Survivor: Okinawa
Episode 9- The Fallen Angel
by Mario Lanza




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




DAY 25



Isabella Smith began the morning just like she had every other.

The young psychology student was the first member of Miyagi to rise, just before dawn. Then, carefully weaving her way around her sleeping tribemates, she exited the shelter, put on her shoes, and took a walk down to the beach. And though today was going to be a big day-- hell, -every- day was going to be big after last night's vote-- Isabella walked with no great urgency. She simply took her time, striding casually across the sand, enjoying the sensation of the light rain against her face in the darkness.

Once she had reached the water, it was time for her morning ritual to begin. She carefully glanced around, making sure none of her teammates were watching. Then, satisfied that this was the most secluded spot on the beach, away from prying eyes, she started her morning yoga routine.

She bent down, stretching, until it was almost impossible to stretch one more inch.

She leaned back, reclining, until it almost defied physics to bend any further.

And she closed her eyes, relaxing, until she had blocked out all the extraneous pressure and stress that came to be associated with the game.

This was the yoga routine that Isabella followed every morning of her life. Whether back at home, on the rocky shores of Tonga, or on the sandy spit known as Yamako-- this was how she started each day of her life. It was something she took very seriously and was a ritual that she followed very religiously. And though it was something she would never give up, not in a million years, she was well aware that if there was -one- thing that could bring about her downfall in Okinawa-- it was the yoga. If there was -one- thing that would someday tip the other players off as to who she really was... it would be the yoga.

"Because despite the fact that Survivor: Tonga never aired," she had once explained, "I know for a fact that a lot of these people may have read about it. I know for a fact that most of these people would know who I am... if they started to put two and two together."

So Isabella had gone to great lengths to hide her daily penchance for yoga, because this had been her trademark in Tonga. This had been the absolute essence of who she was, and she wasn't about to change. No, she could change her hair... she could change her name... she could even change her accent. All of that had been relatively easy.

But she wasn't giving up the yoga. No way. She had just learned to do it in private.

"You know, deep down..." she said as she stretched, "I know that Ryan Rebez is probably a good person in real life. I mean he can't be as bad as he tried to act out here, especially since he is one of the few who realizes Survivor is a -game- and not a social hour." She shrugged slightly, her eyes still closed as she stretched. "But Ryan's problem was that he came here just to show how much of a bad-ass he can be. He came here to prove something to people, to prove just how tough and mean he could be."

She paused now, still enjoying the cold morning rain against her face.

"And sure, he had a sadistic side. Most people do, to some small degree. But Ryan's just happened to be like a big, ugly tumor on the side of his head. It kept growing and growing until it was just out of control... and that's when it was time to get rid of him."

She smiled now, happily.

"Oh don't get me wrong though," she grinned, "I'm still very happy that he's gone. Without Ryan here it will be like angels singing... like birds chirping... like the sun coming out and floating on air." She laughed. "Plus it's exciting, isn't it? I mean I outwitted Ryan and now I probably have everybody against me. I've given myself quite a challenge, haven't I?"

She laughed at herself, gleefully, as she finished up her stretching routine. And that being done... it was time for Isabella to set off for the mainland. This wasn't something she always did, but she felt it would be a nice treat today-- she was going to treat them all to a surprise. She was going to head off in a boat, pick some nice, juicy fruit, and bring it back to camp for breakfast.

Just in time to get yelled at... by whomever felt like doing the yelling first.

"So this should be a fun day," she laughed, somewhat ironically, as she launched her boat out to sea. "I suppose I'll figure out today just how good of a player I really am, because I've more or less given myself an impossible challenge. I've given myself a nice big hole to dig out of."

And as she paddled off across the sea, she hummed to herself, quietly.

"I expect things to go okay," she professed, "Because I know people will need my vote now. That's kind of the position I've put myself in for a while."

She paused.

"And if they -don't- need my vote... well, I suppose it would be time to go for my backup plan."

She smiled.

"And that would be to take my chances with the Wheel of Fortune. Because the rest of the Miyagis don't know it yet... they would be stunned if they found out... but I'm not -half- the challenge pushover I've been passing myself off to be. And just because I'm usually in the bottom two finishers doesn't mean I'll -always- be there."

She giggled, mirthfully. Because in this one instance, she knew that without a doubt, one hundred percent certainty, she had the other players fooled. Some of them may have been on to her sneakiness, some of them may have known she was smarter than she let on, and by now surely -all- of them had figured out she was more of a player than she tried to act.

"But -none- of them know that I'm a pretty good athlete too," she confessed. "Come on! I used to be a professional dancer!" She winked. "You can't do yoga every day of your life and not be in -pretty- good shape. So if it comes down to me and the Wheel of Fortune..."

She nodded.

"...I think I'll have a pretty good chance at immunity every time."


^^


As Isabella went for her early morning fruit run, the rest of the tribe arose slowly. One by one, the Miyagis staggered out of the shelter to greet the early morning drizzle. And fortunately, their home had kept them dry last night. Mike's large A-frame shelter had held up surprisingly well against the storm-- and spirits were high this morning. Despite the fact that it was hazy and raining, the mood around camp was surprisingly positive.

Especially if you happened to be a Sato.

"Last night was an emotional roller coaster," Lance admitted, smiling, as he dragged one of the fishing boats down to shore. He intended to go fishing with Amy this morning, and was just waiting for her to make her way down to the beach. "Last night I went from having my spirits high-- to my spirits low-- and then right back again to high. All in the space of about one hour."

Lance loosened the red boat from its mooring on the shore, taking time to unwind the thick wet rope from its housing.

"All I knew last night," he explained, "Was that I needed immunity to be one hundred percent safe. I -knew- there were no guarantees how it would go and I just wanted that little sun amulet around my neck." He shrugged, still smiling. "And I fell short. I fell -just- short. And the second I dropped that statue, I suddenly got down in the dumps. I just knew a Sato would soon be the first member of the jury."

Lance finally got the rope off its housing, and now the boat was ready to launch. Now he just had to wait for Amy.

"So Jeff finishes his questions," he went on, "And I'm ready to watch someone who I've grown close to in this game be sent home. And then-- in one instant-- everything changes." Lance was still smiling over this part, he still couldn't believe how his luck had changed last night. "Jeff pulls out this Wheel of Fortune, and we're told that several immunities are up for grabs. And then when he says it would be based on our performance in the challenge..."

Lance nodded his head, this time with a slight air of confidence.

"All my effort in the challenge ended up actually paying off. And for the first time in this game, we were rewarded for actual -effort- put in, even if we didn't actually win. And sure, I was bursting with joy when I put that sun around my neck-- but I can't even -begin- to imagine what it was like for Amy." He shook his head, admiringly. "For her to know that her time was up, to be sitting there waiting, and then to watch Jeff toss her that last sun amulet... well that was something I don't think I'll ever forget, for as long as I might live."

He shrugged now, having completely given up any chance of figuring this game out. Lance just wasn't going to try anymore-- it was all just too crazy.

"And I don't know -what- happened with the vote, but all of a sudden Ryan's gone and we're tied back up at four to four."

Lance saw Amy walking down the beach towards him, and she was still wearing her smile from last night. The smile hadn't seemed to leave her face all night. Amy was still in a state of bliss.

"You know what?" Lance called, motioning for her to get in the boat, "I love my Sato buff, but maybe these red ones aren't so bad." He grinned broadly as Amy laughed. "I guess red isn't so bad after all..."


^^


"Okay," said Amy, once the two of them had shoved off from shore, "We've got three more days, Lance. The question is... what do we do about it?"

"It seems to me," Lance started, "The goal is to make sure we turn three days into -six-."

Amy nodded.

"But honestly," Lance smiled as he paddled, "I'm still in shock. I mean I'm thrilled and all... but it was just so unbelievable. -All- those people, practically ready to wave to you in the jury box..."

"I know!" Amy laughed.

"I guess it's true what they say," Lance admonished, "-Never- get too cocky. Never."

"Well all I can say..." Amy said, a wicked twinkle in her eye, "Is that I hope Ryan gets comfortable in my jury seat. He even had my name embroidered on it and everything."

The two friends laughed as they set out on their first fishing trip of the day. And truth be told, not much food was going to come out of this expedition. For whatever reason, the fish around Yamako didn't seem to be easy to catch. Thus far, the Miyagis were more or less relying on Isabella's searching skills to eat-- a prospect which was more than a little disconcerting.

"Do we know who the fifth Ryan vote was yet?" Lance asked finally. It was a question that he had been waiting to bring up, once the euphoria over their reunion had ended.

"No," Amy shook her head, "But I'd bet you money that a few people will claim it. Nobody has yet, but you know it's coming."

"Yeah."

"But what's more curious to me," Amy said, "Is how Emma will react once Matt called her out at Tribal Council. Because he basically told Kamiya everything but her name, and you know they won't be happy that she gave away all their secrets."

"What's going on between those two?" Lance looked suspicious. "Matt and Emma. Are they a team or what?"

"You'd have to ask Matt, I guess," Amy looked confused. "Frankly I've never been sure, but I know she's been trying. Matt told me she was working on him hard."

The two fished for nearly an hour, just making idle chitchat under the lightly falling rain. Because to be quite honest, there were still a lot of unanswered questions that were going to come up today. Once the golden haze of the Ryan vote wore off-- there were some questions that were definitely going to need to be answered.

"Well all I can say right now," Lance said finally, "Is that I look at the people who are here right now-- and I look at how we got here. And I don't think a lot of people would have picked the four of us to be the final four Satos."

"I agree."

We -all- took different paths to get here," Lance nodded, "But here we are, thanks to each other."

Amy nodded, agreeing.

"And the beauty of it," Lance smiled, "Is that we all trust one another. There won't be any need to worry about a Sato flipping... like Ryan did... and like whomever did last night."

"I totally agree."

"And as long as we have open communication," Lance shrugged, "Hopefully Kamiya won't be able to tear us apart with lies. None of them will be able to pull a Christopher and start exploiting people."

And Amy smiled, happily.

"Lance," she said, "That's -exactly- why I adore having you around. Thank you so much for being our backbone."

And under the morning Okinawan drizzle, the two Sato friends exchanged one more congratulatory hug.


^^


Despite the rain, Amy's morning thus far had been nothing but sunshine. Like Lance, she still couldn't believe her good luck. And it was more than a little symbolic that she still hadn't taken off her little golden sun amulet. She had been wearing her immunity necklace all morning, just underneath her shirt, mostly because she couldn't bear to take it off.

And if Amy had her way, this little amulet was -never- going to leave her possession. No way, not after last night. That one had been too close for comfort.

"The funniest thing about last night," she confessed later that morning, "Was that Mike, Michelle and Ryan all warned me I was going home. They kissed my butt, they begged for my jury vote... they freaking -eulogized- me for crying out loud. I felt like they were giving me a burial ceremony!"

Amy was walking along the Yamako coastline, keeping an eye out for Matt. Because once she had returned from her meeting with Lance, she definitely needed to have one with Matt. And she had a pretty good idea where he might be right now.

"And then Mike," she smiled as she continued, "Bless his little heart, Mike spun the wheel and inadvertently saved all the Satos!"

She laughed, then smirked.

"Okay, we'll skip the thank yous for Mike, but you get the point."

She then saw Matt up ahead, as the young man was trying his hand at spear fishing. Matt had come out here with a homemade spear for the sole purpose of harpooning something edible. And Amy... mother that she was... hadn't had the heart to tell him it wasn't going to work. Matt was hardly the athlete, and not the least bit outdoorsy, but God bless him for trying. If nothing else, Matt was the ambitious sort.

"I worry about Matt a little," Amy confessed, as she neared the shirtless young man, who stood waist deep in the sea. "He really let Kamiya have it at Tribal Council... and I honestly don't know if he will be an asset or a liability anymore." Her brow furrowed. "And if he -isn't- a target after last night's outburst, I'll know something is up. There's going to be some explaining to do."

She paused.

"Because what really worries me is that someone didn't flip on Kamiya to oust Ryan. My fear is that someone flipped to -save- Matt. And that's the question that will be bugging me all day... who was that mystery vote? Any why did it happen?"

She stopped now, shrugging helplessly.

"I trust Matt, and he's still one of my best friends in the game-- but he's changed. He's not the same happy-go-lucky kid I knew on day one. The time on Kamiya has definitely made him more withdrawn. He doesn't joke around with me like he used to..."

And now Matt saw Amy. He looked up from his task, spear in hand, hockey mask covering his face. And then, happily, he waved. He waved his friend over, though he had never been particularly comfortable with walking around shirtless in front of her. So for that reason, Matt edged slightly out into the colder, deeper water as she approached.

"How are you doing?" Amy called out, "Catch any fish?"

"Yeah," Matt joked, "But I've thrown 'em all back. The empty bucket is just an illusion, I'm just giving the fish a chance."

"That's big of you."

"Meh," Matt shrugged. "I'm sporting like that."

"So what happened last night?" Amy said, once she was close enough to lower her voice. "How on earth did we get spared??"

Matt raised his hands up in helpless amazement. He hadn't had a clue. He still didn't.

"That vote," he admitted, "Was like having a bad dream where you're falling and about to hit the ground. I was falling and falling and I -knew- the impact was gonna be bad. And usually, you know, you wake up just before impact..."

Amy nodded.

"But last night I actually hit," Matt smiled, finally lifting his mask. "I hit the ground and realized I was still here. And I don't have a fricking -clue- how it happened."

"Do you know who the fifth vote was?"

"I suspect it was Emma or Joni," Matt guessed. "Coulda been Mike, I suppose. But I bet all three of them will fess up about it now."

"That's what I think too. They're all gonna take credit."

"But seriously," Matt said, "When that fifth Ryan vote came up, I was shocked. Monkeys could've flown out of my ass and I wouldn't have been more surprised."

Amy giggled.

"I was like," Matt joked, "Fuckin' A, there -is- a Santa Claus!"

"I was -so- happy for you," Amy smiled, "Because once we all had immunity except for you, I felt awful. I knew you'd be the new target. I knew they were gonna go for you."

