

"This challenge is getting really interesting now!"

Darkness and Utena continue putting their puzzle together, now not needing Aqua's help since they are ahead. They start putting in the last pieces of their puzzle. Hatsu and Ten are now in a fierce battle for second.

"Does Zetsu have it right?"

Utena slams the ship wheel into place, then spins it.

"Zetsu… wins immunity! Looking for one more!"

Both the Hatsu and Ten tribes get their ship wheel finished at almost the exact same time. It comes down to who can get it locked into place first. Mine and Sakaki rush to slam their wheels in.

…

…

…

…

…

"Mine… gets hers in! And that's it! Hatsu… wins immunity!"

Mine raises both arms in celebration, and Ais rushes over to peck her on the cheek. Erina shakes her head at her tribe's loss. The Ren Tribe comes back huffing and puffing.

"Come over here and get them."

Mio goes over to grab the Asuka idol, while Aqua takes the Rei idol.

"Zetsu, Hatsu, no one going home from either of your tribes. Head on out; I'll see you again in a couple of days."

The celebratory Zetsu and Hatsu tribes walk out of the immunity challenge area with their idols.

"As for you, Ten and Ren, I got nothing for you but a date with me at Tribal Council. Since Ten made much more progress than Ren, they will get to wait a night before coming to Tribal. Ren, I'll see you tonight for Tribal."

Erina crosses her arms angrily, while Azusa shakes her head. The two losing tribes head on out.

"My tribe is a pair of morons, and me," Erina says. "I'm the only one with a brain here. If those losers knew what they were doing, I wouldn't be headed back to yet another Tribal Council."

Ren Tribe

(Azusa, Chiyo, Hestia)

There is paranoia galore at the Ren Tribe. Each pair of players makes a deal with the other.

"You and me, together," Hestia says to Chiyo.

"Of course!" Chiyo replies.

"We can take this thing far, to the Final Three," Hestia says. "But who would we bring along as our third?"

"Maybe Sakaki…" Chiyo says.

"Hestia's trying to get me with her, but I'm not sure that's what I'm going to do," Chiyo says. "I'm weighing all my options."

Chiyo walks down to the beach, where Azusa is attempting to fish.

"You good with voting with me?" Chiyo asks her.

"Absolutely!" Azusa says. "There's no question I'm voting with you."

"Awesome!" Chiyo says. "I like Hestia, but it's simply strategy."

"It seems like Chiyo-chan is in with me," Azusa says. "I can't be quite sure, but I'm guessing that she's chosen me as her best chance to move into the merge."

But later in the day, Azusa and Hestia start talking around the fire.

"Chiyo-chan's too big a threat," Hestia says. "Let's ger her now."

"I agree," Azusa says. "She's just way too smart."

"Do you think she has an idol?" Hestia asks, knowing full well that she herself has it.

"I'm willing to take the chance that she does in order to try to bounce her at this point in the game," Azusa says.

"I think I've got Azusa with me," Hestia says. "She's a good person to try to carry to the merge. I just hope no one else finds out that I've got the idol."

Tribal Council

(Ren)

The three remaining Ren Tribe members march into the Tribal Council area. They set down their torches, then sit down across from Jet.

"Let's talk about the elephant in the room," Jet says. "You stink at challenges."

"We fully admit that," Chiyo replies. "But I don't think it'll matter very much anymore."

"Oh? And why is that?"

"I've calculated it," Chiyo says. "The merge is coming up very soon. I'm sure of it."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I'm the one that knows."

"Were you surprised that your tribe would be this bad, Azusa?"

Azusa shrugs her shoulders. "Not really. I know I'm not on the Strength Tribe anymore, so this is going to be harder."

"Hestia, with just three players left in this tribe, it's kind of obvious how this is going to go down. Two of you will go together, and the other will be left in the lurch."

Hestia giggles a bit. "Yeah, it's just which two. Is it me and Azusa? Is it me and Chiyo? Who knows how it's going to go down."

"I noticed you purposely avoided saying 'Azusa and Chiyo,'" Jet says. "Chiyo, how many scenarios have been talked out at camp?"

"Oh, probably every one imaginable," Chiyo says. "I have calculated scenarios for all the possibilities, including ones where someone has an idol, or if one has an extra vote."

