Survivor: Okinawa
Episode #3b - Revenge of the Outcasts
by Mario Lanza



Sato Tribe (green): Christopher Collins, Murtz Jaffer, Henry Jenkins, Lance McHale, Hogan Mueller, Joni Newman, Amy Twieg
Kamiya Tribe (yellow): Matt Carter, Michelle Kin-Fraley, David McDaniel, Ryan Rebez, Mike Ruff, Isabella Smith, Beth Sowles

DAY 8 - Afternoon


Ryan Rebez sat on a small bluff, overlooking the beach. From this vantage point-- his personal favorite on the island-- he could see the entire landscape stretched out before him. And much to Ryan's surprise, few of the Kamiyans had discovered this spot yet. Which was a shame, because you could see -everything- from up here.

To the south stretched the ocean. Just miles and miles of blueness, crested over with whitecaps as it rolled gently to shore. To the west was the Okinawan jungle... mainly populated with thickets of bamboo and large willowy banyan trees. To the north was the Japanese mainland... just a large faceless lump visible across the horizon. And to the east, just below him, lay the Kamiyan campsite. Ryan could see it from up here, as he was looking almost directly downwards into the small valley.

And he was happy.

There was a reason Ryan hiked up here most every day. At least once every afternoon, he tried to make it up here to his favorite spot. His perch. And it was pretty up here, sure. It was good exercise, of course. But in Ryan's mind, it was a lot more than that. In his mind... this was his spot. This was his throne. This bluff was Ryan's place to look down upon his players and decide what he wanted to do with them. Because each day, he would have a new goal in mind. Each day, he would have a new mission. Each day, Ryan would find some new way to amuse himself within the parameters of the game of Survivor.

So yes-- every day Ryan Rebez got to play God with the hapless fools of Kamiya, and he was loving every minute of it.

"We got three new tribemates this morning," he said distractedly, as he watched the player movement down in the valley. He was watching to see who was doing what. Just taking notes, as it were. "Three Satos came to live with us, along with our favorite leader Mike. That's right, the king is back... and the game begins anew."

Ryan was silent for a while as he watched his new Kamiya tribemates. Three of them there were... and a strange trio they had already turned out to be. Beth, Matt and David were all completely different from one another... and Ryan had spent all afternoon trying to figure out how they fit in. How did these three fit in to the power core of Sato... and most importantly, who was the dominant one of the three? That had been Ryan's mission all morning, to determine the lion at the head of the pack. Which one would need to be taken out first?

"Beth," observed Ryan, "Is kind of a fun motherly person. She's in her early forties but she acts a lot younger. Although after a while you figure out she's got that “trying too hard to be cool” motherly aura to her. She doesn't act her age... but I see her as a player. She definitely knows what's going on."

Ryan watched as Beth was cozying up to Isabella down below. The two women laughed at a joke that Beth made, with Isabella raising a hand to her mouth in embarrassment. Then Ryan turned his eyes towards Matt... that enigmatic young kid with the red hair. So far, the Kamiyans hadn't figured out what to make of Matt Carter. He was a riddle. A complete mystery. Matt had the most bizarre sense of humor and was almost impossible to have a conversation with thus far. Isabella had gone so far as to call him "strange," and Mike didn't know what the hell to make of the guy. And in his short time here, Matt had already managed to baffle the Kamiyans.

"Our friend Matteo," noted Ryan, "Looks and talks like a frickin’ mongoloid. He's got a good sense of humor, but the guy's just weird. Although on the -plus- side, he's just a kid-- so I'm gonna have a lot of fun making his head spin in circles. He'll be be fun to play with. Lucky me, it looks like I got a puppy for Christmas."

Ryan watched as Matt walked down to the beach, alone. Matt seemed to do most everything alone. Ryan thought maybe he was a little depressed from leaving Sato. He certainly looked to be a little ho-hum about the whole thing.

"And then there's McDavid," smiled Ryan.

He glanced down at David McDaniel, who was carefully plotting something out with Mike behind the firepit. And Ryan wasn't surprised at all. David had had that look in his eyes since the moment he got here... that look of a player. Ryan had recognized it almost instantly. It was the same look Isabella had in her eyes. The same look that Mike had in his eyes. And David most -definitely- had it in his eyes as well.

"Our friend David is currently trying to save his beloved Satos," noted Ryan. He nodded with his head, for the camera crew to take a look. "He's been all over Mike for some time already. And he's trying to hide it... trying to hide behind his 'Hey I brought a flag, let's all be friends' image, but deep down he knows he's screwed. He knows he's in trouble."

Ryan had been vacillating between David and Matt for some time now... trying to figure out which one of the two was the brains behind the organization. Because he, as well as everyone here, knew that the Satos were a fairly tight bunch. Beth, Matt and David were all acting scared already-- a good indicator that they were going to stick together. Ryan had already deduced that none of the three were going to flip sides to Kamiya... so it was going to make Ryan's job somewhat easier.

"Right now," he admitted, "I just want to find the leader. I want to find the head that we can chop off. Because when we throw this challenge tomorrow, I want to make sure they have no chance to get anything pulled together. I want to make sure they are beaten, and they -know- they are beaten. Because you only get one chance at a first strike, and we have to make sure it counts."

And in Ryan's mind, it seemed like David was obviously the leader of the bunch. Everything he did just screamed strategist. But at the same time... Ryan was still waffling on Matt. Was Matt just a kid with a weird sense of humor? Or was Matt simply laying low? The question had troubled Ryan to no end. But for now... after watching David shake hands with Mike, Ryan finally decided that David would be his first target. David was simply too dangerous. Ryan didn't like it one bit.

"So now," he said, "It's down to you and me, David. Or as we used to call you, Anti-David, in memory of our dear friend Mr. Roth." Ryan smiled. "Mr. McDaniel, you've officially become our first target. And I'll say right now that you and I are not going to like each other. It doesn't bother me though. Like me, you -also- seem like a bit of a prick. But you -are- going to have to be broken before you can get any momentum over here. So expect to have a few very interesting conversations with me, l’il buddy. Starting tonight. Mouse, it's time to meet cat."

Ryan stood up now, to start his long walk back to camp. He hummed happily to himself, pleased with the work that would have to be done. He wiped his hands off on his buff and started to walk down the trail to camp.

"As you can see," he said, "I've got all my ducks in row... and it's time to go hunting. It's time to dance, puppets, dance."


^^


Though Ryan spoke otherwise, for the most part the new Satos had been greeted with open arms upon their arrival. Matt and Beth, in particular, had feared the worst... but for the most part Kamiya had been -more- than accomodating to their new tribe members.

Michelle had been the head of the Kamiyan welcoming committee, and she had gone all out in preparation. She had gone out with Isabella all morning to gather pineapple. Then she had helped Ryan carve a giant "Welcome to Kamiya" sign to hang over the shelter. And then she had set out to create leis for their three new tribemates. Because Michelle wanted them to feel at home here. No matter who was coming, which three they would get, Michelle wanted to make the Satos feel welcome.

Because truth be told, she could really use a couple of new friends. She was already feeling lost without her beloved Angel Christopher. And she could -desperately- use some company right about now.

"To tell you the truth," she had admitted, "I was thrilled that we lost Dave Roth. I was just tired of putting up with him anymore. But losing Chris and Joni... that was something else. That was a rough one." She had smiled sadly, the tough woman trying her best not to get weepy again. Because she -hated- herself for showing emotion over this. That hadn't been her plan at all. Michelle Kin-Fraley wasn't -supposed- to get emotional. She simply didn't do that!

"I had to go for a walk this morning," she confessed, "And find a quiet place to sit. And I’m not an emotional person but I'll admit that I cried. Each time I -think- about Chris and Joni on the Satos, my heart just breaks. It still does, and I don't really know what to do. Right now my head is just spinning and I'm confused. I -never- thought I'd get so close to people in this game, let alone three people." She shrugged. "And right now I'm just -so- glad Emma is still with me. I don't know what I'd do without her. She's my only friend here."

So Michelle had put out the welcome mat for the new Satos... and had been the first to greet them upon their arrival. She had grinned from ear to ear as first Matt appeared, shambling through the trees in his trademark hockey mask.

"Psycho killer!" she called out. "Welcome to Kamiya!"

Matt looked up and waved, surprised. The Satos had never thought much of Michelle... from what they had seen at the challenges, anyway. They all thought she was surly and unfriendly. Kind of a bitch, as it were. But here she was, happily waving them over, and it caught Matt off guard.

"Hey, Mich!" called out Mike, from behind Matt. "Honey... I'm home!"

Michelle walked out and greeted them all with big hugs. She happily placed a lei around Matt's neck... with him leaning down to help of course. She then greeted Beth with a big hug and a lei. Then she hugged David, or Anti-David as she knew him. And heck, she was even glad to see Mike back. Who would have thought it? The sight of big gruff Mike almost brought another tear to her eye. Their Rupert was back!

"Oh wow," said Beth, as she caught her first glimpse of the campsite. "Are those -cots-?? You guys have cots?"

"Yeah," said Michelle, excitedly. And then she gave them a quick tour. She talked very fast when she was excited. "This was an old hospital tent from the war. We fixed it up and used some of the strips of tent to keep the roaches off at night."

Beth grimaced. "Roaches?"

"Oh don't worry about them." Michelle said, dismissively waving her hand. "Ryan torched them a while ago. We haven't seen any in a few days."

By now Isabella had shown up, and she greeted the new visitors with a smile and a hug as well. Everybody was here now but Ryan.

"This is our shelter," said Michelle, as she walked over to show them Mike's sturdy wooden hut. And you could tell by the look on the Sato faces that they were impressed. This shelter was -much- better than the piece of crap Sato would be sleeping under tonight.

"Wow," said Matt, as he inspected the walls. "Nice job, Bob Vila. You did this yourself?"

"Yup," nodded Mike, still not really excited to talk with Matt. After all, Matt had been brought here mainly as a sacrifice-- A sacrifice for daring to taunt Mike's gnome during the challenge. Mike just wasn't interesting in making friends with the guy. After all, you don't make a pet out of the chicken you're about to eat for dinner. That's just common sense.

"And these are our cots," said Isabella, as she pointed to the rickety items leaning up against the shelter. "We got two and one of 'em Mike had to fix up. And y'all are welcome to use them tonight, being new here and all."

"Oh that's awesome," grinned Beth. "I love it!" She was smiling from ear to ear, clearly excited about the cots.

"We have a -ton- of food, too," added Michelle. "Pineapples, sweet potatoes, fish, you name it. Our miss Emma is the queen of the jungle. She can find anything!"

"Awww," said Isabella.

"Seriously," said Michelle, "What do you want? We have four crabs over there, still uncooked. And I think Emma brought back about ten oranges today. We've got some shrimp too. So really it's your call."

And from the look on their faces, Michelle knew how bad it must be over on Sato. Matt's mouth was hanging open, just from the thought of fresh crab meat. Beth was speechless and even David... quiet, unassuming David... looked to be near tears. Crab meat? Shrimp? They had real food over here?? They had practically been eating sand over at Sato!

"Let's go," laughed Michelle. "We need to get you guys some food. This isn't Sato anymore. You're on the good tribe now. And tonight we're throwing a Halloween party. We're all gonna dress up in costume. So let's go eat!"

^^


The rest of the evening was mainly spent in introductions, as the Kamiya tribe started to form the basis of their new society. And Michelle was at the center of most of it, of course. She was clearly the social butterfly of the group. She tended to talk a lot. Isabella seemed nice enough too, and perfectly pleasant, but she didn't offer much about herself or the tribe. It was clear that she was kind of holding back for now... though nobody faulted her for it.

Mike seemed a bit grumpy and moody to the Satos, and they mostly stayed away from him. Whether it was the long walk, the fact that he had been an outcast, or just the stress of the last 24 hours... Mike wasn't really in the mood to talk tonight. He did his best but mainly was kind of lost in his own thoughts. No one spoke to him, because when Mike was sulky you figured out pretty quickly to just leave the guy alone.

And although Mike knew it was silly and childish, he really -did- feel a great deal of anger towards Matt over the whole gnome thing. For whatever reason Mike just did -not- like Matt Carter. At first it had been because of the hockey mask... that stupid mask that Matt wore nearly all day. And then it had been because Matt had carved the gnome head to wear at the last challenge.

"I'm not even sure why that bothered me so much," Mike had admitted. "But it really did. It almost seemed like a direct slap in the face. Like he was challenging me to beat him, and kind of rubbed my face in it. But the minute he started making fun of my gnome, I knew we would never get along. Once he turned it personal, I knew the two of us would never be friends."

In fact, one of the first things Mike had done upon his return was to bring out his old friend Mario, the gnome. He had unpacked it... carried it to the entrance of camp... and placed it down as a watchguard. Just like before.

Whether the Kamiyas liked it or not... the gnome was back.

"Don't touch it, firehead," Mike had growled at Matt. "The gnome stays here."

Mike had retreated into the shelter for a nap later, pretty much ignoring the rest of the tribe. He didn't have much to say right now. He didn't much care for Matt... and Beth he didn't find all that interesting either. But he -did- expect to speak to David later. And it wasn't because David was all that interesting to him. No, it was because David had been trying to catch his eye for about an hour now. David had clearly been trying to pull Mike aside for a chat, which Mike had ignored.

Besides, he knew what David would be asking.

Just from their walk through the jungle, Mike had already figured out that David was the brains of this particular organization. It didn't take an Einstein to figure that out. Beth had talked incessantly throughout the walk, either out of nervousness or just general friendliness. Matt had piped up whenever needed, usually with some joke that nobody got or some comment that Mike found inane.

But David had remained quiet for most of the walk, and Mike's radar had gone off almost immediately.

-That's- the strategist, he had thought. The one being quiet. He's the leader here. And he's trying to lay low.

So now that they were here, Mike knew that David would come to him and offer some sort of deal. It was just a matter of time. David would be a fool not to. Mike could even picture it in his head, word for word how it would probably go.

"You were the outcast," David would say, "And that means they don't have plans for you. But if you come with us, I can help you out. Stick with us and we can help you get revenge on Kamiya. Because I know they hurt you. Just give me a chance and I'll be able to help you out. We can work together on this."

So the pitch would come... most likely sometime tonight. But Mike wasn't worried. Because unlike Henry, Mike knew he -wasn't- the outcast. He had been chosen specifically because he -was- so well respected. Mike wasn't going to fall for the pitch, and David was going to be shit out of luck. All the Satos were. They didn't yet know it, but their time here was going to be very unpleasant indeed.

The plan was already in place. And it had all been decided beforehand. The Satos didn't stand a chance.

"Mike?" said a voice.

Mike opened his eyes now, having been dozing lightly in the shelter. He looked up and saw Isabella. She was smiling at him, and he couldn't help but smile back. If he had -one- soft spot in his heart out here, it was for the young woman he knew as "Emma." She had a good heart, and he liked that in her. Even if he didn't know her all that well yet.

"Oh, hey Emma. What's up?"

"Mike," she said, "I -know- you probably had something to do with why Henry didn't take me to Sato." She smiled. "I have a pretty good idea you and Henry knew what was coming, didn't you?"

He smiled, looking proud of himself. But he didn't say a word.

"Well," she continued, "I just want to thank you for helping me out. I really appreciate it, and I'm real glad you got to come back. We missed you here."

