Survivor: Okinawa
Episode 11- Four Suns
by Mario Lanza



Miyagi Tribe (red): Michelle Kin-Fraley, Lance McHale, Joni Newman, Mike Ruff, Isabella Smith, Amy Twieg




Day 31



The morning ritual went on pretty much as usual.

Isabella Smith was up first-- as the young psychology student stole down to the beach before dawn to practice her yoga. And once there she sat, stretched, and relaxed for an hour... before coming back to rejoin her tribe for breakfast.

Lance McHale and Amy Twieg were the next two to rise, both of them quite used to getting up early from their days back at home. And the reason for this was simple, as Lance and Amy both happened to be parents of small children. They both knew what it was like to be up at the crack of dawn. They had resigned themselves to this fate for the next few years. And with a weary nod, they greeted one another.. as Amy began to prepare the tribe's breakfast.

Michelle Kin-Fraley and Joni Newman slept in today, both females exhausted after last night's vote. And truth be told... Joni wasn't really intending to even leave the shelter today. Voting out her friend Hogan last night had devastated her, and she really didn't feel like acting happy today just to put on a good show. She would lay in here all day if she had to.

And the last member of the tribe was Mike Ruff. And upon awakening, there was definitely one thing Mike had to get done. After all, it was the same thing he had to do after -every- Tribal Council vote. So Mike walked down to his little Fallen Comrades garden first thing in the morning, carrying a very special tribute gift in his right hand.

Once down at his garden, Mike cleared out a small section of sand. And then he placed down Hogan's tattered copy of -War and Peace-, the same one that had been so lovingly read all the way up to page 1009. And now... Hogan was officially represented in the garden. Just like the nine players that had preceded him.

You see, while this garden had begun as a very modest tribute to Matt and Ryan, almost immediately Mike had seen the benefit of expanding it to include -all- the booted players instead. And now Mike smiled happily, as he looked around at the ten-person tribute he had so carefully created out of nothing.

There was a pair of running shoes... meant to represent the youthful athleticism of Elisabeth Marie.

There was a small pile of mangoes... meant to represent the searching skills of Danielle Wheelis.

There was a pen and a small pad of paper... meant to represent Henry Jenkins, the writer.

There was an old balled up blue shirt... one of David McDaniel's very own that he had left behind the day he was voted out.

There was an old empty turtle shell Mike had found off the coast... meant to represent the "turtle lover", Murtz Jaffer.

There was a fishing spear and speared halibut... a tribute to Sato's fishing superstar, Christopher Collins.

There was an old sock that Mike had fashioned into a makeshift sock monkey... a tribute to Beth Sowles' own trademark luxury item.

There was the ever-burning flame that symbolized Ryan Rebez... and his early war against the Kamiyan cockroaches.

There was the hockey mask... the ever present hockey mask... that could only have come from the backpack of Big Red himself, Matt Carter.

And finally... there was Hogan Mueller's book. There was that big worn out copy of -War and Peace-. It completed the collection, and now the garden was starting to look whole. Now it was starting to look complete.

And as Mike looked over his creation, he decided to start making room for the next inductees. After all, there were still four more Miyagis to be voted out, right? Well, four of them that wouldn't be -him-, at least. So there would need to be four more spots in the garden for tributes. Four more spots to win him those jury votes.

And as Mike smiled happily, he started to clear some space away with his foot. He started to clear out some of the excess sand in his garden. And as he cleared, he started to speak.

"Last night was an interesting vote," he explained, as he pushed away a small mound of sand, "Because the wheel claimed another victim and we voted off Hogan."

He chuckled softly.

"And just before the vote," he continued, "Amy went on this big power trip, trying to get the votes for Michelle instead. She went to Joni and she also went to me, trying to get that extra vote to take out Michelle." He continued to landscape as he spoke. "Which is good... that she came to me. Because that means she still believes my outsider status. She and Lance still think I'm on the outside of Kamiya, and that's probably why I've been able to dodge the vote for this long."

He smirked.

"Because if you haven't noticed, I've -never- had a single vote against me... yet I maintain control over the game at all times. And that is -not- a coincidence."

Mike continued to dig out sections of the sand, identifying them individually in his head as he worked. That would be Amy's spot. And that would be Lance's spot. And there was Joni's...

"The only thing I need to work on right now," he added, "Is making sure that Michelle and I stay safe. Because going against her in the finals has always been my best move... well, against either her or Emma, anyway." He shrugged. "But Michelle and I have played the game very similarly all along, so it makes more sense. It just seems right that she I should be the last two standing."

He paused, and then smiled slyly.

"The only -real- difference between us," he noted, "Is that I've done things to endear myself to the jury, while she hasn't. I've done little subtle things to gain respect, while most of them don't seem to like Michelle much -at all-. And that..." He nodded. "...I think will be the difference in the end."

And now Mike paused, as he looked down one last time at Hogan's book. The tattered book was now just a lonely little thing sitting there... looking completely out of place not tucked under Hogan's arm. It just didn't look right sitting here. Especially because, like Joni, Mike was already feeling pangs of regret about last night's vote.

"You know," he sighed, wistfully, "The plan all along was that we were going to reward Hogan with a trip to the final five. We were going to reward him for turning on Sato, and we were going to be true to our word." He shook his head. "But unfortunately... it didn't happen."

He shrugged, still looking remorseful.

"So do I feel bad about it? Well... yeah, a little. But you have to remember that -somebody- had to go. And as long as it was a Sato, all was good. My only real wish is that Hogan realizes it wasn't anything personal. It's just the way we do business around here." He shrugged again. "Hogan was a good kid though, and we all liked him a lot. I just hope he realizes that."

Mike continued to work on his garden for most of the morning... carefully arranging and moving things around until it was just the way he liked it. He worked all the way up until breakfast, when Amy finally called down to him that the food was ready.

"And so starts another day..." Mike sighed, as he started his long walk up the beach. "But for us, I think we'll have some fun in store for us today. I'm guessing Jeff has something wild planned for us this afternoon."

He grinned, looking hopeful.

"Although what I'm -really- looking forward to is seeing Joe. I'm -really- hoping we get to have that Family Challenge soon." He smiled, nodding. "Because I'd just like to get that one last boost before we wind this game down to the end..."



^^



The mood around camp was strangely subdued this morning, as the tribe sat in a loose circle, eating their breakfast. And for the most part... the six players just sat in silence. Most of them seemed to be lost in deep contemplation, most of them clearly thinking about the ramifications of last night's vote.

And as for Amy Twieg...?

Well, she just knew she was dead.

"Well, this is pretty much the worst case scenario now," the young mom had laughed in a confessional earlier this morning. And then she had shaken her head. "But, oh well, it is what it is. I mean... I made a move against Michelle. I made a move that might have cost me -everything-. But hey..."

She had shrugged.

"... I would've -kicked- myself had I just sat there and watched Hogan go home. If I hadn't tried at least to save him, I would be hating myself today."

So now Amy sat, eating her breakfast in silence. She hadn't had a chance to speak to Michelle yet today... but she knew it was coming. Oh, she was probably going to get the tongue-lashing of a lifetime, and she was probably going to deserve it. But at least it wouldn't be much of a surprise.

"Besides," Amy had commented this morning, "It isn't like Michelle was going to keep our all-female thing to the end anyway. I'm sorry but there is just no way." She shook her head, dismissively. "I'm a threat! How many times have they told me that? I'm a threat at the end, and they're not gonna let me get there. So why on earth would they care about trying to keep me safe?"

So now Amy knew her time was up. Like Lance next to her, she was now fully aware that her chance to win this game may have just slipped into thin air. She no longer had any illusions that she would be making the final four. Or the final two.

Because once you angered Michelle, you were done. It was that easy.

"Excuse me," Amy said quietly, as she stood up from the log she had been sitting on. And without a word of explanation, she decided to go for a walk. She decided to just go for a walk along the beach... all alone... and maybe just clear her head a little. After all, she wasn't feeling very social at the moment.

Amy Twieg just wanted to go be by herself for a while.



^^



Soon after breakfast... Amy came back with a surprising announcement. She also came back with a tattered piece of parchment in her hand. The tribe had treemail! The Miyagis already had treemail! And as the tribe gathered around, Amy read the message on the paper out loud.

"Come one, come all... to the first ever 'Okinawan Food Auction.' Be there for lunch, and be sure to bring your appetites!"

The Miyagis jumped up and down together as a group, happily celebrating the prospect of free food. Because if ever a tribe could use something like this, it was today. If ever a tribe needed a quick pick-me-up, it was the bleary-eyed Miyagis on the morning of day 31.

The only member of the tribe who had not been there for the treemail reading was Lance McHale, who had taken one of the fishing boats out for an early morning trip. And as the rest of the tribe celebrated happily along the shore, Lance slowly turned his head to look at them. From this distance out at sea he couldn't -quite- tell what he was looking it. He could only tell that the players were running around on the beach, and they appeared to be screaming. Either they were in rapturous joy... or something had frightened them badly. Either way it looked like the Miyagis had had some excitement back at camp.

And Lance shrugged, turning back to the task at hand. For he was not really in any mood to be a part of the tribe right now. Like Joni, he was still badly shaken up over the loss of Hogan Mueller last night. And it wasn't that he didn't like that it had happened. No, he was more troubled by the -way- it had happened. Lance was still furious over the events that had led up to the vote last night.

And right now... Lance McHale wasn't really in the mood to be a part of -anything-.

"One of the people that I was closest to in the game left last night," he had sadly explained moments ago, while sitting alone in this boat. And if you looked really closely, you could tell that Lance had actually been crying. Lance had been -so- moved by the fate of Hogan Mueller last night that it had actually moved him to tears.

"But the worst part of it all," he continued, "Is that Hogan was lied to. He was lied to on the way out by several members of Kamiya, and that's just not cool with me."

Lance spat into the water angrily, as he slowly worked himself up into a diatribe. And his mood started to shift from saddened to angry as he spoke... the same thing that tended to happen in most -all- of his confessionals lately.

"Kamiya offered Hogan an alliance," Lance explained, "And then they betrayed it. And what happened was just like Tom Cruise described in -A Few Good Men-..."

He shook his head.

"... Because when it went bad, they cut him loose."

Lance glowered now, staring back at the rest of his tribe running around on the beach. He still didn't know why they were so excited, but he really didn't care all that much either. Right now he just didn't care to associate with the whole lot of them.

"The four Kamiyans preyed on someone, and they preyed on someone who was only sixteen years old. They took a kid who believed their word at face value... and they threw it back in his face. In short... they used him."

Lance shook his head again, partly out of contempt, partly out of sadness.

"So this is what I've come down to out here. I've come down to playing this game with four people I could never trust, even with my life. And then I'm also playing with Amy, who's always been a lifelong friend and always -will- be." He nodded. "And it's weird too... because I honestly didn't think it was possible to form a lifelong friendship in this game, especially being out here such a short amount of time. I just never really thought it could happen."

He shrugged.

"But Amy and I have done it, and that bond is always going to be special. And sure... we've had our highs and our lows. But the great thing is that we've experienced them -together-. When she's down, I've been down. And when she's happy, I've been happy." He smiled. "It's been a roller coaster ride out here, but luckily the two of us have always been in the front car."

Then Lance sighed, mournfully. Oh sure, he loved talking about Amy. He loved the fact that their bond and friendship could usually take his mind off of their dire situation in the game. But what their tight friendship -couldn't- mask was the fact that their time here was very slowly drawing to a close. And he could gush over his friend all he wanted... but it didn't change the fact that in three days, the Sato tribe would likely be down to one member.

And he wasn't looking forward to that at all.

"I guess all I can add at this point," he sighed, once again casting his pole out to sea, "Is a quote from -Lord of the Flies.- And I hate to keep re-using that for my quotes, but this one -definitely- describes how I felt when I saw what Kamiya had done to my friend last night."

He paused for a moment... cleared his throat... and then spoke.

"I wept for the end of innocence..."

He stared out to sea.

"... For the darkness of man's heart..."

He lowered his head.

"...And the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Hogan."

He shook his head one last time, again feeling like he was going to well up.

"Good bye Hogan," he whispered to his friend, "You deserved a lot better than this."



^^



And though the celebration back on shore was starting to wind down, there was one player among the group whose heart really hadn't been into this. For as much as Lance didn't like what had happened to Hogan, Joni Newman had been bothered by it just as much. And true, his downfall had come mainly at her hand... but that didn't really make it sting any less. She was already having second... and third... and fourth regrets today over what she had done to her friend.

"Did you see Joni?" Isabella had whispered to Michelle during the festivities. "She's just sulking over there. I don't think she's smiled all morning!"

And Michelle had noticed.

"I'm a little worried about Joni," Amy had mentioned to Mike just moments ago, "She doesn't look right. Do you think she's getting sick?"

And of course, Michelle had noticed.

Mike Ruff had actually asked Joni if she wanted to go for a walk today... maybe go and talk things over. But the slim teenager from Utah had politely declined. She wasn't interested in talking much. Like Lance, she was pretty much going to sulk today. That was really all she intended to do. Food auction or not, Joni Newman wasn't in the mood to be the charming little butterfly they were all used to around here. It just wasn't going to be that type of day.

"Well I just wanted to say," Mike mentioned to her before he left, "That we appreciate you sticking by us. We all appreciate it, and we know how hard it was." He laid a paternal hand on her shoulder. "Hogan was your friend, and it wasn't fair."

"No it wasn't."

"Just remember," Mike added, "That we -all- wanted to bring him along. We had no beef with him and neither did you. You just got pushed into this choice. Remember that."

"He -didn't- deserve that vote," Joni snapped, a little louder than she should have. "And I hated it. I hated it, Mike!" She looked to be near tears herself. "He is going to be -so- upset with me when I see him again. He's going to hate me!"

"No he won't..."

"I just feel horrible." And Joni looked nauseous now. She just didn't look like she was going to handle this very well at all. And it made Mike a little nervous.