"But ultimately it all comes down to who has the best bond together, and who has the best social game."

"And that's what makes this vote so hard," Azusa says. "None of us know what the others are going to do. It's so much up in the air."

"Do you think Fire Tokens could play a part in tonight's vote? For example, you give someone two Tokens to gain their vote," Jet says.

"No, I'm not going to be bribed," Hestia says. "But I know there are Tokens, idols, extra votes, you name it, floating around. Anything can happen tonight."

"Azusa, the last time we were here, a million idols were played and Meat Meat went home without receiving a single vote. Could the same thing happen tonight?"

"It's possible," Azusa says. "I don't know what's floating out there. It could very well be another three-idol night. I don't even know what would happen if that were the case."

Jet chuckles. "Hey, even I don't know what would happen if that were the case! But as for now, it is… time to vote. Azusa, you're up first."

The new Tribal Council music plays as the contestants go to cast their votes.

Azusa goes to vote.

Chiyo goes to vote.

Hestia goes to vote.

"I'll go tally the votes."

Jet goes over to the voting booth, grabs the urn, and returns to his podium.

"If anyone has a hidden immunity idol, and you would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."

Azusa, Chiyo, and Hestia all look at each other, wondering what the others will do. No one makes a move… yet.

"All-"

"Wait a moment, Jet!" Hestia exclaims.

Chiyo puts her hands in her face, while Azusa sits there sadly. Hestia skips over to Jet, bringing over her Kaname Chidori idol.

"Play this on… hmmm… oh yeah, me!"

Chiyo looks up with tear-filled eyes. Azusa shakes her head, while Hestia happily goes back to her seat.

"This IS a hidden immunity idol," Jet says. "Any votes cast for Hestia will not count. Once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

…

…

…

"First vote… Hestia. Does not count."

…

…

…

"Hestia. Does not count."

Chiyo and Azusa look on nervously, wondering who Hestia voted for.

…

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…

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…

"Fifth person voted out of Survivor: Best Girl…"

…

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…

"Azusa."

Azusa wipes away a tear, then hugs Chiyo, who is almost hysterical.

"I'm sorry," Hestia says.

"It's okay," Azusa replies.

"You need to bring me your torch," Jet says.

Azusa goes over and grabs her torch, then heads on over to Jet.

"Azusa, you are NOT Best Girl," Jet says, snuffing out her torch. "The tribe has spoken; it's time for you to go."

"Good luck guys!" Azusa calls as she walks away. As she was out of Tokens, the camera remains at Tribal Council.

"There are only two of you left," Jet states. "This means that if you are to lose another challenge, you'll have to make fire to stay alive. But who knows? Maybe the merge is upcoming. Grab your torches, head back to camp, good night."

Hestia and Chiyo go over to get their torches, then they walk back to camp.

"That wasn't how I hoped it'd go," Azusa says. "But as they say: live by the idol, die by the idol. I wish I had found that one. Hestia deserves a lot of credit for finding it. I hope she does well, and I also hope Mio doesn't get eaten alive over at the Hatsu Tribe. It was a fun game!"

Who voted for whom:

Azusa – Hestia

Chiyo – Hestia

Hestia – Azusa

Day 15

Hatsu Tribe

(Ais, Alice, Mine, Mio)

Alice is busy cooking for the Hatsu Tribe that morning, while the others are sleeping.

"Oh, wouldn't it be a shame if someone…"

She grabs some of the berries that she found the previous day.

"If someone got poisoned. Oh, that'd be such a shame! Can't kiss if you're vomiting!"

A couple of hours later, Mine and Ais wake up and go over to grab their food. Mine is groggy from sleeping, so she doesn't pay much attention from what she's eating. Alice watches from a distance, hoping to see them eat the bad food.

"You want some of this?" Ais asks Mine, showing her the shell of food. "I'm not really hungry."

"Yeah, whatever," Mine replies.

She takes the food Ais had and mixes it into her shell. In her drowsiness, she fumbles it, and the food splatters everywhere.

"Crap," Mine says.

"We can ask Alice for more," Ais says.

"I'm not doing asking that #$*%& for nothing," Mine replies. "I'm just gonna go get some more sleep."