"All I really did," he said, "Was keep you a mystery. I didn't even mention you. I don't think Henry even knew your name."

"Yeah."

"And I hated giving them Joni," Mike lied, "But I wanted to make sure you stuck around for sure. That was my main goal."

"Well," smiled Isabella, in her normal soft-spoken manner, "All today and yesterday I thought you were going to Sato, and I just felt -terrible-. When you left, my heart just dropped. So I'm so glad it ended up being a good thing for us. Thank you -so- much for watching my back." She now winked at him. "And please remember I will always do the same for you."

"Don't worry about it," he said. "And thanks for the hug. That was what did it. When you hugged me goodbye that had a -huge- effect on why I wanted to keep you."

"Well welcome home," she said, and then she walked over to give him another hug. "Welcome home, Mike."


^^


It was around dinnertime when the three ex-Satos finally had a moment to meet up. With all the excitement surrounding their arrival to camp, they had been very careful not to gather in one place yet. They had tried their best to stay a part of the group until it was safe, and now it appeared to be so.

"Where's Mike?" asked Beth. She looked worried.

"He's taking a nap," said David. "Don't worry about it. I just checked. He's out."

"Okay," said Beth.

Matt returned from the firepit now, looking happy. He had been on sentry duty all afternoon... and finally the last of the Kamiyas had drifted away. Ryan had retreated off to go for a walk, and now the Satos were alone. Mike was sleeping, Isabella and Michelle were gathering fruit for the Halloween party, and Ryan was off to wherever he liked to go.

Now, it was time to strategize.

"So here's how I see it..." David began. He huddled in close to Beth and Matt, so as to keep their voices low. He liked their new Kamiya tribemates so far... but he didn't trust them a bit. He wanted to make sure this conversation stayed between the three Satos for now.

"Mike is the one we need to go with," he finished. "I don't see any other options. I think he's the only one who will turn on Kamiya. And why not? He was the outcast."

Beth nodded, as did Matt. They were already deferring to David's leadership over here. That much hadn't changed since they switched teams.

"And I know it looks kind of bleak," continued David, "But I think we're at a huge advantage here. Because Mike took three strong members of an alliance... and not Hogan or Lance. And the three of us are going to stick together, no matter what."

"Damn straight," nodded Matt.

"And what are the odds that these four were an alliance?" David asked. "Not very likely, if you ask me. There's probably a three person alliance here, plus one outsider. So it's -our- job to find that outsider."

"Mike," said Beth. "It's gotta be Mike."

"I think so," agreed David. "Because I know it's not Emma. She's too likeable. No way she's on the outside."

"It's not Michelle," said Matt. "She runs this place."

"And I don't think it's Ryan either," concluded David. "And it isn't so much that he's told me as it is body language. I don't think he and Mike get along very well. If you watch the two of them, I think they've had issues before."

The Satos were silent as they digested this information.

"Beth," asked David finally, "Have you talked to any of them?"

"I talked to Michelle some," she admitted. "She seems nice. And I talked to Emma for a while, but we ended up just talking about her cat." Beth laughed. "She has an orange cat named Fred, that's about all I got out of her."

"Well then," said David, "Unless anyone objects, I'd like to make a play for Mike tonight. I think that's our best bet. Just bring it up with him and see how he responds." He paused. "Sound good?"

Matt shrugged. Beth nodded.

"And until then...?" asked Matt.

"Until then," suggested Beth, "Just make friendly with the natives and see what happens. That's all we can do."

"Joy," grimaced Matt.

"By the way," asked Beth, "Are you guys as worried about Amy as I am? What do you think Henry is doing to her over there?"

"Ugh," winced David, "I don't even want to think about it."


^^


As Kamiya settled in for a long night of uneasy peace, the Satos were having no such luck. Sato had always been Camp Drama... and with the new members of Sato now arriving, the camp was definitely going to live up to its nickname.

Especially when Henry was coming back for more.

"Oh man," sighed Amy, as she waited with Lance and Hogan to greet their new visitors. And there he was. There was Henry Jenkins, striding confidently through the grass. He carried his fishing spear in his right hand and was involved in an animated conversation with the newest female of Sato, Joni. The two of them walked alongside Christopher and Murtz, the four noble wanderers now arriving at their new home.

And Amy's stomach felt like it was in her shoes.

"Oh man," she kept muttering to herself, over and over. "Oh man. Not this. No more Henry. Please."

But he was here now. Henry walked ahead of the pack and greeted his old tribemates in turn. He gave Lance a big hug, as the two men were obviously excited to be teamed up again. He shook Hogan's hand. And then he turned to Amy.

The two locked eyes.

"Welcome back, Henry," she said, as bright and cheerfully as possible. But she could see in his eyes that he wasn't buying it for a second. Henry stared at her with eyes that could melt steel. He wasn't even -trying- to fake it.

"Hello, Amy," he said cordially. Then he smiled. "Nice to be back."

And as Henry turned away, Amy angrily berated herself for her stupidity. She was furious at herself. -Stupid! Why did you have to be so mean to him! Look what you've done!-

And as the three strangers arrived, it was Hogan who was the first to greet them. He walked up to Murtz, the thin dark-skinned man with the rimless glasses. Hogan reached out and shook hands.

"Hi, I'm Hogan. I'm the one who takes a crap every day. But don't laugh, because that's why I always have energy. Nice to meet you."

The Satos couldn't help but laugh at the look on Murtz's face. The guy was absolutely flabbergasted. He looked at Hogan with a strange mixture of revulsion and pity and quickly yanked his hand from Hogan's grip.

But Christopher wasn't so easily intimidated.

"Hogan," he said, coming over to give the young Eagle Scout a big hug, "My man! I'm Christopher, nice to meet you. And I also enjoy a good dropping of the anchor, if you know what I mean."

"Sweet," smiled Hogan.

"Ahem," said Joni, politely clearing her throat.

"Oh yeah," said Christopher. "You guys, sorry I forgot our introductions." He turned to Murtz. "This young man to my left is Dave Roth... or the Rothster as we call him. He's a teacher from Chicago."

"Nice to meet you," smiled Murtz. He exchanged handshakes with Lance and Amy... although he stayed far away from Hogan. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Hogan yet.

"And this sweet little thing to my right," nodded Christopher, "Is young miss Joni, straight out of Salt Lake City. She's a writer and she teaches dance."

"Hi," smiled Joni shyly. She raised a hand in a small wave.

But Amy Twieg suddenly looked interested at this introduction. Salt Lake City? Joni was from Salt Lake City? Did that mean...?

"Joni," she asked, "Can I ask? Are you Mormon?"

"Yeah," nodded Joni. "Why?"

"Oh, I was just curious. Because you're from Utah. I was just wondering."

And although Amy was downplaying it, inside her heart was leaping for joy. Because Amy had told few people this... only Lance really knew for sure... but Amy was -also- Mormon. She was not only a full-fledged member of the church, she -also- taught primary classes every week! And now she had another Mormon on the tribe? And a female one too? Amy made a quick mental note to make -best- friends with Joni. The two of them were going to be close. This one was going to be a no-brainer.

"I'm Amy," she smiled, "I'm a stay-at-home mom from Wisconsin. And I do programming on the side."

Lance stepped forward and smiled.

"I'm Lance," he said. "I teach pre-school in San Diego and I have a wife and two kids."

"And you know me," grinned Hogan. "I'm Hogan, the good looking one."

"And you all know me," said Henry. "At least I hope you do by now."

And with that, the introductions were complete. It was time to move on to chores. It was time for Sato to start up their routine again. Time to get back to business.


^^


They had been here less than three hours... and already the three ex-Kamiyans were upset. It hadn't taken long, of course, but they had already figured out one simple rule of life-- one tenet that would always ring true out here.

Camp Sato was a -heck- of a lot different than Camp Kamiya.

"They have no water around camp," Murtz ranted. "They don't do any chores! They just sit here and talk. Plus Hogan is reading fucking -WAR AND PEACE-! That's all he does! That, and take a crap every two hours."

"Yeah... our tribe was really all the smart people, wasn't it?" Christopher asked the question to Murtz, as the two men worked at running a fishing net through a nearby stream. "Is that how the teams were divided? We got the smart ones and Sato got the retards?"

Murtz laughed, although it was a bit forced. Because he was really in no mood to joke around. Murtz was in no mood to laugh.

"Are you still giving up?" Christopher asked. "Come on, I expect more from you. Let's go dude, show some spunk."

"I hate it here," Murtz spat. "I absolutely hate it. This is the most boring worthless group of people I have ever seen in my life. What a collection of losers. I am absolutely miserable."

Christopher sighed. He had been with Murtz on Sato for an hour, and he was already sick of the guy's whining. Because the guy wasn't kidding when he said he was miserable. For all intents and purposes, Murtz Jaffer appeared to have given up. He wanted out. He hated everything about Sato and hated the twist and hated that his alliance had been taken away from him.

Simply put, Murtz was already starting to pack it in. And it had already gotten old. Christopher was tired of him already.

"Mike screwed us," Murtz said. "Plain and simple, he screwed us. He dumped us here on purpose. This isn't fair man, we should just quit."

Christopher just rolled his eyes. Here we go again.

"I hate Henry the most," Murtz sulked. "This is all his fault. But I hate -all- of them. They sit around all day and don't do shit. They're all a big train wreck. Plus they're all young and stupid and nobody here deserves to be playing this game." He fumed. "And they -sure as hell- don't deserve to be in the majority over people like you and me!"

"No kidding."

"God damn Henry," Murtz again spat. "Asshole ruined our perfect game. I blame him for this entirely. And did you hear him this morning? He came to me and started giving me advice on how to play the game. He explained to me what an alliance was! What a dick!"

Christopher laughed. It was funny to see Murtz get worked up. Because once he started, he wouldn't be letting up for a while.

"Henry told me," continued Murtz, "That the best way for me to succeed was to start making friends. He said that he couldn't guarantee my safety right now but if I showed some effort he would see what he could do."

"God," said Chris, shaking his head. Henry was a piece of work, alright.

"And you'll probably fit in better than me, bro," Murtz said. He looked at Chris. "Because you can suck up better than I can. I bet they get rid of me first. Probably after I tell Henry to fuck off. Because I'm not gonna kiss his ass, man. I won't kiss -any- of their asses. Screw them if they want me to, I'd rather lose than suck up to these people."

"Just gotta play dumb," admitted Christopher. "That's all. Just lay low. Cause you know Kamiya will protect us. They're gonna throw the challenges and we'll all be here for a while."

"Yeah," nodded Murtz. But he didn't look convinced. He still appeared to have given up. Murtz simply didn't care right now. He just didn't care.

"What do you think of Hogan, by the way?" asked Christopher. "Do you think he's an act? Or is he really that stupid?"

"I don't know, man. He seems real enough to me."

"Well if he -is- an actor," Christopher said, "Then he's better than Leonardo was in 'What's Eating Gilbert Grape.' Cause the guy comes off like a total retard. And he -seems- like a sweet guy, but he's just dumb. Although I hope to god he's just playing a role."

Murtz was ignoring him now. He just appeared to be staring into the water. It was almost like he was hypnotized.

"I think it would be great if Hogan won," said Chris, trying to goad Murtz. "That would be good for the show. He'd be a better winner than Richard." But Murtz was in his own world now, he wasn't even listening. So Christopher simply shrugged and gave up.

Christopher soon got bored, said his goodbyes to Murtz, and walked away. That was enough. He could only take so much Murtz Jaffer at a time. But deep down he thought it was funny. Even though he missed Michelle and Emma and the Angels... and he wished he could be back on Kamiya... deep down Christopher Collins thought this latest twist in the game was -hilarious-.

"I only have one wish," he had said a few days ago, in a confessional. "Only one real goal in this game. And it is simple. Please, please do -NOT- let me end up with Dave in a switch situation! Please. I'm begging you!"

And of course, now it was here. The person who Christopher found to be the single most annoying human being on the face of the earth--- and now they were allies. Christopher and Murtz. The dream team. And if that wasn't bad enough...

"Dave still won't talk to Joni!" Chris vented in a confessional now. "I mean my God, it's just the three of us here and he doesn't give a crap about her! He won't consider her an ally because she doesn't meet his specifications of a player. And that's just total crap." Christopher often got angry when he defended his adopted little sister. Joni seemed to get crapped on more than anyone else out here, and it always made him angry. "Jones is probably the smartest player out here and nobody ever realizes that. She's probably going to waltz past everyone because the girl has a head on her shoulders. And for Dave to ignore her is just ridiculous. What an ass."

Christopher paused now, to let loose some of the pent up frustration he was feeling towards babysitting Murtz. Because that's what it was right now... babysitting. Murtz had no inclination at the moment to do anything. The guy was in shock and appeared incapable of adapting to his new tribe. Christopher's whole job right now was to keep Murtz from saying or doing anything stupid and... frankly... he was already tired of it.

"If someone had told me," explained Christopher, "That I would be stuck with Dave as one of my two major allies in this game, I would’ve asked them to kindly shoot me right between the eyes. And I’ve never had a migraine before, but spending this much time with him is starting to clue me in on what one might feel like." He frowned. "But look at the situation we're in right now. Murtz is a vegetable, Hogan spends all day taking a dump, Lance is duller than an unsalted potato chip, and Henry is an idiotic loose cannon. What am I supposed to do with these people??"

And Christopher and Murtz were not alone in their dislike for all things Sato. Life was not peachy for the third ex-Kamiya, Joni, either.

She hadn't given up yet, like Murtz.

She wasn't trying to plot yet, like Christopher.

But she was depressed. And coming from a girl who didn't -get- depressed, this was something new to her. Joni prided herself on always being upbeat in life. Of always smiling, always having energy, and always seeing things in a positive light. But at the moment, she didn't see much hope at all.

Joni had climbed a small rock behind the campsite and was perched atop it. And it was here that she spoke. For the first time in Okinawa, Joni gave a pessimistic confessional. For the first time ever, Joni was worried about her own safety.

"Well, I knew something was coming," she admitted, "But this sucks. This twist -really- sucks."

She sighed now, sadly. The 16-year old thought she was doing quite well for herself in this game. She had a wonderful alliance back on Kamiya-- the Angels. -Joni's- Angels. She had three great friends in Christopher, Isabella and (especially) Michelle. The four of them would have stuck together to the end, there was no doubt about it. An Angel would have won this game, plain and simple.

And now she was here. Torn away from the security of her alliance... and stuck with Murtz-- the one she disliked the most. Oh did he ever get on her last nerve. He had been the recipient of more and more of her angry glares lately, and this was something she had tried to repress. Because this was the Joni trademark-- the angry glare. She was well known for having a temper and well known for her not-so-subtle death glares when you annoyed her. And Joni got annoyed. She was very easy to annoy.

Especially when your name was Murtz.

"I suppose I can't be too pessimistic," she admitted, "But I just can't trust any of the Satos yet. I just don't know them... and they don't know me. The only one I've really talked to is Hogan. And he -seems- like a nice enough guy, but he has no reason to trust me." She sighed. "And unfortunately one thing I -do- know is that Dave Roth will try to screw us over. He'll sell us out the first chance he gets and that's just incredibly frustrating."

She turned towards camp and shot an angry glare, directed at Murtz. She didn't even realize she was doing it.

"All I can say is... this bites. I don't like Sato, and I don't like the position I've been put in. I just don't like it at all."