"I don't know what to say," he shrugged, "But just remember that the votes are bound to get harder. Hogan didn't deserve to go, but neither did anybody else. The game was always easier when the people were jerks..."

"Yeah." Joni scowled at nobody in particular. But at least she was talking. "It's getting harder. And I don't like it. Last night wasn't fun at all..."

But what Joni didn't know, what she didn't realize... was that she was in very real hot water with her tribe right about now. And this wasn't an imagined threat, this peril was very much real. Because through no fault of her own, Joni had inadvertently managed to piss off Michelle last night. She had inadvertently managed to get a target drawn on her -own- back instead.

And all because of a simple little misunderstanding...

When that third vote came up for Michelle last night, it had been written in a very curious manner. It had not been written as "Michelle", nor had it been underlined... but there had definitely been something fishy about that third vote. And that vote was the reason Michelle was being very distant to Joni this morning. Because Michelle knew that vote had come from Joni. Michelle knew that Joni had turned on the Angels, as well as the Kamiyas. And that mystery vote was the reason that Joni was suddenly on Michelle Kin-Fraley's hit list.

Even if it hadn't been cast by Joni at all.

"It was shocking to see my name come up three times last night," Michelle confessed, just before the tribe left for the food auction. "But it's not the fact that I got any votes at all, because that would just be foolish. No, to go to Tribal Council and not expect votes is just stupid."

She turned her head back towards camp, where Joni was sitting alone by the fire.

"The thing that surprised me was that Joni cast a vote in my direction. And I know the others don't know that yet but I do. I know she was the one who wrote "Mich" on her card and I know she's the one who thinks she is gonna get away with it. But the problem is that she tipped her hand. The problem is that she didn't hide herself well enough."

Michelle grinned.

"Because guess what? -She's the only person here who calls me Mich!- Nobody else has -ever- used that nickname and it's so obvious that her bond with Hogan was tighter than we expected. She lied to us and tried to protect Hogan instead..."

Michelle chuckled.

"... And, well, all I can say is that I was lucky to get Amy's vote on board as well as I did. Because if I hadn't had Amy covering my back, I wouldn't be sitting here today. I would have been voted out of the game instead of Hogan. Joni would have stabbed me in the back."

And the producers watched in horror as Michelle started to plan out Joni's slow and painful death in front of the cameras. They were powerless to tell her that the vote hadn't come from Joni at all. The vote had come from Lance. Lance was the one who had voted for "Mich"... and Joni was about to unexpectedly take the heat for it instead.

"So right now," Michelle continued, "I've lost an alliance member. I've lost an alliance member and a friend... and there's not really anything I can do about it. I guess I'll just have to move forward from here..."

She shrugged, casually.

"Mike will have to be told, of course. Mike will have to be told that Joni was plotting to take him out at the last vote. And he'll have to be told that only Emma and I saved him, or else Joni would have gotten her way..."

She scowled.

"So once again I'll have to rely on Emma. And I hate to do it but..."

She grinned.

"... But Joni really brought this all upon herself. She put herself on my hit list when she decided to pick Hogan over the rest of us. And I don't understand it, either, because we had a -sure- thing. We had a free ticket to the final four."

She laughed, bitterly.

"So what the -heck- was she thinking when she voted for me last night?? What did she think she was trying to do??"



^^



The Survivor food auction is always met with great joy and excitement... and this time it was no different. And as the six players sat down on a bench in front of the host, he carefully explained the rules of how they would be bidding.

"... So spend your one thousand yen wisely," he finished, "Because the auction could end at any time." He nodded and smiled... as the players waited eagerly across from him. "So if you guys are ready to begin, we can start."

As always, the auctions tended to begin with the smaller, less desirable items. It was a way of testing the players' patience... to see who could wait for the bigger, more delicious foods... and who just wanted to eat something -now-.

"Bran muffin!" Jeff announced, "Sold to Amy for fifty yen!"

Amy ran over to snatch up her yummy little muffin... and was soon followed by Isabella purchasing a protein energy bar. And then, with the little food items out of the way, the food auction took an immediate turn towards the decadent instead.

"Black Forest Fudge Cake," smiled Jeff, unveiling a rich dark piece of cake. And the players immediately started to drool. In the front row Amy and Michelle started giggling happily. It seemed that -everybody- wanted that cake.

"We'll start the bidding," announced Jeff, "At twenty yen."

And though the bidding was fierce, and the women -really- wanted that fudge cake... in the end it was the big man from New York who outbid them all.

"Sold to Mike!" Jeff announced, "For two hundred yen!"

And while the women were a bit upset over losing that dark slice of heaven, they were simply not going to be denied today. Because the next few food items were just as good and just as rich.

"Hot fudge sundae, sold to Amy for three hundred fifty-five yen!"

"Cheesecake with strawberry sauce, sold to Michelle for four hundred yen!"

And now Jeff pulled out a mystery platter. He pulled out a large tray, covered by a shiny brass cover. The players were unable to see what they would be bidding on.

And that meant it was time to see who the gamblers were...

"We'll start the bidding," Jeff smiled, "At one hundred yen. Do I have a bid for the brass mystery plate?"

And though most of the players were wary... Joni was the first to bid. She was followed by Isabella. Then came Lance. The bids weren't extraordinarily high, but the players were definitely interested. And then finally... the item had a winner.

"Sold to Amy!" Jeff announced, "For three hundred and one yen."

Amy smiled happily and shrugged. She didn't know if it had been worth it but... what the heck? Why not take risks in life? So Jeff called her up to stand next to him, where she waited... looking apprehensive.

"You ready for this?" Jeff asked.

"I think so."

"Well you just won yourself..."

And as he pulled off the cover, Amy immediately knew what she would be receiving. And this was the greatest gift Jeff could have given her. One look at that cellular phone told her everything she needed to know. She was shrieking before Jeff even finished his sentence.

"... A twenty minute phone call home, compliments of Nextel."

Amy immediately burst into jubilant tears, right in front of the rest of her tribe. She couldn't help it. And then she hugged Jeff, who smiled at the rest of the tribe, bemused.

"I take it you like this?" he asked Amy.

"Oh Jeff... when can I call them?" Amy was still in tears. "When can I call my sons?"

"After the auction."

She nodded, and went back to take her place. And as she sat down between Lance and Mike, Amy beamed happily. She clutched the small black phone in both hands, looking like she had just conquered the world. That's how much she wanted to hear her boys' voices right about now.

"Moving on..." smiled Jeff...

Isabella won a small deep dish pizza for 150, hungrily gobbling it down in less than four bites.

Mike won a spaghetti dinner for 175.

Isabella won a pancake breakfast for 100.

And Michelle ended up outbidding Mike for the coup de grace... for the most filling item in the auction.

"The T-bone steak goes to Michelle!" Jeff announced, "For three hundred and seventy yen!"

Michelle took back the steak and eagerly gobbled it down on the bench. She had never tasted anything so good in her life.

"And next we have another mystery plate," Jeff announced, as he pulled out a greenish covered tray. And immediately the players perked up. There was just something about this platter. Most of them knew this one was going to be -big-.

"Bidding starts at two hundred yen."

A fierce bidding war erupted over this plate from the get-go. Joni had yet to win an item, as had Lance... and both of them started bidding with a fury. Back and forth they went... three hundred... three hundred fifty... four hundred. They were soon joined by Michelle. And then the prices started to get really high.

Joni bid 460.

And after a long pause, Lance upped the stakes to 470.

"Wow," nodded Jeff, "You guys really want this one, don't you?"

Joni declined to go past 470, so it looked like Lance was on his own now. It looked like nobody else wanted to take the risk...

"I bid five hundred," said Isabella, finally holding up her stack of money. "Five hundred for the mystery platter."

And the air was thick with tension as Lance decided if he wanted to top it. This was already the most expensive item in the game... did he really want to blow half his money on it? How much faith did he really have in that mystery platter?

And Lance sighed. He just wasn't going to be a gambler today.

"Just give it to her," he shrugged. "Too rich for me."

"Sold to Emma!" Jeff announced, "For five hundred yen!"

Isabella was thrilled to win the item, but she was even -more- overjoyed when she saw what was inside it. For this was an item that -everybody- would kick themselves later for not trying to win.

Jeff opened the platter and revealed a smaller replica of the Wheel of Fortune. It was almost an exact duplicate.

"Emma has won something very important," Jeff explained. "She's earned the right to -re-spin- the Sundial after the next immunity challenge. If she doesn't like the first number... then she gets to spin again... under the condition that she -must- take the second spin if she chooses to spin again."

Amy put her hand to her mouth in astonishment. Next to her, Mike was speechless. Isabella just grinned.

"So congratulations Emma," nodded Jeff, "You just won the most valuable prize in the auction."

The next few items were inconsequential and small, with the only notable moment coming when Lance won the "stinger" mystery plate. Lance spent 400 yen on a wooden mystery platter that ended up containing a dead Okinawan centipede. He declined to eat it.

"And now we have a special item," Jeff announced.

He paused.

"The item is me."

The players laughed as Jeff opened up the bidding.

"You're bidding on a dinner date with me, tomorrow night." He grinned as the players started counting their money. "You'll get to leave camp for a few hours and just talk about the game with me at a local restaurant. So do I hear..." He looked hopeful. "Forty yen?"

The bids came fast but nobody was really willing to go super-high on this one. Everybody was expecting there to be one more big item after this... so they seemed to be saving their money. And Joni, who had yet to win an item at all, didn't even make a bid. She appeared to be waiting for the big one.

"A date with Jeff," laughed the host, "Sold to Lance for a piddly sixty-five yen."

The players applauded as Lance grinned, embarrassed.

"Couldn't you at least have gone up to a hundred?" Jeff pretended to be hurt. "Jeez, guys, that's terrible."

Then he turned to Lance.

"So tomorrow night, we'll head out for some food. You'll be leaving camp for a while."

"I'll be sure to wear red," Lance deadpanned. "Just please get me home by ten, okay?"

"And as for the rest of you..." Jeff turned to look at them, "I hope you have enjoyed the auction but we are officially done now."

Joni's face fell. What?? She had waited for nothing??

"Sorry," shrugged Jeff, "But that's how it works. So if the rest of you would head on back to camp, I believe Amy has a phone call to make..."

But he didn't really have to remind her. Amy had already dialed the number, she hadn't even waited for him to say it was time. And as the players looked on in amusement, Amy laughed right off the bat. She laughed as her son asked her the -one- question she knew he was going to lead off with...

"I'm sorry Alex," she said, patiently, "But no you can't talk to "Eefan." Mommy is playing a different season than him. Eefan's not here right now..."



^^



Back at camp, the plotting and scheming started up quickly. The auction had been a nice change of pace, sure, but there was still a game to be played here. And sure, Joni was a little down in the dumps after being shut out at the food auction, but that didn't mean she was exempt from being targeted. They felt bad for her but... after all... pity didn't carry you very far in the snakepit known as Miyagi.

"Joni voted for me last night," Michelle whispered to Mike.

Mike shot her a surprised glance.

"It's true," nodded Michelle, "And I can prove it. She was the one who wrote "Mich." That vote was hers!" She turned to glare across the beach, staring at Joni as she sat washing her clothes in the surf. "Joni turned on us to protect Hogan, and I don't like it one bit."

"Are you sure?"

"She's the -only- one who calls me Mich! It had to be her!"

Mike glanced over at Joni now, watching as the young girl worked on her laundry. And Joni appeared to be completely unaware of what was being discussed right about now. Joni seemed to have no idea she was suddenly on a very short leash with Michelle.

"I don't know," Mike started, "I mean this morning she said..."

"Do you even realize she tried to get you out last night?" Michelle suddenly added. "Do you have -any- idea how close she was to getting you out instead of Hogan?"

And at this Mike was legitimately surprised.

"Me?" he stammered, "Why me?"

"She wanted you out instead of Hogan," Michelle confirmed. "She talked to me about it... she talked to Emma... she talked to Amy, and we all said no. We wouldn't do it. But she -tried-, Mike. She tried." Michelle shook her head, disgusted. "She promised us she would vote for Hogan instead, but ended up not doing it. She voted for me!"

"Wow," said Mike, still confused by all this.

"And I want her gone," Michelle said. "We don't need her around much longer. She's too dangerous." She paused. "We need her for one more vote, then we can cut her loose. That's when she needs to go."

But as much as Mike was stunned by this revelation... deep down he knew that it was only partly the truth. Oh he had no doubt that Joni had lobbied for his own dismissal last night over Hogan, that much was obvious if you thought about it. Because he knew that Joni had put up a -heck- of a fight to save Hogan if she could, he had seen it firsthand. But as for that second part...

"Uh," he confessed guiltily, "Joni didn't vote for you, Michelle. I know she didn't."

"What?"

"Just before the vote," he confessed to her, "Amy came to Joni and me and tried to get us to vote for you. And she was dead-set for it. She was trying to get you out." He shook his head now, sadly. "Amy did it, not Joni. I think Joni did exactly what we told her to do. That's why she's so depressed today."

"So -all- three votes were from Sato?" Michelle asked.

"Unless Hogan managed to vote for himself..." Mike shrugged.

Michelle thought about it for a moment. And she knew that deep down, Mike was right. So the vote flipper had been Amy after all, had it? Previously trustworthy Amy? Hmmm... interesting...

"So nothing has changed," Mike said. "We're all still good to go."

"Yeah," nodded Michelle.

Then she let loose a sigh of relief.

"I was worried there," she laughed. "I guess I was just confused. Thanks for straightening that out."

And with everything returning to normal, Michelle could relax again. Her vendetta against Joni dropped, she went over to help the young girl with her laundry. And once again, the Angels were back in control. Michelle was appeased, Michelle was happy, and Joni was no longer the wayward daughter of Kamiya.

And the young dancer from Utah was once again safe.

For now.