"Well I survived," Matt shrugged. "Barely, but it counts. We -all- survived." He paused. "And I'd kiss you right now if I wasn't afraid of you kicking my ass."

Amy giggled again.

"But you know what the best thing is?" Matt said, excitedly, "The best thing is that for the first time in a -long- time... I feel like I have a say in my fate. You don't know how long it's been! I've been trapped in Kamiya Happy Land for so long, I kinda forgot what it feels like to have a chance."

"They put you through -hell-," Amy agreed, "If anyone deserves this, it's you."

"It's not just for me," Matt said, angrily, "It's for David, and it's for Beffy. It's for all the people that those assholes tried to mess with."

Amy nodded.

"But I've been reborn," Matt smiled, "We've -all- been reborn. And it feels so damn good right now. We got Ryan and we got him good. And I hope Beffy is laughing her ass off, wherever she is."

Amy smiled.

"And you know I hated Joanna in the Amazon," Matt said, "But I gotta quote her right now, because I feel it's quite appropriate."

He paused for a moment-- then before Amy could catch on, he started to sing, loudly. His voice echoed up and down the sandy beach of Yamako.

"OH -GLORY, HALLELUUUUUUUJAH!-"


^^


While the Satos were certainly upbeat this morning, their Kamiya rivals around the island were decidedly less... enthused. And a small sampling from their morning confessionals gave away some of the anger, the hurt, and the betrayal they were feeling right about now.

"So now we know," Mike had explained, "Who the true snake in the grass is. We all thought it would be Ryan, but the -true- snake turned out to be our little, sneaky, not-so-under-the-radar young Emma." He had shaken his head, sadly. "And it came at a terrible price for me too... because we underestimated her. Neither Ryan nor I -ever- thought she had it in her. She was the -one- person who could have pulled it off."

He sighed now, defeated. Though at the same time, Mike was more than a little bit impressed. He was mad at her, sure, but deep down he admired the way Isabella had managed to pull it off.

"We're just lucky we decided to mark the ballots, otherwise we never would have figured out who cast that vote. But my hat's off to you, Emma. You did it. Somehow you managed to slip right past all of us."

But though Mike was sure his time in the game was not going to be much longer... he wasn't about to give up. No way, it wasn't going to be that easy. You didn't topple a player like Mike Ruff -that- easily. There was a reason he hadn't lost a strategy game in years-- and Emma whats-her-face was just about find this out. Mike was -fully- prepared to put together a counter-attack right about now. That was just the way you did it. Whether in chess, Magic, or the game of Survivor... the strategy was still the same.

Once your opponent managed to pull off a killer move... it was then -your- job to try and counter it.

"Right now," he explained, "Emma and the Satos may have the upper hand, but there's something they don't realize. They don't realize that as long as I am in this game, I have a chance." He grinned. "When I applied for this game, I specifically stated that I was vengeful. I wrote that word for word in my application... and now you are about to see me in action."

Mike chuckled, excitedly.

"I don't know if I can win now. I know the chances are much smaller, but that doesn't mean I'm giving up. And if I -do- go out, I'll go out with a bang... and I will take Emma down with me."

He shrugged.

"The thing now is that someone needs to take credit for that vote. One of us needs to tell the Satos that it was us-- not Emma-- just so we can start to confuse them a little. Maybe we can throw them a little off their game." He smiled. "But no matter what happens, I just want to make sure Emma knows we're after her now. I want her to know she isn't gonna coast past us, she isn't gonna get away with this, and we -aren't- gonna let her get to the end. No matter if -all- of us lose... we're gonna make sure she loses too."

He paused, and then looked directly into the camera. And his voice was slightly playful as he spoke, because now Mike had a new mission in this game. Now it was personal.

"Emma, I just want to you know that I'm onto you now. You've given me a challenge, you've forced me to make a move-- and my sights are now locked on you."

He grinned.

"And trust me, Emma, when I say I -never- lose."

While Mike's confessional was more or less a throwing down of the gauntlet, Joni Newman's morning confessional was one of pure frustration. And as she waded out to look for shellfish, Joni let loose with a torrent of pent up emotion and frustration. More than anyone else out here-- she was -furious-.

"What a load of crap!" she exclaimed, as she blithely waded through the waist-deep water, "Emma is the biggest backstabber out here and I can't believe she would do that to us. What was she thinking?!"

Joni sloshed through the water half-heartedly, not really even trying to find anything. She was more or less just stomping around, enjoying the ability to just kick and splash as she walked. Sometimes... taking out a little frustration was all you needed.

"All I know," she continued her rant, "Is that right now I've got some -major- sweet talking to do. Amy and Hogan won't be happy with me for turning... and any attempt I make to get back with them will look like I'm just trying to save myself." She paused, still angry. "Crap. Why did Emma do that? What did she think she was doing?"

She now looked up, dramatically shaking her fist at the sky.

"Stupid wheel! Argh!"

Joni continued her rant as she walked up and down the coastline, still furious. Because this was the angriest she had ever been in the game. An Angel had turned on them? An -Angel-? That just wasn't supposed to happen!

"After all we went through with her," Joni fumed, "After -all- we did to get back together... for Emma to turn on us. What crap. What a load of crap." She scowled. "And I'm serious when I say we can't even say "Angels" anymore. There's only two of us left! Two of us... and then Emma, the Fallen Angel."

She continued to slosh around, glaring at no one in particular as she walked off into the distance angrily.

"I am ticked. I am -really- ticked..."

And of course there was one final Kamiyan to comment on the twist-- one final member of the Angels who certainly had a lot to say. And as Michelle Kin-Fraley called for an early morning strategy session for the Kamiyas, she took a moment to give her thoughts on the latest events at camp.

Though, surprisingly, she wasn't even all that upset.

"Twists like that are the reason I love this game," she laughed, as she waited for Mike and Joni to join her down by the beach. "That was the best twist I've ever seen, and I love it. There's so many more variables now, and it's just about anybody's ball game at this point."

Michelle's graciousness this morning had been a surprise to most of those around her. Because to be quite honest, a lot of the camera crew and producers were a bit frightened of the woman's temper. Michelle was the type of player who you didn't want to be around when she was upset-- and the crew had more or less taken bets on how angry she would be today. Many of them predicted Isabella would walk away from the day with a bloodied nose.

But other than a quick flash of fury just after the vote last night-- Michelle really hadn't been all that angry. Oh sure, she felt betrayed. Sure, she had been surprised. But her outward appearance this morning suggested that maybe she wasn't even all that upset. Maybe she actually -would- be fine with it after all.

"Okay," Michelle explained, conspiratorially, as she still had a few moments by herself, "I think I've got this puppy figured out." And then she explained her theory on how all this had come about. She did it slowly, methodically, as if laying a case out in front of a jury. "First... Emma must have had some sort of secret meeting with Matt. She obviously told him all of our plans, and let him know just what all of us have been up to since the twist."

She nodded.

"Why she did this, I don't know. But he basically pointed the finger right at her, so I know she screwed up somewhere. She did something to piss him off, and he let her have it." She smiled now, somewhat mischievously. "And though we already know Emma was the one to backstab us, there's really only one lesson we can take from the events of last night. Just one thing we can learn from all this..."

She grinned.

"It looks like sweet little innocent Emma isn't as sweet and -innocent- as she appears."

Now she brainstormed.

"And what if..." she started, "Ryan -wasn't- the one to force that tie at the Beth vote? What if that was Emma, and she somehow got him to take the fall for it instead? What if Emma has been working against us all along?"

Michelle shook her head, admiringly.

"I have to hand it to her...she's a smart girl. She's clearly got more going on than we gave her credit for. But she probably didn't count on Matt blabbing his mouth last night. I think he blew her cover, he exposed her..."

She looked around.

"... And that's why nobody's seen her this morning. I think she took off for the mainland first thing, so she wouldn't have to explain herself to any of us." She chuckled. "Typical Emma, she runs away first chance she gets, because she doesn't have the balls to get in a confrontation with us."

And now Michelle saw Mike and Joni coming towards her. Now that breakfast had ended, it was time for the three of them to discuss things.

And at this point... Michelle's vengeful side finally peeked out from its hiding place. Finally, the Michelle the crew had come to know and love finally started to emerge.

"Emma is the traitor," she finished, "I think she's -always- been the traitor... and I've just been too distracted to notice. But -she- is the one who's been working against us, -she- is the one who forced that tie for Beth, and -she- is the one who ran to Matt like a fucking baby and told him all our secrets."

Michelle paused.

Then she clenched both her fists.

The fury was back.

"And our little friend from Georgia is -not- going to get away with it. Because right now... I promise you that when we get done with her... "not-so-innocent" Emma will see what it's like to be fucked over the coals."


^^


The Kamiya meeting of the minds ended up being short, to the point, and predictable.

Joni expressed her outrage that something like this would happen-- that somebody she both -knew- and considered to be a friend would stab Kamiya right in the back.

Michelle professed revenge-- saying that no matter what happened, they -had- to take Isabella down with them. If Kamiya loses, she loses too, Simple as that.

And it was Mike who came up with the plan. It was the big man from New York who came up with the only strategy he could think of-- the only one he thought had a chance to work.

"The thing is," Mike explained, once Joni and Michelle had calmed down sufficiently, "I have a pretty good bond with some of the Satos." He nodded. "I know you guys have burned some bridges with them... but I have a pretty good mutual respect thing going on, especially with Matt, Amy and Lance. Those three trust me, as well as like me. I think they'll believe pretty much anything I say."

Michelle and Joni were silent, just listening.

"So my idea," Mike shrugged, "Is what if one of -us- takes credit for the vote instead?" He paused for a moment, letting the idea sink in. "What if I just go up and say I was the one who turned on Kamiya... because I was swayed by their plight? What if I cut Emma out of the equation altogether?"

"I don't know," Michelle frowned, "What if Emma's already told them? You have to believe she's probably already fessed up."

"Emma hasn't been here all morning," Joni said. "She took off first thing. I saw her hightailing it out of here before anyone else got up."

"Besides..." Mike reassured, "Even if she -has- fessed up, I can turn it into my word against hers. If I just go up and explain my side, I can probably get them to believe -me- instead." He smirked. "It's not like anyone cares much for her speaking skills anyway. And who's to say she could persuade -anyone-? The girl's never had an opinion in her life!"

Michelle nodded slowly, reluctantly. Joni just remained silent.

"You're aware," Michelle explained, "That Emma was the one who squealed it all to Matt. She's always been the traitor."

"She has to be," Mike nodded.

"And I bet -she- forced that tie," Michelle said. "I don't think it was Ryan at all, I think she's been messing with us since the start." She grimaced, letting out a soft snort. "I feel so -foolish-! She fooled us all."

Mike nodded, sadly.

"Gosh I hate her," Joni added. "I really do."

"The only thing I can think of," Michelle continued, "Is that Matt must have promised her a final three. I think what Emma did is basically take Beth's place-- Matt, Amy, Emma." She shook her head. "But what kills me is that Emma's done the same things we've done to the Kamiyas-- and -we- look like the bad guys. Why does -she- always get off scot free? What makes her so damn pure in all of this?"

"Bleh," said Joni.

"So the plan now..." Michelle summarized, "Is that Mike will go and take credit for the vote. Right?"

"I think it's all we can do," Mike shrugged.

"What about you, Joni?" asked Michelle, "Is there -any- chance you can get one of the Satos to join us? Any chance at all?"

"Uh... doubt it." Joni looked guilty. "They aren't the biggest fans of me at the moment. Both Amy and Hogan thought I'd be voting with them."

"Well dangit," Michelle sighed. "I hate to say it guys, but I think Sato promised Emma something good. And as much as I just want her -out- of here, I'm afraid she's put us into a huge hole." She paused now, still looking anguished. "But -why-? Why did she feel like she had to do this?"

"Because she's selfish," Joni said. "And because she sucks."

"The -worst- part about this," Michelle said, "Is that we worked so hard to save you Joni. And you stuck your neck out for us... just to have stupid Emma try to cut it off." Michelle looked truly pained over this. "So I apologize, Joni. Emma fooled me into talking you back with us, and I'm afraid now it might have sealed your fate."

"It's okay," said Joni, staring at the ground.

"I -really- hope it hasn't," Michelle said, putting an arm around the young girl's shoulders. "God I just want to vote her out. I just want to get her back for this."

The three Kamiyans were silent for a long while as they stood near the shore, the soft rain gently falling down around them. And for the first time since the game started, they were actually starting to feel like a family. For the first time all game-- Kamiya was actually starting to bond.

"Well I'll say this," Michelle said finally, "I am -not- willing to lay down and let Emma and the Satos walk all over me. If I go down, I will -not- go quietly and I will -not- sell you two out just to get myself further. If I'm going out, I'm doing it with honor and loyalty."

"Same here," nodded Joni. "Screw Emma. I'm too ticked to even talk to her right now."

"Emma rode our coattails," Michelle fumed, "All the way to the merge. She didn't do a damn thing. We -carried- her ass to this point, and then she stabs us in the back." She spat on the ground. "She sickens me, and she's lucky I don't go smack her in the face when I see her."

"Same here," Joni nodded, arms crossed, "I am -ticked-. I'll do whatever I can to make sure one of us wins it. I don't care anymore, I'm not about to admit defeat to -any- of these people. Especially not stupid Emma."

"Well I don't know where she is..." Mike said, looking around, "But until she gets back, I think we need to work on this "mystery vote" thing. After we leave here I'm gonna go right to the Satos and start telling them my story. I'll take credit for that switched vote and I'm gonna do my best to undermine anything Emma might have planned before she gets back."

He paused, putting an arm around Michelle's shoulder.

"And I agree with you, Mich," he continued, "I think Emma cut a deal with Matt and the deal somehow fell apart. Something went wrong there."

Michelle nodded, agreeing.

"Somewhere along the way," Mike continued, "She screwed him over. So when Matt was blasting her in his answers, he was legitimately -pissed-. He was furious that she had set him up, and I don't think that was an act."