^^


As the day drew on, it was apparent that some things around Sato were just not going to change. Some things were already set in stone and no changes in tribe layout were going to alter them. And to Henry and Amy, this was not a surprise at all.

Despite all their efforts to get along, the rift between the two was simply not going to be fixed.

And to be fair, both of them -had- tried to patch things up today. The two of them had tried to have a pleasant conversation after lunch, and just talk about the state of the tribe. Because both of them knew that for appearances' sake, Sato needed to come off as a unified tribe. Sato -needed- to come off as an unassailable wall to the Kamiyas, or else bad things could happen.

"How was the tea ceremony with Mike?" she had asked, putting on her best happy smile. "What did you guys do?"

"Oh," said Henry, "It was really nice. A nice chance to clear my head."

"That's good. You probably needed it."

The conversation started a bit stilted, but eventually moved on to their new Sato teammates. Amy was curious what Henry thought of the three Kamiyas he had brought over-- and why he had chosen the way he had chosen.

"Well," he explained, "Luckily I broke apart their alliance. Mike gave me everything I needed to do it."

"You took all of them?"

"Maybe. I'm not sure if I took two or three alliance members. I haven't figured that out yet."

"Yeah," she nodded.

"I know that Joni was an outcast," he said. "I don't think she fit in. Mike claimed she didn't have many friends."

"What about Chris?" Amy asked. "He claims he's close with her."

"So he says."

"Well," she said, after another awkward pause, "What about Dave? What do you make of him?"

"The guy's pissed off," Henry said. "He is completely unhappy to be here and I don't really blame him. I get the sense he was in a good position over there."

"Yeah."

"It seems to me," Henry said, "That he's given up. He isn't really even trying to fit in. He's acting like Chicken Little right now, running around saying that the sky is falling."

Amy nodded. She had seen the same thing as well. She had already determined that Murtz wasn't a whole lot of fun to deal with.

"Well," she said, "I thought you did a great job picking. You took the same three I would have, and I think we're in a great spot. Good job."

And as the words came out of Amy's mouth, she hated herself for it. Kissing up to Henry... she couldn't even believe she was doing it. She was kissing the guy's ass. And for what? What was the purpose?

"Well," she smiled, excusing herself, "I promised Joni I'd go fishing with her this afternoon. So I'd better go... ya know... get some information from her. Maybe she'll talk to me."

"Joni's a good kid," Henry nodded. "I have a lot of respect for her. She'd be a good ally."

And as Amy left, she couldn't help but feel a wave of shame and self-loathing wash over her. Why on earth was she kissing up to Henry Jenkins? She considered herself a strong woman... and a self sufficient provider. After all, she was a single mother! Who knows more about survival than a single mother? And Amy hated that she was suddenly deferring to Henry over this. She -hated- it.

And at this moment, she finally made a snap decision. It was the decision she should have made earlier today. She decided that she was going to align with the Kamiyas. Screw Henry and screw Sato loyalty. Amy didn't care if it was risky... she just wanted Henry out. She just wanted Henry gone. She just didn't want to see his face around here anymore.

It was time to show she could live without his leadership... and it was time for Amy to stand up for herself. It was now time for action.

"Everything I thought was solid in this game is gone," she said, as she stopped for one impromptu confessional. "All my friends are gone, all the laughter is gone, and Sato is essentially dead. And I know we should be sticking together... but I could just spit nails at Henry for all of this. Because I -KNOW- he fed Mike the information to do it. He gave Mike everything he needed!" Her face was reddening at the thought of it all. "Talk about betrayal! And Henry gets on -us- for trying to tear the alliance apart! My gosh... it was -HIS- alliance in the first place. And then he hands Mike the keys to everything Sato stood for. It was stupid! Henry, it was a stupid, stupid move and I hope you get everything that's coming to you. You asked for it, buddy, so don't come crying to us later."

She saw Christopher off in the distance, which was good. Because he was the key to all of this. He was the Kamiya she respected the most. He was the one who wasn't Murtz.

"Henry," she said, ending the confessional, "I hope you realize you brought this all upon yourself."


^^


Amy's chat with Christopher was enlightening, to say the least. Because Amy spilled all of it. She fessed up about her rift with Henry. She fessed up that Henry had been voted dishonorable for a reason. She fessed up that Sato was not going to stick together... at all... and that she wanted to join with the Kamiyas. She wanted Henry out.

That was all she cared about. She just wanted Henry out of her hair for good.

"I'll see what I can do," assured Christopher. "Because I can probably get Joni. She isn't a Henry fan and I know she'd never team with Dave."

"Good," nodded Amy.

"Can you get anyone from Sato?"

Amy paused to think about it. She thought about her options. She thought about how much she wanted to say. Because she -did- have some information that she wanted to keep to herself. But at the moment she decided that this was the time for some disclosure. If she wanted Christopher to trust her, she had to start spilling some secrets.

"I can't get Lance," she admitted. "Because Henry and Lance are buddy-buddy. Lance won't vote for his friends and everyone knows it. Lance would rather be loyal than be strategic."

Christopher laughed. -Guess who won't be winning Okinawa-, he thought. -Thanks for playing, Lance. You sap.-

"But," smiled Amy, "I can get Hogan."

Christopher looked surprised. "Hogan?"

"Yeah," nodded Amy. "And I tell you this in strictest confidence, so don't go running to Dave."

"Hell no," spat Christopher. "I don't like dealing with the guy any more than you do. He's a parasite on my butt. Screw him."

"Well Hogan is a player," said Amy. "He's a major player. I think he only plays dumb to fool people. And I can get him on board if this is for real."

This confirmed everything Christopher had thought. Hogan was all an act. That little...!

"Well thanks for telling me all this, Amy." And he meant it. He liked Amy, she was a player. He liked the little daring streak he saw in her. In some ways, she reminded him of Michelle. "I tell you what I can do. I can go to Joni and get her on board right now. If you're -really- serious about this... and I know you are... then this is a deal as far as I'm concerned."

And with that Amy and Christopher shook on it. A new alliance was now in place.


^^


Just before dusk, Christopher sat down to give his thoughts on the latest events at Camp Sato. A -lot- had happened today, and he was eager to say a few words about life in his new tribe. Because if anything, Christopher loved to talk.

And tonight he had a lot to say.

"I don't mean to sound mean," he started, "But I have to say I already hate Henry's fucking guts. Is it bad to say that about somebody you just met?"

He laughed, almost giggling. He loved this part of the game. He loved the confessionals more than anything.

"Henry picked us to come here... for God knows whatever reason... and he seems to think he is now in charge. I have no idea why, because no one gives a crap about him. He doesn't have one bit of authority. That, and he is a complete turd. I mean, he could wake up dead in camp tomorrow, and nobody would even bat an eyelash. We’d simply chop him up and dump him into the morning stew. I have never met a more self-obsessed bore in my -life-. All he does is prattle on incessantly about himself. But at least Henry likes Henry, which is good, since nobody else does."

Christopher kept up his rant until gently reminded by a producer to please get back to the game. Sometimes you had to remind him to stay on topic. When he started trashing people, he tended to lose track of time. After all, the cameras only held so much film for the day.

"Well, things couldn't have happened any better than they did, in my own humble opinion. We get here this morning and the first one to approach me was Henry. Henry comes up and more or less tells me that Sato is a unified tribe. They have no issues here, and everybody gets along. They have always gotten along." He laughed. "Yeah right buddy, that's why they voted your ass least honorable! What a load of crap!"

Christopher still laughed over the absurdity of it all.

"And then," he continued, "Amy comes to me later and gives a slightly -different- speech. She explained that she and Henry have personal issues, which completely negated his whole story. And honestly, her story rang a lot more true to me. I know she's telling the truth. Because my God, look at them. Amy comes off as reasonable and Henry is smarmy, irritating and self-obsessed. It's pretty clear to -me- who's giving me the straight story... and it aint Henry. Besides, I've already got two assholes... my own and Dave. I don't need a third."

He smiled now, as he explained the new alliance. The great new power core of Okinawa, and he was smack dab in the middle of it. As always.

"Our new alliance is called 'The Core.' And I don't know who came up with that stupid name, but that's what we call ourselves. It consists of me, Jones, Amy and Hogan." He counted the names off on his fingers. "And while I don't entirely trust Amy and Hogan... yet... I have a secret weapon that should help me here. And her name is Joni."

Christopher smiled at the thought of his young friend. His kid sister. And if he played his cards right... his ace in the hole. Joni was going to be the key to everything.

"Joni told me that Amy is Mormon too. The two of them have already started to bond, and Amy doesn't realize Joni reports everything back to me. Because the Jonester tells me -everything-... and once we get Amy nice and secure and under control, she'll be trustworthy."

Christopher grinned-- because he was clearly proud of this move. Using Joni was perfect.

"The thing is that Amy likes to surround herself with younger people that are controllable, so it couldn't have worked better. Amy will be just another in the line of people who have underestimated Joni... and she probably won't even see it coming." He laughed. "So I hope that my 'niceness', combined with Joni’s youth and religion, will somehow overcome the fact that we are both former Kamiyas. I hope so, anyway."

Christopher then turned to Murtz... annoying, pessimist Murtz. Christopher was more than tired of the guy already. Although, in some sense, it was fun to watch the guy just rail over and over at his hatred of the Satos. If nothing else, Murtz was amusing to keep around. Because he just didn't care what he said. Murtz simply didn't give a crap right now.

"Dave is done," Christopher smirked. "He quit this game the moment we got here, and all he does now is talk about what he wants to do to Henry before he leaves. And let's see..." he thought back, "I believe his top three items right now are to punch Henry in the nose, followed by taking a dump on his face as he sleeps, and then hit him over the head with his own pool cue. I think that about covers today's list."

Christopher laughed again, as he remembered about the comment that had -really- set Murtz off.

"Oh yeah! This is great. Today Henry told Dave that 'Your propensity for drama is not going to help you here.' He later said that Dave's dismissal was discussed at length today...'along with many other plans.' So Henry apparently now wants Dave to start begging to be spared. I think that was about the point that Dave vowed to take a crap on Henry's face."

Christopher laughed for nearly thirty seconds, stopping to wipe tears from his eyes. This was too funny. He was greatly amused by both Henry and Murtz. The two of them were comedy gold.

And as Chris laughed, a sudden realization hit him. There was a sudden irony in his new alliance that hadn't even struck him yet. And he couldn't even believe he was about to say this out loud.

"Oh my God..." he said, his face blanching. "I am aligned with -MORMONS!-"

He almost shuddered at the thought. He couldn't believe the irony of it all.

"Holy crap... my two closest allies wear weird underwear and don't drink. And I -know- they probably don't realize I have such a mouth on me either." He laughed. "It's all just a complete crack up. I'm stuck in an alliance with two Mormons and a halfwitted teenage young Republican! Um... hello... I'm a fag. We all have nothing in common. It's just completely over the top. And we're a team now! Only on Survivor!"

He laughed again, loving this game more than anything. He loved the strange bedfellows it tended to bring out.

"The Mormons and the Homo. There's your new dream team. Get ready for it America, cause that's the title of the third episode." He grinned. "The Mormons and the Homo."


^^


As the evening wound down, the two teams settled in for their first night's sleep together. Although around 10:00, both tribes were surprised to find that they had received treemail. Both tribes received notification of tomorrow's challenge... which was to be held first thing in the morning.

And it was going to be a brutal one.

"Your challenge is called Kendo Wars," said Joni, as she read the parchment out loud to the Satos. "One by one you will square off against a member of the other team. You will be provided with armor and a helmet, but be reminded that kendo sticks -can- be deadly weapons if used properly. Take all proper precaution to ensure your safety. Because tomorrow morning you will be battling it out for immunity."

Joni put the parchment down and stared at her six Sato teammates. "I think we're supposed to pick an order. That's what it says."

"Kamiya will probably go reverse alphabetical," said Christopher. "They do stuff like that."

"Let's just do random," suggested Henry. "That way nobody has any advantage."

"Well," joked Joni, "Just make sure I don't get matched up against Mike." The petite teenager laughed, nervously. After all, she barely cleared 100 pounds. "Please pair me up against Emma or something. This challenge isn't really going to be my thing."


^^


Mike looked at the treemail again, perusing the instructions that Ryan had just read out loud. And sure enough, there it was... spelled out in black and white.

"Take all proper precaution to ensure your safety."

"Damnit!" said Mike. And he tossed the parchment to the ground in anger. He was furious.

Ryan looked at the big man in surprise. He hadn't seen Mike this angry before. And he didn't quite understand why.

"We won't be able to throw it!" Mike bellowed. He now held up the dirty parchment again. "Look, read it again. If we try to throw this challenge, we're gonna get hurt. They designed an unthrowable challenge!"

And Ryan didn't see it before, but now he did. Mike was right. If they went into a kendo battle half-assed, someone was likely to get seriously injured.

"well.." he began, "Maybe we'll get lucky and will get matched up against Chris or Dave. They wouldn't hit too hard."

"Yeah, maybe," Mike snorted. "But maybe not. Maybe we could have Hogan breaking Emma's collarbone or something. That kid's almost as strong as I am."

Ryan snickered. He wasn't particularly concerned. "Emma could be spared. We wouldn't miss her."

"Damn the producers!" said Mike again. He was stomping around the clearing now, nearly yelling loud enough to let the rest of the team hear back at camp. "Damn this damn game! Cause I'm not going up there and letting them take free shots at me! I'm sorry, but I'm not gonna do it. And I wouldn't ask the girls to do it either."

"So don't throw it then," shrugged Ryan. "Fuck Chris and Dave. Let 'em rot."

"But what if there's another twist?" Mike asked. "Those guys expect us to throw this tomorrow. If we don't at least make an effort, they're gonna be pissed. What if they come back?"

Ryan shrugged.

"Fine," said Mike. "I don't care. Let's just talk about it tomorrow. I don't want to think about it. I'm just saying I don't want to be responsible if someone like Emma or Michelle ends up in the hospital."

And with that, the two men started back to camp. They had come out here alone, late at night, to check treemail... and talk strategy, of course. Once Mike had calmed down, Ryan was able to get back to the business of strategy. Because it was just about time to start the wheel in motion.

It was time for the torment to begin.

"Are you in pretty good with the Satos?" Ryan asked. "How's that going?"

Mike grunted.

"They trust me," he said. "They all trust me. Firehead doesn't care for me much but Beth and David think I'm an outsider and that I'm scared. David even offered me an alliance today, asked if I would come vote with them. He told me that you wanted me out and that you had too much power."

Ryan chuckled. He knew David would go this route. It was the exact same thing Ryan would do, were he in the same position. Ryan knew a player when he saw one.

"So David trusts you for sure?"

"Yeah," nodded Mike. "He's primed."

"Excellent," smiled Ryan.

And at this point the plan was pretty much obvious. The plan was to start playing good cop/bad cop. Mike would be the good guy and Ryan would be the bad guy. In Ryan's mind, it was perfect. It was a plan designed to throw off the Satos... to keep them off balance... and to keep them frustrated and angry until they were voted off one by one. It was dark, it was cruel, and it was evil.

In other words, it was all Ryan's idea.

"Okay," he said, "When we get to camp, I'll pull David aside. He and I need to have a little chat. Last thing before he goes to bed... I want to make sure he has something to think about tonight."

Ryan grinned.

The games were about to begin.