^^



With Michelle back under control, Mike went about his daily rounds. He went around the island to check where everybody's head was at... which was pretty much his normal routine. For when he wasn't tending to his garden, Mike had more or less turned into the island's unofficial "peacemaker," easily flitting between the two sides to see where everybody stood.

And first off, of course, he had to go talk to Amy. He had to talk to Amy before Michelle got to her... because that reunion was definitely going to be trouble. Now that Michelle knew the truth, Amy Twieg was about to be pounded into oblivion. And now was as good a time as any, Mike figured, since Amy had just spoken to her boys on the phone less than an hour ago. So at the very minimum... when she was voted out at least Amy could leave with a smile on her face.

"...I wish I could have helped you last night," Mike sighed, "Because I really wanted to. I wanted to vote for Michelle... but I just couldn't. I couldn't make myself do it."

"Eh," shrugged Amy, "Don't worry about it. Can't do anything about it now."

"But that doesn't mean your game is over," Mike murmured, "So don't take it as that."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "They're not happy you flipped but there's also no set boot order yet. They're mad at you but they also have bones to pick with Emma and Lance. So don't give up hope yet..."

"Ha," snorted Amy. "Thanks for the laugh, Mike. Yeah I'm sure Michelle will be -really- happy to let me back in now. I'm sure she's just -dying- for the chance."

"All I can say is I hear things around camp..." Mike said cryptically.

"Uh oh," Amy joked, "voices in your head?"

"Well yeah," smiled Mike, "Always. But that's not the point." He paused for a moment, looking around the campsite, wanting to see who was nearby. Then he lowered his voice. "I still have some say with Michelle. And she has a say with Emma. And so on..."

"So you're telling me..." Amy said, "That I'm not next."

And Mike reassured her that no, she was not necessarily the next target. There were still things that could be done... there were still deals that could be cut. He didn't go into specifics, but he at least made her realize there was some hope. And as a bonus, he promised to be her lifeline to Kamiyan gossip. Whatever he heard, he would report back to Amy. And for this she smiled gratefully.

"... And I've -always- felt closer to you and Lance," he finished. "I just want you guys to realize that. I wish we would have started on the same tribe together. This could have been so much easier had that happened..."

"Hey, I wish so too," Amy lamented. "Trust me, I wish so too..."

Once he was done with Amy, Mike went to go talk to Lance. And essentially, he gave the pre-school teacher the exact same speech he had just practiced on Amy. Oh it wasn't word for word, but the message was still there. At least the promise of hope was still there. That was all that counted.

"I'm glad we're still on the same level," Lance thanked him afterwards, "You don't know how much that means to me, Mike. I appreciate your honor and respect in telling me all this."

"No problem."

"And as far as I'm concerned," Lance added, "No hard feelings, okay? Our deal's still on as far as I'm concerned. I'll warn you and you warn me. Nothing's changed."

"I absolutely agree," nodded Mike. "I've always been on your side." He smiled, then added. "But just keep your chin up, Lance. You're still here and I'm still trying. Just never forget that... I'm trying to help keep you around."

Lance nodded.

"I'll do -everything- I can," Mike added, "To get you into that final four. Because truthfully, I've wanted you and Amy there anyway. I've always liked you two more than some of the others..."

"Well," said Lance, patting the big guy on the shoulder, "I don't think those three Kamiya ladies will let me anywhere near the final four." He shrugged. "But then again I don't think they'll let -you- anywhere near the end either." He smiled. "But I appreciate the thought."

"I'm working on it..." insisted Mike.

But Lance just smiled.

"My only request," he grinned, "Is that you just tell me when I'm going, Mike. Is it next? Or at final five? Do you even know yet?"

"Nothing is set in stone. I've heard rumblings..."

"Come on, Mike. I'm sixth, you're fourth and you know it. Because unless you do something to stop Michelle..." Lance shook his head. "She's going to be unbeatable. Don't you see that yet? Don't you even -listen- to me when I tell you that?"



^^



And as hard as Lance tried, deep down he knew it wasn't going to work. Mike simply wasn't buying his logic... and probably never would before it was too late. So just before dinner Lance joined up with Amy by the firepit. The two of them were going to prepare tonight's meal together-- and hopefully report back some of the "good news" they had found out around camp.

"Well," sighed Amy, "Here we are."

"I feel so bad," Lance shook his head, "I feel awful that I tried to get you to vote for Michelle. I really thought we had it. I thought we could do it..."

"Don't beat yourself up over it," Amy rubbed his arm, "That was our one chance. We took it, and we failed. No harm in trying, at least." She patted his back. "Just keep your head up."

"At least we stood by Hogan," Lance said.

"We did," Amy nodded. "We can be proud jurors." She smiled.

Lance took a look back down the beach, where Michelle and Emma appeared to be talking to Joni.

"Those four are tighter than I expected," he said softly. "I thought there'd be cracks, but I think I misjudged. Those four are solid."

"They're tight," Amy agreed. "No doubt."

"So are you throwing in the towel...?" Lance asked softly.

"No way." Amy turned to him. "Are you?"

"Not after all we've been through," he promised. "I'm not going down without a fight."

"Good," smiled Amy.

"Do you think Mike will ever flip to join us?" Lance now asked. "Do you think he realizes how close he was to being booted last night? Do you think he even cares?"

"Oh I don't know if I even buy that it was a possibility," Amy scowled. "Personally I think all that was staged, just like with Beth. I don't think he was -ever- going to be booted. I think Kamiya just likes to put on a show..."

Lance sighed.

"Yeah," he said, "I was worried about that too. Maybe you're right."

Amy started to peel oranges to put into the cooking pot. She started to work silently, not saying a word. She appeared to be deep in thought.

"But I'll tell you this.." Lance suddenly said.

He paused, and Amy looked up.

And suddenly, something about Lance's face gave her hope. There was something there she hadn't seen in a long, long time. There was a certain look in his eyes that was impossible to misinterpret. She had never seen somebody look so determined in all of her life. It was a look that almost frightened her.

"I'm gonna take them down," Lance said softly, "You just watch me, Amy. I'm gonna do something to rip this tribe apart..."

"What's your plan?" Amy asked, breathless. And she had never felt so much like a cheerleader in all her life. Suddenly she knew how Lois Lane felt when she hung around Superman. Suddenly she was ready to put her faith in somebody other than herself, for the first time in this game...

"I don't know," he said, grimly shaking his head. "I don't know yet."

He paused.

"But they're gonna see a side of Lance McHale they thought they would -never- see. And it's all gonna come down sometime before that next vote, I can promise you that..."


^^



The rest of the evening on Yamako was pretty much spent in relative harmony. For the most part Lance and Amy hung out by the firepit, preparing Amy's specialty dish of "orange sugarcane stew." But down below on the beach, things were definitely much more active. The Kamiyans spent most of the evening in full-on strategy mode...

... And as usual, Michelle Kin-Fraley was at the center of most all of it.

First off, Michelle had come up to camp to have a little talk with Amy. And though Amy winced upon her approach, expecting this to be ugly, Michelle had been surprisingly cordial about the whole thing after all. And in an amazing surprise to most everybody who knew her... Michelle hadn't seemed upset about Amy's betrayal vote at -all-.

"It's just the nature of the game!" Michelle smiled, giving Amy a big hug. "Don't worry about it. You just did what you had to do!"

She stepped back, laughing at the surprised look on Amy's face. Amy appeared to be in shock.

"What?" smiled Michelle, "You thought I would hold this against you? But you only did what was best for you to survive! How can I possibly hold a grudge over that?"

"I... uh..." Amy was stammering.

"And it -was- your vote for me, right?" Michelle confirmed, still smiling. "It wasn't Joni?"

"Uh... no. It was me."

"Well don't worry about it," Michelle said, again waving dismissively with her hand. "We'll just move on from here. I'm not upset at you in the slightest."

The two women then parted on good terms, as Amy exchanged a look of confused bewilderment with Lance. What the hell had -that- been all about? Who was that strange woman... and what had she done with Michelle??

Michelle later headed down to Joni and Isabella, wanting to go have a talk with her two fellow Kamiyans. And it was here that the plan for Amy finally came into effect. It was here that the method to Michelle's madness finally reared its sneaky little head.

"We need to make sure Amy feels safe," Michelle said, "So don't forget the plan, you two. We need to keep Amy on board for at least two more days. She needs to think she's still in our good graces. She needs to think we forgave and forgot.

"I know," nodded Joni.

"Because Mike wants Joni out," Michelle said, nodding to the young dancer. "I don't know if he said that to you two... but he told me today. Mike is gunning to take Joni out eventually, and we -can't- let him have Amy's vote."

"But why would he go for me?" asked Joni. "Why now?"

Michelle, of course, couldn't tell Joni the -real- answer. She couldn't very well admit that this was a plot to turn Joni and Mike against one another... just to keep the two of them on their toes. No, that answer wouldn't do at all.

"Well just look at it this way..." Michelle said, "We all know that Lance and Mike have a pact, right?"

Isabella and Joni nodded.

"Mike will watch Lance's back and vice versa," explained Michelle. "But what would happen if that pact suddenly turned into a final two deal? What if Mike suddenly realized he was better off without us?" She poked Joni in the arm. "That's why Amy needs to be on board. We -need- her as much as we've needed anything in this game. This is the absolute key to the game here!"

She turned to Joni.

"So can you go make a deal with Amy? Can you do something to make her feel safe?"

"I think so," nodded Joni. "After all she -did- try to get me to vote for you. She still thinks she can trust me, so that's a good sign."

"Good," nodded Michelle. Then she turned to Isabella. "My plan is for me and Joni to make a final three deal with Amy. And I plan to do it by telling her how much we still hate you. Is that going to be okay?"

"Is what okay?" Isabella decided to go into her dumb act.

"That I say I hate you."

"Oh," Isabella giggled. "No problem. Tell her anything you want."

"Good," smiled Michelle. Then she paused. "So that's the plan then. Joni, you go up and make friends with Amy tonight. Let her know you're tired of Kamiya and want to bolt. Let her know I'm too bossy or... whatever. Just say whatever you need to say."

Joni nodded.

"I'll follow," Michelle added, "And we can officially make it a threesome. And then we'll have Amy locked up for at least one more vote. Or however long we intend to use her."

"Wait, I'm confused," Isabella lied, "So what do I do?"

"Just stay out of the way for now," Michelle said, a bit exasperated. "Just lay low and let us take care of Amy. And you're not gonna be a target anyway, so don't worry about it."

"Oh okay."

Joni was soon off to go work on Amy. She walked up the beach happily, loving the fact that she knew this was going to work. Amy's back was to the wall, Amy was scared and Amy was as powerless right now as she had ever been in Okinawa. And this moment was going to be fitting retribution for all the times Joni and Amy had sparred. This was going to be for Christopher. This was going to be for the log joust. And this was going to be for the many times Amy had badmouthed Joni behind her back.

This one final deception was going to be beautiful.

But... unfortunately for Joni... somebody else had -also- been waiting for this moment. There was somebody she had just left on the beach who had been waiting -weeks- for a moment just like this. And as Joni slowly disappeared up into the campsite, Isabella Smith was ready. She slowly turned to Michelle, for she had something she had been waiting to say. It was now time. Joni was separated from Michelle...

... and it was time to remove the -one- final obstacle on her way to an Okinawan victory.

"Michelle," Isabella said, worriedly, "How well do you really think you know Joni?"

She paused.

"Because she's been -really- distant with me lately. And frankly, it's starting to worry me. It's like she doesn't want to be around us anymore."

Michelle's eyes darted off towards the campsite. And Isabella smiled inwardly, knowing this was going to work. For if nothing else, Michelle had always been easy to read. And right now... Isabella was planning on playing her like the proverbial fiddle.

"I'm getting a funny feeling about Joni lately," Isabella continued, "Because I think she knows you and I have a final two pact. And I'm -real- worried about what she might do." She shook her head, worriedly. "I know you trust her and all, and so do I, but she's acting awfully weird lately and it's starting to make me worry..."

Then Isabella sighed, sadly.

And the seeds of doubt had now -officially- been planted.






DAY 32




Day thirty-two was to become the most volatile day in Okinawa since the merge, and the players didn't even know it when they woke up. No, at first glance this looked pretty much like every other day around camp. Isabella did her yoga, Amy cooked breakfast, Mike went to check his fish traps... and it was all pretty much just par for the course.

And as much as the players wouldn't remember this later, the day at least -started off- calm and peaceful. It certainly wouldn't remain that way for long, but the day had been perfectly normal until about 10:00...

"Hey Lance," said Mike, "I need to talk to you again."

The morning air was already warm, the sun was high in the sky, and Amy had gone out for a morning swim by herself. So that left Lance alone back at camp with the Kamiyas... and that meant it was time for the fun to begin.

"Michelle's been complaining about you again," Mike said to Lance under his breath. "Remember when she said you were being lazy before? Well she's been doing it again. She says you don't do enough around camp."

Lance just scowled. He had been sitting here all by himself, carving a stick into a fishing spear, when Mike approached him with this news. And if Lance wasn't -already- in a bad mood today, now Mike was just starting to make it worse.

"So I'd suggest," Mike added, "That you try a little harder around camp. For your own sake. I don't think Michelle's really happy with you today..."

Lance raged inside.

"... And I've heard talk that you might need to win immunity tomorrow..."

And finally Lance had reached his breaking point.

"Enough," he said, tossing his stick to the ground. "That's enough, Mike." He stood up.

"I'm just telling you what I heard!" Mike protested, but Lance wasn't listening.

"Hey guys?" Lance asked, motioning to Michelle and Isabella off in the distance. "Can you come over here for a little talk? Do you have a couple of minutes?"

Michelle exchanged a look with Isabella. Uh oh.

But the rest of the tribe came over to gather around Lance at the campfire. Pretty soon all of them were here except Amy, which was just what Lance had been hoping for. After all, he had been -looking- for a reason to go off on these people. He had been waiting for -just- the right time to start tearing this tribe apart. After all, what did he have to lose? It wasn't like he had much of a choice right about now.