"I'll come with you!" Ais says.

Alice is angry now, having been thwarted in her attempt to hurt Mine and Ais. But then she sees Mio walking over to grab some of the other poisoned food.

"Wait! Wait!" Alice calls, but it is too late. Mio has a full mouthful of the poisonous food, and she chomps on it.

"What's the matter?" Mio asks. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have left some for you."

Alice shakes her head. "Whatevs."

"I meant to poison Mine and Ais, but instead I poisoned Mio," Alice says. "Who knows what will happen now. Mio's going to either get medievaced from the game, or she will end up like Michael Jordan in the Flu Game, getting carried off by Scottie Pippen in victory. Oh well, too bad!"

Zetsu Tribe

(Aqua, Darkness, Tomo, Utena)

The Zetsu Tribe is easily the most cheerful and positive tribe. Aqua is drunk once again, but this time she's a happy drunk, going to all the other characters and telling them nonsense.

"You and me… Final Four," she says to Utena, collapsing on her shoulder. "Then I vote you out and Darkness wins the million… or maybe Darkness votes me out and I win the million… or maybe Darkness votes you out and you win the million… or…"

Utena simply smiles and hugs Aqua.

"Aqua apparently used both of her Fire Tokens this morning," Utena says. "And both of them she used on bottles of wine. So she's super drunk. Nothing she says is coherent or realistic. But we're winning, and I guess it's fun. Still, I'm worried about Anthy. Can she survive to get to the merge?"

Tomo walks into camp holding a bunch of candy bars.

"Hey guys!" she says. "The producers gave me a bunch of candy, but I'm willing to share it with you. Eat up!"

Utena nervously takes a candy bar from Tomo, while Aqua and Darkness celebrate.

"This just isn't right," Utena says. "We're cheating. Tomo is our personal cheat code for Survivor. She's breaking the game. And if we aren't careful, she's going to make our game crash as well."

Ren Tribe

(Chiyo, Hestia)

Chiyo and Hestia have virtually nothing to say to each other, with their tribe decimated and the players having voted against each other.

"Good weather," Chiyo remarks.

"Yeah, I'd say," Hestia says.

The two look at each other, then walk away.

"This feels like the movie Hell in the Pacific, which Miss Yukari made us watch in class one time," Chiyo says. "We don't really get along with each other very much, and we've seen our sides wiped out by this war of Survivor. This is about as awkward as it gets."

"I had to use an idol to survive," Hestia says. "But now it means that Chiyo-chan is against me. This tribal switch has really hurt me. I don't know how I'm going to advance in this game if the merge doesn't happen soon."

Ten Tribe

(Anthy, Erina, Sakaki)

Sakaki goes to Erina to talk about the vote.

"Vote Anthy," she says. "We have to get her out now. She's just too likable."

"Yeah, whatever," Erina replies. "Like, I couldn't care less which one of you goes."

"I'm just telling you, she's dangerous."

"Like, I couldn't care less who Anthy or Sakaki vote for," Erina says. "As long as it's not me. I sincerely hope they vote for each other and I get to decide who goes home."

Sakaki then tries to fool Anthy.

"It's definitely Erina, no question," Sakaki tells her.

"Okay," Anthy replies.

"Nothing to worry about, an easy vote."

But Anthy won't get fooled again.

"Sakaki isn't treating me the way she did back at our first tribe," Anthy says. "I have reason to believe that she might be ready to turn on me. And if she does, I will have to play my idol, which she doesn't know about."

"Anthy is a real threat to win," Sakaki says. "She's so likable, and Esdeath knew it. We can't take the risk of keeping her around if the merge is coming soon."

Tribal Council

(Ten)

The three players march into the Tribal Council area and take their seats across from Jet.

"Well," Jet says, and the players sit in silence for a minute.

"Yeah, it's like that," Erina says. "Like George, I got nothing to say. Like, I can't believe how terrible this tribe has been. It's just plain awful, totally."

"We just can't win," Sakaki says. "It puts us in a tough position."

"What it means is that if the merge doesn't happen tomorrow, you guys are screwed," Jet says.

"We know that," Anthy says. "We have to do better, we realize that."