Michelle nodded again. "Yeah," she said. "Matt isn't subtle. He had to be telling the truth."

"And my goal from here on out," Mike said, "Is this. I think we need Emma to be gone. We can't let her join up with them... and I sure as hell don't want her with us anymore either."

"Never," said Joni. "Never again."

"So whatever I tell them," Mike said, "You guys need to back up. You guys need to confirm my story-- and let it be known you aren't happy with me. And hell..." He paused, thinking it over. "I'll just say that Matt's answers got to me. I can say I knew Emma had told him the truth and I started to regret what we had done to them." He shrugged. "Or I can just say I knew Emma was about to turn, so I beat her to the punch."

Michelle shook her head, sadly. She still couldn't believe it had come to this.

"Who should I tell first?" Mike asked. He turned to look at the young dancer to his right. "Joni, you were on Sato-- what's their setup like? Who would be the easiest to fool?"

"Lance," said Joni, without hesitation.

"Lance?" Mike was surprised.

"Yeah," nodded Joni. "He isn't very involved in what's going on. He doesn't talk much and nobody -ever- tells him things. He's always about a half step behind everybody else." She smirked. "Lance isn't really "there" at all times, if you know what I mean."

"Good," Mike said, nodding. "I talk to him quite a bit, so I think it can work."

"A lot of days Lance just seems to check out," Joni continued, laughing. "Some days he won't talk to anyone at all. I remember a few times he would literally tell me to just go away."

"What about Hogan?" asked Michelle.

"Hogan's a nice guy," Joni shrugged, "And he doesn't much like Amy. He also -hates- Matt with a passion."

"Why?"

"I think it's because of politics," Joni confessed. "Hogan's a young republican and Matt is a diehard liberal. The two of them can't even talk or else they'll start to fight. Plus Matt is an atheist. He doesn't believe in God. Hogan just can't stand him."

"So Lance and Hogan?" Mike asked, "Those two would be easiest?"

"Definitely." Then she grinned. "Plus I have a real life connection to Hogan. If you softened him up... I could probably start working on him too. He usually believes anything I say."

"Excellent," smiled Mike.

And then... for the first time in the game... Mike and Joni exchanged a high five. Suddenly, things were starting to look bright again. Even for the two who never seemed to have much in common.

"But Mike..." Michelle said, "There's one problem with this..."

"What's that?"

"The voting symbols," Michelle sighed. "We marked our ballots! I mean you clearly wrote a "GP" on your vote for Matt. Everybody knows that!"

"No they don't," Mike smiled, slyly.

"But Emma can just tell them it meant "Gnome Power." That's easy to figure out."

"Well what if..."

And at this point Mike finally played his trump card. He hated to do it, but he supposed it was time to show the Kamiyas just how sharp he was at playing this game.

"What if I tell them GP stood for "Georgia Pride" instead...?"

Mike grinned.

And the games were about to begin.


^^


"...And that's why I decided to vote for Ryan," Mike said, as he shook his head sadly. Then he paused, looking up at Lance. "I had to do it, it was all the comments Matt made about Emma. I just didn't trust her anymore. I knew she would turn on us anyway... so I wanted to steal her thunder and be the one to do it to -her- first."

"Wow," said Lance, stunned.

"I know," sighed Mike, "But she leaked all our alliance info to Matt and..." he sighed again, "I knew it was just game over at that point. I knew Kamiya was doomed. Emma had screwed us."

"I have to say," Lance admitted, "That last night I was just -stunned-. When that fifth Ryan vote came up, I was just in shock."

"I know," Mike tried his best to look forlorn. "I just... it was just so many emotions running through me. Guilt... betrayal... honor... all of them." And he smiled as Lance silently placed a hand on his shoulder. Lance was totally buying this. "I knew it wasn't the smart thing to do, but I had to do it Lance. I was just tired of the Kamiya games. That was the only reason I flipped."

"Well..." said a touched Lance, "I guess all I can say is thank you, Mike. I mean... if the only reason we were spared was because of some inopportune Tribal Council comments..." He shook his head now, surprised. "I just mean, wow. But just know that I appreciate it."

"And I'm not looking to cut a deal," Mike said. "I'm not looking for much. It's not like I'm going to win anyway. It's just... I felt this was something I had to do."

"Well Mike," Lance said, "I can promise you that-- starting today-- this is a whole new game. -Anything- can happen right now."

"That's what I'm hoping."

"And you promised me a few days ago," Lance added, "That if I was ever in danger, you'd warn me. And I said I'd do the same."

"And I meant it too."

"Well don't think I ever forgot that," Lance smiled, "And don't think I will ever forget this. You extended a kind hand to all of us when your teammates didn't. You helped us out solely out of a sense of honor. And that's something none of us will ever forget."

Mike smiled, humbly.

"And what you did last night," Lance added, "Speaks -volumes- about the kind of person you are." He nodded. "You're a good man, Mike."

"I'm glad I did it then," said Mike.

"And there's no way anyone will target you," Lance added. "No -way-. And by some chance if they did, remember we have that Gentleman's Agreement..."

"I do."

"I will honor it and warn you," Lance said, "And you have my word on it. No one will blindside you if I have any say in the matter. Sato doesn't play like that."

The two men shook hands... and Mike smiled. Because it hadn't take very long at all, he hadn't even needed to bring up the ballot markings! Lance had simply bought it-- hook, line and sinker.

... And that meant it was time to move on to Matt.

"I had to do it," Mike fessed up to the young redhead. He had managed to get Matt alone on the beach, as the two men set up some fish traps for the day. "And it was -your- comments that made me do it. You were the one that got me to change my mind."

"That vote was -you-?" Matt asked, in disbelief. "Holy shit."

"Yeah," said Mike, softly. "I had to beat Emma to the punch." He paused, then added, "I knew she told you all that stuff, and I knew she was ready to turn on us. I wanted to beat her at her own game."

"No kidding," said Matt, somewhat relieved. "I mean-- Emma and I hardly talk, then all of a sudden we're best friends! And I was like, what the hell? Why are you telling me all this?"

"It was a setup," Mike confirmed. "Emma is sneaky like that."

"Damn her," Matt said, wearily. "I mean goddamn it all."

"Well she was getting ready to flip," Mike confirmed, "Just like Ryan was. Those two are both that type of player." He looked up, smiling. "But I guess she never got the chance."

"She never did," Matt confirmed. "She promised... and promised... but she never did. And that still gets me." He paused. "I'm just... wow." He shook his head.

"It was the "GP" vote," Mike now confirmed, finally playing his ace in the hole. "Kamiya all marked their ballots-- per the plan. And Emma used "GP", for "Georgia Pride." That was how you can tell who voted for who." He smiled. "The little scamp is so proud of her state that it's gonna end up biting her in the ass."

Matt laughed.

"My symbol was supposed to be a big number one," Mike said. "But I just couldn't do it. I just couldn't go through with it."

"Well..." started Matt, "All I can say is... you're a good guy, Mike. I give you shit sometimes, but you're a good guy."

"Thanks," smiled Mike. "And I've told you before that I've grown to respect you as the game's gone along. And it's true!"

Matt smiled.

"All you have to do is go and look at my confessionals," Mike shrugged, "Since nearly day one I've grown more and more favorable towards you... and you can see it." He shook his head now, almost disbelievingly. "And to think I ended up saving you over my team... I mean jeez, who would have thought it?"


^^


Isabella was slowly paddling back to the island by this point, completely unaware that Mike was having spectacular success in her absence. She had no idea that Mike (or any of them) would be able to pull off a maneuver like this-- she just didn't think they had it in them. But as Isabella slowly carted back her boatload of sugarcane and oranges, she was unaware that Sato was already one hundred percent in the corner of Mike Ruff. She didn't realize she was going to have her work cut out for her. She didn't realize that the Satos were already starting to draw in their ranks around the big man with the gnome.

And she didn't realize that Sato had already made up their minds.

"So it was Mike for sure," Amy said, as she talked things over with Lance and Matt. The three of them had waded out into the surf just south of Yamako, as they discussed Mike's guilty confessional that he had been responsible for the fifth mystery Ryan vote. And fortunately for Mike...all three Satos had gotten the same story... because now they were comparing notes.

"The only one he didn't tell was Hogan," Lance said, "And that's because Hogan's been out spear fishing all day. He went out with Joni... and they've been out for a few hours."

"Ugh," sighed Amy. "Hogan really needs to stay away from Joni. I don't like it. She's up to something, I just feel it."

"I agree," nodded Matt.

"But if you really believe Mike," Lance said, "It doesn't matter. If we really have Mike on board... Hogan will stick with us. He's not gonna throw away a majority."

"Especially once he realizes Joni isn't gonna give it up anyway," Matt joked. "She's Mormon, and those gates are closed, my friend." Then he caught what he was saying. "Uh, sorry Amy. No offense."

Amy socked him in the shoulder, playfully.

"Anyhoo..." Matt said, changing the subject, "Michelle came up later and basically confirmed Mike's whole story." He laughed. "She gave me some crap about how she wanted to tip her cap to me... from one warrior to another, and she felt happy for me. She said she was thrilled that I had outwitted her and that I had somehow gotten Mike's vote."

"Did it sound rehearsed?" Amy asked.

"Well yeah," Matt nodded, "But then again she always sounds rehearsed. She always sounds like she's reading a script." He shrugged. "So it's tough to tell."

"Well I got a confirmation from Joni," Amy laughed. "And I was happy too. First time she's talked to me in three days, you know. I can't believe she even remembered my name!"

Lance chuckled.

"I swear," Amy shook her head, "Since the minute we merged, she's been so unbelievably rude to me. It's like she's not even -trying- to humor me."

"That's why she needs to go," Lance nodded.

"I agree," Amy said. "Because I'm sorry but Joni has treated us like crap ever since we merged. I thought we were all her friends-- I mean for God's sake we could have easily thrown a challenge and we didn't. We -saved- her ungrateful little butt."

Lance nodded.

"Plus," Amy added, "I am -not- comfortable with how close she is to Hogan. She's got -way- too much sway over him and he will -never- be one hundred percent loyal with her around."

"Agreed," said Matt.

"The only way to be perfectly secure," Amy said, somewhat angrily, "Is to take her out next... and hopefully with Mike's help." She glanced off towards the sea, where the two teens were off in the distance, still trying to spearfish. And Amy glared, because this was more than a little personal. She just was -not- a fan of Joni's newfound attitude since the two tribes had come together as one.

"I have no problem taking out Joni," Lance added. "And I'll talk to Mike about it too." Then he shrugged. "It's not like she'll be winning immunity. She and Emma are probably gonna be vulnerable for every vote from here on out. They're too small."

"Well I'd go for Joni," Matt agreed. "If it gets Hogan to take his head out of his butt, I'd do it. Though I'm not sure Hogan would actually -vote- for her."

Amy sighed.

"Well that's gonna be the tricky part..." she stated.

Then she looked over towards the shelter-- where Mike was sitting by himself, building a deer snare. Mike appeared to be deep in concentration.

"...And that's why we need to make -sure- Mike is on board with us."


^^


It was just before lunchtime when Isabella Smith finally came back within range of Yamako Island. And as the medium-sized sand spit rested on the horizon, she stopped the boat with her canoe. From this vantage point, about 300 feet out to sea, she stared at the lion's den she knew she was about to enter.

"Well boys," she said, smiling softly to herself, "Look who's ready to come home."

She smiled and-- with that-- she put her oar in the water and started to paddle. She didn't go fast; she paddled as slowly as possible, just trying to get the lay of the land. She was scanning the island as carefully as she could-- just trying to see what she would be walking into.

And then she saw the first one.

"Bingo," she whispered.

There was the first Kamiyan, standing on the shore of the beach-- waiting for her. There was Michelle. The sharp-tempered auburn-haired woman stood on the beach, just staring out at the Kamiyan traitor. Michelle's arms were crossed across her chest and-- even from here-- she looked pissed.

Suddenly another Kamiyan saw Isabella approaching... and now Joni came down to the beach, down to join the "welcoming committee." Joni stood just behind Michelle, one hand on her hip, as she glared out towards Isabella's approaching boat.

Isabella smiled nervously as she slowly paddled towards Michelle and Joni on the beach. And before too long, here came Mike. Now the big man was here-- as he and Michelle whispered something to one another on the shore. Michelle put a hand to her mouth and laughed.

Now all three Kamiyans were standing on the shore, waiting for Isabella to land. And she could tell from their faces that none of them were happy. This wasn't going to be a happy reunion-- particularly since this was the first time Isabella had spoken to them since the vote. Last night she had simply come back to camp and gone to sleep, without so much of a word to anybody. And then today she had taken off for the mainland before the sun had even risen.

And now... at just before noon on day twenty-five, Isabella was bracing herself for the most heated confrontation of the game. It was high noon... and the gunfighters were standing in the street... all set for the showdown.

"Well I just feel so honored," Isabella joked, as her boat slowly came closer and closer to shore, "Look at my fan club, just waiting for me to arrive."

She smiled, as she looked at their angry faces.

Joni's glare.

Michelle's fury.

Mike's disapproval.

All waiting to talk to her.

"Oh my goodness me," Isabella joked to herself, dropping into her lilting southern drawl, "Why, I feel positively like a debutante at her ball! All these suitors... coming to dance with little ol' me!"


^^


The actual reunion wasn't quite as heated as the Kamiyans had planned-- mainly because Michelle didn't want to talk to her. Moments before Isabella landed on shore, Michelle turned to Mike, realizing she didn't want to do this right now.

"I don't know what to say..." Michelle confessed, "I can't do this, Mike. I'll screw up and say the wrong thing. I just know it."

"Well come back later," Mike offered. "Just cool your head and come back later. Don't say anything you're going to regret."

"Yeah," nodded Michelle. "No matter what I say, it's likely to come out as "die traitor."

Sighing angrily at herself, Michelle had no choice but to turn and walk away. She didn't wave, she didn't say goodbye, she simply strode up the sand of the beach, back towards camp. Her reunion with Isabella would have to take place later.