"Michelle," Lance whirled on her angrily, "Have you been telling people that I don't pull my weight around camp? Have you been sniping at me behind my back?"

Michelle was silent for a moment. She just stared at him, her arms folded across her chest. Her eyes glanced at Mike once, then back at Lance. Why had Mike told him this?

"Sometimes I have," she admitted, "Yeah."

"Well why didn't you approach me about this first?" Lance asked. "I mean, isn't that just common courtesy? If you have a problem with someone shouldn't you at least talk to them about it?"

"I would have, but you're a difficult person to talk to, Lance. You don't even give the rest of us the time of day."

"You guys haven't even made an -effort- to talk to me!" Lance said. "No effort whatsoever!"

"Well you make us uncomfortable," Michelle said. "You haven't made much of an effort yourself! You treat us like we're lepers!"

"Well maybe that's because I know you're the type," Lance glared, "Who talks behind someone else's back and accuses them of slacking off. Maybe I just haven't wanted to associate with that type of person."

"Oh screw off, Lance," Michelle said. "This is ridiculous."

"And I haven't wanted you to know who I was!" Lance added, "Why would I tell you personal details about my life if it's just going to get me voted out? Why do I want you to know -anything- about me? What could I possibly have gained from that?"

Mike, Joni and Isabella stood by in silence as Lance and Michelle continued to go it, heatedly.

"Lance," exclaimed Michelle, "You boil water that doesn't need to be boiled! You try to catch rain water in funnels when we have our -own well!- You sit around camp and mope and I don't think you've ever gone out to gather firewood. So face it, you're not pulling your fair share!"

"I was confused about the water," he admitted, "And that was just one day. But that didn't hurt the tribe..."

"Well you haven't done shit the last two days!!" Michelle finally yelled. "All you've done is mope!"

"Well maybe I was just upset," Lance was almost yelling now too, "Because you voted out Hogan when you promised him you wouldn't! Did you ever think about that??" He pointed an accusatory finger at her. "So you'd rather take work ethic over integrity, is that what you're saying?"

Michelle laughed at him.

"It -all- counts!" she laughed. "This is Survivor, Lance. It's -all- important."

"You have to -have- integrity," he said, "Before you can appreciate it, Michelle. So who are you to talk about it?"

And now Michelle was starting to get annoyed. The rest of the Kamiyas could see it in her eyes. This battle was about to get ugly.

"Whatever," she said, dismissively, "Just because I vote off one of your friends, I have no morals. What type of logic is that?" She brushed him off. "You're taking this too personally, Lance. Just chill out."

Lance glared at her for a long moment. He placed his hands on his hips, taking a look around at the rest of the Kamiyas. None of them had said a word yet. He was on his own here.

"Does anyone mind if I talk game?" he said, "I mean in an open forum. Does anyone mind?"

Nobody did.

"Well it's my belief," Lance started, "That I could go out there and catch fish all day. I could bring back stacks of wood, I could build us a new shelter each day... and it wouldn't make a difference. You guys would still vote for me because my buff wasn't yellow to start with." He paused. "Anyone like to tell me that I'm wrong?"

"Yes you -are- wrong," Michelle said. "You'd get -my- vote because you're a physical threat, not because you were a Sato."

"Well that just proves my point," nodded Lance. "Even if I did do work, I'd get voted out anyway. Even if I did get to know you, I'd still be out of here soon..."

"Lance," Mike piped in, "If you don't help out around camp, what you're really doing is sabotaging the tribe. And why would anyone not vote you out after you sabotage us...?"

"Plus you don't talk to any of us anyway!" Michelle added.

Lance sighed.

"When we merged," he said, "You had just thrown a challenge to screw Beth over and ensure that Kamiya was in the majority. And I knew I was a number just waiting to be picked off. So why let you into my life if it wasn't going to matter?"

"Lance, that's not really fair..." started Mike. "We threw that challenge because Beth was causing trouble. So don't blame us, blame her. None of us wanted a Pagonging at all."

Michelle nodded, agreeing.

"I was on your tribe for two weeks," Joni suddenly shouted, "And you never said -anything- to me, Lance! You never made any effort to get to know me... so don't dump all this on us right now. You never made an effort either!"

Lance shot her a glare. She returned it with one of her own.

"So I guess I was a bad girl too," she added, sarcastically, "I didn't talk to someone who practically told me to shut up every time I talked at Sato. I guess I need to be punished." She glared at Lance and smacked herself on the hand, defiantly.

And now, suddenly, Lance changed gears. Suddenly he had a new person he wanted to go after.

"Joni," he said, softly, "Why did you vote for Hogan at the last vote? Why did you stab him in the back after you two made a promise?" He paused. "Do promises just not mean anything to you?"

"My promise was to Kamiya."

"So you just felt it wasn't important to tell Hogan that?" Lance smirked at her. "You just preferred to lead him on instead?"

"He knew of my loyalty to Kamiya..." Joni started.

"We voted Hogan out because of the game," Michelle inserted, "It was not personal, it's just part of Survivor. Somebody has to be voted out every three days..." She shrugged. "And Hogan just happened to be a threat."

"... And I worked my -BUTT- off to save Hogan," Joni said. "You can ask anyone here. I did -EVERYTHING- I could to save him!" Joni looked like she was about to cry again. "Don't you -DARE- accuse me of saying anything but good about him!"

Isabella walked over to put an arm around Joni's shoulder.

"I did -NOT- want to make that vote!" Joni finished.

"Joni," Lance said, shaking his head disapprovingly, "You promised Hogan that if he voted for Matt... you would vote for Michelle or Mike next. You promised him."

Joni shook her head, angrily.

"You lied to that boy," Lance accused. "You broke that promise."

"I did not!"

"I find it interesting," Lance added, "That you change your tune now, once Mike and Michelle are here." He chuckled. "Funny how your story changes when Hogan isn't here anymore." He paused, shaking his head in pity. "It's a shame you have to play like that. How can you feel good about yourself after what you did to your friend?"

"Okay that's enough," Michelle stepped in, "Just leave her alone, Lance."

"Well then let's talk about you," Lance turned to face her. "Let's talk about how many people -you- have lied to."

"Be my guest."

"How many people do you have a final three alliance with?" Lance smirked. "Or better yet, a final two? How many endgame deals do you have?"

"You can ask," laughed Michelle, "But I won't say."

"Well thank you, Mister Heidik," Lance said. "So I guess your hope is that nobody else talks, right? You just hope nobody realizes that you've promised -everybody- a spot in the final two."

Lance had managed to hit her strategy right on the nose and Michelle winced. But she wasn't about to let him pursue this avenue any further. No way. Because if there was one thing Michelle was very good at... it was damage control.

"Look!" she yelled, "Don't start trying to turn us against one another. I know what you're trying to do, so just stop it!" She pointed an angry finger in his face. "Your back is to the wall and you're scrambling. You're mad because you're powerless and this is all you can do to save yourself."

Lance just smirked at her, defiantly, so Michelle threw out the one word she knew would get a response.

"You're trying to start another Danigate! So just stop it, we're tired of shit like this!"

"Michelle," Lance added, calmly goading her on, "I'm going home next and that's just common knowledge. But when it gets down to the four of you... which one of their deals do you intend to keep?"

"How on earth do you know what my strategy is?" Michelle yelled. "So you can read my mind now? You just happen to know I have all these -supposed- deals?!"

"Where is your proof, Lance?" asked Joni.

"Look Joni," Lance sighed, "More than two people have told me that Michelle has a final two deal with them. So if -you- don't have one, you're going to finish fourth. Simple as that."

"Oh well," snipped Joni. "Thanks for the warning. I'm sorry you're so concerned with my fate all of a sudden."

"Blah, blah, blah," Michelle intoned, mimicking Lance, "Blab, blab. This is all fascinating stuff, Lance, but it's just Danigate all over again. You're just making a fool out of yourself."

"And what makes you think you're going next anyway?" Isabella finally piped in. "I mean, we could have four immunities tomorrow. Why do you think anything is set in stone?"

Lance ignored her.

"My advice to you, Michelle," he said, "Well to -all- of you... is not to promise a final two deal if you don't mean it." He turned to glare at Michelle. "Especially you, Michelle. Don't promise it if you don't have the morals to stick to it."

"I won't," she snipped, "Thanks for the advice."

"What kind of game did you expect this to be?" asked Joni, suddenly. "I mean... it's like you've never even watched Survivor before, Lance! Did you think it would be all roses and sunshine? Did you think lying just wouldn't happen?" She shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, I'm not saying I like it, or that I've been above it. But what kind of game did you think you were playing?"

"Just because it's an accepted part of the game," he said softly, "Doesn't mean it's right. You should know that, Joni. People get hurt."

"What?" she yelled, "You don't think the Chris vote didn't hurt?? He was my best friend in the game! You and Hogan side-swiped him!"

"Well Henry was -my- best friend," Lance glared, "And you swiped -him-! And I -never- told Chris that I wouldn't vote for him. I never made him any promises. That's not side-swiping."

"Oh so it was strategy then," Joni laughed, bitterly, "And now it's called Pagonging. Interesting logic you have there, Lance."

And at this point Mike had finally had enough. It looked like somebody would have to step in and play peacemaker... and Isabella certainly didn't appear to be lifting a finger to help out. But this fight would apparently go on all day unless somebody stepped in to stop it.

"I think that's about enough, guys," said Mike, stepping between Lance and Joni, "Can we just calm down for a minute? Can we just settle down and relax?"

The air was quiet for a moment as Lance and Joni finally broke their eye contact. Now there was again peace in the air. So Mike took a minute to give Lance some friendly advice.

"I wouldn't push this anymore," he whispered, "You're digging yourself a hole, Lance."

"Don't trust them!" Lance hissed softly. "The females are going to take you out, Mike. Don't listen to a word they say!"

Mike nodded. But he said nothing.

"Well this has been fun," Michelle smirked, "But if you guys will excuse me... I have some tasks to go do. And maybe make some more phantom final two deals with people." She glared one last time at Lance, and then was off. She walked off down towards the beach.

"I wish you'd at least try to strategize," Joni said to Lance, "Instead of just bashing us to our faces."

"I'm not bashing anybody..." Lance said.

"Yeah, whatever you say," Joni said, cutting him off. And then she left as well. She was soon followed by Isabella, who shrugged helplessly and followed Joni down towards the beach. Now Mike and Lance were left alone. The two final men in the game stood next to the campfire, the words from the big blowout still ringing in both of their ears.

And Lance had his head down, as if to stare a hole into the ground. His arms were crossed angrily across his chest.

"I think," Mike said, patting the pre-school teacher on the shoulder, "That you may have just bought yourself a ticket out of here, Lance."

He shook his head, sadly.

"I really don't think you should have said all that."



^^



As Michelle and the Kamiyans went off to discuss what they had just heard, Lance McHale walked down to the shore by himself.

His head down, his legs striding slowly across the sand, Lance was thinking about what had just happened back at camp. And he didn't regret the things he had said... no, some of that was stuff that had just needed to come out... but he was very much aware that he may have just passed a point of no return. He was keenly aware that some of the things he had said to Michelle and Joni could never ever be unsaid. Some of it had been too personal to take back.

But deep down, what he really hoped was that they had all been listening.

And he especially hoped Mike's eyes had been opened to the truth.

"What just happened was kind of inevitable," he admitted, as he sat down besides the shoreline. "It was something that needed to be done... because basically I just called out everybody who had been plotting and lying behind others people's backs."

He shook his head sadly as he stared off at the horizon.

"I called out Michelle, I called out Joni, Emma spoke her piece..." He smirked. "And Mike basically denied he ever was a part of any of it."

Lance slammed his fist into the sand now, frustrated.

"I can't understand what Mike thinks he's doing! He's so afraid to open his mouth around the women, and he's just -terrified- to take a chance. But what he's completely missing is that the second I go home... he's right behind me! And how he can't see this logic, I have no idea."

Lance shook his head, angrily,

"Because we're going to have a final four of all women. And that's fine, I'm not sexist or anything, but I don't think that -these- particular women are the ones who belong there." He scrunched up his face, disgusted. "Joni has lied since day one and she's terrible in the challenges. Emma is probably the worst performer of us all, and you know she's just saving her energy for some last minute challenge run. And Michelle..."

Lance spat.

"Michelle has at least -three- deals to make the final two with somebody right now and it's making me sick. Because I'm going to have to watch these councils from the jury box... and Michelle will be there in every single one of them until the end. Nobody is going to stick their neck out and stop her!"

Lance shook his head again.

"And I know I won't be the only one to say it. Hogan will agree, Matt will agree... I'm sure Ryan will even agree. -These- aren't the people that deserve to be sitting there at the end. These aren't the people we want to be rewarding. -None- of them have impressed me with their gameplay."

Lance looked back towards camp, where Michelle and Joni appeared to be discussing something.

"So do I regret what I just did?" He asked, speaking rhetorically. "Of course not. All I did was the -one- thing that nobody else here would do. I stood up there and asked people to see the light. I asked them to see through all of Michelle's bluster and her deals. I asked them to take a stand... and do the right thing for once."

He shrugged.

"Plus," he added, "I stood up for my friend Hogan... who those people used and then abused. I stood up and let them know -exactly- what they did to him and what I thought about it. And if it put me in a hole now, well I don't really care. It's not like anybody was going to step in and keep me around here anyway..." He scowled. "Because even if I -do- win immunity tomorrow, who's to say Emma won't just re-spin that wheel and take it all away? Who's to say fate will even be in my hands tomorrow? Who's to say they'll even give me a chance at all?"

He shook his head now, slowly rising his feet. And he wiped the sand off of his hands as he stood.

"I know I've had a lot of luck in this game," he finished. "I'd like to think I'm here because of skill or merit, but I'm well aware that I've been saved more than once by good old lady luck."