^^


"I've got a bad feeling about this," Matt was whispering. He was huddled up with David near the fire... just some late night chat before they turned in for the night. Because Matt had a very uneasy feeling about the graciousness that Kamiya had shown them thus far. It was a feeling that had been gnawing at his mind all night... and Matt was starting to feel a fair amount of dread.

"About what?" David asked.

"I don't think we're safe here," Matt admitted. "I just don't feel right. Something's up. They're being too nice to us. I think we're being set up."

David shrugged.

"Could be," he said. "I have no idea. What makes you think so?"

"Mike," said Matt. "It's all Mike. He's not even making an attempt to make friends with me. And I've been putting it off all day, but I've got a sneaking suspicion I was picked just so he could get revenge on me. I think he wants to get revenge for me making fun of his gnome."

"Oh come on!" laughed David, but Matt wasn't laughing. Matt was dead serious.

"I swear," said Matt, "If I get voted out because of a frickin' lawn gnome, I'm gonna be pissed. If I get kicked out because of some stupid little fantasy world Mike lives in, I'll hate it even worse than if Henry wins this thing."

David chuckled.

"Mike actually made me bury my gnome necklace today!" Matt added. "Did you know that? He marched me out to the beach and made me bury it! He said it was bad karma to joke about killing gnomes."

"Geez," snicked David. "What a nut job."

And Matt was going to continue... but suddenly they had company. Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching. Matt quickly closed his mouth and stared at the fire, trying to keep a low profile. And just in time, too.

Because Ryan was here.

Ryan Rebez stood alone, with the shadows of the fire flickering off his face. And he looked like he had a message to deliver.

"Hey David," he said, "You have a minute?"

David nodded and excused himself. He was a little curious too... because Ryan hadn't said more than a few words to him all day. He had already written Ryan Rebez off as an anti-social asshole, so it was a little surprising to see the guy here right now.

Ryan put his arm around David's broad shoulders and led him to a spot in the forest. It was dark out here, and they were out of Matt's earshot now. Which was perfect, because Ryan was about to fire the first volley in the game of "Torture the Satos."

"Hey McDavid, how ya doin', buddy?"

"Eh, I'm okay." David was a little wary. "What's up?"

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm not really here to chit chat, so let's get down to business."

"Okay."

"Here's the deal," said Ryan. "Obviously, you've probably noticed that you guys are down four to three in this tribe. You know what that means, I'm sure. And I'm sure you're well aware that you and Matt are flip-flopping at the top of our list. So I hope you've got it in you to win tomorrow's challenge."

David just glared at him, as Ryan removed his arm. Now Ryan was facing him directly.

"Look," added Ryan, "I'm not here to insult you or anything. I'm just laying it out... this is the truth. But I -am- here to let you know you -may- be safe. With our help of course. Errr... -my- help."

Ryan smirked.

"So if you want to talk strategy," he added, "Don't bother filtering info through my secretaries. Just come directly to me if you want to make a deal. I'm where it all ends up eventually and don't you forget it."

"You asshole," David muttered.

"Hey," said Ryan, looking wounded. "Don't get mad at me! I'm the only one who will tell you the truth! All I'm saying is to help me pick which one of your buddies I should vote off tomorrow. Would you rather dump Beth or Matt? I can't really decide, so you can help. You know... as kind of a token gesture of good faith."

He smiled.

"Just help me pick and maybe I can find a place for you afterwards. Heck, maybe we could even vote out Mike, he -is- such an ornery fellow sometimes. If you're lucky, maybe you could even take his place!"

"Fuck you," said David. And he clenched his fist. It was taking all his self control just to keep from punching the guy right now.

"Hey," shrugged Ryan, "I'll let you think about it and get back to me. But this is a deal of a lifetime, and you know you can't pass it up. So please think about it, for me? Just let me know which one of the dead branches we should be pruning off first. Beth or Matt? Which one should it be?"

Ryan was pleased. He knew David would now go running to Matt and Beth and repeat this conversation. He knew they would go to Mike and put even more faith in the guy to help them. And he knew that Sato was... in every manner possible... now screwed. The trap was sprung and the game of good cop/bad cop was well underway. And none of the Satos would be escaping it alive.

And for the last time, he patted David on the shoulder.

"Oh... and... welcome to Kamiya. Welcome to my tribe. It's good to have you here."

DAY 9




The immunity challenge was set to happen first thing in the morning, so both tribes set off early. It was going to be a long walk, and nobody wanted to be late for this one. Because this challenge was going to be important.

On the Kamiya side, Ryan Rebez walked happily in front, leading the way for the tribe in yellow. He hadn't yet spoken to his tribemates today. He had said -more- than enough to David last night... and that was that. Today the goal was just to ignore everybody. His goal was to make the Satos hate him.

And he was doing a great job.

Ryan walked a good fifty feet ahead of the rest of the tribe, whistling a happy little tune to himself. He didn't look back once. Although he was dying to see how they were reacting, he could resist the temptation to look back for now. There would certainly be time for that later. Right now he just marched along as happily and merrily as he could... with nary a care in the world.

And the plan was working, of course. Because David was walking next to Matt right now, and was carefully repeating Ryan's missive last night... as close to word for word as he could.

"You've known me for a little while now, right?" he hissed under his breath, to which Matt nodded. "And you know I get along with pretty much everyone."

"Yeah."

"Well, I have -officially- met the first person in this game to dislike." He nodded up ahead to Ryan. "And I want to make him pay."

"Wow," said Matt, keeping his voice low so that no one else could hear. "What did he do?"

David spilled it all. From Ryan's cockiness... to his threats... to his comments about Mike... and finally to the fact that Ryan referred to Kamiya as his secretaries. David relayed everything.

"Wow," said Matt, stunned.

"I know. The little prick."

"Have you told Mike yet?"

"No," said David, "But you know what this tells me? It tells me that Ryan is scared. I think he knows that Mike is a wild card and he's trying to pull me off the scent." He nodded. "The little prick is scared and this is all he can do."

"Mmm hmm," nodded Matt, thinking it over.

"But I'll tell you what," added David, "What I want to do right now is crush this Ryan's nuts. I want to just walk over there and smack him across the face."

"Hey I got an idea," Matt suggested. "Let me tie him to a chair and you can cut off his ear."

David walked on, still seething. And Matt was surprised. He had never seen David lose his temper before. It was completely out of character for the guy.

"Well," said David, "I'll at least try to stay away from him for now. I don't want to say or do anything I might regret. I don't want this to become a blood war."

"Good plan."

"And I'll be talking to Mike after the challenge," David finished. "Just give him a little heads up. Heck, I could even tell Michelle Ryan refers to her as a secretary. See how she likes that."

Matt grinned.

"But after the challenge," David said. "We gotta win this one first. All this can wait until after the challenge."




^^



Jeff greeted both teams once they arrived at challenge beach.

"Welcome, Sato," he said, as the team in green had finally arrived. Now both teams were here. And Jeff looked on with interest as he saw that Sato had a special guest today.

"Got a pet, Roth?" asked Jeff, laughing.

Sure enough, Murtz Jaffer brought up the rear of the Sato line... and under his arm he held a medium sized green sea turtle. It turned out that Matt's turtle trap -had- worked, a few days later than scheduled anyway. Murtz had stumbled upon the turtle this morning and decided to bring it along as a pet. This was the new Sato mascot. The turtle would be their good luck charm today.

"Her name's Jabba," said Murtz, smiling. "She's our new mascot."

A few Kamiyas looked amused at the mention of the name. And only -they- recognized that Murtz was again using Danielle's nickname. It was a little inside Kamiya joke. Murtz was showing them that he still cared.

"Well, I guess we're set then," said Jeff. He retrieved the immunity idol from Hogan, who handed it over reluctantly. Jeff placed the small temple-shaped idol in the sand. "Immunity. Back up for grabs. And welcome to the first challenge with your new teams... meaning this one should be a lot of fun."

He smiled, and then pointed towards the sea. The players looked over and saw a large black ring, which had been painted on the sand. Lying inside the ring were two large kendo sticks-- basically, swords made out of bamboo. And sitting next to each sword was a helmet... as well as a breastplate.

These were the tools of warfare.

And it was time to do battle.

"Welcome to Kendo Wars," smiled Jeff, as he walked over to pick up one of the swords. He hefted it up in his right hand, and it looked fairly heavy.

"You will be battling today with these," he said, "Kendo sticks. These are traditional martial arts weapons and have been used to train swordsmen for -HUNDREDS- of years. And they can't kill you, well at least probably not, but they -do- pack a mean wallop. So for that reason, you'll be wearing one of these."

He picked up one of the helmets.

"This is a -kubotu-. A traditional swordsman helmet. You'll wear this... along with a breastplate."

He picked one of the breastplates off the sand. It was thick, leather, and extended long enough to cover the arms, torso and neck. It looked very sturdy and would hopefully provide good padding for anyone who wore it.

"And attached to your helmet and breastplate," explained Jeff, "Will be two small glass vials, filled with paint... green for Sato and yellow for Kamiya. This is how we'll be deciding the winner. If -EITHER- of your vials are shattered during the fight, you are eliminated." He nodded. "So for immunity, you'll face off one by one. One Sato, and one Kamiya. The two of you will duel until somebody scores a direct head or chest shot against their opponent."

He smiled.

"First one to break their opponent's paint vial wins the round. And we're playing best of seven, guys. First team to score four points wins immunity... along with a surprise."

He then reached down and picked up two small sacks.

"Along with immunity, the winning tribe will win letters from home. I have one for each of you here. Just a little... incentive... if you will."

Jeff smiled, mischievously. He was well aware that it would be tempting for either team to try and throw this challenge. The letters had therefore been his idea. Just a little bait... to sweeten the pot. To keep everybody interested in winning.

"So that's it," said Jeff, "Immunity and letters from home. Best of seven wins."

He rubbed his hands together, smiling.

"Let's go have some Kendo Wars."



^^


The contest was all ready to begin, with Christopher and Ryan being chosen as the first combatants. And Jeff was ready to have them start... but he was surprised when Ryan motioned for him to hold on. Ryan apparently had something he wanted to discuss.

"Ryan, is there a problem?"

"No," said Ryan. "Just can I speak to you for a second? It'll be quick."

Jeff sighed. Then he asked the cameras to stop rolling. Once the filming had shut down, he walked over to the Kamiya side to speak with the young man from Canada, off-camera.

"Jeff," Ryan whispered, "We're not going to compete today. Kamiya has decided to forefeit. We already took a vote."

"Oh, really?" smiled Jeff.

"Yeah," nodded Ryan. "So is it okay if we just lay our sticks down and give up immunity?"

Jeff grinned now. He didn't say a word. He just crossed his arms and smiled.

"We're throwing the challenge," Ryan added. "We just don't want to get hurt doing it."

Jeff still hadn't said a word. He simply grinned, refusing to even comment. And by now Mike had wandered over. Mike wanted to see what was up.

"Jeff," he confirmed, "We're not going to compete. It's been decided."

"By who?"

"By all of us," said Mike. "Majority vote. We're forefeiting."

"Well how about this?" said Jeff. And personally he was glad the cameras were turned off. Because he was about to lose his cool. "Ryan, how about you take that god damn kendo stick and go over there and fight Christopher. And stop being a fucking -pussy- about it."

Ryan just glared at the host for a moment. But Jeff wasn't done.

"You signed a contract to play Survivor. And in this contract you agreed to compete in -all- competitions. So you grab that kendo stick right now and stop making a mockery of this show. You go out there and you damn well -better- show some effort, or you guys are all gonna be penalized."

"What if I refuse?" asked Ryan, almost defiantly. "What if I just go out there and drop my stick?"

"Well," smiled Jeff. "This is why we have a thing called the honor clause in the rules. It says you agree to play by the rules... or you pay the price. And I'm warning you right now... don't test me on this, Rebez."

"Well sorry Jeff, but I refuse to fight," said Mike. "It's just not worth it."

"Well then here's what we do," grinned Jeff. "We'll send Kamiya to Tribal Council tonight... and we'll let Sato vote on who gets to go home. Those guys over there will get to vote one of you out. That's the penalty for refusing to compete. Still interested?"

Mike just stared at Jeff. It was an angry glare, but Mike realized there was nothing he could do about it. Jeff had them trapped. The honor code had them trapped.

"Whatever," he said, turning away. Mike walked back to the Kamiya side, where Michelle looked at him, confused. Had something changed? She thought they weren't going to compete.

"First matchup!" yelled Jeff. "Ryan and Christopher!"

He shot Ryan a look. It was a warning look, because he knew how Ryan operated. It said, simply, -don't test me on this one-. And then Jeff ordered the cameras to be turned on again.

"Ryan and Christopher. Round one! Let's go!"



^^



The two sides cheered as Ryan and Christopher faced off in round one. The two former teammates stepped forward, and nodded to one another. Ryan certainly didn't look happy, either. But they each strapped on their breastplates, and placed their helmets on their heads. And now with their armor on, the two men looked nearly identical. The only difference was that Chris was a little taller and Ryan was a little stockier.

But in moments, they each held a bamboo sword in their hands.

And it was time for round one to begin.

"Kendo Wars, round one!" announced Jeff. "Survivors ready... fight!"

Both Ryan and Chris walked out into the center of the ring, warily eying one another. Neither of them made an attack. They stood there for nearly thirty seconds... just sizing one another up. Their teams cheered them on loudly from the sides.

"Just hit me," Ryan said under his breath. "Just get it over with. We're throwing it for you."

And then as if on cue, Chris made the first attack. His bamboo pole flashed through the air as it aimed directly at Ryan's head. And Ryan meant to stand there and take it. He really did. But all of a sudden his life flashed before his eyes and he moved to the side. No way was he taking a forehead shot!

Ryan darted sideways and Chris responded by bringing his sword down on Ryan's knee. Ryan cried out in pain.

"Damnit!" Ryan hissed. But his knee flared now. Chris had nailed him, and seemed to do it with glee. Ryan didn't yet realize it, but Chris was -loving- this. He loved the chance to start inflicting pain on a member of the Kamiya Boys' Club. Strategic or not, this was -awesome.-

Ryan limped sideways and Chris continued the attack. The aggressive young actor came at him with a savage fury, nearly taking Ryan's head off with a two-handed swipe. Ryan was getting mad now. Christopher was coming at him too hard! Ryan didn't have much choice but to defend himself. What was that idiot doing?

Christopher was appearing to tire... probably from the lack of food at Sato, and now he was slowing. His attack was becoming less frantic, and Ryan was considering taking a hit now. Now it didn't look like it would hurt so bad.

But then Christopher nailed him with a monster shot.

Christopher's bamboo sword connected against the side of Ryan's helmet with an audible crack. Ryan stumbled and dropped to one knee... as an audible "ooooh" came up from the Kamiya side. All of a sudden this wasn't so funny anymore. Ryan could see Christopher leering at him from inside his helmet. The bastard was enjoying this!

Ryan reached up to feel if his paint vial had shattered.

He ran one hand up the side of his helmet... then brought it down. He looked at his fingers. And there was no paint. Ryan was still in the game.

With a renewed determination, Ryan came after Chris now, trying for a little payback. Ryan didn't care too much about throwing it anymore. Now Chris had made it personal. And it was only a matter of minutes before Ryan caught Chris with a solid thrust to the chest... shattering his vial. Green paint splattered across Chris's chest.

And Ryan had won.