"So are you glad Ryan is gone?" called Mike finally, once Isabella was within earshot. "Are you happy now?"

"What?"

"Are you happy?" Mike yelled. "Did you get what you were looking for out of all this?"

Isabella waited until her boat coasted to a stop before she replied. She stood up now, daintily stepping out of the boat. She carried a backpack full of fruit in her hands.

"Well yes Mike," she admitted calmly, "To be honest, I'm glad Ryan left last night."

Joni didn't say a word. She simply crossed her arms and glared.

"Hi Joni," smiled Isabella. "How are you?"

"Just great."

"That's good."

"So let me get this straight," Mike said, as he trailed Isabella up the beach, "If you were so happy to see Ryan gone, will you be happy to see me gone too?" He paused. "Or what about Joni? Will you be happy to see her go?"

"Of course not," Isabella said, as she walked briskly up the sand. She actually wanted no part of this conversation right now. She wanted to go talk to Matt first-- to see what was up. She needed to know what was going on with Matt and where his head was at right now. And she really just wanted the Kamiyas to leave her alone until that happened.

"What bothered you so much about Ryan?" Mike asked, still following her. "What was so bad about him?"

"He made decisions on his own," Isabella said, still trying to walk away from this, "And I didn't trust him."

"But you screwed up," Mike said, "You realize that, don't you? You put us in a terrible position."

Isabella just ignored him. She just kept walking as Mike trailed after her. Joni hadn't moved a muscle-- the young dancer was still down by the beach, glaring at her ex-friend.

"So what do we do now?" Mike said, "What do you plan to do?"

"I don't know," Isabella said blithely, "That's a tough question. What do -you- want to do?"

"God-damn- it, Emma," Mike nearly yelled, "Would you just answer a question for once? What's the plan now? Are you going to vote the rest of us off?

"Of course not."

"Well what is it then? Just tell me what's up! Tell me the why!"

"Mike," she sighed, "I can't really talk about this right now." She kept walking as she talked, "Can we discuss this later? I just brought back lunch and I'm tired." She paused. "Can I get back to you later?"

She kept walking up the beach, not waiting for his answer. And Mike stopped trailing after her, eventually. In due time he finally just gave up and came back down to the beach-- back down towards Joni. Because he had just been reminded of a lesson-- he had been given a reminder of one of the first lessons they had learned back on day one at Kamiya.

Getting a straight answer out of Isabella Smith was damn well near impossible.


^^


Things happened very quickly once Isabella got back to camp. Once she had dropped off her day's worth of fruit, she went right to Matt Carter. She found the young man working on a deer snare-- working on a smaller one to complement the one Mike had built.

"We need to talk," she said.

Matt looked up, suspiciously. And even though he was nearly a foot taller than the petite blonde woman, Matt was already conditioned to be worried whenever she came nearby. It was true that she had already started to frighten him.

"Why?"

"Let's go," she said, as she offered him her hand. "We need to go have a chat."

Isabella led Matt by the hand, leading the tall teenager to a spot just behind the shelter. Because this was it, this was going to be Matt Carter's make or break moment in this game. It was time to see -just- how grateful the kid was going to be.

"I don't feel bad," Matt said, quietly, "About what I said at Tribal. When I called you out for being a liar. I don't feel bad about that at all."

"Well good for you."

"So what's going on?" Matt said, "What's the urgency?"

"Did you think you were going home last night?" she asked, quickly.

"What?" he looked at her, warily.

"Did you think you were going home?" She stared at him, intently.

Matt smirked.

"Well... yeah. I knew I was."

"You lost faith in me that easily?" Isabella smiled, trying to look friendly. "Come on! I told you I wouldn't vote for you... and I didn't." She laid a hand on his arm. "I -told- you I would always tell you the truth and I did. I was -never- going to vote for you!"

"Meh," shrugged Matt, "You're a Kamiya. I've kind of come to expect that from you guys." He smirked. "There's only so many times before you eventually stop counting."

"True," she nodded.

"Besides..." Matt said, finally fixing her with a knowing glare, "You didn't save me, anyway. Mike did. He's already blown your cover."

And throughout the history of Survivor, few things had caught Isabella Smith off guard. Few things surprised her in this game, and few events really truly smacked her upside the head. But the words that just came out of Matt Carter's mouth were ones she had never, ever expected to hear.

"What??" she asked.

"You heard me. Mike fessed up."

"Are you smoking crack?" she looked flabbergasted.

"Whatever," shrugged Matt, "But you aren't the first to claim that vote, so you can save your breath."

"I'm just..." for the first time all game, Isabella was nearly speechless, "I'm just shocked anyone else would try to claim it."

"Well they did," Matt stared at her, flatly.

"Well shoot," she said, after a long pause, "Do you want me to prove it was my vote?"

"I'd -love- it."

And at this point Isabella laid out the key behind the voting symbols-- the -real- voting symbols.

"X," she explained, "For Michelle. Asterisk for Joni. "K" for me..."

Matt nodded along as she spoke, just trying to humor her.

"And "GP"," she finished, "For Mike."

"Bull shit," Matt smiled.

"GP," she crossed her arms, seriously, "For Gnome Power. That was Mike's idea, and that was Mike's vote." She was quiet, trying to let this sink in. "I'm sorry Matt... but Mike is pulling your leg."

Matt stared at her, trying his best to remain emotionless.

"Not Georgia Pride?" he asked.

"No!" she hissed. "It was Gnome Power and you -know- that's true. I was being perfectly honest with you and I am now too." She paused. "I was the one who voted for Ryan."

Matt wanted to hate her. He -so- didn't want to believe her, he didn't want to walk down this road again at all. But deep down, he knew she was right. Deep down, something told him that Isabella was indeed telling him the truth. It all just fit. Mike's hasty explanation... Michelle's rehearsed confirmation... Joni's sudden interest in talking to Amy again... it all just fit. The Kamiyas were again trying to pull one over on him.

"Damn," he whispered.

"And we can't talk about it right here," Isabella whispered, "Not now, not when people can hear us."

Matt nodded.

"And I just want you to know," she said quietly, "That your comments and the song you sang last night really hurt me. I'll be perfectly honest and say you hurt my feelings."

"I was angry," Matt said, stubbornly.

"I know you were," Isabella said, "But things are still on as far as I'm concerned. And I know we've had some issues... but I wanted you to -know- that I'm completely on the level with you." She smiled. "You wouldn't be here if I wasn't. I could have easily voted for you last night... but I didn't."

-Yeah sure,- Matt thought, sarcastically, -Once Amy won immunity you decided to switch your vote and spare me instead. What a large heart you must have. Why... it must be as big as all outdoors.-

"So let's go talk to Amy," Isabella finished, "I want to explain what happened last night, and I want to explain what I'm planning to do from here."

"Okay."

"Georgia Pride," she mocked, rolling her eyes, "Puhleeease."

"Hey," Matt shrugged, smiling, "Mike was convincing. What can I say?"

"Well don't listen to him," Isabella said. "Remember what he's done to you so far. Don't -ever- forget that he's like Jekyll and Hyde. He'll say -anything-. He'll lie to -anybody-. And so long as he feels "guilty" about it afterwards... he won't ever regret a thing."

"No kidding."

And just like that, Mike Ruff's counterattack had just been blown completely out of the water... in one shot.


^^


The day continued pretty much on schedule, with the eight members of Miyagi spreading out to do their associated chores and tasks. Amy handled the cooking for the day, Isabella's fruit became the snacks, and in early evening Matt and Hogan set off for the mainland to go lay down some deer snares.

After all, Matt had caught one deer before. Why not see if lightning would strike twice?

And as dusk came to the small sandy spit in the middle of the sea, word quickly spread among the players that Sato had found out the truth. Isabella had once again spilled her guts-- she had revealed the -correct- ballot markings-- and everybody now knew the truth. Matt, Amy and Hogan had been convinced almost immediately-- as Isabella was just that persuasive. Lance, of course, still believed it had been Mike-- since he was firmly in the "Mike is a good and truthful man" camp by this point. Lance had never bought Isabella's story and probably never would.

But Amy wasn't worried about Lance. She knew he would fall in line with the rest of them in time. She knew he would be with them when the time came. Lance McHale just wasn't one to stray.

So Sato was back together as a unit. And though they didn't quite trust Isabella's intentions, the two decision makers (Amy and Matt) were both certain that she had been the one who had saved them. It had been Isabella who had flipped, not Mike.

And just after dinner, the Kamiyas finally heard this news as well.

"Crap," said Michelle, as she walked out to check treemail just before the sun went down for the night. She was walking with Mike and Joni, the three Kamiyas deciding to have one last strategy session before tomorrow's reward challenge.

"So Emma blew our cover?" Mike said.

"Yeah," said Michelle. "They believe her too, it was inevitable. She just has too much dirt on us, there's no way we can counter that."

Mike nodded, solemnly.

"So how about this..." Michelle tried to brainstorm. "How about we all go to Amy and start appealing to her sense of pride? Just go up to her and be perfectly honest. Say something like... hey, I know you don't want an under-the-radar player to win like this." Michelle shrugged. "Because I know Amy's said that before."

Joni nodded. Amy had definitely said that.

"And if she truly believes that," Michelle said, "Then ask her why Emma? I mean, we can just flat out tell her-- look Amy, you have a two-person advantage over the Kamiyas. So why not at least take Emma out first? At least give us that pride that we know she didn't coast right by everyone to the end."

Joni snorted. Man, she really hated Emma sometimes. She still did, even twenty-four hours later.

"I would say this," Michelle continued, "Just say 'Amy, you know the three of us have at least played this game. Mike, Joni and I don't play under the radar." She was beginning to get worked up. "And Emma has ridden the coattails of every freaking person out here. She hasn't made -one- decision that's mattered. All Emma does is say things like 'Well, whatever you guys think is best.'"

Mike laughed, as did Joni.

"All Emma's done," added Michelle, "Is jump aboard for the ride and then jump ship when she feels like it. And I would tell Amy this. I would ask her to show us that much dignity and at least vote Emma's traitor ass out first."

"Heck, I'd tell her myself," Joni nodded.

"The only problem," Michelle sighed, "Is I'm afraid Emma is in Amy's pocket. Or... maybe the other way around."

The treemail box loomed up ahead, and even from here-- Michelle could see that it was full. Good, at least maybe they'd have -some- good news today. Things really couldn't be much worse.

"My only concern," Joni added, "Is that we shouldn't overload Sato with "save me" pleas so soon. If we go that route, I don't want to look desperate in doing so. We have to be sneaky about it."

She paused.

"But no matter what, guys, we have to finish in the top four for immunity. If -any- of us finishes in the lower half, we'll likely be the one to go." Joni thought about this for a moment, then sighed and repeated her mantra for the day: "Stupid Emma."

But Michelle was the first to reach the treemail box, and was the first to pull out the parchment. And as she read it in the soft glow of dusklight, her features suddenly started to brighten a little. Suddenly a smile appeared on Michelle's normally hard face.

"What is it?" Mike joked, "We all hit Emma with baseball bats?"

"We push Emma off a cliff?" asked Joni, hopefully.

"It's a jousting challenge," Michelle grinned. "We'll be jousting each other with poles." She read down to the bottom of the parchment. "First thing tomorrow."

"Oh sweet," smiled Joni.

"All I can say..." Michelle vowed, "Is I hope I get to go against Emma. Oh God, please give me that much."

Mike laughed, shaking his head in silent wonder. Sometimes Michelle's need for revenge was truly awe-inspiring.

"All I want," Michelle vowed, "Is to please just knock her little blonde head off. Or if nothing else, maybe I can just hurt her a little bit. Or maybe a lot." She laughed now, ominously, and the others could tell she wasn't kidding about this.

"Hey," suggested Joni, "Maybe we can joust -all- the Satos into the ocean." She smiled. "We can get rid of the Satos and then beat up Emma. Then at the final five they'd have to let us back in the game, in a surprising twist!" She laughed. "Because otherwise there'd be four wounded Satos... plus Emma decaying in the ocean. It would be bad for TV!"

"Well no matter what happens..." said Michelle, looking back at camp, "If you excuse my French, that little bitch is going down tomorrow." She nodded. "Because really, it's gotten to the point now where she just pisses me off every time I think about her. I can't stand to look at her smug little face anymore."

Mike and Joni exchanged a look, as Mike winced a little bit. Uh oh, here came one of Michelle's patented rants. And this one promised to be a doozy.

"And even though we should be as strategic as possible," Michelle finished, "I know that before Tribal Council, I just want to go off on her so bad. I just want to get right up in her face and let her have it."

She paused, grinning coldly.

"And then just before the vote, I want to bitch slap her right across the face. Just let her have it-- -smack--- the last minute right before we vote. You just watch and see... and I don't -care- if I get kicked out for it. I swear I'm just gonna do it."




DAY 26




"Well," smiled Lance, as he packed his bag for the reward challenge, "It looks like we'll be jousting today, and we'll be doing it with bamboo lances." He paused, then smiled. "Lances?" He laughed. "I guess all I can say is this: If you -can't- win a challenge where you're using objects with the same name as your own... well you probably weren't cut out to play this game."

The tribe headed off for the big challenge first thing in the morning. The eight members of Miyagi scarfed down some early morning sugarcane, packed their bags, and headed off to a waiting boat offshore. And it was on this boat that they prepared for their first individual reward challenge.

"Hey Emma," Amy said, as she sidled up next to the young woman, "Can we talk for a minute?"

Isabella had been sitting in the front seat of the boat, all alone. For most of the thirty minute ride, she had been sitting up by herself, enjoying the spray of the sea in her face. Not that she minded being alone-- after all, -none- of the Kamiyans were planning to sit by her right about now. That just wasn't going to happen. They all still hated her.

"I have a question," Amy confessed as she sat down, "That's been eating at me. Do you think I can ask you?"

"Well, sure. Go for it."