He nodded.

"And I know that most of my bridges have now been burned. Well, whatever bridges there were in the first place anyway..." He chuckled. "But that just makes me more determined to win immunity. That just makes me more determined to go out and put on a -heck- of a show tomorrow. Because it's now me against a four-headed monster called Kamiya. It's me against them and I have no doubt that this could very well be my very last stand in this game."

Lance walked back to camp now, intending to lay down and rest up. After all, he had a lot of pressure riding on him now. This was his make or break moment... and he wanted to make sure he would be at full strength. He had dinner with Jeff tonight, hopefully a good night's sleep afterwards, and then an immunity challenge first thing in the morning.

And this was where it all started to count.

"If you were placing bets tomorrow," he said as he walked, "You might think it would be smarter to bet on Kamiya. After all, there are four of them and only one of me. But you'd be -surprised- at how much one man can accomplish..."

He paused, smiling confidently.

"Especially when he wants immunity more than -anything- else in the world..."



^^



As Lance prepared for his last stand against the Kamiyas, Michelle Kin-Fraley was understandably rattled by what had happened this morning. And as the day went on, she started to grow more and more agitated by what she saw as Lance's single-minded attack against her. And when Michelle got agitated, Michelle tended to vent.

A lot.

"Lance is completely dense," she complained as she sat down for a confessional, "He's a complete idiot and he makes no sense whatsoever. None." She scowled as she sat down, leaning up against one of the fishing boats. "He's got the thinnest skin I have -ever- seen on a person and this wasn't even his business in the -first- place. This was something I vented to Mike about... in private... and I have no idea why Mike went and told him what I had said!"

Michelle glared off in the distance.

"But I know what Lance is up to," she added, "He's just trying to cause tension, and it is -not- going to work. We are -not- going to have another Danigate here, not if I can help it."

Michelle shook her head angrily now, remembering some of the attacks Lance had made against her.

"My god, the guy can't argue to save his life. He makes no sense... and then he starts going off on my morals of playing the game?" She raised her eyebrows, incredulous. "Excuse me, Lance, this is Survivor. Real world morals are left behind. Anything goes here and I'll do -anything- to win. It's not my fault if you're not willing to play dirty." She grinned now, mockingly. "Besides, if you -were- willing, maybe you'd be in a better position right now. Did you ever stop and think about that, Lance??"

She angrily tossed a handful of sand.

"And you think you'll be voted out tomorrow because you're lazy. No, I'm sorry. You'll be voted out because you're in my way of winning. Just like Hogan was. I voted him out and I'll vote you out too. And I don't give a crap if you don't like that. I'm not going to tell you you're safe if you're not. I'm sorry... but that's the way Mike plays. Not me. I don't want you to have a chance to save yourself, and so you won't."

She paused now... then let out a sly smile.

"And okay, maybe you were right about one thing. Maybe I -do- have multiple endgame pacts. But I didn't initiate all of them, and I sure as hell wasn't going to turn them down!" She laughed. "Mike and Joni both came to me, so blame them. Don't blame me for saying yes."

Now she scowled again.

"So you can just bite me, Lance. You're a sore loser and you gave up on this game two weeks ago. And quit your whining about ethics and morality. People get voted out every three days, and just because you're in the minority gives you no right to bitch about the way we play. You'd be doing the -exact- same thing if you were in our spot, so who gives a crap what you think?" She laughed. "And if you hate me so bad, then vote -me- out instead. Why don't you just try something instead of sitting around on your ass all day."

She paused.

Then appeared to remember something.

"Oh, that's right. You -did- try to vote me out. You tried last time... and it didn't work. So nice try, thanks for playing. Thanks for giving me a good laugh!"

Her confessional done, Michelle felt a lot better. Now that she had gotten that off her chest, it was definitely time for some damage control. So one by one, she went around to her teammates... just reiterating the plan for the next vote. It was definitely make or break time for the Kamiyas, and she wanted Lance McHale out of this game tomorrow as much as she had ever wanted anything else in her life.

"Just beat Lance tomorrow," she told Isabella, "Just make sure he doesn't finish in that top two. That's all we have to do. Just make sure he ends up as pissed-off juror number four..."

"But Lance was lying, right?" Isabella asked, stupidly. "You don't have a final two with everybody, right?" Isabella knew for a fact that Lance had probably been telling the truth, but she wanted to hear what Michelle's answer would be. For Michelle's backpedaling excuses had always made her laugh so much.

"I only made deals with you and Amy," Michelle said. "And Amy's is totally fake. Yours is the one that I'm keeping. Lance is making all of it up because he's scared."

"You don't have a final two deal with Joni?"

"No!" Michelle whispered.

-Yeah right-, thought Isabella. But she just plastered on her big dumb smile and nodded her head. -Yes'm, Miss Michelle. I reckon I'll just do anything you say. Just let little ol' me know what to do before the vote please, okay?-

When Michelle came to Joni, Joni wanted to clarify one thing from Lance's accusations. She only had one thing she definitely wanted to clear up.

"My deal with Hogan," Joni said, "Was -never- to vote for you or Mike. Our deal was that we would vote for Amy. Lance and Hogan were lying." She smiled. "I've -never- had an intention to turn on Kamiya."

"I know," Michelle nodding, giving her young friend a hug. "I know. Lance is a moron."

And then Michelle came to Mike. She met the big man up by camp... and only had one quick question to ask him.

"Why did you tell Lance all that?" she whispered. "Why did you set him off like that?"

"I'm sorry," shrugged Mike, "It was just part of my deal to warn him. Like I said, I was gonna tip him off if he was ever in any danger." He paused, then grinned guiltily. "Plus I was kind of groveling for his jury vote, I'll be completely honest."

"Duh," said Michelle.

"But I won't say -anything- to Lance anymore," Mike promised, "The guy just can't handle it. I'm sorry it came to this... but it definitely won't happen again."

"Good," nodded Michelle. "And I just wanted to reassure you that -you- are the only one I have a final two deal with. I don't know where Lance got the rest of that crap. Now he's just making things up."

"I know," nodded Mike. "I know."

He smiled.

"And I believe you."



^^



As the day passed, Michelle's frustration with the situation finally started to abate. And as with usual, she soon had the tribe firmly back under her control. This was a condition that had been more or less permanent since the merge, and was something she definitely intended to keep. Michelle liked knowing what was going on. She liked knowing where everybody's head was at. And she liked pulling the strings on the action that was inevitably going to go down. These were things she was good at, and it showed.

But even leaders know when to relax and have fun when needed... and today was going to be that day. There had been too much tension around camp today, and Michelle wanted to throw Yamako a party.

"I think we should all take a trip to the mainland," she suggested to Joni, just after lunch. "And all of us should go too, like as a group. We should pack lunches, head over, and go have a picnic together." She grinned. "What do you think?"

Joni loved the idea, so Michelle had gone to Isabella. Once again, it was met with vigorous approval, so Michelle then went to Amy.

"... We can just bring the frying pan over," Michelle explained, "And cook up whatever we find. And it will be like a big party. we can even dress up if we want to."

"That sounds awesome," Amy smiled, "I'd love to. When?"

"Just before dinner. We can make it a nighttime party, since we don't have a challenge or anything tonight."

"Ohhh," sighed Amy, disappointed, "But that means Lance can't go. He's supposed to go have dinner with Jeff tonight. He'll be gone."

"Crap," nodded Michelle. "I forgot."

"Well, it should be okay," Amy said after a moment, "I doubt he'll mind. After all, he'll be eating better than us anyway."

"Yeah," nodded Michelle.

"I think it'll be fun," Amy smiled. "Good idea, Michelle."

"It's gonna be great," Michelle grinned. "We can go swimming... we can eat... we can relax..."

Then she saw Isabella walk by, and Michelle suddenly laughed out loud.

"...Plus we can play Truth or Dare," Michelle teased, "You know... Emma's favorite game." She started to laugh uncontrollably. "But watch out, because Emma kisses the girls, so don't give her anything to drink!"

Michelle was laughing so hard she started to cry. She had to pause for a moment to catch her breath. The thought of meek little Emma kissing a girl at a party still struck her as funny, and she liked to joke about it just about every moment she could. And this running joke, of course, amused Isabella to no end. She had already spent a good deal of time today trying to figure out how to use this to her advantage...

"Well I'll be there," Amy nodded, "And I think it's gonna be a blast. I'm really looking forward to it." She paused. "But maybe we can pass on the Truth or Dare. I'm not so sure we're really ready for that around here..."



^^



Amy broke the news to Lance a little bit later, once Lance had returned from a solo fishing trip. And this fact didn't really surprise Amy. Lance did most -everything- by himself anyway. So she hadn't even noticed that he had been acting even more sullen than usual today. She really hadn't even noticed. She thought he was just being Lance.

"Did you hear about Michelle's party?" Amy asked, "We're all going over to the mainland when you're off having dinner with Jeff. It should be a lot of fun."

"Mmm," Lance nodded.

"Plus I had a good talk with Emma today," Amy added, "And she's..."

Amy suddenly noticed that Lance wasn't even paying attention. Lance had just laid down inside the shelter, intending to take a nap. And that was odd. Lance may be aloof... but he -never- ignored her. She knew immediately that something was up.

"Hey Lance," she asked, "Are you okay?"

"Did they tell you yet?" he asked, eyes still closed.

"Tell me what?"

"About our big fight."

Amy's eyes suddenly got wide. Uh oh. What had she missed?

"No!" she breathed, concerned. She walked over to kneel by his side. "When?"

"This morning. When you were out swimming. We had a big blowout."

"Oh man!" Amy held a hand to her mouth. "What happened?"

"I basically called Michelle out on all her alliances," Lance said, leaning over to rest on one elbow. "I called her out in front of everybody. I also confronted her for calling me lazy." He scowled. "She just made excuse after excuse so I kept on her. And -then- she brought Joni in..."

"Oh man," Amy fretted.

"... And I let Joni have it," Lance continued. "Get this. Joni claims she -never- lied to Hogan and that I've been picking on her all game. She claims I've been hard on her."

"Whoa," Amy sighed. "But they didn't tell me any of this. Nobody has said a word!" She paused, then lowered her voice. "Did they fight back? Were they hard on you too?"

"They tried," he nodded, "But I basically exposed every lie they've had in this game. And I did it in front of Mike, too, so I think he saw how bad they could be."

"Good," nodded Amy.

"I think people saw the other side of Michelle," Lance grinned. "And it wasn't pretty. I think they finally saw how much bluster she had and how much backpedaling she likes to do."

"Well, I'm just in disbelief," Amy said, shaking her head. Oh how she wished she would have seen this. "I wish Emma could have seen it too..."

"Emma was there!" Lance grinned. "She saw it all. It was just four Kamiyas and me!"

Amy nodded, impressed.

"Joni fought me back pretty hard," he admitted. "And then she brought up Chris. She kept saying we backstabbed Chris... and that was why it was okay to do whatever she wanted to us now. And my god Amy... she's like talking to a wall."

"Well she's smart," Amy nodded, "She brought up Chris to anger Michelle. She knows how much Michelle liked him."

"Well anyone who was close to Chris is no friend of mine," Lance scowled. "I never liked the way he played and I suppose that speaks volumes about Michelle."

"Oh I think Michelle is -worse- than Chris," Amy said. "She's -way- more devious than he ever could be."

And as Amy got the rest of the story, she could only imagine how ugly that scene must have been this morning. On one side there was Lance, stubborn and moralistic as the day was long. And on the other side you had Michelle, who was just plain scary to be around when she was angry at someone. And Amy had to just shake her head in disbelief. Oh man she wished she could have seen that!

"So do you think they'll target you now?" Amy asked. "Do you think it's even up for debate anymore?"

"I have no doubt they want me gone," Lance said, shrugging. "But that just makes me even -more- determined to win tomorrow." He nodded. "If those people want me gone, they're gonna have to catch me first. Because I am -not- letting them take me out without a fight."

"Good," nodded Amy.

Then she smiled.

"Well have fun on your date with Jeff," she grinned, "Bring me back some food if you can."

"I will."

"And if I hear -anything- at all about the vote," she nodded, "I'll tell you. If I hear any gossip at all, I'll let you know."



^^



The tribe prepared for their big picnic dinner around 4:00 PM, as Mike helped to load the supplies into the tribe's three boats. And he worked alone. Normally Lance would have helped him with the loading, but Lance was still back at camp, taking a nap. And so as the only male available for the heavy lifting... Mike had no choice but to work alone.

But really, Mike didn't mind at all. Because he had something he wanted to confess for the cameras. This was something he had been struggling to hold in all day... and now he finally had to let somebody in on the big joke. It just couldn't remain a secret any longer.

"Well it seems that my gnome and I managed to start another fight today."

Mike grinned from ear to ear as he said this, like a kindergartner who has just gotten away with stealing some marbles. Mike looked very, very proud of himself.

"I've been prodding Lance for -days- now about his work ethic," he chuckled, "And I've been prodding him to try harder. And I've been doing it -just- enough so that I knew it was getting it to him. You could just see it in his eyes, he was just about getting ready to snap." Mike smiled. "And then today... he did."

Mike laughed again.

"Oh, Michelle really -has- been complaining about Lance, but certainly not to the extent that I made it out to be. I definitely helped push him into that fight today, and I don't even think he knows it. I don't think he even realizes I've left him emotionally and physically vulnerable for the vote tomorrow. He has no clue that I've been pulling his strings all along."

Mike grinned.

"But he still has his ethics! And that's what's important, right? Lance still has his precious ethics to fall back on when he needs to. And that's just oh so fun to listen to, isn't it?"

Mike shook his head sadly, as he loaded a big bushel of oranges into the boat.

"You know," he admitted, "At one time I would have liked to take Lance to final four. I certainly set it up that way. But the guy is just -way- too unstable and -far- too annoying to do anything with."

He stopped.

And shrugged.