"The tribal switch screwed us," Sakaki says. "We ended up as one of the weakest tribes. We didn't have any members of the Strength Tribe swapped to our tribe. That put us at a YUGE disadvantage."

"Yeah, really," Erina says. "We got no help from you, Jet. We don't know what we did to deserve such a lousy fate."

"That's your fault," Jet says. "You stink at challenges, just like the United States Ryder Cup team stinks at foursomes."

"You stink at foursomes," Erina says. "I saw some footage of you golfing on Ganymede. You're terrible."

Jet shakes his head. "Blame it on my partner Spike Spiegel," he says. "He doesn't have much to brag about either."

"But Faye Valentine and Ed Tivrusky handed your lunch to you, the same way Joe Biden is going to wipe out Trump."

"Don't believe the polls," Jet says. "They're a hoax."

"Just like the virus?"

"Again, a hoax."

"Election Day can't come soon enough. I'm ready to vote."

"Vote? That reminds me, it is… time to vote. Anthy, you're up first."

The Tribal Council theme plays as the players walk over to the voting booth and cast their votes.

Anthy goes to vote.

Erina goes to vote.

"You're far too trusting," Erina says.

Sakaki goes to vote.

After Sakaki comes back from voting, Jet addresses the players.

"I'll go tally the votes."

He walks over to the voting booth, opens up the urn, mixes up the votes, then picks it up and brings it back to his podium.

"If anyone has a hidden immunity idol, and you would like to play it, now would be the time to do so," Jet says.

Sakaki sits silently in her seat, while Erina crosses her arms.

"Okay."

"Wait," Anthy says.

Much to Sakaki's surprise, Anthy gets up and walks over to Jet. She silently hands over her Satsuki Kiryuin golden idol to Jet.

"You want this on yourself?" Jet asks.

"Yes," Anthy replies.

Sakaki shakes her head, and Erina continues to look indignant.

"The rules of Survivor state that if a hidden immunity idol is played, all votes cast against that person do not count, and the person with the second-highest number of votes is eliminated. This… is…"

…

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"NOT!"

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"…a fake immunity idol. It is a real one."

"Oh, just shut up and get on with it already!" Erina says.

Jet chuckles. "Once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

…

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"First vote… Anthy. Does not count."

Anthy smiles, while Sakaki continues to shake her head.

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"Anthy. Does not count."

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"Sixth person voted out of Survivor: Best Girl…"

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"Sakaki."

Sakaki gets up from her seat, still shaking her head. Anthy tries to console her.

"I'm sorry," she says.

"No problem," Sakaki says. "It's my fault."

"You need to bring me your torch," Jet says.

Sakaki walks over, grabs her torch, then brings it over to Jet.

"Sakaki, you are NOT Best Girl," Jet says, snuffing out her torch. "The tribe has spoken; it's time for you to go."

Sakaki heads on out down the path out of Tribal Council. She then sees a bunch of tiny boxes set up on a table.

"You must bequeath your Fire Tokens to another player," she reads.

She then tosses her one remaining Fire Token into Chiyo's box.

"Go get 'em, Chiyo-chan."

She heads on out, and the camera pans back to Tribal Council.

"You guys have lost and lost," Jet says. "There's not much more losing you can do. Grab your torches, head back to camp, good night."

Erina and Anthy go over to get their torches, then they walk back to camp.

"I'm not sure why Anthy voted for me," Sakaki says. "Maybe she figured out that I was going to vote for her. If so, I congratulate her, she figured it out. I'm going to go home and pet a cat."

Who voted for whom:

Anthy – Sakaki

Erina – Anthy

Sakaki – Anthy

Fire Token Count: (*asterisk denotes player with idol)

8 – Mio

7 – Alice, Darkness, Mine

5 – Ais, Hestia

4 – Tomo*

3 – Chiyo

1 – Erina

0 – Anthy, Aqua, Utena

Scenes from our next episode:

It is time to merge:

"Everybody, drop your buffs. We are merged."

But Mio is feeling sick:

"She's vomiting again?" Aqua says.

"Must have eaten some of Soma's food," Erina says.

And it's a wild and crazy first vote as a merged tribe:

"You guys are really too much," Jet says. "I can't believe this."