"Well..." Amy started, not sure how to proceed. But then, what the heck, she just jumped right in anyway. "In voting with us to take out Ryan... what are you expecting in return?" She paused, looking for some sort of reaction. "I mean, what's in it for you? Why did you do it?"

Isabella didn't respond right away. She just stared out at sea, trying to decide how to answer this one.

"I understand," Amy added, "If there's something you don't want to tell me. I'm just curious, and it's been bugging me."

"Well," Isabella said, trying to keep her voice low, "I didn't really have anything to gain from it, I guess." She turned to Amy and smiled. "Mainly I just thought Ryan was sneaky and dangerous and he had no loyalties in this game to anybody but himself."

Isabella shrugged.

"So mainly, I guess I just didn't want him to win. I never had an ulterior motive, I just didn't want him to have a chance to win."

"Well truthfully I was just surprised," Amy said, still suspicious, "Why you would cannibalize him when you had only a slim advantage." She eyed Isabella carefully. "You never felt like Matt would owe you a favor afterwards?"

"Well I hoped he would," Isabella demurred, "But all I can do is hope. It's not like this was something I prepared for. It just... kinda... happened."

Amy nodded. She supposed that was fair enough. But what came out of Isabella's mouth next surprised her-- the next phrase definitely set off her radar more than a little bit.

"Amy, can we talk about this after?" Isabella stared out at sea as she said this. "There's a lot more I want to discuss with you after the challenge." She paused. "But first I need to ask Matt a question about something that happened." She turned around now. "Do you mind? I just need to ask him one thing."

"Ah, okay," said Amy, now completely suspicious of the whole thing. Uh oh, what was this? "You can talk to me whenever, Emma," she smiled, "And I'll catch you around later today."

Isabella smiled.

Amy smiled.

And today's showdown officially ended in a draw.


^^


The first individual reward challenge was to be held in the rain, as a thick drizzle had started to come down just before the tribe landed on shore. And the eight players disembarked from their speedboat, most of them looking particularly miserable to be out here competing in the rain.

"Come on in, guys!"

The Miyagis lined up in a single file line in front of Jeff, who stood on the beach. Just behind him was the ocean... and sitting in the water were two thick pine logs. They were big, fat pieces of lumber and they looked large enough to stand on.

"Your challenge today," announced Jeff, trying to be heard over the drone of the rain, "Is for reward. And it's a little game we like to call -log jousting-."

He reached down and picked up a bamboo pole which had been lying in the sand.

"The goal today is to knock your opponent off of their log. You'll be pairing off, randomly, and you guys will face off in head-to-head showdowns." He pointed out to the two logs now, which were still floating atop the water. "Each player will stand atop one of those logs and do your best to balance atop it... much like in a lumberjack contest. And then once you have your balance, the two logs will be floated towards one another..."

He smiled.

"... and it'll be -your- job to try to joust the other person off. It sounds simple, and it is. All you gotta do is find your sea legs and stay on top of your log-- and you should be fine."

Michelle took a quick glance at Isabella at this point, who was standing at the far end of the line. And Michelle said a silent prayer in her mind. -Just please, oh please, let us pair off. That's all I'm asking. Just let me face Emma sometime today. That's all I want out of life right now-. Other than Michelle, most of the players stood silently, nodding at Jeff's instructions. They all peered out from under caps and rain parkas except for Matt, who stood uncovered in the center of the line.

"And the reward today is pretty nice," continued Jeff. "The winner of the log joust will be going on a deep sea scuba diving expedition today."

A few players oohed and aahed.

"One person will be taken out on a charter yacht and will get away from all this rain for twenty-four hours." He waved his hand up at the sky. "You'll be shuttled off to the sunny shores of Japan, where you will scuba dive... with a guide... and you'll also get a nice lunch and dinner. But most of all, you'll get a nice relaxing day away from camp, which I'm sure -all- of you could use right about now."

The players nodded and smiled, happily. This was a good reward, everybody could use a day off right about now. And with that, Jeff announced it was time to start.

"Okay, we've drawn random matchups for the first round." He turned to the angry looking woman on the left. "Michelle... Joni... you two are up first. Grab your poles and let's go joust."

Michelle frowned slightly, not liking this pairing at all. Next to her, the small teenage dancer shot Jeff a mini-glare as well. But that was the luck of the draw-- the last two remaining Angels would be squaring off in round one. And there wasn't a heck of a lot they could do about it.

Ten minutes later, the camera crew and players were all in place. Joni and Michelle each stood atop one of the logs, both with poles in hand. Both females had removed their rain jackets and were both doing their best to attain balance, although Joni was having a bit more trouble. But after a few wobbly-kneed sways... she appeared to be set. The contest was ready to begin.

"Round one!" announced Jeff, hand in the air, "Michelle and Joni. Survivors ready... go!"

Jeff stood waist-deep in the water, and gave Michelle's log a gentle shove. Another crew member did the same thing for Joni... and now the two logs were drifting towards one another, slowly.

The Miyagis stood and cheered from the shore as Michelle and Joni started poking their poles at one another, tentatively. Neither one wanted to hurt the other one-- especially Michelle on Joni-- so the early jabs were little more than exploratory. And it was clear that Michelle was the stronger of the two players today. One of her early pokes made Joni wobble, back and forth. Joni nearly fell in but... pinwheeling her arms... she managed to correct her balance and stay atop the log.

"Let's go, Joni!" cheered Hogan from shore.

Michelle poked at Joni again, expecting victory, but this time the young dancer was ready. Catching Michelle completely off guard, Joni poked her in the hip and shoved. And the look on Michelle's face was pure surprise as she suddenly lost her balance and started to over-correct. She tumbled forward into the water, instinctively grabbing onto Joni's pole as she fell. And with a splash, both women took a dip into the sea.

The players applauded as Joni and Michelle surfaced moments later, both smiling happily. And though it had been close, Joni had managed to stay on her log a bit longer, and was thus awarded the upset victory.

"Joni! Moving on to round two!"

Joni smiled happily and received a congratulatory hug from Michelle, as the two Angels then swam back to shore.

The second matchup featured Hogan against Amy-- and the two ex-Satos took their places atop their logs. It was the young Eagle Scout against the scrappy single mom, and neither one appeared to have any trouble finding their balance. Both of them stood tall atop their logs, poles in hand, ready for the matchup to begin.

"Hogan and Amy!" said Jeff. "Round one. Survivors ready... GO!"

The two logs were pushed towards one another as Hogan and Amy grinned at one another, confidently. This one was going to be a good matchup. And as the logs neared, both of them struck out, trying to push their opponent off the log and into the sea. And while Hogan appeared to be much stronger, it was clear that his balance wasn't quite up to par in an event like this. Amy managed to dodge his first blow and that was really all it took. Hogan wobbled, teetered, corrected, and then slipped backwards right into the sea.

Amy won this round with ease.

"Amy!" said Jeff, "Moving on to round two!"

The third matchup of the day featured Isabella against Lance, which caused Michelle to scowl from the sidelines. -Great-, she thought, -The ONE guy who isn't upset with her. Just our luck.-

But the two players were soon standing atop their logs, ready to go. Neither Lance nor Isabella appeared to have the best sea legs in the world-- with Isabella having had to be stabilized by a crewperson before she was standing up and ready to go. She laughed at herself, embarrassed.

"Lance and Emma!" said Jeff. "Round one. Survivors ready... GO!"

The two logs were pushed towards one another slowly, as the two combatants warily eyed one another. Lance stood confidently atop his log, pole in hand, well aware that the stronger contestant had lost the first two matchups so far. He wanted to make sure he didn't make the same mistake they had. So with a careful prod, he tried to push Isabella off her log and into the sea. But what Lance -wasn't- expecting was that Isabella would block his attack and match it with a counterattack of her own. The two poles cracked loudly over the sea.

And it took nearly a minute, but Isabella's decoy attack eventually paid off. Her feigned "clumsiness" at the start had essentially psyched Lance out, and he was no match for her superior balance atop the log. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't match a yoga enthusiast up here on such an unstable surface... and eventually he lost his footing and slipped off into the sea. For the third time in a row, the smaller player had won the showdown.

"Emma! Moving on to round two!"

The fourth matchup was Mike and Matt-- and the two Miyagi men took their places atop their logs. Like Isabella, Mike had problems stabilizing at first, only this time his were real. Mike really -wasn't- very comfortable up here, and it showed.

"Let's go guys," taunted Jeff, once both men were ready to go. "We have three ladies in the second round so far. Let's win one for the guys here."

The logs were pushed towards one another and the contest began. And right away, it was evident that this wasn't going to be Matt's type of contest. Because while Mike looked to be uncomfortable up here, Matt was just simply overwhelmed. He fell into the sea on his very first thrust, cursing at himself as he slipped. And just like that, Mike Ruff advanced to the second round without even lifting his pole.

"Mike! Moving on to round two!"

As the four semi-finalists readied themselves for the second round, Jeff took a moment to randomly draw the matchups. And once again, the Kamiyas were disappointed that Isabella would -again- be getting off the hook. Rather than face Mike or the still-angry Joni, Isabella would be facing off against Amy Twieg. Out of three possible opponents-- she had managed to draw the -one- Miyagi who didn't seem to hate her guts.

"But her luck can't last forever," Michelle whispered to a nodding Mike. "We'll get her sooner or later."

But for now, round two was ready to begin. Isabella and Amy took their places atop their logs, poles in hand. The two of them smiled at one another-- both of them realizing the winner of this match would probably be the one winning the reward. Neither Joni nor Mike were that athletic at all. Both women fully expected -this- to be the battle for first place.

"The winner of this round advances to the finals," said Jeff. "Emma and Amy." He raised his hand in the air. "Survivors ready... GO!"

The two women exchanged determined stares as their logs were floated towards one another. And though this was expected to be a contest, Isabella actually had other plans in mind. After all, her strategy had always been to -never- win a reward challenge-- not if she could help it. So with the first jab from Amy, Isabella "slipped", took a step backwards, and plunged into the water. And just like that, Amy Twieg had advanced herself to the finals. Isabella swam back to shore, trying her best to ignore the jeers that greeted her from the Kamiya side of the beach.

"Amy!" said Jeff, "Advancing to the finals!"

The second semi-final matchup featured Mike and Joni-- the largest player in the game against the smallest. And the two competitors grinned at one another as they stood atop their logs, ready to go. And as with their kendo matchup so many weeks before, Mike looked almost ashamed to be doing this. He didn't want to fight Joni, not at all. He didn't want to hurt her.

"We have a kendo stick rematch!" said Jeff, happily. "The big man against the dancer! Mike and Joni, trying to move on to the finals!" He raised his hand in the air, slowly. "Survivors ready... GO!"

Both logs were floated towards one another as usual. And unlike the kendo battle... this time it was evident that Mike didn't have much of an advantage over his smaller opponent. True, he was stronger, but Joni's smaller center of gravity and superior balance proved to be the deciding factor today. She dodged his first attack and that was all it took. Mike teetered dangerously, tried to balance himself-- and then with a quick little poke from Joni, she "helped" him backwards into the sea. And as the players on shore cheered the upset, Joni held her pole in the air, excitedly. She had beaten Mike. Finally... she had actually beaten Mike.

"Joni and Amy!" said Jeff, "In the finals!"

Five minutes later, the final matchup was ready to begin. Amy Twieg stood on the log to the left, her reddish-brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Her red buff was looped around her neck as she held her pole in both hands, ready to go. Joni Newman stood on the log to the right, her thick brown hair falling down to either side of her young face. Her red buff was around her right wrist as she held her pole in both hands, ready to go.

And the players on the beach watched in fascination as the two women stared each other down. For if one thing was true about this matchup-- if there was one thing all the players could agree on, it was this:

Joni and Amy legitimately didn't like one another. After all the events that had transpired between them-- after all the mistrust and deception-- the two Mormon females were definitely -not- friends anymore. Both of them wanted to win this, and both of them wanted to win this badly. Losing to the other one was simply not an option.

"This is for reward!" said Jeff, holding his hand up in the air. He glanced at the two women, who were glaring at each other across the rainy morning sky. "Amy and Joni-- and the winner goes on a scuba diving trip." He paused. "Survivors ready... GO!"

The players cheered from shore as the two females floated towards one another. And as expected, both players struck out aggressively, poking their poles at one another with full force.

Joni first got in a good hit on Amy's thigh... but didn't have the strength or leverage to do much with it. Amy winced but that was about it.

Amy responded with a poke to Joni's shoulder... with no result. Joni was quick enough to dodge most of the blow.

The two females now stepped back and regrouped as their logs lazily passed by one another. And at this point, with their logs nearly parallel, the winning blow was finally struck. Joni went in for the attack... and that is when Amy caught her on the wrist. With a cry of pain, Joni dropped her pole down into the water, momentarily stunned. And with one final poke of the stick, Amy shoved Joni right off her log and into the water. With a quick splash, it was all over.

"Amy!" said Jeff, "Wins reward!"

Amy pumped her fist in the air, happily, as she received applause from the players on shore. Joni didn't stick around for a celebratory hug, nor was Amy really prepared to give her one. The two women waded back into shore, not saying a word to one another.

"Congratulations Amy," said Jeff, coming over to hand her a towel, "Because we have your yacht waiting for you just over there, with dry clothes and all the food you can eat."

He pointed to a boat anchored just off shore and Amy smiled, giddily.

"But what good," said Jeff, mischievously, "Is a scuba trip without someone to take with you?" He paused, smiling, as he saw the look of amusement cross Amy's face. "So you can pick -one- person to take along." He nodded. "Who's it gonna be?"

Amy ran through the choices in her head quickly, crossing off the obvious names at first glance. Michelle, no. Mike, no. And though Joni -should- have been a respect choice, Amy just wasn't gonna go for that today. No way, not Joni. Joni could stay back here and starve for all Amy cared. No... the person Amy had in mind was going to be chosen for strategic reasons...

... And maybe a chance to finish the conversation that -should- have been concluded this morning.