"I would -still- rather see Joni and Amy go before Lance if I could. That's -always- been my intention. But it's gonna make it hard when the guy fights Michelle so much like he did today. When he goes after her with such a fury, it just makes my job all that much harder."

Mike shrugged again, then sighed.

"I'd -love- to keep Lance around, but that idiot may have slit his own throat today. And I'm not sure there's anything else I can do to save him anymore..."



^^



The party on the mainland went off without a hitch, as the five members of Miyagi partied and feasted into the night. There were games, there was laughter, and there were several predictably awkward moments when Michelle joked about the fact that Emma was into girls. So pretty much it was just business as usual. The Miyagis had a blast.

But in a small dining parlor far off the coast of Yamako, Lance McHale sat in a big comfortable dining chair. He was currently enjoying his food auction dinner with Jeff Probst, and the two men chatted amicably over lobster and potatoes.

"...So I'm just saying that it's my last stand tomorrow," Lance nodded, as he finished off a second helping of lobster. "And I think everybody knows that. It's no secret that I absolutely need to win immunity tomorrow."

"And you're sure about this?" Jeff asked. "There's no doubt in your mind?"

"None," said Lance. "No doubt."

"Wow," nodded Jeff. "So I guess the stakes are pretty high then."

"They've -never- been higher," Lance smiled. "In fact in the history of Survivor, there's never been a Survivor with as much to lose tomorrow as me. You can take your Boston Rob, you can take your Tammy, you can take your Matteo. They've -never- had as much weight on their shoulders as I will have tomorrow."

"Wow," laughed Jeff, "A pretty bold statement."

"It's true!"

"So then what are the odds?" Jeff asked. "What's your gut? Do you think you can pull it off?"

"Well I just need to finish in the top two for sure," Lance surmised. "And it all kind of depends on the challenge." He laughed. "Do you think you can give me any hints?"

"Uh, no."

"Well the three best athletes," Lance thought out loud, "Are probably me, Amy and Michelle. Mike's kind of slow and Joni and Emma are too weak. So I imagine Amy and Michelle are my two biggest threats."

"Amy?" Jeff asked.

"Yeah, Amy," nodded Lance. "I mean, she's in good shape. Plus she's been in the Army and she's been through basic training and everything. Which not a lot of the Kamiyas know, by the way..." He grinned. "I've noticed that she's kind of kept that little fact hidden from everybody, hasn't she?"

Jeff just laughed and smiled. But of course he knew it to be true. Amy had hidden a -lot- of her background from her teammates on Miyagi thus far.

"So I just have to beat Amy and Michelle for sure," Lance shrugged. "And that's pretty much it. If I don't finish in the top two, I leave my fate in the hands of the wheel. Or in Emma's re-spin, whichever comes first..."

"Well," said Jeff, raising his glass of wine in a toast, "I wish you luck tomorrow. I know you think you're gonna need it."

"I need it."

"Well then I'll see you on the battlefield," Jeff nodded.

"And I'll see -you- in the winner's circle," Lance smiled. "Because I am -not- going home tomorrow, Jeff. The Kamiyas are -not- going to take me out of this game."

He nodded, looking very, very determined.

"I'm here for the long haul, Jeff. I'm here to win it all. You just watch and see..."

He smiled, raising his glass in a final toast.

"You just watch and see..."





DAY 33




The final immunity challenge involving the Sundial took place just before lunch, as the six members of the Miyagi tribe lined up on the shoreline of Okinawa. And in Lance's mind, this was the -perfect- day to hold the most important athletic event of his life. The sky was bright, the sun was out, the air was warm... and the sand was soft. It was an unusually beautiful day in the Pacific Rim, and Lance couldn't have been happier. It was as if God himself was giving him a sign.

And just as his idol, Rocky Balboa, had once received a single word of advice... so too did Lance hear a message being passed to him from above. Lance could hear it as clear as crystal, one simple word of advice coming down to him from the heavens.

And that word was "Win."

"Your challenge today," explained Jeff, "Is to retrieve these from the trees above you."

He reached behind his back and pulled out a large brown furry object. It looked -almost- like a coconut, though it was a bit larger and probably a good deal heavier.

"This is a tzusho nut," Jeff explained. "They are unique to the island of Okinawa and grow from trees... such as the ones above us." He waited for the players to take a glance upwards, then he continued. "And you've probably never even seen tzushos before, but they are known for having a very unique property..."

He smiled.

"Inside each nut is a core. And it's soft too. It's just a big green ball, like a seed, in the middle of each nut." He paused. "But if you heat up these cores, they pop... just like popcorn."

A few players laughed.

"So your goal today," Jeff explained, "Is to pop three tzusho cores in a pan of oil. You'll each have a pan, you'll each have a fire underneath it, and it'll be your job to retrieve three of these nuts from the tree. Just rip out the cores, toss 'em in the oil, heat up the flame underneath..." He smiled. "And the first person to pop three of them wins immunity."

He pointed behind him, where the dreaded Sundial sat in the sand. And below it hung four little sun amulets. Four potential immunities. And the players shuddered to think what would happen if they were on the wrong side of that wheel today. This would more than likely be the most intense challenge of the game. -Nobody- wanted to be vulnerable for tonight's vote.

"So if you guys are ready," Jeff said, "I think we're just about ready to begin."

Five minutes later, the players were lined up on the beach, ready to go. They each stood next to a metal pan, as well as some other assorted tools for removing the cores. But they were all set. And they waited eagerly as Jeff raised his right hand in the air.

"This is for immunity..."

He paused for a long moment.

"You gotta pop -three- of them to win!"

He paused again.

"Survivors ready... GO!"

The players scattered across the beach at full speed, looking for random pieces of driftwood. Because the first goal of the challenge was to build a stick long enough to knock down the nuts. They would have to find pieces of wood... tie them together with string... and use their makeshift poles to knock down as many of the tzusho nuts as they could.

"Emma already at work on her pole," Jeff noted, as the young blonde woman was already tying together pieces of wood. Soon she was joined by Michelle. And then by Lance. And then by Amy. These four were in the lead, as Joni and Mike were still trying to carry wood back to their pans.

Within two minutes... Isabella had her pole built. It seemed sturdy enough, so she stood up now, intending to go knock down some nuts.

"Emma taking the lead," Jeff noted, "But Lance is right behind her. Lance has finished his pole as well."

Lance and Isabella now stood under the large tzusho tree, trying to poke their makeshift poles up and knock down anything that they could. And it didn't take Isabella long before her first nut came crashing thirty feet down to the sand.

"Emma has one! Emma takes the lead!"

Now Amy and Michelle had joined the pack, as four Miyagis did their best to knock nuts down from the tree. Joni and Mike remained back at their pans, in last place. Both of them appeared to be having trouble tying together their poles.

Soon Michelle had her first nut.

And then Amy.

And then Isabella had her second.

And though Lance thought he still had a fighting chance, his eyes widened in horror as he took a look at his pole. Suddenly he noticed that something was terribly wrong.

"Lance's pole is starting to fall apart," Jeff announced. "It's bending..."

And then...

-Snap.-

"Lance's pole has fallen apart," Jeff said, "Lance will need to make a new pole."

Lance muttered something angrily under his breath, now realizing he was going to be under the gun. But he scampered back across the beach, looking for some new pieces of driftwood to shore up what was left of his pole. And he ran like a man possessed. He knew his future in the game was very much at stake right now.

"Michelle has her second nut," Jeff announced, "And her third! Michelle is moving on to the final stage!"

Michelle gathered up her fallen tzushos and ran over to her heated pan. She was in the lead now, but Isabella was not very far behind. Soon Isabella had joined her by the pans... the two Kamiyans smiling at one another as they knew they had this one in the bag. Michelle didn't even have to look to know that Lance was running his ass off to go get more wood. Lance was toast and she knew it.

Oh how beautiful this night was going to be.

"Emma and Michelle taking out their cores," Jeff announced, "Amy still trying to get her second nut. Mike and Joni still have yet to knock anything down."

But now something strange started to happen. As the three Miyagis struggled to knock down nuts for third place... suddenly Lance was back in the running again. Lance had managed to gather wood and construct a second pole in record time, and now he was back.

"Lance is still in this!" Jeff said, as Mike shot him a look of disbelief. "And the rest of you are still fighting for third place... because Michelle and Emma have just about finished..."

-POP! POP! POP!-

"Michelle wins immunity!"

Michelle's three cores popped into the air and she thrust her fist upwards, triumphantly. She had done it, and it hadn't really even been close. Isabella was still having problems heating up her oil. Michelle had run away from the pack.

Under the tree, Joni suddenly knocked down her second and third nut at the same time. Squealing delightedly, she gathered up her tzushos, racing over to de-core them by the pan. And although Amy was frustrated she had lost her early lead... finally her third nut came down as well. She followed Joni to the pan... and suddenly it was once more men against the women in Okinawa.

"Emma, Joni and Amy are trying to pop their cores!" Jeff announced, "And the two guys are still back under the tree!"

Lance heard this and started to hurry. He knew that Mike wasn't going to beat him... Mike just didn't have the hand-eye coordination for something like this. So it was going to be Lance against the ladies... and things were just about to get even -more- tense than they already were.

"Amy and Joni have de-shelled their cores!" Jeff said. "Both of them fighting for second place." He paused, then saw Isabella continuing to struggle with her fire. "But Emma is struggling! Emma has lost her fire. This contest is not over guys. Don't give up!"

Lance knocked down his second nut. Just one more to go.

... But then he heard the sound he -really- didn't want to hear.

-POP! POP! POP!-

"Joni wins immunity!" Jeff said. "Joni finishes second!"

And as Lance finally knocked down his third nut, he reached down to scoop up the three brown tzushos. Now it was a race against the clock.

-POP! POP! POP!-

"Amy finishes in third place!" Jeff said. "One more slot to go." He watched the final two contenders. "Emma and Lance, which one still has a shot at immunity? Which one is it going to be?"

Lance raced over to his pan, now completely out of breath. But somehow he had managed to catch Isabella. Now it was mano a mano. Now it was a showdown... and he was going to give this thing his all.

Isabella continued to try to heat up her oil. And she was having a fair bit of success ... but her atrocious cooking skills were definitely getting the better of her. And now she started to almost panic a little. For just a moment, Isabella started to lose her cool. Especially when she saw Lance drop his first and second cores into his pan of oil.

"Emma's oil is starting to bubble..." Jeff announced, "She may finally have enough heat under there..."

"Let's go Lance!!!" cheered Amy from the sidelines. "You can do it!!"

"Go Emma!!!!" Michelle countered. "Blow on the flames!!!"

Lance finally dumped his third core into his pan of oil. Now it was just a matter of getting these suckers heated up...

-POP!-

Isabella's first core popped. Michelle and Joni let out a cheer from the side. Now it would just take two more...

"Come on," said Lance, blowing on his flame underneath the pan, "Come on..."

-POP!-

There went Isabella's second core. And Lance continued to blow and fan his flames as fast as he could. He worked frantically now... doing everything he could... he could see his oil heating up... if he just had one more minute...

But then, with one small popping noise, Lance's illusions of victory suddenly came crashing back down to the earth. With one pop from the pan to his left, Lance sank down to the sand in defeat. Because he immediately knew that it was over.

-POP!-

"Emma in fourth place!" Jeff announced. "And this contest is over!"

Isabella was mobbed by the happy Kamiyans, as Michelle and Joni ran over to embrace their surprisingly sweaty teammate. But Isabella had managed to pull it off. She had -barely- managed to pull it off... but she had managed to keep Lance out of the final four. She had done it.

The rest of the tribe came over to regroup as Lance lay face-down in the sand. He didn't look around, he didn't celebrate, he didn't even move. He just laid there, completely spent and completely exhausted. And he was also unbelievably annoyed at himself for losing.

"We're gonna spin the wheel now," Jeff said. "Lance, are you joining us?"

"I'll just listen," muttered Lance. But he knew it wasn't going to matter. He knew he wasn't going to be immune, no matter what. Michelle would spin the wheel... or Isabella would use her re-spin... and Lance would be going home tonight. He knew it didn't even matter what number came up.

But from the cheers behind him... he knew a re-spin wasn't even going to be necessary. It sounded like Isabella's prize was all going to be for naught after all.

"Four!" announced Jeff. "Four sun amulets for the final Sundial vote."

The players cheered. And Lance shook his head in the sand, sadly.

"Everybody but Mike and Lance will be immune at the vote tonight," Jeff continued, "So it looks like your choices will be pretty limited. Ladies, it looks like it is going to be up to you tonight..."



^^



Once back at camp, Lance knew exactly what had to be done. He didn't say a word to anybody, he didn't return their stares... heck he didn't even offer his condolences to Amy. He just scampered down to the beach... to give what he sadly expected to be his very last confessional of this game.

"First off," he murmured, standing by the shore, "I want to apologize for all the people back home who were cheering for me. I want to offer my sincerest apologies for letting you guys down... because I -know- you expected more from me today. And I feel horrible that I couldn't manage to deliver."

He scowled at himself, still frustrated. Even now, one hour later, he still couldn't believe he had tanked the challenge so badly. He just hadn't thought this was even a possibility. What about the signs from the skies? What about the feeling of victory in his stomach today? Had that all simply been for nothing?

"Thirty-three days ago," he explained, "I would have -flown- through that challenge. I would have finished that sucker in first place." He shrugged. "But I found out today that I just don't have anything left. I have nothing left in the old gas tank and I couldn't even pull out a fourth place finish when I needed it..."

He sighed.

"But what can you do? I wasn't myself and it will be my own fault when I get voted out tonight. Though on a certain level you -have- to tip your cap to the four ladies who beat me. Even Michelle and Joni. After all, they won it when it counted and I didn't. So... well..."

He sighed again, shaking his head.