"Kamiya!" said Jeff, "One point!"

Ryan thrust his fist into the air, happily. Screw throwing it, he wasn't about to let Chris take him apart like that. He wasn't gonna throw the challenge for that asshole. And now Kamiya was up by one. Ryan went back to his team to shake hands, although Michelle shot him a worried look. What did he think he was doing?

Over on the Sato side, Murtz was -furious-. Kamiya wasn't throwing the challenge! -Kamiya wasn't throwing the challenge!- Even after they had all made a vow! Those assholes were going back on their word! They were hanging him out to dry!!

"Second round," said Jeff, "Mike and Joni!"

A laugh went up from the Sato side as Joni stepped forward. Standing barely five feet and weighing little more than a hundred pounds, the young girl looked terrified. Just like she had predicted, she would be facing Mike. And she stared at him now... the big man standing across from her. He stood nearly six and a half feet tall, and probably nearly tripled her weight. How on earth was she supposed to do -this-?

"Do I have to?" she asked Jeff, and he simply nodded.

Mike, to his credit, was dismayed by the matchup. He didn't want to fight Joni. No way. Nothing good could come from this, he was certain. He shot Ryan a disgusted look and walked over to suit up for battle. Mike was simply embarrassed to have to go through with this.

"Don't hurt her," said Michelle, concerned. "Go easy on her, Mike."

But now it was time to go.

Joni stood across from Mike now, peering up through her helmet like David versus Goliath. This wasn't going to be pretty. The kendo stick was nearly as thick as she was.

"Survivors ready!" said Jeff, "Go!"

Joni came out swinging... but it was evident that she wasn't going to beat Mike. She was swinging like a wild woman... but she just didn't have a whole lot of strength. One of her hits glanced off his chest. Another actually hit his vial, but didn't shatter it. And while she was quick, she simply ran out of gas very quickly. Mike wasn't doing much to defend himself but after about two minutes, Joni couldn't even lift her stick anymore. She was done.

"Let's go!" taunted David from the Kamiya side, "You're going to let a girl beat you?"

Mike sighed and had no choice but to poke his stick gently into her helmet. Joni's vial shattered and like that, she was eliminated. As Jeff announced the results, Mike went over to shake the hand of the laughing, paint-splattered young girl. Oh well, at least she had tried.

And the Kamiyas were now up by two.

"Third round," said Jeff, "Beth and Hogan!"

The Satos were beginning to get worried, but one look at Hogan reminded them that they didn't have to be. Because the strapping young Eagle Scout stepped forward now, a confident grin on his face. He was probably the best athlete in the game and he knew it. He confidently strapped on his helmet and his breastplate... and then stared across the sand at his bespectacled female opponent.

"Let's go, Hogan!" cheered Amy, but Hogan was feeling much like Mike had moments ago. He felt ashamed that he was up against an older female. He didn't want to hurt her. But then again, Sato really -did- need this one... so Hogan wasn't about to take a dive.

And while Hogan wasn't expecting a battle, he was soon surprised by Beth's skill with the kendo. The other players look on in awe as Beth dominated the match early on. The older woman had surprisingly quick hands and she caught Hogan off guard a few times, nearly knocking him off to the ground. He reacted, stunned, as he was on the defensive almost from the get-go.

"Go Beth!" laughed Matt. "Knock him on his butt!"

Finally, Beth aimed an attack at his head and Hogan fell backwards, stumbling. He tripped over his own feet and landed on his butt in the sand. The two tribes looked on in shocked amazement as Hogan was suddenly scrambling to get back up.

"Finish him!" yelled David, but Beth hesitated for just a moment... and that was all it took. She didn't have the killer instinct to go after him, and now Hogan was back on his feet. He was also frustrated and a bit angry. He wasn't supposed to lose this one. Not to Beth anyway. Hogan was born for this challenge!

With renewed determination, Hogan started raining powerful blows upon his older opponent. He put a lot of effort into each shot, and some of the players started to wince at the force Beth was trying so hard to fight off. She did her best, but Hogan was simply much stronger than her. And now he had her on the defensive.

-CRACK!-

Hogan connected with a direct shot to Beth's shoulder, making a few of the Kamiyas wince.

-CRACK!-

Hogan nearly snapped Beth's sword with a powerful two handed blow.

And while Beth was clearly the better swordsman, Hogan was much too determined to be losing today. Beth defended herself for a while, but it was over in due time. With one shot to the breastplate, her vial shattered and Hogan had won the first round for the Satos.

"Great match, guys," said Jeff, as he watched the two of them shake hands.

It was now Kamiya 2, Sato 1.

"Round four," said Jeff, reading off his list, "Matt and Henry!"

The two former Sato teammates squared off now, each with a small smile on their faces. Because Henry was not much of a Matt fan. And Matt was not much of a Henry fan. There was no love lost here... and this one was going to be a little bit personal.

They were soon both strapped in armor and ready to go... although Matt wasn't quite in compliance with the rules yet.

"Let's go, Matt," reminded Jeff. "Helmet too."

Matt stood on the Sato side ready to go. Only he wasn't wearing his protective headgear. He was still wearing his hockey mask, having hoped to compete while wearing it instead of the helmet.

"Come on Jeff," he protested, "Let me wear it."

"Nice try," smiled Jeff.

Matt reluctantly removed his hockey mask, placing it in the sand. He put on his kuboto helmet instead, pouting in protest, and then stood to face off against Henry.

"Survivors ready... GO!"

The contest started quickly as the two young men charged one another. But as big as Matt was... and as intimidating as he could appear to be... it was apparent to -all- that the guy was no swordsman. He clumsily defended himself against Henry's attack as the two of them clashed in the center of the ring. And then Matt's sword simply slipped out of his hands. With one missed attack, his sword went flying off into the sand. And he looked up, helplessly.

Henry toyed with Matt for a moment, feigning a few blows towards the guy's head, and then he ended it. In one quick blow, Matt's chest was splattered with yellow paint.

And the contest was now tied up.

"Kamiya two," said Jeff, "Sato two. Next pair..." He looked down to read off his list.

"Emma and Amy. Time for the ladies to square off!"

Isabella smiled happily at this matchup. She would be going against the Sato leader! The dreaded Amy!

Amy smiled happily at the matchup as well. She was going against the smallest Kamiya. The petite blonde woman from Georgia! This one should be a piece of cake.

Isabella and Amy met in the center and shook hands. But the air was tense as the players suited up. This was going to be a pivotal matchup. There was a hushed silence as both women strapped on their gear. Most of the men looked on in interest of course, in hopes a catfight might break out. Even Jeff appeared to have perked up a little for this one.

But soon both women were strapped up and ready to go.

Isabella on the left, representing Kamiya.

Amy on the right, representing Sato.

And it was time to square off.

"Survivors ready... GO!"

Both women circled the ring at first, trying to get a read on one another. And it was Amy who began the attack, the aggressive young woman coming at Isabella with full force, trying to catch the younger blonde off guard.

-CRACK!-

Their swords met, as Isabella stumbled backwards. It was clear that Amy was much stronger and, combined with her determination, was going to dominate this match. Isabella had no choice but to defend herself, holding up her sword and slowly backing away.

Amy grunted with each attack, trying her best to get past Isabella's defenses. But it wasn't working. The young blonde may have been weak, but she was skilled as well. And Amy wasn't having much luck. And in moments, Isabella suddenly went on the attack. Suddenly she poked her sword into Amy's chest, catching the young mother off guard.

The players held their breath... but Amy's vial stayed intact. She was still in the game.

On the Sato side, Murtz watched this battle unfold with horror. First Ryan didn't throw the challenge, then Mike got stuck against Joni... and here Isabella was trying to beat Amy! And by now Murtz was ready to explode. Why weren't they throwing the challenge?? What were they trying to do??!

Isabella continued her attack on Amy, peppering the brunette with quick shots to the chest and arms. Amy valiantly tried to fight them off, but Isabella was just too skilled. Her training as a professional ballet dancer was showing, as nobody moved with as much grace and quickness on the battlefield. And with defeat staring her in the face, Amy now became desperate. She was almost out of energy, she was overmatcheded... but she didn't want to lose.

With one last gasp of energy, Amy came at Isabella with a furious assault. It was now or never... and she came at the blonde with everything she had.

-WHACK!-

Her sword connected with Isabella's helmet, almost knocking the young woman to the ground.

-CRACK!-

She almost knocked Isabella's sword out of her hands with one punishing blow.

-SMACK!-

She hit Isabella once across the arm and then moved in close, trying to go for the kill.

But the only problem was that Isabella was expecting this. She simply stepped aside and used Amy's momentum against her. Isabella brought her sword up at the last minute and smashed the hilt of it against Amy's chest, splattering green paint all over both women. And in the best matchup of the day... Isabella and the Kamiyas had won.

"Kamiya!" said Jeff, "Up three to two!"

The two women shook hands, with Isabella smiling coyly to herself. She was happy to have beaten Amy. And she didn't expect it would be the last time, either.

"Okay guys," said Jeff, "Here's where we stand. Kamiya, you guys needs -one- more win for immunity. Sato, you need to win the last two."

Players from both teams nodded. They understood.

"So here we go," said Jeff, "With matchup number six."

He read off his list.

"David McDaniel against Dave Roth. The battle of the Davids!"

Murtz Jaffer walked over to his armor without a moment's hesitation. Because he was still furious. How dare Kamiya not throw this challenge! What the hell did they think they were doing?

Murtz strapped on his breastplate and his helmet. Then he grabbed his sword, angrily. Damn it all if he wasn't going to have to do this himself. But he'd show them. He would show everyone that they shouldn't be messing with him. You don't mess with Murtz.

And why not?

Well because Murtz hurts, of course.

And Anti-David was just about to find that out.

The two men nodded and stepped forward. There was another feeling of tension in the air as they squared off. This one could be the clincher. If David beat Murtz... Kamiya would win the challenge. And everyone expected him to do it too. David was a big, strong guy... much bigger than Murtz. It looked like this matchup wasn't even going to be close.

"Survivors ready..." said Jeff, pausing for just a moment longer than usual...

"GO!"

And all it took was one hit to end this contest. Murtz came out swinging and, in one hit, struck David across the throat. It was exactly what Murtz had been trying to do. The bamboo struck David in the tiny sliver of skin between the helmet and breastplate... and he went down like a shot.

David crumpled to the sand and Murtz moved over him, holding his sword up as if to finish him off. But David wasn't moving... and Jeff quickly called Murtz off before any more damage could be done.

Jeff walked over to check on David, as did most of the other players. And they found that he was okay. Shaken, of course, but okay. David shakily raised up to his feet and took a moment to catch his breath. And then he was ready to go.

"Hey Roth," said Jeff, "Watch it, okay? No hitting in the neck."

"No problem, bro," said Murtz. "I just got carried away."

But as the contest started up again, Murtz still showed little mercy. He again went for an unprotected area... this time David's left wrist. Murtz slammed his sword down across David's wrist... letting loose a loud "crack!" Scattered "oooohs" were heard as David appeared to wince in pain. But Murtz just didn't let up. He came after David again and again, going for as many unprotected areas as possible.

David defended himself well, but it was almost a relief when Murtz finally ended it. With a double-handed shot to the face, Murtz splattered David with yellow paint. And had he not been wearing a helmet, it very well may have killed him.

But in the record books, it all looked the same. Murtz had won... and he had tied this contest up yet again.

The Satos erupted in cheers as Jeff announced that it was now three to three. This one would be coming down to the last matchup.

"Lance and Michelle!" announced Jeff. "Last two. For all the marbles!"

Lance stepped forward to represent the Satos. The athletic dark-haired man had his green buff around his neck and looked very confident. He was representing the green today. No way could he lose. This one was for Sato.

Michelle stepped forward to represent the Kamiyas. The athletic brunette wore her yellow buff around her wrist and -also- looked confident.

Lance and Michelle armed themselved and squared off. He smiled at her... and she smiled back at him.

The two warriors were all set and ready to go.

"Battle of the sexes," smiled Jeff, "For immunity."

The two teams cheered on their champions from the sidelines. And both Lance and Michelle were surging with adrenaline now. Both of them were athletes, and both were used to competition like this. Lance was a baseball player and Michelle was a basketball player. They were both proud... and competitive... and both hated to lose. And even though Michelle knew she should be throwing this, deep down she knew that her competitive fire wouldn't let her.

Not against Lance.

Not against a Sato.

And most certainly not against a -guy!-

And what was that phrase that Sue Hawk used again? That she wanted to "dog a guy on national television?" Well Michelle could relate. Right now that was -all- that was running through her head. She was about to stomp some guy on national television.

"This is it," said Jeff, as the combatants were ready to go. "Lance and Michelle! For immunity!"

He smiled.

"Survivors ready! GO!"

Lance came out quick with a dextrous double-hand sword attack. He aimed for her helmet, going for the quick win, but Michelle surprised him by knocking his sword aside. Lance stepped back... and Michelle twirled her weapon gracefully in the air. She then thrust quickly and cracked him across the shoulder.

-CRACK!-

Lance winced and tried to retreat, but Michelle wasn't going to let him get away. No way. She moved in closer and the aggressive young woman soon had him on the run. Lance backpedaled, trying to parry and defend, but her attack was just too fierce. She had him outclassed in every way possible. She stung him with blows again and again, as Murtz looked on in horror from the sidelines.

Kamiya was going to win this! Those lousy...

"Let's go, Lance!" called a concerned Amy, but Lance simply had no chance. Michelle just wasn't going to lose to a guy. She toyed with him for a minute before she finished him off with a shot to the chest.

Green paint splattered across the sand.

And Michelle thrust her fist in the air, cheering with delight.

"Kamiya!" said Jeff, "Wins immunity!"

The tribe in yellow rushed over to embrace Michelle, as she turned and tossed her helmet out towards the sea. Jeff walked over to hand her the immunity idol, smiling. He also presented Kamiya with their sack of letters from home.

"Nice job guys, congratulations."

And while the Kamiyas celebrated, the dejected Satos had gathered on their green mat. And none of them looked as upset right now as Murtz. He stood with hands on hips now... watching his old tribe celebrate. And he was beyond furious right now. None of them were even -looking- at him right now. None of them were even trying to apologize. They had hung him completely out to dry over here... and now he might be leaving. Murtz could very well be going home... and all because his friends had screwed him today.

Those arrogant bastards!

"Sorry guys," said Jeff, as he came over to talk to them. But the Satos appeared to be depressed. Poor Lance was still shaken up over his lopsided loss to Michelle, as Amy tried to console him.

"You know what this means," said the host, while looking at their crestfallen faces, "Tribal Council tonight. One of you is going home."



^^



Back at Camp Sato, Murtz Jaffer was ready to vent.

He had wandered into a small clearing near camp-- one of the more solitary fishing spots available to the tribe. Because a stream ran by this spot. A gentle stream that slowly cascaded towards the beach. And it was nice here. This was a peaceful place to come and sit and think for a while. It was also a favorite place to give confessionals, and that's what Murtz was here to do. In his favorite wrestling terminology, Murtz was here to "cut" a dynamite confessional right now.

He sat down in the clearing and reached into his pocket. Out came a folded up piece of paper. It was a page that he had torn out of Hogan's copy of -War and Peace-. For Murtz had decided to compose a letter... using a pen left over from the Midterm Report Cards.