"Oh man, guys," said Amy, stalling. She wanted to make sure this looked spontaneous. "I'm sorry, everyone. I wish I could take everybody."

She paused for a long moment, pretending to look over a few players. And then just like that, she threw out the name she knew would raise more than a few eyebrows among the group.

"Emma."

Isabella's eyes darkened in anger for just a moment-- just a split second-- because she didn't want to go. She had things to do today, she had plans to discuss! She had to talk to Matt! But after that quick flash of surprise... her eyes quickly softened into her usual look of wide-eyed gratitude. She raised her hands to her mouth and gasped. She then walked over to exchange a big hug with her benevolent Sato gift-giver.

"Oh thank you so much!"

"I'm sorry guys," said Amy, looking wistful, "I could only pick one and Emma finished in third place. Please forgive me!"

"Okay," said Jeff, taking the two women aside, "Emma and Amy, you guys are heading out to sea for the day. The rest of you, pack up and head back to camp." He nodded. "You guys will be on your own today, Emma and Amy will return to join you sometime after dinner."


^^


Joni Newman sat down for a confessional back at camp, just before lunch.

Most of the tribe had gone right back to daily tasks once they had returned, but not Joni. While Mike and Matt headed over to the mainland to lay down some deer traps-- Michelle and Lance headed out on a fishing expedition-- and Hogan went to wherever God knows he wandered off to most days-- Joni stayed back at camp, angrily. And she was angry at a -lot- of things right now-- not just one event or person in particular. She was fed up with this game just pretty much in general.

"Okay," she admitted, as she laid down by herself in the shelter, "So this morning Amy beats me in the jousting challenge. She beats me-- and she beats me -barely-." Joni paused for a moment, laying a wet towel down over her eyes as she rested. She was trying to ward off a headache, one that she was all too aware was going to be inevitable today. "And of course, after Amy wins she takes Emma."

Joni's mouth twisted in a small scowl of distaste at this point. Yuck. Emma.

"I'm not really upset Amy didn't take me," Joni said, "I didn't really want to deal with her anyway, not after the way Sato rubbed their immunities in all our faces yesterday." She paused again. "But with Emma leaving-- well that's kind of both good news as well as bad news. It's good news because it means Amy must doubt Emma's story that she switched the vote. Amy doubts it -just- enough that she wanted to keep Emma nearby, so that can only be good for us."

Joni paused again, rubbing her temples as she spoke.

"But it's also -bad- because it means Emma gets a chance to do everything in her power to get in good with the Sato leader. She's probably working her right now, weaseling her way in with Sato... and that isn't -quite- so good for me or for anybody."

Joni laid silently for a long time, just listening to the patter of the rain on the shelter roof above her. But she wasn't going to move a muscle today. Nope, she wasn't planning on it. She was just going to lay here all day.

"I'm not resigned to the end," she explained finally, "So don't think I'm giving up. I mean I'm on the -watch- for the end, but the fat lady hasn't sung yet." She smiled, faintly. "Okay, she's starting to warm up, but I haven't heard any actual singing yet."

Joni sat up now, still trying to ward off her tension headache. The wet towel wasn't working, so she tried to roll her neck muscles around slowly... just trying to see if she could relax her nerves somewhat.

"I have a pretty good idea I'm going down soon," she added, "And if I -do-, I want to everyone here to know -exactly- what I think of Emma before I leave. I want them to realize that the little traitor has -no- right to be here. None! All she does is follow people to the top, just by being nice about it. She's done it before, she'll do it again, and I have to say that she's a tool. That's all she is: A simple-minded tool who gets away with it because she's got a smile on her face."

Joni scowled again, still worked up about this. She doubted she would ever speak to Emma again in her life. That's how big this was.

"There's -no- way Emma can be that bad at every challenge. I know it, I've warned people about it, but nobody listens. She's saving all her energy and strength and she's gonna make a run at immunities-- and nobody is ready to stop her." Joni groaned, frustrated. "And then she gets away with everything scot-free, with no blood on her hands whatsoever! Michelle takes all the smack for what Emma did... and it's crap! It's not fair and it's just crap!"

Joni peered out of the shelter carefully, looking to see if anybody was around. She half expected Hogan to be here, since Hogan rarely did any work, but her friend was nowhere to be seen. She didn't know where he had managed to lose himself today.

"The thing about Emma that really ticks me off," Joni elaborated, "Is that she won't talk about the Ryan vote. She won't say anything, she won't explain it... she won't do -anything-! She just gives us silence, or says that "it just happened." Yeah, like it was something she had no control over. Whoops, I'm sorry, I just wrote the wrong name down! Silly me!"

Joni shook her head angrily once more.

"I am -not- ready to leave this game. I don't want to go down like this, I don't want to be made a fool by a liar I -once- thought was my friend. If I go, I want it to be on -my- terms-- not because of crap like this."

Joni laid back once again, defeated and angry. She was angry with Amy, she was angry with Isabella, she was angry with the Wheel of Fortune... heck she was just angry with all of it. And she really didn't care that much right about now. She was just getting to the point where she no longer cared.

"If nothing else," she finished, "I've made it to the jury. And if Amy's in the final two... well I'll just chop her head off. But if -Emma- makes it to the final two..." She grinned now, ever so slightly. "If Emma's there, she won't win. She'll have four -very- unhappy Kamiyas against her, and that's the key to this game. No matter what happens in this game-- even if you make the finals-- you don't have a say in who gets the win. We do."

Joni closed her eyes, intending to go to sleep. Maybe sleep would help ward off this headache.

"And Emma will -never- receive my vote," she promised, as she tried to drift off to sleep, "Emma will never receive a vote from me-- or from the Kamiyas-- unless it comes in the form of a first class ticket out of Japan..."


^^


And really... with two of the major players in the game missing from the action-- the Miyagis had little to do from a strategic standpoint today. The Kamiyas-- now well aware that Isabella was passing herself off as the fifth vote-- were quite aware that their time in the game was dwindling. They were aware that nobody was buying Mike's story anymore, save for maybe Lance-- who was always a half step behind anyway.

So with that in mind, Kamiya had decided to move on to option two. Without a chance to swing a Sato over to their side, they had moved on to Michelle's plan instead-- to smear Isabella. The plan today was to beg people to at least take the traitor out first instead-- take Isabella out first, then they could proceed with the Pagonging at will. At the very least, maybe the Satos would show them that sort of courtesy through all of this.

And this argument permeated every one of the conversations that took place today. Every chance the Kamiyas got, this topic would come up-- in some form of another. Every chance they got, they more or less pleaded with the Satos to please take Isabella out instead.

"So why do you think Amy picked Emma?" Mike asked casually, as he and Matt laid down a pair of deer snares on the mainland, "Do you think it was strategic?"

"Probably," Matt nodded, "I think she did it just to pick her brain." He shrugged, coyly. "You know... since Emma claims that fifth vote was hers too..."

"Well it just goes to show," Mike said, "That she'll do anything to worm her way into peoples' good graces. And you know she'll do anything, don't you?"

"Oh I know."

"And it just comes down on who you want to keep around next," Mike added, "Do you want to keep people who have been actively playing the game? Or do you want to keep Miss Coattail Rider around...?"

Michelle, of course, had been the main proponent behind this plan. She had discussed it with Mike and Joni just after they returned to camp, the three Kamiyas having one quick strategy session before they all scattered off to sow the seeds of doubt. And it had been Michelle who had been the cheerleader of the group for now-- taking it upon herself to keep Kamiya together on this-- just in case something might happen. Just on the small chance that some sort of miracle might occur.

"Once Emma gets back from her trip," Michelle had explained, "We have to be prepared for anything. We'll have -no- idea what she might have told Amy and we'll have no idea what went on out there."

"Great," Joni had muttered, "Hurricane Amy comes back into harbor with her good friend Emma. I just can't wait."

"I actually feel bad for Ryan now," Michelle had joked. "I can't believe I said that but I do." Then she got serious. "But if we play this right, we can send Emma to join him... and soon. All we have to do is work together and not give up. Don't -ever- give up until your torch is snuffed. Don't forget you -always- have a chance."

"Hey," shrugged Joni, "I'll do anything I can to cause trouble for her. Just tell me what to do and I'll go cause some damage. I just want her to lose."

Mike nodded at this.

"Well the thing is this..." Michelle had explained, "Matt made a solemn promise to Beth that if Beth went, he would get his revenge by taking -me- down next. And if that happens then I'm the next to go..."

Mike nodded again.

"So from -my- point of view," added Michelle, "I need to win immunity or at least come in second. And if I -don't-, then getting Emma tossed is the only chance I have." She shrugged. "Obviously they'd be smart to get rid of me. If I was them that's what I'd do."

"Michelle," nodded Joni, "If I win immunity-- I'll give it you."

"What?" Michelle looked shocked.

"You deserve to be here. And if it screws up their voting plans, then screw them."

"That's ridiculous," said Michelle, waving her hand, "You deserve it just as much and I'm not taking immunity from a friend. It you win it, you keep it."

The two females exchanged a smile.

"All I really want," Michelle explained, "Is to make sure we ruin Emma's game so badly that she can't possibly win. Somehow, somewhere, I just want us -all- to get Emma back for what she's done to us."

And with that in mind... the Kamiyas had set off on their task. It was called "Operation Destroy Emma", and as they all soon found out-- it wasn't going to be as difficult as Michelle and the Kamiyans had originally believed...


^^


"It turns out that Matt is just as angry with Emma as the rest of us," Michelle explained in a lunchtime confessional. "Mike had a discussion with him on the mainland-- and Matt hates Emma as much as any of us. She lied to him and set him up at the last vote... and then dashed his hopes. And now he just wants her to go down."

She laughed as she said this.

"We didn't even have to suggest it to him! This was Matt's plan all along! He isn't even going to make it hard for us!"

So once they realized they had a receptive target, Mike and Michelle went after the young redhead with a fury. They made sure to spend every minute of the day by his side-- whether he was fishing, checking snares, searching for fruit, reinforcing the shelter-- any of it. No matter what Matt was doing, one of the Kamiyas would be by his side at all times.

And just after lunch... Michelle finally hit the jackpot.

"So your friend Amy found herself a new best friend in Emma?" she asked casually, as she and Matt worked on gathering some firewood for Mike's new storage shelter.

"Yeah," Matt nodded, "It's no big shock though. Emma's been an ass-kisser since day one."

Michelle giggled.

"Matt, I have to ask you a question," she finally added.

"Shoot."

"Why is it that Emma and I did the exact same thing to you and Beth... yet I'm the only one who gets all the flak for it? Why do you never seem to hold a grudge against her?"

"Who says I don't hold a grudge?"

"You -do-?" she feigned surprised.

"Look," Matt said, "I don't know why people seem to think I'm this big Emma fan. I can't name a single person here who likes her, myself included." He paused. "I mean if she screwed you guys so badly... and she screwed me... then who's to say she won't screw -anyone-?"

"That's been my point!" Michelle said, pleased. "I mean, I can't tell you how upset I was when she got picked for reward. I so wanted to just rip into her. I wanted to just yell at her and make her cry... but now that's gonna have to wait for tomorrow."

"Heh," Matt chuckled. "Join the club."

"You know she and I had a final two pact," Michelle confided, "The two of us were supposed to go to the end... and now I'm just -pissed- about what she did to me." She kicked at one of the logs, angrily. "And just realize I'm really not mad at any of you guys. Like I said, I respect you as a warrior for somehow outlasting me. My only beef is with Emma."

Matt eyed her, suspiciously.

"You don't plan on pulling her back to Kamiya?" he asked.

"Hell, we don't -want- her," Michelle spat. "I'd rather be voted out than to get her lying ass back. I just want to see her screw herself for playing around with everybody's loyalties."

"You should have seen her last night," Matt grinned, "She laid this big guilt trip on me. Like it was somehow -my- fault that she set me up with all this false hope."

"Well all I can say is this..." Michelle stood with one hand on her hip. "She may be a good player... she may have pulled off a killer move... but when Emma turned on me, I lost -all- respect for her. I -will- never respect a coattail-riding little bitch and I will -never- vote for someone like that to win this game."

Matt nodded, taking it all in.

"And you know she's saving up her energy," Michelle added. "There's no way she's as bad an athlete as she appears. She's saving it all up for the end... where she thinks she'll blow right by everybody."

"That's what I've thought too," agreed Matt.

"Goddamn it," Michelle tossed one of her logs down, "If you're gonna play this game-- just -play- it. Don't play under the radar. That shit just pisses me off."

"Well..." Matt said, finally letting her in on the secret he had been waiting to reveal, "I know it's gotten her far so far... but I don't think she'll be lasting very much longer. 'Cause I know I don't really care to have her around. I've -never- intended to let her stick around very long."

"So let's all just vote her out then," Michelle shrugged. "So long as she doesn't win immunity. Let's just gangbang her ass right the fuck out of here."

Matt paused.

Then he nodded, slyly.

And said the words Michelle had been achingly waiting to hear.

"Amen to that, sister," he said. "Nothing would make me happier."


^^


As Isabella's demise was quickly being plotted behind her back, she was currently just below the sea off the coast of Japan-- sitting about twenty-five feet under the charter ship -Kumiko-. She was still underwater, having found a beautiful coral garden to explore, as her swimming companion sat above deck, giving a quick confessional of the day's events.

"I have to say," Amy smiled, as she eyed a small piece of cheesecake on her plate, "That there was something very sweet about knocking Joni off that log in the finals. And I don't mean to sound vindictive or anything..." She grinned slowly. "But it couldn't have happened any better for me, really, because that was just the way it was supposed to end."

Amy laughed, as she took a moment to savor her second piece of cheesecake of the day.

"You know," she admitted, "My sense of fair play -should- have made me pick Joni for the reward but come on." She rolled her eyes. "Joni's been nothing but rude to Sato since we merged, and the -only- way I'd pick her to come along is if production promised I could throw her overboard."

Amy stuck her tongue out, mischievously, as she smiled and continued.