"I don't mean to keep griping about this..." he added slowly, "But tonight will mark the eighth time in the last nine votes that a male will be going home. And this is what I've been trying to warn Mike about... what I tried to warn -everybody- about, but it hasn't made a difference at all. The ladies of Okinawa are simply a force to be reckoned with, and nobody is going to be able to stop them. They make the decisions on -every- single vote and Mike's a fool if he can't see that by now."

He shuddered.

"All along I thought we would end this game by crowning the King of Okinawa. But that's not going to be the case at all."

He paused.

"Because at the end of next week... we'll only be left with a Queen."

Lance paused again, this time for a long while. He took one last moment to stare out to sea.

"So I'll probably be leaving tonight. It was down to me or Amy anyway... simply because we didn't ever wear that Kamiya buff... and Amy came through when it counted. She won immunity and I didn't, and more power to her."

He turned to look at the camera.

"Amy, I just want you to know that you have my vote in the final two no matter what. You just manage to -get- yourself there and I'll make sure that you win. And I know you'll feel bad that I got voted out... but don't let it get you down." He nodded slightly as he spoke. "You're an incredibly strong woman. You have a good head on your shoulders and you're too good to mope over tonight's vote more than you have to. So just regroup, get back in this game... and get to that final two. After all..." He smiled, sadly. "You're going to be the last remaining Sato in this game. It's going to be down to -you- and you alone. Sato will live on because of you... so make us all proud."

And in one quick motion... Lance reached up and removed his navy blue baseball cap.

He removed the green Sato buff that he had been hiding underneath.

Then, shaking his head sadly, he folded the green piece of cloth up corner by corner. He did it slowly... reverentially... like a soldier would fold a flag. And once the task was complete, he stuffed the small little green square into his pocket. Now it was officially a souvenir. Now it was just something he would be able to take home to his kids.

"Good bye guys," he nodded to the cameras and the camera crew one last time, "Thanks for all your hard work out here. You guys do a great job."

Then he started to walk away.

"It's been a trip."



^^



With the loss in the immunity challenge, Lance McHale was now more or less resigned to his fate. He knew it, the Miyagis knew it, and there really wasn't much anybody wanted to do about it. Because if Michelle wanted you out, Isabella wanted you out, Joni wanted you out, and Mike was the only other available choice... well... it didn't exactly take a brain surgeon to figure out who would be voted out tonight.

And if Lance had anything to say about it... he wanted to make sure it was unanimous.

"Vote for me tonight, Amy."

It was a simple request he had made to his friend Amy just after returning to camp. Because he could see that Amy was upset. He could see that Amy was crushed. And he could see that Amy was hiding the fact that she was about to start crying again.

"Save yourself the stress," he had suggested, his voice low, "Just vote for me tonight and make it unanimous. At least give yourself a chance against these people in the endgame. Do yourself a favor!"

"I can't!" she whispered under her breath. "I don't want to vote for you, Lance. I'm not going to do it!"

"Look," Lance explained, "I know it's weird coming from me but stop thinking about Sato for a minute. Think of what you have to do..." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "The Kamiyas are going to be vulnerable at the final five. They're going to be -greedy-. You'll be in a prime spot to break them up if they think you're loyal..."

"I can't," she said, shaking her head.

"Don't make yourself stick out like a sore thumb," Lance added. "-Don't- give them an excuse to get rid of you. Just do what you have to do to win."

"Lance, stop it..."

But Lance wasn't about to give up on this issue. No way. If he couldn't win this game, he wanted to make sure Amy did. Right now, that was just about all he had to look forward to.

"Amy," he smiled, "You're a phenomenal woman. You're a caring mom and a trustworthy friend." And at this point Amy couldn't hold back anymore. Now she started to bawl. She held her hands up to her face and cried as Lance continued. "... And I want to chat with you again soon, but I'd rather it be with you in that winner's circle. I don't want to see you on that jury, Amy. Do you hear me?"

Amy nodded slowly, still crying. Her hands still covered her eyes. She couldn't bear to look at him right now.

"So take my advice," he said, slowly drawing her into a hug. "The votes aren't there... so just go with the majority. There's nothing you can do to save me anymore."

Amy still shook her head against him. She wasn't going to do it. No matter what he said.

"Well I can't say anything else," Lance said, "Because I know you'll do what you want to do." He smiled. "You're too stubborn for your own good sometimes."

Amy laughed, tears still in her eyes.

"But no matter what I say tonight at Tribal Council," Lance said, "Just be aware that it doesn't apply to you. It -only- applies to the Kamiyas, so don't take it personally."

"I won't."

Lance smiled.

"Good," he said. "Well... I don't think there's much more I can do here, so I have to go get to work. I've got plans for today. There's stuff I kind of need to get done."

"Really?" Amy looked surprised.

"Yeah," smirked Lance, "I've seen enough poor sportsmanship in this game, so I kind of had a plan for today... if today ever came."

He turned to look over towards the mainland.

"I'm gonna go over there and gather food," he said. "And then I'm gonna go gather up some firewood. And then when I'm done, I'm gonna bring it all back here and make sure you guys are set for a while."

"What?" Amy looked confused.

"Because they called me lazy," Lance admitted, "And they questioned my work ethic. So I'm gonna -prove- to them that I can work as hard as anyone here. I want to show them how unfair that was, and I don't really want you guys to suffer anymore the next few days." He shrugged. "So if I have to kill myself to prove my worth to the tribe today, I'm gonna do it. And most of all, I'm gonna leave this game with my head high in the air."

He scowled.

"Because I want to make -sure- they know they didn't break me."



^^



Lance set off for the mainland just after lunch. He loaded himself into a fishing boat... hooked up a second supply ship behind to carry supplies, and started the long, lonely paddle all alone across the sea.

"Look at him," Michelle joked, as she and the Kamiyas sat on the beach, relaxing over their win. "He's not even -trying- to save himself today." She turned to Mike and grinned. "What a freaking crybaby."

Mike chuckled.

"So what's the plan for the vote tonight?" Michelle teased, turning towards the rest of her alliance. "Are we voting for Mike or are we voting for Lance?" And the sudden hurt look that flashed across Mike's face was more than enough payoff... as Michelle laughed and clapped him on the back. "I'm just joking!" She patted Mike on the knee. "You'll be okay. This will be an easy one."

"Um, I think I'll probably vote for Lance," Joni deadpanned.

"I can't believe Lance went on that rant yesterday," Michelle smiled. "I mean, what a moron, he slit his own throat! He pretty much just made me -more- determined to vote him out." She paused, then added with a cold smile, "But unlike the last few... this one I will -thoroughly- enjoy."

"Yeah," nodded Isabella.

"But I'm perfectly safe tonight," Mike smiled, nervously, "Right?"

"Of course!" Michelle said. "Lance has the shittiest attitude. You're always positive. Plus he's given up, he's a pain and I'm tired of us feeding him all the time. He should have been booted out of here a long time ago. There's no way you're going home tonight." She turned to look at him. "None!"

"Well if I do go," Mike said, "One of you guys please put Mario in the garden for me. One of you please take care of my gnome."

"You're -not- going!" Michelle said.

"No way," Isabella shook her head. "You're safe, Mike."

Mike looked somewhat reassured... but he was -never- really 100% convinced around this crowd. He trusted Michelle, sure, but certainly not Isabella... and certainly not Joni. He didn't trust those two as far as he could throw them. But for now he just nodded, confidently. He would just have to trust them on this. That was pretty much all he could do right now.

And as the Kamiyas dispersed to go about their daily tasks, they broke up happily. They broke up confidently. One look at a dejected Lance rowing across the sea was pretty much all they needed to see right now. That picture was worth a thousand words, and the Kamiyas were completely comfortable with what was about to happen tonight.

"Hey Michelle, can I talk to you?"

It was Isabella.

Mike and Joni had already left the beach and were well out of earshot, so Isabella knew this was time for some action. As with always, it was time to start looking ahead. Lance was dead meat tonight and everybody knew it. So why not use this time to start looking ahead to the -next- vote instead? After all, final five was more interesting than the final six anyway. Isabella would often laugh about that in her confessionals. And after Lance went home tonight, the game was about to get fun...

"Joni has been asking me to get Amy in on this vote," Isabella confessed to Michelle, "And I think she wants to make this unanimous. But it's really starting to worry me..."

"Why?"

"Because she wants Amy in -too- badly," Isabella said. "It's really spooking me too." She tried to look panicked. "Michelle, do you think Joni is worried about me, you and Mike as a threesome? Do you think Joni is planning some sort of a countermove?"

"No way," Michelle shook her head. "Not Joni. She's -always- been the most loyal Angel. Plus she's like a kid sister. I don't think she'd try something like that, it's just not like her."

"Ah okay," Isabella nodded. Then she paused. She paused for a long moment, wanting Michelle to think about this for a little bit. And then, with calculated precision, Isabella added the kicker. "I just hope you're right. Because she's really good at this game, and it worries me..."

Michelle nodded.

"Well anyway," Isabella smiled, "I need to go do some stuff before the vote. So I'll see you later."

"Gotcha," Michelle said. Then with a laugh, she added her new favorite inside joke. "Have fun... but watch out who you kiss! Don't kiss any girls on the way!!"

Isabella sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked away. Sure, Michelle was fun. Sure, Michelle made her laugh. And sure, Michelle was the best final two opponent she could hope to find in Okinawa. But despite all the plusses... despite all the laughs... despite all that...

... Sometimes Michelle didn't know when to let things drop.



^^



Lance returned to the island just before dinnertime. And as promised, in his boat he carried stacks and stacks of firewood. He had been slaving away over at the mainland for nearly five hours and now he was exhausted. But as much as he just wanted to go lay down, he also knew he had a point to prove. So he lugged the first bundle of wood up into his arms, and started to carry it over to camp.

After his sixth bundle, he was suddenly joined by Isabella. She had seen him carrying all the wood over to camp and had been curious. It was such an odd thing to do on your last day... and this had piqued her interest. She had never seen something like this in the game of Survivor. Plus, despite his near-constant sense of pessimism, there were certain aspects about Lance that she had always liked. So she decided to walk over and help him out. And she did her best to help carry the wood, the two of them chatting amicably as they walked together across the sand.

"... You know what my wish is?" Lance said as he walked, "My wish is that everybody who leaves this game can learn from their mistakes. I hope that everybody can walk away with something greater than just the game. I hope it changes people from who they are."

"That kind of reminds me a song I've always liked," Isabella smiled. "About people not being perfect..."

She paused, trying to remember the words.

"It goes," she recalled, "The heart may freeze, or it can burn. The pain will ease, If I can learn."

"That's nice," Lance nodded. "And I'll keep it in mind." He turned to look at her. "I hope you do too. Keep it in mind, I mean."

"Oh I do," Isabella said, actually letting her guard down for a moment. "I try to learn a little bit from everything I do."

"There's a lesson to be learned from everything in one's life."

"I totally agree," smiled Isabella. She actually paused now, letting the gravity of Lance's words sink in. For while she -did- find him incredibly hypocritical at times, she also knew that Lance was a deep person. He was a thinker, and she had always liked that about him. He was philosophical, just like she was. And sometimes she wished they had started on the same team together...

"And I know it isn't going to help much," Lance finally muttered, "But since you're a person of morals and values I figure I have to ask..."

"Sure."

"I ask you to please vote for Mike tonight instead of me," Lance said. "I know it would be tough, but all I can do is ask you to vote based on morals... and not based on which players have been the most cutthroat out here."

Isabella didn't respond right away. She just continued to walk.

"You have to know," Lance added, "That Michelle has a final two deal with everyone. You -have- to know that, right?" He turned to look at her. "When she says final two... she means for as long as she needs you. -Please- don't let her deceive you like that. I don't want it to happen to you too."

Isabella remained silent.

"And they've all mentioned at times," Lance reported, truthfully, "That they will take you out at the final four. And they don't think I know this but I do. They won't give you a chance to win at all, Emma. They will -never- let you get that close to the end."

Isabella still said nothing.

"I know it's probably futile," Lance murmured, "But you're kind of all I can count on tonight. And I know you're a good person with a good head on your shoulders... so be sure to think about what you're doing tonight. Be sure to think about if I've ever lied to you, and what you think the right thing to do is, and just vote with your heart. That's all I can really ask you to do." He shrugged. "Please just do the right thing."

He had said his piece now, and there was no reason to beg. So he simply stopped talking. Isabella was going to do whatever she wanted tonight. He couldn't control her and he knew he'd be a fool to even try. But he would have kicked himself if he hadn't at least tried. After all, philosophers and deep thinkers were supposed to stick together. Right?



^^



The tribe left for Tribal Council just after dusk. And they left behind a campsite that was stocked to the brim with living supplies. Lance McHale had left them with a week's worth of firewood, a newly renovated shelter roof, and enough oranges and sugarcane to last at least two more days. In short, he had proven his point. He wasn't lazy at all. And he hoped they were smart enough to at least let him go out with his dignity tonight at the vote.

As the tribe landed on the shore of Okinawa, Amy finally came up to Lance with a message to deliver. And as with before... she had tears in her eyes. It had been a rough day for Amy Twieg, even rougher than the day Lance had had. She had spent the majority of the day alone, crying, either near the beach or swimming in the ocean. But now, after a long day of deliberation... and Lance's request to vote for him still ringing in her ears... Amy finally had a decision she wanted to tell him.

"I'm not going to vote for you," she said.

Lance tried to protest but Amy wasn't going to have any of it.

"No!" she whispered. "Don't even try to talk me out of this. I -know- you released me from my commitment but that doesn't make it any better." She smiled. "Loyalty is -more- than a verbal commitment, Lance. I'm a Sato and I always will be. They'd have to kill me before I wrote your name down on that card."

Lance smiled somewhat but still looked alarmed.

"Don't worry," Amy shook her head, "I have a plan to take them down at final five. I think I have it figured out..."

"Okay," said Lance, "But be careful. Don't underestimate them. Don't underestimate Michelle."

"I won't."