This was Murtz's letter to Kamiya... and it pretty much summed up his feelings about his ex-tribesmates right now. He read it out loud.

"Dear Ryan, Michelle, Mike, and Emma-- Fuck you."

He paused, trying to reign in his anger.

"So it appears you didn't want to stick to the plan and throw the challenge. That's fine. Win your immunities. That's fine. Play your games. Because if you want to save your own asses, I can't blame you. But I won't be happy about it either."

He paused to clear his throat. Then he finished.

"I just want you to know that I was -fully- prepared to rejoin Kamiya if I made the merge. But now, thanks to you, I'm not so sure. Because while you are all enjoying your letters... Chris and I will be fighting to stay alive today. One of us is probably going home, and it's all your fault. So yes, I lost a lot of respect for you guys today. I thought you were my friends and I thought you'd be loyal. I wanted to be a Kamiya to the end, and now that is no longer possible. So hopefully, I can stick around for a while just to see you squirm a little. Because that is my new mission. My game with you is through."



^^



Sure enough, Murtz was upset-- just as Kamiya knew he would be. Because they had blown it. They had wandered into a nearly unthrowable challenge and had found that losing was sometimes -much- more difficult than they had expected. And they had intended to throw it too! All four of the Kamiyas had gone to the challenge with full intentions of laying down their swords and letting Sato have the win. They simply hadn't planned for any such honor code to exist, nor were they really happy about it.

"I've never been so sad about winning before," Mike had admitted to Michelle. "I think we made a mistake."

Although to be fair, there was one Kamiyan who hadn't planned on losing, not with the risk of injury at stake. And it was Isabella, of course. The moment she had heard that injuries might be possible, she had more or less said her goodbyes to Joni and Christopher. It just wasn't worth it. Angels Shmangels, she wasn't going to put -anyone's- security over her own.

"Better you than me," she had shrugged in a confessional. "It was nice knowing you."

But now Kamiya was back... and the mood around camp was strangely subdued. You would think they would be happy with winning, but some of them were already having regrets. Kamiya was not an entirely happy bunch at the moment.

The seven players had scattered off to read their letters from home, the secondary reward from the challenge. And though it was only day nine, the Kamiyas realized that they were surprisingly nostalgic about home already. More than one of them cried while reading news from home-- with the most affected one being Matt. The big redhead pored over a letter from his father-- his father who he was so close to back home. Matt really missed his dad right about now.

But deep down, he was ecstatic. Despite the melancholy brought about by news from home, Matt was thrilled he would be safe tonight. Because despite all of Mike's nice guy act around camp-- Matt still knew that he was dead meat. Mike wanted revenge for that gnome... and it was starting to become an issue in the way Matt dealt with the guy. He had already started to avoid Mike like the plague.

"Well," he smiled, "It looks like we're safe tonight. -I'm- safe anyway. But I can't say I enjoyed getting my ass beaten down by Henry in the challenge." He grimaced, sticking his tongue out with disgust. "I'm sure it made -his- day though. But anyway, we won because Kamiya had our act together and Sato didn't. So... whoopee." He smirked. "All I care about is I walked out of there with my pride and my testicles so yeah, it could have been a -lot- worse."

And as Matt was enjoying his letter, so too was David McDaniel. The 36-year old had propped himself up against a tree, trying to recuperate from his wounds. Because he had taken a -beating- in that challenge. His neck throbbed from the shot Murtz had inflicted... and David's left wrist was flaring as well. He was probably going to need some medical attention tonight as it was starting to swell up.

And David sat now, gingerly, trying to make the pain go away as soon as possible. Because he didn't want to be injured. Not now. Not when there was so much to do!

David sat and read the letter from his father, Dale. And it was a particularly poignant letter too, for Dale had -also- applied for Okinawa. Dale and David had applied for Okinawa as a father-son team... though only David had been selected. He had tearfully bid goodbye to his father two weeks ago... with incredibly mixed reactions about coming here without him. It wasn't supposed to be a solo act, it was supposed to be a team! But David received word from home with a smile on his face. His father's stories always made him laugh.

And right now it was the -only- thing making him laugh.

Ryan Rebez's comments still weighed heavily on David's mind. And despite -all- his efforts to get over this topic, the insolence of that little punk was something David was unable to shake. He just hated him. Plain and simple, he hated him. He hated how Ryan made -no- effort to try to get to know the Satos. He hated how Ryan didn't even seem to talk to half the Kamiyas. He hated the way Ryan carried himself... like he was a half step above the game at all times.

So there were many reasons to take Ryan out... but the plan had simply not come to fruition yet. David hadn't really gone all out to pull Mike on board. Sure, he had made an alliance offer. And sure, Mike had accepted. But there had been no reason to push the issue too much just yet. David had been trying not to pressure Mike too much so far. That just wasn't his style.

David preferred to lay low until he absolutely had to act. He preferred to finesse. He preferred to watch. And wait.

And since Kamiya was safe for three more days, David didn't really need to act right now. There was no reason to. But he wasn't going to put this off too much longer. No way. If David and the Satos were to have -any- chance in this game, it would all depend on Mike's help. For David desperately wanted Ryan gone from here... and he was going to give this thing his best shot.

He would have to report about Ryan's insolence and cockiness as soon as the time was right.

And then all hell was going to break loose.

"Ryan," he smiled, as he gave one final confessional for the day, "My dear friend Ryan. Oh how can I say this, you little prick?" He chuckled now. "I am going to eat you for breakfast, my friend, and I'll be looking you right in the eyes as I do it. And you're gonna -know- who was responsible and how you screwed up by trying to taunt me."

David closed his eyes now, wanting to take a rest. Because he wanted the pain to go away. A night of security was nice... but he wanted to heal up and get back into battle.

"You made the wrong play," he finished, eyes still closed. "You made the wrong move and it's gonna backfire, you little insolent 24-year old punk. Just wait and see."



^^


And as the evening started to wind down for the Kamiyas, one last member sat down to comment on the tribe.

Ryan Rebez had climbed back up to his favorite bluff-- the one overlooking camp-- to take one last look at his tribe for the evening. And it was going to be an uneventful evening. Much as Ryan hated it... it appeared like things would be nice and quiet around camp tonight and everybody was going to sleep well.

And it almost made Ryan sad.

"Right now," he admitted, "We're just waiting for David to make his move. I've got Kamiya all ready for him but he's done nothing so far but sit back and wait. So far he's just playing it safe."

He looked down and saw David far below, dozing up against a tree. Ryan lifted two fingers to his forehead in a small salute.

"Well played, clever adversary. You aren't panicking. Very wise of you." He smiled. "And I'll be the first to admit that I've got him backed into a corner. What I'm doing to him right now is brutal. For I've more or less bullied him-- both verbally and physically-- until you can just see he's ready to go medieval on me with a machete."

He laughed.

"Although I made -damn- sure he won't get his hands on one. Have you ever wondered why our machetes are missing? Well now you know. It's called self defense."

He grinned.

"What's going to happen," he continued, "Is that David will probably go absolutely postal on me as soon as he composes himself. As soon as he gets himself worked for it, the battle is going to begin. But that really doesn't worry me. All -I- care about is that he's got it planted in his head that Michelle and Emma are my pawns, and he doesn't have a chance to pull them in. That's the only message I need to get across, and I think it's working."

He shrugged, and then pulled out his letter from home. It had been carefully folded four times in the shape of a perfect square, showing Ryan's ever-present attention to detail.

"I got this today from my girlfriend Brandi. It's private, of course, but I wanted to read you part of it." He smiled. "The part she wrote in Latin."

He unfolded the letter and read the eight words written in big bold ink at the top.

“Militat omnis amans, si vis pacem, para bellum.”

He chuckled for a second... and then smiled. He almost appeared to wipe a tear from his eye.

"Brandi knows how much I love the Latin language, and she knew -exactly- the phrase that would refill my tank when she wrote this. It means 'Every lover is a soldier; if you want peace, prepare for war.'"

He laughed out loud, almost wistfully. And then he looked back down at his camp.

His Kamiya.

"It’s Brandi's way of saying 'Don’t come home if you don’t win.' And trust me... I don't intend to. I don't plan on going -anywhere- for a while."


^^


Kamiya was done for the night, but there was still plenty of action to unfold over at Sato. Because the tribe would soon be heading for Tribal Council... and some details needed to be taken care of first.

"So who do you want to vote for?" asked Christopher. "Henry or Dave? Which one do we want to blindside tonight?"

The tall actor from California was currently making the rounds, asking the other three members of his alliance who the target would be tonight. Because while the plan had been Henry for the last twenty-four hours, he could see that Amy was already starting to waffle. She seemed to be having second thoughts about opening Sato up to a 3-3 split at the next vote.

She was worried about keeping Dave Roth around... because she didn't quite trust Christopher yet as an ally. She didn't know if she ever could. And she wasn't sure if she want to give Chris that extra ally... just in case.

"I have no idea if I can trust Chris yet," she had admitted. "And sure, he's being great so far, but why? What is his motive?" And then she came to the question that had nagged her since the start. "And why is he so nice to Joni? What's the relationship there? Does he like her because she's a good kid, or does he like her because she's young and will probably do what he says?"

Amy had been mulling over her relationship with Christopher for some time now... just trying to figure the guy out. Because the rest of them she had already had pegged.

"Dave is paranoid and nobody seems to like him. Chris complains about the guy, but that could be an act. But I -know- that Joni doesn't like him. At all. That's the first thing she said to me when we met. She said 'Amy, I'm so glad I have someone to talk to now!!' It turns out Dave won't even give her the time of day."

Amy smiled.

"And Joni... well she's just an all around star. I have been -so- impressed by her I can't even begin to tell you." She grinned. "And she's a player, make no doubt about it. She comes off all nice and sweet... but the moment you want to talk strategy, she's all over it. She has an agenda. But the best part is that now I can talk about girly things with somebody. It's not so serious with her. I can talk about Harry Potter, or anything light, happy and fluffy for a change. So it's been nice. After all the Henry nonsense, it's been nice to have someone like her around."

Amy darkened a bit when she came to Henry's name. Again. It seemed like this issue never seemed to go away.

"I would so love to vote Henry out tonight. I really would... but it's making me nervous. I'm just not sure it's the right move."

She sighed.

"But he just makes it -so- easy sometimes. He really does. Do you know what he did today? Today Henry's big topic of conversation was if having sex would help us all gain more energy. He asked me if getting laid would make us all stronger for the challenges. And I'm like, oh please, Henry. Just leave me alone. This is totally inappropriate."

And as Amy thought about the vote, Christopher had soon arrived. He had come to get her opinion on the target for tonight. Her final answer. Murtz or Henry, who was it going to be?

"I think..." she paused. She thought it over for one last time. "I'm sorry Chris, but I think we need to vote Dave. I just don't trust him at all. At least Henry you know what you're gonna get. Dave's too unpredictable for my tastes."

Chris nodded and smiled.

"Joni says she doesn't care," he reported. "She'll vote for either one. She's been aching to vote Murtz out for a while... and she thinks Henry is smarmy. She says he's stuck up."

"I adore that girl," laughed Amy.

"And you know I'd rather vote Henry," added Christopher, "Simply because Dave is harmless. All he wants to do is stay here and win more money for his sick mom. And I don't like the way Henry treats the women around here anyway. He's a total chauvinist."

"Yeah," nodded Amy. And she had forgotten the thing about Dave and his sick mom. Damnit, why did Chris have to bring that up? As if she wasn't feeling enough guilt over this already.

"What did Hogan say?" she asked.

"I'm going to ask him right now."

"Well," she sighed, "I guess he'll decide it. I'll go whatever way he wants. Because I know he doesn't like either one of them."

"Yeah," nodded Chris. "He doesn't."



^^



Christopher's plan was to vote Henry out, of course. Since yesterday, he had more or less made it his life's mission to get Henry out of the game. And today was where it was all supposed to go down. And like Dani on Kamiya, Henry was about to learn a very valuable lesson about playing Survivor with Christopher Collins. Henry was about to learn things the hard way.

You didn't mess with Christopher.

And you didn't get on his nerves.

Because otherwise... it wouldn't be pretty.

"It's official," Christopher had confessed, right before he went on his smear campaign attack. He always found it helpful to let loose a vicious tirade before he started his behind-the-scenes machinations. Like any actor... it always seemed to help him get into character.

"I've officially come to the conclusion that Dave is no longer the biggest ass in Okinawa. That title now goes to Henry." He laughed. "It's a simple fact that I hate Henry more than I hate Dave. And that's saying something! I simply didn’t think it was possible for me to feel so negatively about someone I’ve known for such a short amount of time. I mean... -I ONLY MET HIM FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY!- But... Jesus... the guy is so self-involved that he has no concept of what it is to actually -LISTEN- to other people. He doesn't have a clue. So my job today is to make sure he goes home tonight. I want him to get the Dani treatment... and I want it to sting. But mainly I just want to see this sniveling little motherfucker get his just desserts."

And Christopher knew that Amy was going to balk at this. He knew she was too smart to blindly vote out a Sato at his behest. He wouldn't have aligned with her if she had been that stupid.

And that's why Christopher had made a backup plan. He wanted to make sure Amy wouldn't be able to save Henry. Not even if she wanted to.

"Hogan!" said Christopher, as he saw the young Eagle Scout coming back from the latrine. "Hogan! I have something I need to tell you!"

Christopher ran over to the young man and stopped. He put on a big show of being out of breath too, like he had been running for a while. He wanted to make this look it was an emergency.

"What's up?" asked Hogan.

"It's Henry," panted Chris. "It's Henry. He's trying to get you voted out tonight!"

"What?" Hogan looked genuinely surprised.

"I know! I couldn't believe it! He came to me and said you were worthless. He said 'Hogan doesn't contribute in a meaningful manner around camp. I've decided he can be spared.'" Christopher still panted as if he was out of breath. "He said we should all write your name down and we should all write "The Hoagster." Because he says you have a stupid name and he thinks it would be funny."

And without even waiting for a response, Christopher knew this line would be the one that worked. Because Hogan was a pretty even tempered guy. He rarely got upset and rarely lost his cool. But if there was one thing that -did- tend to set him off... it was when someone made fun of his name. Because Hogan was sensitive about it...

... And Henry made jokes about it all the time.

"Screw him," said Hogan, his face reddening. And this had indeed been the line that got him. Henry called him "Hoag" in just about every conversation they had ever had. And it galled Hogan to no end.

"I swore to you," Christopher insisted, "That I would stick by you guys. I'm with the Core to the end, Hogan. And I promised I would tell you if something was up."

"Yeah."

"And I think we need to vote Henry out tonight. If we don't stick together and take him out, it's probably going to be you instead. Henry and Lance are going to vote you out."

Hogan nodded. Although really all of this was unneccessary. He probably would have voted for Henry anyway.

"So how's War and Peace coming?" asked Christopher, noting that Hogan was carrying the big book under his arm.

"Oh, it's okay. I'm on page 190. It's starting to get good."




^^



The noose was slowly starting to tighten around the neck of Henry Jenkins. He already had four votes lined up against him... Murtz, Christopher, Joni and Hogan... and he didn't even realize it. As it stood now, he was in grave danger of leaving. In fact he most definitely -was- leaving, whether Amy went along with the Core or not.

But right now she still remained one of the key swing votes left on Sato. She was the one Henry should have been swaying. She was the one Henry needed to make sure was still on his side.