"Emma was pretty much a natural choice after that," she confessed, "Since I -did- beat her in the second round and we -do- have a lot of talking we need to do. Or at least I do." She nodded. "Because there are a lot of questions that I still don't know the answer to-- and I'd kind of like to find them out."

She listed off a few questions, ticking them off on her fingers as she went.

"Why did she cast that vote for Ryan? What's her deal with Matt, and how deep does it go? And most importantly-- what does she hope to gain from all this... and am I involved in her plans whatsoever?"

Amy smirked slightly.

"And of -course- we've discussed these questions all day, haven't we? I've brought them all up at various times-- just to see how she'll react. And do you know what I've found out? Do you know what great grains of truth I've learned from our delightful Miss Emma...?"

Amy paused, drawing out the moment for suspense.

"I've learned that back at home, she has a cat named Fred. And that she once went to a dance club and hurt her foot. That's all the info she's really cared to give up so far."

She sighed.

"Oh well... I suppose we'll get back to it later. She seems sweet enough and all, but questioning her just seems to go nowhere." Amy paused again, not sure if she wanted to bring this last point up. But then she decided to just say it straight out. No use trying to keep secrets. "And if you want to be honest... I'll be the first to admit that I just wanted to keep Emma away from Matt today. I didn't want her to talk to him, I don't trust those two together, and I wasn't -about- to let them finish whatever "talk" she had planned with him today. Not without me there, no way."

She shook her head.

"Somehow in the past twenty-four hours, Matt has gone from my top ally to somewhere in the middle... and I'm not sure why." She shrugged. "It's not that I don't trust him... it's just that I'm not sure who he is anymore. And it's not that I mean to question him too much, it's more that..." She paused. "It's more that Lance has replaced him on top of my list. Lance isn't nearly as fun as Matt, but Lance is polite and relatively unsociable, and he's done -wonders- for my morale... just because he always has a balance. That, and I know I can trust him."

She shrugged.

"And if you're curious... yes Joni is on the bottom of my list. I'd trust Rob Cesternino before I'd consider talking strategy with her again." She grinned. "Hogan's down on my list too, even though he's a Sato. I mean I like the kid and all but he's -way- too careless with what he tells people. And I don't like him around Joni any more than I did before. If he's not careful, he's gonna do something to bite us all in the butt..."


^^


True enough, Amy and Isabella's strategy talks aboard the boat had essentially been fruitless. Isabella just wasn't pleased to be here, she wasn't pleased to be singled out away from camp, and she wasn't prepared to tell Amy a damn thing about her plans at the moment. So Isabella had tried to spend as much time as possible underwater-- as much time as possible below with the fish. Because even though she was a city girl-- in time she had actually started to feel comfortable down here. In time she had actually started to enjoy it.

But now as the day was drawing to a close, she finally came up to surface, shivering slightly from her prolonged exposure to the sea. They were running out of sunlight, it was just about time for dinner--- and then just about time to go back to camp.

"And," she laughed, as she climbed the ladder back up to the deck, "I guess Amy gets to have one more crack at me. Since you know she'll be trying to get -something- before we leave."

Isabella dried off and joined Amy at the table inside the cruiser-- a table which had been set with a colorful array of lobster, steaks, and fruit. The two women sat across from one another, smiling fake smiles over the banquet of food. And both of them were definitely suspicious of the other one's motives right about now.

"Oh my goodness," Isabella smiled happily, "Look at all this food!"

"I know," nodded Amy, "Can you believe it? It's like they're just trying to fatten us up or something."

"Well," said Isabella, as she scooped a few strawberries onto her plate, "I just want to thank you again for picking me. I just couldn't believe it! I mean-- it was a water challenge, I didn't think I had a chance." She grinned. "Georgia's not exactly known for our water polo teams, you know."

"I didn't think I'd be winning it myself," Amy laughed, "But hey, somehow I got lucky."

"Well it was sweet of you," nodded Isabella, "So thank you again."

The two women ate quietly for a moment, as Amy tried to sneak a glance every so often at this enigmatic young woman from the south. Who was Emma? And why did she make Amy feel uneasy so much lately? What was it about her?

"You know," Amy said, "They're probably going to starve without you back at camp. I don't know who else is going to get all the food." She paused. "I hope they're all okay."

"I think Matt and Mike are doing deer traps," Isabella shrugged, "Hopefully they can catch something again. They caught a big deer back at Kamiya, we all ate pretty well for days." She giggled. "Matt had a good time carving it up."

And this was the opening Amy had been looking for. Suddenly she had another chance to get down to business.

"So Matt seems to like you..." Amy said carefully, as she held a piece of bread in her hand, "The way he talks about you, it's almost as if he depends on you." She smiled, warmly. "I was so happy he found somebody to stand by him over at Kamiya. I know he was lonely, it was just nice to see that he found himself a friend."

"Aw, that's sweet," smiled Isabella. "And I don't know what he really thinks of me, but it's nice to hear." She nodded. "And he definitely thinks real good of you too. He's said so."

"Oh I think the world of Matt," Amy agreed. "I adore that boy, he's got a good head on his shoulders."

Isabella smiled.

"So Emma..." Amy now started, "Can I ask you a question...?"

"Sure."

"Why did Mike claim that the fifth vote was his?" Amy peered at Isabella, unwaveringly. "Why did Mike try to pass it off as his own?"

"I don't know," Isabella said, "But I was -shocked- when Matt told me that!" She giggled. "I asked him if he was smoking crack or something. I was like... um, Mike is lying to you Matt." She paused, then smiled. "But when Matt said that, I just about had a cow. I couldn't believe it."

"Yeah," nodded Amy, "Mike claimed GP stood for Georgia Pride."

"Nah," said Isabella, as she sipped from a glass of water, "My symbol was K."

"Why K?" Amy asked. "What did it stand for?"

"Oh, you're gonna laugh out loud."

"Try me."

"K stood for Kamiya," said Isabella, sheepishly, "It was all I could think of." She shrugged as Amy started to laugh. "Hey, everything else was taken!"

Amy was still laughing over this-- she had thought there was some great conspiracy behind the choice of "K"-- the word "Kamiya" had never crossed her mind. But as she laughed, Isabella tried her best to change this subject altogether.

"So did you see those sharks this afternoon?" she asked, "Off the bow of the ship? It looked like the Miyagis all waiting for us to get back to camp!"

But Amy-- though amused-- wasn't one to let subjects drop. Isabella's normal strategy wasn't going to work on her. Among all the people in Okinawa... Amy Twieg often seemed to have Isabella kryptonite.

"Emma," she now said straight out, "I know you and Matt have something going. I know you guys discussed some things and, really, I'd kind of like the truth right now. Could you at least humor me today? Could you tell me what your plans are at the next vote?"

Isabella sat quietly for a moment, as she thoughtfully chewed on a piece of ice. Clever one, that Amy. Isabella still didn't like her much, but she had always at least been impressed. Amy was persistent, she would give her that.

"Ahhh..." Isabella stalled, "I'd love to discuss this..." She looked up now, shrugging helplessly. "But I can't really discuss it until Matt and I clear something up. Can we discuss this later? I really need to talk to Matt first."

"Of course."

"I'm sorry..." said Isabella, "I just want to be real careful about what I say..."

"No, it's okay, honey," smiled Amy. "We can talk later..."

But deep down, behind her ever-present smile-- Amy wasn't reassured. Isabella had just more or less told her -exactly- what she didn't want to hear. Matt wasn't solid. Matt -was- somehow linked with Isabella-- and that gnawing in her stomach was growing more and more pervasive. Things definitely weren't kosher around here, and it was really starting to bug her.

"Because if you ask me..." Amy would later admit in a confessional, "I think those two are setting me up for third place, and I don't think they're trying to hide it. They're just not trying to hide it at -all-..."


^^


Nighttime came to Yamako Island.

Amy and Isabella returned to the island after dusk, each carrying a packful of fruit and breads. These gifts were greeted, of course, by much celebration and gratitude. Even in the ever-present rain of Yamako, the castaways seemed to be happy.

"Thanks guys," smiled Hogan, as he dug into a large buttery croissant. "This is great."

And as the tribe gathered around the campfire for their nighttime campfire, Isabella Smith sat happily among the members of her tribe. She leaned back against the wall of the shelter, just watching as the seven other Miyagis conversed. She watched as Amy described the school of dolphins the two of them had followed just after lunch. She watched as Joni and Hogan sat side by side... whispering to each other... but trying to be discrete about it.

But most important, she watched the tall young man currently tending the campfire. She watched as Matt Carter sat, hockey mask in hand, poking at the coals to make sure they kept burning under the gentle drizzle of rain from above. And Isabella watched carefully-- trying to read Matt's body language from across the firepit. Did he look angry? Did he look scared? Did he look upset? What was going through his head right about now?

You see, Isabella still intended to talk to Matt again, just as she had hinted to Amy. She still had a lot to discuss with the kid-- and a lot of issues to go over. Because she still fully intended to team up with him if she could. Isabella and Matt were still going to be the Dream Team of Okinawa-- the unlikely allies, working together in secret to take down the rest.

It was going to be perfect.

It was going to be foolproof.

It was going to be a lot of fun.

... But what Isabella did -not- know was that it was going to be impossible.

Matt Carter hated Isabella's guts right about now, and he had grown more and more bold in saying so. In her absense, he had trashed her reputation pretty much beyond all point of repair... even if she did not yet realize it. Simply put, there was no -way- he would ever be teaming up with her in this lifetime, or in any other. Matt wanted Isabella out... Matt had told people he wanted Isabella out... and like the other six members of Miyagi, he would be dancing with joy upon her most untimely exit tomorrow.

And Isabella-- in a rare moment of ignorance-- was not yet privy to this fact. She may have had her suspicions, but she did not yet know how much danger she was -really- in at the moment.

"Hey Emma?" whispered a female voice.

Isabella turned to the left, having been momentarily distracted by the fireside banter that was taking place before her. She hadn't noticed the fact that Michelle had sidled up next to her. -And it's not like Michelle to be subtle-, Isabella smiled to herself. -Damn, I must be slipping!-

"Want to go for a walk?" Michelle asked. And she smiled, warmly. That smile gave Isabella chills.

"Uh... sure."

Isabella smiled and stood up, carefully wiping the sand off the seat of her pants. And then she warily followed Michelle away from camp... looking back once to make sure someone had noticed the two of them leaving. Because Isabella knew she wasn't well liked by the Kamiyas right about now, and wasn't liked by Michelle in particular. So if she happened to wash up on shore as a corpse tomorrow morning... well she at least wanted Michelle to take the blame for it.

"Look Emma," Michelle said, once the two of them had reached the shoreline, "We need to talk."

"Sure."

"We could have taken Ryan down anytime we wanted," Michelle started, not even bothering with the formalities, "I hated him as much as you did. You and I still could have gone to the end together and we didn't have many obstacles in our way!"

Michelle peered out from under a light blue rain parka as she said this. And as usual, she spoke very fast-- giving Isabella hardly a moment to get in any sort of rebuttal.

"Mich, look..."

"But why did you have to tell Matt everything?" Michelle continued. "Why did you turn on us and sell us out? Why did you sell -me- out? Because I have tried to help you, Emma. I've helped you every step of the way..."

"I know, but..."

"Mike and Ryan were wary of you," Michelle kept going, "But I stuck up for you. I convinced them you were solid. And then you went and ratted me out to everybody!" She looked to be near tears now, and it was clear she still had a lot to say. "What you did, Emma, hurt just as much as Sato voting out Chris. I thought you were my friend, I thought you were a -true- friend..."

"Mich, we -are- friends..."

"I would have worked with you," accused Michelle, "To take out Ryan. We could have done it -together-. And now because of you, I have nothing. You screwed me and you screwed Joni, who put her -own neck on the line to save us!-. I can't even fathom what you did to her."

"Mich, wait a second..."

"And all I can say to you," Michelle interrupted, "Is that I will -never- vote for you to win this game." She paused to catch her breath, still looking angry. "Oh... you can ride people's coattails all the way, and stab all the friends you want, but I will never, -ever-, vote for someone I once thought was my friend." She paused again. "Friends don't turn on friends, Emma, and you really hurt me. I just wanted you to know that."

There was silence in the air for a few moments as Michelle now appeared to be finished. Isabella wasn't sure or not, but it looked like it was time for her to say something in reply.

"Well..." she started, cautiously, "I'm not really sure what to say, Mich. I mean... I don't really have any way to defend myself. And no matter what I say, you'll probably hate me regardless."

"You made me the fucking target next!" accused Michelle. "Why??"

"What makes you think they'll go for you?"

"Because when we voted out Beth," Michelle explained, "Matt made a vow that he would take me down, just to avenge his friend. He's been giddy for this chance for a long time! And you handed it right to him!"

"Michelle," said Isabella, gently laying a hand on the older woman's arm, "If there's one thing I didn't want to do, it was to hurt you. Or Joni." She shrugged. "Or -anybody-, really."

"Then -why-??"

"I don't know," said Isabella, shaking her head. "I just... I guess I just couldn't take it anymore-- all the lying that was being done to Matt. I just couldn't lie to him anymore and..." She shrugged weakly. "It just kind of happened."

"Emma," Michelle said, angrily, "That's weak and you know it. That's an excuse, not a reason. Things don't just -happen-. You do things for a reason."

"Well, whatever..." said Isabella, annoyed. "Maybe I'm just not cut out for this game then."

Michelle just glared at her.

"All I know," Isabella said, sadly, "Is that I hurt two people very much and for that, I have no excuse..."

"You're right," snapped Michelle. "You have -no- excuse." She stared at the ground now, angrily, as the rain continued to drip down her blue hood. "What you did was unforgivable, Emma. So why don't you go back to your new friend Amy... because you've lost this friend."

"Look," Isabella added, "It makes me sad that you don't consider me a friend anymore but I understand. And I... I suppose I deserve it..."

"Oh would you just -cut the innocent shit!-" Michelle finally screamed. "It's old! You aren't innocent! You never were! You have more blood on your hands than anyone here!"