"And Amy..." He paused, then smiled. "Thank you."

"No," she smiled, leaning in to give him a goodbye hug, "Thank -you.- Thank you for letting me know you in Okinawa. That's meant more to me than anything else in this game."

"I feel the exact same way."

"And if you can do me a favor..." Amy smiled, kissing her friend on the cheek, "Please keep Matt and Hogan company for me. And let them know I will -not- be ending up on the jury anytime soon. Tell them that I'll be fighting for all of Sato now." She set her jaw. "And I'll be honored to fight for -all- of us."

And with that, the two friends shared a smile, a hug, and entered the temple... hand in hand.



^^



Jeff's questions for the evening were going to be a little more personal than usual. And he warned the Miyagis of this right off the bat. He warned them almost the minute they had all taken their seats.

"We've had a few Tribal Councils by now," he grinned, "And if there's -one- thing we have learned so far, it's that you guys are -experts- at dodging questions."

A few players laughed, nervously. In the jury box the three jurors looked on in silent witness.

"So tonight," Jeff said, "We'll be doing something different. Tonight... you six will be speaking directly to the jury. Not directly -at- them, but this is for their benefit more than mine." He looked at the jury, and then back at the players. "Tonight you guys will be presenting yourself to jury, as you sit, on day thirty-three."

He paused, shrugging.

"So you can dodge tonight's questions all you want... but I don't know if they'll be really happy about it. This is for -your- sake." He nodded. "It's time to start showing everyone why you still belong in this game."

Matt and Ryan exchanged a wicked smile in the jury box. Next to them Hogan shot an angry glare at Joni. It looked like the jurors were going to enjoy tonight's answers very much indeed.

And though Lance intended to go out with silent dignity... he really couldn't resist a few not-so-subtle digs at the Kamiyas on his way out. He hadn't really intended to, but once the questions were there... well he just couldn't resist.

"So why don't you guys tell the jury," Jeff asked, "Why you -aren't- a juror right now. What did they do wrong that you have yet to do?"

"I'm not a juror yet," Lance said, "Because of honesty and integrity." He smiled, bitterly. "But for the same reasons I'm sure I'll be joining them tonight." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in with the jury. "The backstabbing seems to have prevailed over the sportsmanship in Okinawa. And it reached its peak last vote with Hogan." He shot a quick glare at Joni. "Hogan trusted somebody... and they turned their back on him. So what's happening in the game is some people are living their life at a lower level than the others, and -that's- how you end up winning the game in Okinawa."

And Michelle was quick to rebut Lance's answer. No way was she going to let -this- little diatribe go unopposed.

"Ryan is in the jury," she explained, "Because he was turned on by a Kamiya. Matt and Hogan are there because they fell on the short side of the votes. Plus Hogan was a threat." She shrugged. "So what do you want me to say, that we're better players? No. But I can say that -I'm- here because I can adapt to situations and twists. I can think clearly even when the Wheel throws us for a loop." She turned to shoot a glare at Lance. "So if you're asking why we're here as individuals, you have to look at the big picture. Don't just look at what's immediately in front of you. I could just as easily be up in that jury if certain events hadn't gone my way in this game."

"Well then tell me this," Jeff smiled, "Including tonight's vote... eight of the last nine boots will have been a male. Is there any correlation there? Does that surprise any of you? Joni?"

"Uh, yeah..." Joni smiled. "It surprises me a little bit. I hadn't really thought of it that way." She looked at the jury, nervously. "What I guess it proves is that ultimate survival doesn't mean the most physically strong survive." She laughed. "I mean, just look at me and tell me that isn't the truth."

"So why have the females succeeded?" Jeff followed up. "And why have the males failed?"

"I don't think it's about gender," Amy answered, "That's like asking why the brunettes have succeeded but the blondes haven't. There's no real answer."

"The women are some of the best players in the game," Mike said, "They're likeable... and they silently control the tribe, whereas the men don't."

"What I think," Michelle added. "Is that the men made themselves early targets by being immunity threats." She paused. "Either that or their past actions ended up catching up with them."

And though the rest made some good and valid points, Lance decided to be as blunt with his answers as he could.

"The women have succeeded," he answered, "Because a few of them have decided they will do anything... and I mean -anything-... to win." He shot another glance at Michelle, who was now starting to get royally pissed off. "And if they reach the finals, Jeff, they -will- have to own up to their actions. Make no mistake about it."

Jeff could sense the tension in the room now, as Michelle and Lance exchanged another angry glare. And as always, Jeff was -more- than happy to start exploiting this. After all, he was the host. That's what he was -supposed- to do!

"So Lance said earlier," Jeff said, turning to Michelle, "That you had final two deals with multiple people here. He's been throwing that accusation around a lot tonight, and you don't look happy about it. So how do you respond?"

"Lance has made a lot of accusations towards me," Michelle said, "And do you know what?" She turned to look at Lance. "I don't really -care- about what he says. I never have and I never will!" She shook her head. "He's accused me of making all these deals and it's ridiculous. For me to do that would be stupid! Because to get to the end I would have to break all these supposed "deals" and then the jury would hate me!"

"They already do..." Lance baited her.

"What Lance has done," Michelle spoke over him, "Is try to create another Danigate. He's been trying to turn the tribe against each other and I'm frankly just sick of it. It's the act of a desperate man. It's the act of a someone who knows he is going home. It's Lance trying to save himself and that's -all- it is."

The jury looked on in amused fascination as Jeff now turned to Lance.

"So how do you respond to that, Lance? How do you explain the last three days?"

"I can explain my actions," he stated, "As me coming to people that have been talking behind my back, instead of to my face. I just wanted one person in particular to speak to me like a grown adult. But instead she chose to run around like a fifth grader and gossip..."

"Oh, please," Michelle retorted.

"And this same person," Lance raised his voice over her, "Indeed -does- have multiple final two deals with all of you. You all don't realize you're being played. And if you're too scared to take a chance and go against her..."

"Jeff, this is stupid..." Michelle interrupted

"... Then you will be the next ones to go!" Lance said loudly. "if nobody stands up and takes her down, you'll follow me right out the door." He paused, then grinned. And now he delivered the kicker. "Because this same person once tried to cut a final two deal with me... and asked me to keep it on the down-low. She did it because she needed me, and now she'll deny it up and down. So take a stand tonight. Just think about what you're hearing tonight..."

"This is Survivor!" Michelle interrupted. "It's not day camp, Jeff. Someone is voted out at -every- Tribal Council. That part never changes!"

She shot one last glare at Lance.

"And Lance may not like how others got here. He may not like that people don't play -exactly- like him. But we're here because we played the game and no, not everybody will agree on the styles that are used."

She turned to the jury now.

"So if people don't like me," she said, "Or like how I play the game... then too bad. I'm not wasting any sleep over it. This is me, take it or leave it. And -this- is how I play the game."

Jeff halted the rest of the questions before things started to get out of hand. It was clear that there was no love lost between Michelle and Lance... and he didn't want to lose control of things any worse than they already were. So that meant it was time to vote.

Michelle walked up to the ballot box first, her brow darkened and eyes blazing with anger at the argument she had just had with Lance. And it was no surprise that her comments tonight were more venomous than usual. For she hated Lance McHale. She hated him with a passion right about now.

"Lance," she said, holding up her ballot, "You are a dipshit. You are the biggest dipshit to ever play this game. In fact it's a sin to allow dipshits like you to play this game... because you're so incredibly stupid." She paused to catch her breath, then angrily continued. "You're stupid to think we all don't know Mike has multiple deals too. And you're stupid to think that Emma, Joni, Amy, and Mike don't know I have various deals with everyone else. But they -all- know this, Lance. It's not a secret!" She shook her head, smiling. "You've underestimated the intelligence of everyone else here!"

She laughed, mockingly.

"So Lance, you're a fuckup and I'm glad to see you go. And yes, this vote is personal. One... for your repeated attacks and outbursts at me. And two... because you voted out Chris." She smirked at the camera. "So good-bye you stupid dipshit. Get the heck out of my face. You are NO LONGER WELCOME! Buh-bye!"

She slammed her vote into the box with a thud, then angrily returned to her seat.

Mike was the second one to vote, though his comments for Lance were significantly different.

"I was hoping I'd never have to vote for you," he shrugged. "But the wheel made it you against me... and it looks like I have no choice. Sorry."

Third one to vote was Joni, who was no more of a Lance fan than Michelle was. And she scrawled down his name in angry black lettering, before holding it up to the camera.

"Honesty and integrity," she explained, "Are qualities that I value a great deal because of my religion. And I'm not excusing my actions... but honesty and integrity have -no- place in this game." She shook her head. "So don't accuse me of things I haven't done. Don't throw the honesty word in my face like a weapon. And don't ignore me for thirty days and expect me to feel sympathy for you. You say you know this game... so how can you not know that people -won't- be completely honest?"

She paused, shrugging.

"Yeah that's right. People lie. People aren't honest. And it stinks. But for you to assume otherwise is like Joanna not liking the Immunity Idol back in the Amazon. What game did you think you were playing when you signed up?"

She angrily placed her ballot in the box.

"So you can go home thinking you played an honorable game. Good for you, Lance, I hope you're proud of yourself. And oh..." She grinned. "Have fun in the loser lodge. Say hi to everybody for me, alright?"

She ended with small little mocking wave, then returned back to her seat.

The fourth to the podium was Amy Twieg. And, as promised, she would not be voting for her friend Lance tonight. Without any other choice, she was forced to write Mike's name down instead. And then she held up the card.

"I'm sickened that I have to do this," she said. "You deserve to be here Mike, but I just can't vote for Lance. Lance was the one person I wouldn't turn my back on." She shook her head, disgusted. "So Mike, don't take this personally. If you go tonight it's not because of me. If you go tonight it's because your alliance turned on you earlier than I thought they would. But anyway, I'm sure we'll both be here after tonight. So I'll see you tomorrow."

Lance McHale cast the fifth vote, and his sentiments echoed the ones of the only other male in the game. His comments was almost word for word the same as Mike's.

"Since you're the only other one I can vote for," Lance explained, "My vote goes to you. I'm sorry."

And the last vote came from the pen of Isabella Smith. As usual, she would be casting the final ballot tonight. And as usual, her vote would end up being the deciding one. After all, she sat on the end for a reason. She always loved being the important one!

"Lance," she said, holding up the fatal vote, "You're basically a good guy. But then again you being in this game has always been like a missionary trying to live among a tribe of cannibals. But hey, you've done your best. You've tried to reform us and you've -definitely- tried to make us see the errors in our ways..."

She paused.

Then smiled.

"And though we all may be less than perfect... you have to remember the cannibal law. And that is to eat or be eaten. And I'm sorry Lance, but tonight..."

She placed the ballot in the box.

"... You're the one on the menu."



^^



The actual reading of the votes could have been suspenseful, but the players knew the outcome as well as the jurors did. Everybody knew Lance was going home, so Jeff didn't even try to draw it out. He pulled out the first four ballots... and all of them were for Lance. It was four and out, and that was it. Neither of the Mike votes were even shown.

"Lance," said Jeff, "That's enough. Please bring me your torch."

Lance stood up now, letting out one last sigh. He then hugged Amy goodbye, whispering his very last words of encouragement into her ear.

"It's up to you now. Win it for Sato. You're all we have left now."

And then he reached for his torch... but it was already out of its holder. It was already in Michelle's hands. She glared at him one last time, before placing the torch in his right hand. Then she whispered something into his ear.

"You gave Chris his torch," she said, "And I'm giving you yours. Because Chris was my friend."

And that being said, she sat down. And she smiled... because she had been waiting a -long- time to say that. Her revenge against the Satos was nearly complete. Only one more lousy Sato to go.

Lance brought his torch up before Jeff, where it was finally snuffed out for good. Lance McHale was now officially out of the game. But before he left, Lance had one more thing he wanted to say. He had one more message he wanted to deliver. And like Michelle, this was one he had been waiting a -long- time to say to the rest of the group.

"I just wanted to say," he smirked, "That is any of you bring Michelle to the final two... or if any of you -face- her in the final two, my vote will go to Michelle." He turned to look at her, watching as her face again started to redden. "Because she would have had to play -all- of you to get there. So if she gets to the final two, remember that she's -definitely- getting my vote."

And at that, Lance was done.

He gave one last sad little wave to Amy, who responded with a wave of her own. Then Lance exited the game, football under his arm, and was soon gone down the long, lonely path. Soon he was gone for good.

And now... the game was down to five.

"Well," said Jeff, after letting Lance's last comment soak in for a few seconds among the players, "You guys have officially done it. You're down to the last week in the game, as well as the final five." He smiled. "And from what I've heard tonight... I get the sense that the game has really yet to begin for some of you."

Mike nodded.

Amy smirked.

Isabella smiled.

"So I'll see you guys tomorrow. Good luck."

The Miyagis packed up and started their dark voyage back to camp. And the five of them... four Kamiyas and a Sato... all looked forward to the start of the day tomorrow. They all looked forward to the final five. They all looked forward to the return of single immunities. But most of all, they looked forward to the roaring fire Lance had built for them before they left for the vote. Because tonight was going to be cold. And tonight was going to be wet. A big storm was headed their way, possibly the largest they had seen since the start of the game.

And as the rain started to pour down on their heads, the tribe was -more- than thankful for Lance's generosity. Because he had reinforced the fire shelter with palm leaves before he had left. He had made their entire campsite extra waterproof, just in case something like this happened while he was gone. He had done exactly as he said. He had done everything he had planned to do. And he also had made his point...

... Because Miyagi now had enough firewood to last the final six days of this game.








Visit the Okinawa Official Homepage for Lance's final words and all the cast bios. Also check out the Official Okinawa Message Board for behind-the-scenes info, trivia, cast interaction, and to submit questions for Lance's Early Show interview. His post-game interview will be up in a few days.

Episode Twelve ("Friends to the End") debuts around April 30th.