And he was about to blow it.

Henry had come to her after dinner, as she washed her clothes in a nearby stream. Amy was still going over the debate of Murtz vs Henry in her head... and didn't hear him approach until it was too late.

"Hey Ames," he said.

She turned around and saw him coming. Right before the vote. Ugh.

"Oh hey, Henry."

"Listen," he said, "We've decided who we're voting for tonight."

"Oh?"

"It's going to be Joni."

Amy almost laughed out loud at this comment. Joni? Joni?? Why on earth did he pick Joni? Did he honestly believe she was a bigger threat than paranoid Murtz or charismatic Christopher? Oh now she just -had- to hear this logic.

"Look," explained Henry, "I know we've thought about all three options, and I know we're not happy about losing any of them. And I know you're in the same boat I am right now. I don't want to vote -anybody- out."

"Yeah," she nodded, doing her best to play along.

"But the way I see it, we -can't- vote out Dave. I just wouldn't feel right. I mean, the guy has a -dying- mother-- a huge Survivor fan--- and she's counting on him right now to do well in this game. How on earth can we deny her that little bit of pride in her son?" He shrugged. "I know I can't."

-Oh my dear sweet Lord-, thought Amy. -Please just stop right now, Henry. Don't dig yourself a hole here.-

"And sure," Henry continued, "There are moments where Dave has gotten under my skin. Absolutely. But he's a hard worker. He kicks butt in the challenges. And he's a gentle spirit. I have to say that right now, I cannot cast a vote for him in good conscience."

Amy nodded.

"And Christopher is the same way," he continued. "He's been nothing but nice to us and he is probably the best fisherman we have. He's a great challenge asset and I don't think we can lose him right now."

"No," sighed Amy, "Probably not."

"But that just leaves Joni... which I hate. I -hate- that she could get voted out. I hate that good girls tend to finish last. I hate that we might have to tell her she's not welcome... simply because she's not a big, strong guy like Chris or Dave. Because that sucks."

Henry looked miserable over this. It was clear he was quite fond of Joni, and he truly was. Henry thought of Joni like a sister already. His little fellow writer. His friend.

"So what do we do?" asked Amy.

"Well," started Henry, "Hogan, Lance and I have decided to cast our votes for Joni tonight. It wasn't a hard choice for the two of them-- they barely know the girl at all. I'm the only one of the three who knows what we're losing tonight, and I hate it. I simply don't want to lose her."

"Yeah," nodded Amy, sadly. But she knew that Hogan had no such beef with Joni. Whatever Hogan had told Henry had likely been a lie. Hogan and Joni hung out a -lot- together. They were the only teenagers here. Of course they knew one another!

"I brought Joni here," said Henry, "Because I thought I had the chance to convert her to Satoism. She had -no- attachment to Kamiya and she expressed willingness to join our side. But now she won't have the opportunity." He lowered his head, sadly. He looked very, very troubled by this. It was clear he had been dwelling on this decision most of the day.

"Joni is a morally principled young woman," he continued. "She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in - to remain single when everyone else is making out behind the 7-11, to take up theater while other kids are smoking 'smack' and playing 'Grand Theft Auto 3.' And I admire her good old fashioned morals, Amy. I do! I love her conviction. I just wish I could reward that."

Amy didn't know what to say. She was speechless. So she just remained silent, looking at the ground. She was trying hard not to giggle. Oh, how he would hate that.

"Unfortunately," said Henry, "I'm afraid we need to cast our votes for someone special. -Someone- has to go home tomorrow. And Lance, Hogan and I all came to the conclusion that that someone is Joni." He shrugged. "It's pretty simple, really, if you take emotion out of it. Joni doesn't contribute much around camp. She gets creamed in every challenge. And we can't lose the other two."

He looked at Amy now, trying to make sure she would be playing along.

"I'm sorry. I know you like her too. I just hope you'll vote the same way."

And with that, he was done. Amy agreed to vote for Joni, of course, but inside she was dying. She wanted to burst out laughing. Did Henry just walk down here and tell her how to vote? Did he really think he had that kind of power? Did he forget that he was a freaking -outcast?!-

Once Henry had left, Amy sat down by the stream. And man did she have something to say right now. It was confessional time, and she was raring to go.

"That was," she admitted, "The biggest load of crap I have ever heard in my life. I mean, really." She half laughed now, a strange cross between revulsion and humor. "So Henry tells me that he won't vote Dave because Dave's mom has cancer. Please! What a BS excuse! Henry, we -all- have issues in our lives. Just because I don't hang every detail of my life out for everyone to see doesn't mean I'm more or less deserving to stay in a -GAME-. Give me a freakin' break!"

Amy laughed again. She still couldn't quite get over the speech she had just heard.

"Yes, I hope Dave is doing well outside of the game. Yes, I hope he and his mother have wonderful moments together before she goes. And yes, I sympathize with Henry because he's got personality issues that are big enough to keep a therapist in business for five years or so. But we -ALL- have weaknesses." She was angry now. "Screw that. I'm here to win. I don't try to use -my- personal life as leverage around these people, so I'm not going to let theirs affect me, whether or not they may want it to."

She stood up.

"So guess what, Henry? I wasn't going to vote for you. I really wasn't. But if you won't vote for Dave, maybe neither should I."

She glared, angrily.

"And for coming here and telling me -exactly- how to vote, I feel I owe it to you to send your butt home tonight instead. So thanks for playing, come back again real soon."



^^



Word quickly spread around Sato like wildfire. The vote was Henry. Amy and Hogan were going to vote for Henry! Henry was going home tonight!

"I can't believe it," said Murtz. He was huddled with Christopher and Joni... the three ex-Kamiyans having one final chat session before they left for the vote. And Murtz was stunned. The Satos were going to vote out one of their own? They were really that stupid? The three Kamiyans were going to be spared?

"It's totally legit," Chris smiled, happily. He loved this part of the game. "They all hate Henry. Well, all of them but Lance anyway. But no one ever tells him what's going on."

"Wow," said Murtz. He was nearly speechless. This was huge!

"You should have heard him today," Christopher said. "Henry was in rare form. He was telling Amy that he couldn't vote for you because of your mom. And then he went to me and said he wished he had a "sick mom gimmick" like you. He also refers to you as 'Cancer Boy.'"

"That's just awful," sighed Joni. "What a creep."

"Seriously," said Murtz, quickly remembering to look sad. Sometimes he almost forgot his cover story. Sometimes he forgot the way people tended to view him. "You don't joke about that."

"This is gonna be hilarious," grinned Christopher. "He has no clue. None."

"He actually told me this morning to pack my bags," laughed Murtz. "He more or less just told me to give up and go home."

And now the ex-Kamiyas were on cloud nine. Not only were they all going to be safe... they had somehow gotten Sato to vote out Henry Jenkins instead! And the joy should have lasted for the rest of the evening... but again Murtz managed to bring it to a crashing halt. As was the norm, he tended to take the fun out of things for people.

"I think," he said, "We should mark our ballots. You know, show a little voting unity. We should all mark our ballots with a sun or something."

Joni sighed.

Paranoid Murtz didn't trust anyone.

Here we go again.



^^



The Satos sat down for their final dinner together, just before nighttime fell across the sandy campsite. Amy was in charge of cooking and she watched as the tribe sat silently... eating the fish that Christopher had caught this morning.

Lance, Henry, Christopher, Hogan, Murtz and Joni. They all sat in a circle. And nobody said a word.

It seemed to be a very somber night too, judging from the atmosphere around camp. Everyone seemed depressed. Although if Amy looked close she could see that a few of them were suppressing smiles. Murtz in particular was trying hard not to tip Henry off that he was going tonight. In fact nobody had warned him. Either out of a sense of maliciousness, or just the desire to have a peaceful night's dinner... nobody had said a word to him. Nobody wanted to be the one to break the news.

As dinner passed, the producers called the players off into the woods for a confessional. One by one, each player exited the circle to go speak their final words before the vote.

And as expected, most of them were not sad at all at what was about to happen.

"I don't trust Henry," explained Joni. "Because as soon as I got here, he started sweet talking me, trying to 'get to know me.' He told me I was a great writer even though he had never seen anything I've written! But mainly I've heard things about his past conduct and I don't think I really want him on our tribe anymore."

"I'm voting for Henry tonight," confessed Hogan, "Because he is a liar, a sneak, and someone I just don't like. And I wish we could tell Lance, but we can't. I hope he understands. But honestly, I'm just looking forward to seeing Henry get knocked off his little pedestal tonight. That's gonna be great."

Amy only had one line to give, but she had been saving it up for quite a while.

"Well," she grinned, "At least you'll get to see your Juliet again!"

And the comments got decidedly nastier when the big boys stepped up to the camera. When Christopher and Murtz spoke before a vote, it was usually a memorable event.

"While I am -dying- to get rid of Dave," Christopher laughed, "It just wouldn't be prudent to do so at this time. But Henry... wow... he just doesn't get it. An hour ago, he casually mentioned to me that everyone was voting Joni. But instead of trying to make me feel like part of the decision, he very -SPECIFICALLY- and -CONTINUALLY- pointed out that the decision had been made completely by Old Sato members, and my input wasn't important." Chris laughed again. "But here's the best part – he then asked -ME- to tell Joni. He wanted me to say my goodbyes to her... and then wanted -ME- to vote out my sister Jones as well. And then he pointed out, yet again, that - OLD SATO IS STICKING TOGETHER-, and I'm just along for the ride."

Christopher grinned, happily.

"Well Henry, congratulations are in order. But not for the reasons you think. Congratulations are in order FOR -ME-. Because you will be leaving Okinawa tonight, and it will have A -LOT- to do with me and you have -NO- idea at all. I'm about to bitch-slap you right out of this tribe, and it’s gonna hurt. May the black plague of Henry never again blight Sato, you irritating little shit. I hope I never see you again."

And then it was time for Murtz.

"Ahhh," he smiled, as he sat down to speak his piece. And the old Murtz was now back. The confident Murtz. Because the "I'm screwed and I quit" Murtz had died the minute he found out he would be safe from the vote tonight.

Now it was time for the old Murtz to rise back again into the spotlight.

He was back.

"Henry," he began, "I just don't like the way you played this game. You were right about my sick mother being a gimmick, but it's -my- gimmick and you spreading that she's a fake will only start casting doubt on me. That is why you must be removed. And fast."

He laughed, coldly.

"I'm still mad that you picked Chris and me and took us away from our walk in the park at Kamiya. You brought us here to this shithole and screwed me bad. So now, screw you. I don't think I will -ever- be more happy to vote someone off than you tonight. Did you think that we would just sit back and accept that we would be leaving? Did you think calling me Chicken Little and acting like you are saving my ass in this game was a smart move? Did you think that Dave wouldn't find out that you called him Cancer Boy? You disgust me, Henry. And that says a -lot-... considering that I'm pretending to have a mother laying on her deathbed at home. So you deserve to go. And I will rejoice when you do."



^^



The walk to Tribal Council should have been uneventful.

They usually were, and the players expected nothing less this time. It was usually a nice long stroll through the dark, where people seldom said much. Few words were spoken on this walk and few people really interacted.

But tonight was going to be different.

Tonight was going to be -very- different.

Henry Jenkins walked in the back of the line for most of the trek. He carried his blue backpack over his shoulder and his torch in his right hand. And he was thinking. Right now, he was conflicted. For the last hour, Henry had one thought in his mind, and one thought only. One thing ran continuously through his head over and over... one worry... one thing that was gnawing at his conscience.

-I should have warned her.-

And for all of Henry's faults in this game thus far... for all his problems getting along and all the enemies he had made... the guy had a conscience. Henry had a heart. And it was -killing- him right now that he had not warned Joni yet. She didn't yet know that she would be leaving.

He looked up, and saw her walking ahead, blissfully unaware of anything. The skinny teenager was bouncing along happily, not a care in the world.

And it wasn't right. It just wasn't right. Henry couldn't do this to her.

"Amy," he called, motioning to the auburn-haired woman to his left, "Hang on."

Amy stopped her walk and looked over at him, curiously. Uh oh.

"Has anyone warned Joni?" he asked. "Did anyone tell her?"

"Umm..." Amy thought for a moment. "I don't know."

"Damn," sighed Henry. "Someone should tell her. She doesn't deserve this."

"I think she'll be okay," Amy whispered with a smile. "She's a tough kid, Henry. She'll be fine. I think she knows, anyway."

Henry smiled a little at this. That made him feel a little better. And then Christopher walked by. Henry quickly called the tall actor over.

"Christopher, does Joni know? Did anybody warn her?"

Christopher suppressed a laugh and quickly turned on his sad face. He raised a hand to his eyes.

"I couldn't do it," he confessed. "It was too hard. I didn't want to see the look on her face. She would have been crushed!"

"Awww," said Henry.

"I'm sorry," said Christopher, as he started to tear up. "Poor Jones. Oh god, I'm just gonna go cry now. Please excuse me."

He left the two of them alone, laughing to himself as he walked away. Henry didn't seem to suspect a thing. Christopher was loving this.

"Well I have to tell her," Henry finally said. He turned to Amy. "Someone has to tell her, it's not fair to blindside -anybody-. That's not cool."

"No, it's not."

"Well," sighed Henry, "Here I go, wish me luck." He looked pained. "I'll be gentle... but as honest as possible. That's the best way."

"I'm sure she'll appreciate that," smiled Amy, happily. "You're good at breaking news. I've always admired that about you."



^^



Thirty minutes later, the rest of the tribe had arrived at Tribal Council.

Five of them entered the building and sat down... took their seats on the bench... and waited. They unpacked their gear and waited... because two people were not here yet.

"Where's Henry and Joni?" asked a surprised Jeff.

"They're coming," said Lance, cocking a thumb towards the door. "They'll be here in a minute."

Outside, Henry and Joni were still walking along the trail, slowly, as he explained it all. And this had been a wordy speech. Henry had gone on for the past twenty minutes... seemingly nonstop... telling her things that she already knew. And by now she was bored. Henry didn't have to tell her she was the target tonight. She had known for hours!

"Chris wanted to be the one to tell you," Henry explained, "But he was too sad. He said he was too close to you and it was too hard, so I'm coming to you myself."

Joni smiled up at him, trying to look grateful. But it was getting old by now. You could only fake emotions for so long. Joni was an actress, sure, but even Meryl Streep would have a hard time trying not to laugh by now. This was just too much.

"This is a brutal game," explained Henry, "And I hate it. To do well you have to do things you don't want to do. Things that make you sick. Like voting you out tonight."

"Yeah," said Joni, sadly.

"And I've asked myself," continued Henry, "-How- can we vote off such an incredible person without a good reason? What good can come from that?" He looked at her, but the young girl simply stared at the ground. She appeared to be in shock. "And the answer, honestly, is that Chris himself is a wonderful person too. So's Dave. -None- of you have given us any reason to want you gone. All of you have proven yourselves to be valuable and committed tribe members, and that's what has made this so hard on us."

Joni simply stared at the ground as she walked. Every so often she would peek up to see what was ahead. Were they getting close? She wasn't sure she could take much more of this.

"Chris is a very caring person" added Henry. "He's a good conversationalist and he has an impeccable work ethic. He brings strength to the Satos - at camp, and on challenge beach." Henry was almost starting to choke up now. This was hard for him to say. "And Dave Roth is a vulnerable, beautiful human being who needs support right now. He's also an amazing challenge competitor and a strong camp hand."

At this Joni finally started to lose it. She let loose a giggle. Dave Roth was a beautiful human being? Since when?

"I'm sorry," she said. And then she quickly turned her giggle into a cry. A stage cry. She brought both hands to her face and started to laugh. It was minor at first... and then she started to laugh out loud. And to Henry, it sounded like she was sobbing. All of a sudden, he was nearly crying too.

"Joni, you're a beautiful, principled person. You have conviction in your religious and personal reliefs and you don't bow to pressure even when your friends make it hard on you. You never compromise yourself. You're a writer and an actor, two things I can really relate to."

Joni continued her giggle-fest, trying her damndest to pass this off as crying. She hoped he was buying it. She started to silently give thanks for her acting coach back at home.

"The only reason you're leaving," finished Henry, "Is because of process of elimination. We had to pick somebody, and it happened to be you. I'm sorry." He now put an arm around her shoulder. "It might only be the ninth day, but realize that the bar is already extremely high for a spot in this tribe. So you shouldn't feel too bad. You've already made the big time."

"Thanks," she squeaked. It was all she could say. And she could tell that he was in tears too. Henry was now crying. She hoped the cameras were getting all this on tape.

"Please know," he concluded, "That when I brought you over from Kamiya... it was -never- my intention to let anyone touch you in this game. And for letting you down I feel a lot of guilt. Please forgive me. From the bottom of my heart."

And Joni finally saw the looming figure of the Shinto temple up ahead. There was Tribal Council.

And she was never more happy to see it.

Especially when Henry gave her one final goodbye hug.



^^



The tribe sat through their usual litany of questions from Jeff, although few of them were willing to say much tonight. For whatever reason, most of the answers were subdued. Almost boring. And Jeff was surprised. After watching their pummeling of Danielle three days ago, he was surprised at the candor of Murtz and Christopher. They were being surprisingly diplomatic.

What was going on?

"Oh I think the twist was absolutely fair," lied Murtz. "It's all really worked out for the best, and I want to thank the Satos for making us feel welcome. I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to meet some more of the amazing people that were cast to play this game."

Jeff stared at Murtz for a second... and Murtz simply smiled. Jeff knew immediately that something was up. Murtz never smiled. Not unless he was hiding something.

"What about you Chris?" he asked, "Do you have any problems with the way the tribes were picked?"

"Well," shrugged the actor, "Henry shared his strategy on how he picked the Kamiyas, and it made sense. And I'm sure Mike had his reasons as well. And since I wasn't in their shoes, I don't really feel like it's my place to judge."

Jeff sighed. So it was going to be one of -these- Tribal Councils, was it?

"You guys," he asked, "How do you decide who to vote for tonight? What criteria do you use? Do you go along tribal lines? Do you go based on strength? Weakness?" He shrugged. "What's going through your mind right now?"

"Now why on Earth would I answer that?" winked Christopher.

"Jeff," piped up Murtz, "That's a tough question. I don't think -anyone- here is expendable. Our first vote for Danielle was easy because she went around stirring the pot. This one is definitely much harder." He paused to think for a moment. "I'm voting for this person because I would like to stay. That's really the only reason." He smiled again, his most innocent little boy grin. "Right now, Jeff, we need to do -whatever- we can to all stay on the same page."

But then Jeff turned to Henry. If nothing else, he knew he would get a straight answer out of Henry. He was tired of Murtz and Christopher. Enough.

"No one’s expendable," Henry explained. "But I have to vote somebody out tonight that I really like and that makes me sick. That makes me angry. The choices we have to make in this game are terrible. I hate this game sometimes."

"Choices?" Jeff asked, "Such as?"

"Well, Christopher has contributed everything he’s got to this tribe. Hard work at camp, hard play in the challenges. He's just got a bust-ass mentality. And then Joni’s like the sweetest girl I’ve ever met in my life. The second I met her I instantly wanted to protect her. I started talking to her and I had an intense flashback to who I was in high school." He looked sad. "To vote her out this early would seriously be a crime. And then Dave’s a loyal, straight-forward guy. Nothing we need around here more than honesty and good communication."

He shrugged.

"And right now he’s going through a really hard time in his life. So do we just -abandon- him when he needs hope the most? When he needs somebody to just give him a hug? I wouldn’t feel good no matter -what- decision we made tonight, Jeff. All I can do is keep myself safe... and that gives me the heeby jeebies."

"So what about that?" asked Jeff. He knew that Murtz's sick mom story was a sham. And he knew Murtz would hate him for bringing this up right now. "Dave, do you feel like your situation at home can come into play out here?"

"Well..." said Murtz, carefully choosing his words, "I don't really like to make my personal life an issue out here because I don't want it to distract me or change how the team feels about me." He stared at the ground, trying to look sad. "But every so often, the issue comes up... though I prefer not to dwell on it. I kind of like to keep my home life at home, if at all possible."

He then smiled.

"But I really wish we would have won those letters."

"Okay," nodded Jeff. He recognized a good transition when he saw one. "We're just about to that time. It's time to vote." He stood up. "Hogan, you're up first."

Hogan Mueller stood up, a small smile on his face.

He strode over to the ballot box, uncapped the pen, and wrote down five letters. He also drew a small sun in the corner... per Murtz's suggestion.

He then held up the ballot.

"Henry," he said somberly, "I hope you apologize to all of us when the game is over. And I sincerely -hope- this was just an act, and you really aren't like this in real life. Why did you tell Chris I was dispensable and make fun of me for being in debate? Why did you say you liked Chris even though he didn't have a 'my mom is dying' sympathy factor? That's just rude! Think about what you say Henry, because that's horrible."

He placed the ballot in the box.

"You once said," he added, "That your game strategy was to be honest and straightforward-- but then you tried to align against -EVERY SINGLE PERSON- behind their back. I just wish you'd had the moral integrity that I looked for in a tribemate. Hasta la vista."

Amy followed Hogan to the box and she too voted for Henry. In her mind, this vote was about six days overdue. This was something she should have done long ago.

"Henry," she said, keeping her voice low, "The new Satos needed someone they could rely on, and you proved yourself to be untrustworthy. And while I voted for Elisabeth the first time, it probably should've been you. The alliance was all that saved you last time, but you don't have that luxury tonight." She closed the ballot with a slight look of concern in her eyes. "I hope that we can talk when we're both on the outside... because hopefully you'll have some time to cool off before I get there."

Amy was followed to the podium by Lance. The soft-spoken moralist of the tribe uncapped his pen and voted the same way he had intended to all along. He wouldn't vote for a Sato-- he would -never- vote for a Sato-- and he most definitely wouldn't vote for his friend Henry.

Lance went along with the plan and voted for a Kamiya.

"I'm voting for Joni," he said, holding up his ballot, "She never really got to know me, and when it came down to choosing, that worked against her. She seems like a nice girl, but because I don't know her-- and because of her poor performance in the challenge-- she gets my vote. I hope to see her on the flip side."

Lance was followed by Henry, who still had no idea he was a target tonight. The young writer strode to the ballot box confidently, although he had a sad little frown on his face. He felt like crap right now. He didn't -want- to vote for Joni. Even though he had warned her, he still felt awful about it. But it was something he simply had to do.

Joni was getting his vote, like it or not.

"Joni," he said, his voice slightly wavering, "I got you into this mess... and it looks like I'll be getting you out of it. Just not the way I'd hoped. I'm sorry."

Henry walked back to his seat and sat down. He then turned and patted Joni on the shoulder. "I'm sorry," he whispered. But it was now her turn to vote. And she was practically laughing out loud as she strode up to the podium and wrote down the name "Henry."

And like Hogan and Amy, she also drew a sun in the corner.

"Henry," she whispered, "I'm tired of being looked down upon. I may be the tribe little sister, but that doesn't mean I'm worthless." She smiled, happily. Right now she just loved the fact that she was going to get further in this game than Henry Jenkins. It was too funny. "Ever seen Les Miz, Henry? Because little people know... when little people fight... we may be easy pickings but we've got some bite. So never kick a dog, because he's just a pup. We'll fight like twenty armies and we won't give up." She grinned. "And you better run for cover when the pup grows up."

She placed the ballot in the box.

"Best of luck to you."

After Joni came Murtz, and the comments were about to get progressively more harsh. -This- was why Murtz had been so happy during the Council answers. -This- was why he was wearing that maniacal grin right now. He had simply been waiting for this moment. For a long time. And for the first time in two days, Murtz was happy again.

"Henry," he held up the ballot. A small sun was drawn next to the name. Underneath the name Murtz had written "The End of Ender."

"If you ever see this Henry," he said, "You should know that you were right and the sick mother was a gimmick. I am really Murtz, and unfortunately for you... Murtz hurts." He chuckled. "What's the number one rule in business? You never cross the boss. That's what you did and that is why this is the end of Ender."

He paused, but he wasn't quite done yet. Murtz still had a lot to say.

"Henry, you ruined -everything- that I had set up on Kamiya. Plus you just played the game horribly. You don't tell me to say my goodbyes one minute and then ask me to turn on Joni the next. You don't lie to me. And you -don't- call me Cancer Boy. You are a bitch and one that we will put to sleep tonight. And I -know- you aren't like this outside of the game. Neither am I. But tonight you won't see me coming. Donnie Brasco styles. Keyser Soze styles. David Roth styles. Tonight you will feel my curse. Take your cue and leave. Take your stick and shove it."

And after Murtz there was one last Sato to vote. The blitzkrieg wasn't quite finished yet. It never would be. Not until Christopher had his say.

Christopher Collins was the final member of Sato to vote, and he walked up to the camera with style. He knew this was his moment. The camera loved him... and he wasn't about to disappoint. Voting comments were his specialty.

He wrote Henry's name down on the card in large, bold block letters. He then drew a little sun in the corner, looking sad. He then took an extra moment to sketch a rain cloud.

Because like always, he wanted to make sure this was the -most- ornate ballot of them all.

"Henry," he grinned, holding up the piece of parchment, "You might well be one of the worst players this game has ever seen. And I think the -ONLY- thing that keeps you from holding that dubious title is that you somehow managed to not get voted out at your first Tribal Council."

He laughed, loving the spotlight.

"I wish there was another way to say this Henry, but there isn't. You are a complete asshole. All you do is talk about yourself, your opinions, your receding hairline and your bad eyesight. On top of that, your people skills suck hard. You are so inept at this game that part of me wants to laugh... the other part wants to vomit on your shoes."

He folded up the ballot and carefully placed it on top of the others.

"Anyway," he finished, "I've worked hard today at undermining you, and it would be a great disappointment if my work didn't pan out. And I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that your old tribe were not only willing to dump you, they were actually -ANXIOUS- to rid themselves of your sorry ass. So trust me when I make the understatement of the year: -NOBODY LIKES YOU!-

He then winked and smiled at the camera.

"Have a real nice day!"



^^



Christopher was the last to vote and he soon returned to his seat on the bench. The votes were now set in stone... and it was time for the fun to begin. Five Satos waited with morbid excitement to see how Henry was going to react.

"I'll go tally the votes," said Jeff.

He walked over to retrieve the bamboo urn, and soon returned to his place behind the podium.

"The person voted out," he said, "Must leave the Tribal Council area immediately."

He nodded, and opened the urn. He reached in and pulled out the first vote.

He looked at it for a second, then revealed.

"Henry."

Joni's ballot was held up, with the telltale small sun in the corner. Henry sat in the front row, and didn't seem to react at all. He just smiled slightly and nodded.

"Second vote," said Jeff.

He opened it, turned it around and revealed.

"Joni."

The dark-haired teenager sat next to Henry, and also remained calm. In fact she was trying so hard to appear worried right now. She was trying very hard not to give away any hints.

But Henry wasn't going to make it easy.

She felt a hand on her arm now. She looked over and saw that Henry was patting her arm, reassuringly. He was trying to calm her nerves. She smiled at him, gratefully. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Third vote," said Jeff.

He paused for a moment... then revealed.

"Joni."

That was two votes... Two votes Joni, one vote Henry. And now she smiled.

Because she knew the fun was about to begin.

"Fourth vote," said Jeff, pulling it out.

He paused... then revealed.

"Henry."

Henry's grin faltered somewhat at this second vote. And a quick flash of panic ran through his mind, for two reasons. One was the sight of his name. There weren't supposed to be two Henry votes tonight. Everyone had promised to vote for Joni. Even Murtz and Christopher. They had promised to make it unanimous!

But the second problem was that there was another sun on this vote. That made two suns. On two votes.

And he turned to glare at Amy.

For it was an inside joke around Sato that Amy's nickname was "Sunni." Murtz had known this, of course, which is why he had suggested they all draw a picture of a sun. And now the plan was working. All of a sudden Henry knew what was up. He knew there was a sub-alliance. And he now thought Amy was behind it.

Just like Murtz had planned.

"Two votes Henry," added Jeff, "Two votes Joni."

The Satos looked on as Jeff reached into the ballot box. He pulled out the fifth vote and slowly opened it up.

"Fifth vote..."

The tribe watched with amusement as Henry's name came up for a third time.

"Henry."

Like the last one, this vote also featured a sun. This was Christopher's ballot-- the pretty one. A small sun was drawn in the upper right hand corner... as well as a raincloud, releasing raindrops onto the word "Henry."

Henry's stomach tightened. Now he knew for sure. He released his hand from Joni's arm... and finally saw the small smile on her face. -Joni knew!-

"That's three votes Henry," said Jeff, "Two votes Joni."

The tribal council area was quiet as Jeff reached into the ballot box. Everyone waited in hushed silence.

Jeff pulled out the sixth ballot.

And paused for a long moment.

"The second person voted out of the Sato tribe..."

He revealed the ballot.


-"Henry."-


Underneath the name Murtz had written his message. In big bold letters it read "The End of Ender"... as well as a picture of a sun. And it was the fatal vote.

"Henry," nodded Jeff, "Please bring me your torch."

The Satos waited for some sort of reaction, but Henry didn't oblige. He didn't yell, he didn't glare and he didn't talk. He simply stood up and reached for his torch. The young writer from Cambridge appeared to be in shock. He simply walked up to Jeff and presented himself, head held high. He wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of an outburst.

"Henry," said the host, slowly snuffing his torch, "The tribe has spoken."

And with that, Henry was gone. He had no exit speech, no comments, nothing. He just exited the set and walked down a lonely path to the shore. Soon he was gone.

And now... the Satos were down to six.

"Well," said Jeff, looking somber. He looked at the smirks on most all the faces of the Sato. Murtz appeared to be grinning from ear to ear. Joni was laughing. Lance was the only one who appeared shocked. He hadn't seen this vote coming at -all-.

"Things have a way," explained Jeff, "Of changing around here in a hurry. It seems like maybe they did for Henry." He paused "And I think it's safe to say tonight that Tribal lines have indeed been blurred... if not destroyed altogether. And maybe we've seen the beginning of a new Sato tribe."

He nodded, as several players nodded.

"So get back to camp, and I'll see you guys tomorrow."







Visit the Okinawa Official Homepage for Henry's final words and all cast bios. Also check out the Okinawa Message Board for behind-the-scenes trivia, fan postings, and to submit questions for Henry's Early Show appearance. His post-game interview is already up on the board!

Episode four ("Which Side are you on, Anyway?") coming next week.