"I never -said- I was innocent..."

And the argument was about to turn even more heated when a new person showed up. Suddenly here was Joni, peeking out from under a rain parka of her own. Joni had heard the screaming and had come down to see what was up. If the Angels were going to break up for good... she definitely wanted to be here when it happened.

"Look Joni," Isabella explained, "Ryan wasn't an Angel and that's the -only- reason I voted him out. It had nothing to do with trying to hurt you guys..."

"Well thanks to you," Joni glared, "Now I'm in trouble-- just because I tried to save you. So thanks," she added sarcastically, "That means a lot to me. You're a good friend."

Isabella remained silent, simply staring down at the ground.

"Don't you even care??" Joni implored, "You didn't even warn us! You didn't even have the decency to give us a heads up!"

"Friends warn friends!" Michelle added. "I would -never- have blindsided a friend like that!"

"Well I guess I just have sucky forethought..." Isabella said.

"All I can say..." Joni said, practically yelling herself, "Is that you took my friendship and threw it back in my face. Like a cold dishrag on a frosty morning."

Isabella sighed. "Look," she finally said, "Whatever I say, you two are probably going to hate me. So what's the point...?"

"Oh here comes her great rebuttal," Joni mocked. "Oh darn, golly, shucks. I guess I turned on you and got you both voted out. Oh well. Sorry! By the way, can I have your vote to win?"

"Well if you want to write down my name tomorrow..." Isabella said, shooting Joni an unintended glare of her own, "Then I understand. If you vote me out tomorrow, I won't have a problem with it."

"Emma," said Joni, nearing tears, "All I want is an explanation. All I want is a -logical- reason why you did what you did."

"I think we should discuss this later..."

"No!" said a suddenly assertive Joni. "We'll discuss this -now-. And it better be good, Emma, because my blood is all over your hands. You better have something good to say for yourself because... so far... we haven't heard squat! You don't even have the decency to tell us the truth!"




DAY 27



The rain had cleared up, so Matt Carter decided to go on a little quest.

The young redhead had surprised the tribe this morning by announcing that -he- would be going for an early morning fruit run to the mainland-- instead of Isabella. Usually this was her job, her daily trek across the sea to Okinawa, in which she would usually return with enough fruit and produce to last the tribe for the day. So she had been quite surprised when Matt drew her aside just after dawn.

"You just chill out here," Matt had smiled. "I got the food today. Just go back to bed and sleep in, you work too hard as it is." He'd then gently nudged her shoulder with his hand. "Go on, get! Take the day off."

So Isabella had gone back to sleep-- and now Matt was returning to Yamako, his mission being successful. For in Matt's boat was a veritable bushel of oranges and shikwasa fruit-- the biggest haul yet to date. This was the largest score anybody had come back with thus far in the game, and yes that included all the runs done by the food searching goddess Isabella Smith.

And this, of course, thrilled Matt Carter to no end.

"Because once they see she can be replaced," he admitted, as he rowed his way across the calm sea, "There won't be any reason to keep her around. And believe me, her value as a searcher is the -only- thing in most people's way right now. That's the -only- reason someone like Lance or Hogan might not vote for her-- because they think we need her."

Matt smiled now, deviously, as he reached down and started to peel one of the oranges.

"But I guess we don't need her," he added, "Because instead, we have me. And nobody wants her around here anymore anyway."

Matt paddled slowly, taking the time to savor this moment. For it was true that this was his big rebirth in the game. He was more or less calling the shots around camp for the first time since-- oh, day six. And here he was now, three weeks later-- having gone through every manner of hell and torture imaginable-- and he was still here. For the first time in a long while... Matt Carter was starting to enjoy himself again.

"Damn," he smiled, shaking his head, "You know... there's no -way- I should be here. I should have been gone a long time ago... and it's just amazing that I'm still sitting here now." He chuckled. "And I've said it before... and I'll say it again: I've been given a second chance and I'll be damn sure to exploit it for all it's worth. And will this be the birth of evil, vindictive Matt? Or is the rise of good, whimsical Matt? Who's to say?"

He shrugged.

"All I know," he admitted, "Is that I've become a hell of a lot more popular since the last vote-- and I'm loving it. I've more or less been put in a position where I can just say "screw it." I can just let the cards fall where they may and... so long as I'm stayin'... I'm cool with it." He nodded now, thoughtfully. "Besides, I'm in good with a lot of people right now, so votes probably won't be going my way for a while. At least... not if I can help it."

He grinned.

"I do have to admit..." he added after a pause, "That yesterday was kind of a weird day. First off, Amy kicked everybody's ass in the reward challenge... but then she decided to take Emma along with her... of all people." Matt grimaced, as if saying that name caused him physical pain. "I guess I could understand why... for strategic reasons... but come on, I could have used the reward too!" He laughed. "I mean look at me. I like food too! I like to swim. But do I get to go?" He shook his head. "Nope."

He waved to shore, where Mike was ready to greet him and help carry in some of the fruit. Matt was almost back to Yamako.

"But what I did get to do," Matt smiled, "Was help get rid of Emma in her absence. Because people have started to realize that -everything- around here falls on her shoulders. All the trouble, all the lying, all the meanness... it all comes back to her." He nodded again. "-Everyone- wants her gone right now, especially the Kamiyas. Because she's made them all FUBAR and they just want to rip her freaking head off."

Matt laughed again, merrily.

"Plus you just get this sense that Emma is ready to take on the world. She's done -everything- half-assed so far and there's no way she's as helpless and weak as she likes to come off. She's clearly saving her energy for some sort of late run... and there's no way anybody here will let her get that far. And I mean... sure I'm grateful for what she did. She saved my ass at the last vote... but I'll be the first to admit that what she did was sublimely stupid."

He shrugged, dismissively.

"So yeah, thanks for saving my ass Emma. But you screwed yourself in the process and I'm not the only one who wants you to take a hike."

Matt grinned now, proudly, as he held up a handful of fruit for Mike to see. Mike raised both arms on shore, cheering happily.

"And don't tell anyone back at camp," Matt whispered to the camera, conspiratorially, "But when I was on the mainland I did something I always wanted to do. To celebrate my rebirth... I went streaking." He laughed. "That's right, I found a nice sandy stretch of beach, stripped down... and went for a run."

He shrugged.

"It was cold as hell, sure, but it was just something I always something I wanted to do. But shhh, don't tell anyone. Some of these things are just for me."


^^


Matt's cache of fruit was a huge hit, as expected, and the Miyagis all gathered around to dig into the day's buffet. Matt received handshakes and pats on the back as Isabella stood off to one side, looking perturbed. Because suddenly she had some competition. Suddenly the domain of food gatherer wasn't -quite- hers to lose-- and that hadn't happened since the days of Danielle. For the first time since day six, Isabella Smith could feel the slightest pangs of being threatened.

And she didn't like it.

But what Isabella wouldn't like even -more- was the chat that her fellow Kamiyans were about to have down by the beach. Isabella had been keeping her eye peeled all morning-- looking for some hint that she might be in danger-- but the three Kamiyans had been careful to slip out one at a time-- carefully out from under her nose. And once the three of them had gathered on the beach, Michelle explained the plan for the day. Which wasn't hard to figure out, of course, since it very well could have been subtitled "Kill Emma."

"Mike," Michelle explained, "You should have seen our little chat last night. Joni and I got into it with her on the beach and it was just ugly."

Joni nodded.

"We were there for two hours," Michelle said, "And never -once- did she come up with a good answer for turning on us. Not once!"

"She said it -just happened-," said Joni. "Like she didn't have a choice."

"What an idiot," said Mike, shaking his head. "And we really were aligned with her once?"

"Her only response," Michelle added, "Was that no matter what she said, I would probably hate her anyway." She paused now, grinning. "Which is true, of course. The first true thing she said all night."

"So does she even feel bad about it?" Mike asked.

"She says she does," Joni said, "But she said she would understand no matter what happened. She said she wouldn't be mad if we voted for her."

"Yeah right," Michelle sneered. "The bitch."

"So how did it end?" Mike asked.

"It just kinda tailed off..." Michelle answered. "I didn't want to speak to her anymore so I just left." She shook her head in frustration. "She's just such a freakin' stupid idiot I couldn't take it anymore."

Joni nodded, agreeing.

"Well you know my position..." Mike nodded. "I'm still terrified that Amy took her on the cruise, and I have a pretty good feeling all three of us need immunity today. Even if the Satos -do- promise they'll vote for Emma, I still don't want to take that chance. I think we all need to be safe."

"Yeah," nodded Joni.

"And you know what sucks about this?" added Mike. "It sucks that I -do- like most of the Satos. It isn't their fault they're all associated with Emma now."

"I agree," nodded Michelle. "They're weird but they're all good people."

"Hogan is nice," Mike said, "Lance is a gentleman and Amy seems sweet as punch." He paused, shrugging. "And Matt is one of my best friends here. So it sucks that Emma's kind of turned us all against one another like this."

Joni nodded.

"And I'll vote for a Sato tonight if I have to," Mike said, "But honestly the only one I'll consider voting for first is Emma. There's no -way- I want her getting past this vote. Or any vote." He grinned. "I just want to send her into the waiting jaws of Ryan in the jury. Let him deal with her for a while."

"Well does Emma know she's in danger?" Michelle asked.

"No," Joni shook her head. "I begged her to stay with us last night, after you left. I said we're all gonna vote for Amy and I said we'd never vote for a Kamiya." She chuckled. "I wanted to make her feel guilty. But I don't think she has any idea we all want her out."

"Good," nodded Michelle. "Because she -can't- know. If she gets -any- idea she's in trouble, she's likely to go all out in the challenge. And both you guys realize she isn't as weak as she lets on..."

"She can't be," agreed Mike.

"So I just want her feeling safe until after the challenge," Michelle grinned, "Then we can -all- vote her out... since the Satos want her out anyway. This sucker's going to be unanimous."

Michelle paused for a moment... intending to go on a profanity-filled rant towards Isabella. But then... as she usually did... she remembered that Joni was here too. And Michelle didn't like to swear around her young Mormon sidekick-- just as Chris had tried so hard to do over on Sato. So Michelle delivered the "toned-down" version of her rant instead.

"I just can't stand Emma anymore," she said, "That no good fink. Idiot. Dip head..."

So Isabella was indeed in deep trouble at the moment. She simply had -no- allies left in Okinawa, she had no prospects for alliances and... though she didn't yet realize it... she already had seven ballots marked with her name on them. And to make matters worse, she was now officially the mortal enemy of Michelle Kin-Fraley... a point that was driven home in Michelle's -real- rant, in a confessional just thirty minutes later.

"There are no words," Michelle confessed under a tree, "To describe what or who Emma is... beyond a worthless piece of shit. And yes I'm mad that she lied to us and screwed us over. But what pisses me off is the fact that -I wasn't the one to do it to her first!-"

Michelle tossed rocks into the sea as she ranted. And the angrier she got, the harder she threw.

"Yes, you voted Ryan off because you didn't like him. Well guess what, Einstein, you don't have to like someone to be in an alliance with them! So don't play innocent with me! Don't try to come off like a saint or a better person than you really are. The only difference between you and me is that I'll -admit- when I did something dirty... and you're no more than an idiotic, stupid, transparent moron. You show no respect for the game and that's why nobody shows any respect for you."

Michelle shook her head, angrily. And it was clear that she and Isabella would never again be sending one another Christmas Cards... or anything, for that matter. She doubted the two of them would even speak again.

"I came into this game," she finished, "With the mindset that if someone can knock me out of the game-- then I'll vote for them to win. But I will -never- vote for Emma because she doesn't respect the game. You have to -work- hard for what you gain-- don't expect others to do your dirty work and then expect them to reward you in the end. Take responsibility for your actions. Don't say that things "just happened.""

Michelle hurled a rock into the sea with all her might.

"If Emma would have said that she voted for Ryan because he stood in her way of winning... well then I would have said here's your vote. Great job. You did something to earn a victory, people are going to respect you."

She hurled another rock, watching as it plunged into the surf with a satisfying crash.

"But saying the vote "just happened"... well that's the stupidest excuse in the history of Survivor. The stupidest excuse dreamed up by the stupidest player."

She spat, angrily.

"And it's just another reason why the person going home tonight is Emma, the Okinawan dipshit."


^^


As the time for the immunity challenge drew near-- a strange phenomenon started to take place along the rainy shores of Yamako Island. Something odd definitely started to happen, and it could only have been attributed to the "Fallen Angel" of the tribe- Isabella. Right now it was true that-- in one way or another-- all things seemed to lead back to her.

"The oddest thing," Amy would admit just before lunch, "Is that we're actually starting to come together as a tribe. Somehow all this Emma business has made us draw closer as a team. And I'm not talking about the Satos or the Kamiyas. I'm talking about -all- of us, all the Miyagis." She paused for a moment... then added with a small smirk, "I guess all it took was a common enemy-- but suddenly everybody seems to be each other's best friend around here. And that's the first time that has happened since day one."

Sure enough, Amy spent a good deal of the morning with Joni, as the two Mormon women tried to sort out their differences and peacefully co-exist on the island. It was going to be difficult, of course, but Amy professed her grievances, Joni professed her grievances-- and by lunchtime the two of them had more or less made peace with one another.

"I don't trust her at all..." Joni would say in a confessional, "But she's a good person... out of the game anyway." She laughed. "In game, I don't want her here and she doesn't want me here. We both see each other as threats." She shrugged. "But at the very least we can agree that -both- of us don't want Emma here. So at least we can commiserate over that for a while."

Joni further solidified her bond with Hogan-- finally going up to the young Eagle Scout and explaining -why- she had voted with Kamiya at the last vote. She finally explained her side, the two friends hugged and made up, and that was going to be that. From this point on-- they would again be the tightest pair in the game.

"I -was- furious with her," Hogan admitted in one of his rare confessionals, "Because she and I had an understanding that we would stick together on every vote. She was supposed to vote for Ryan and I was personally offended that she ditched me like that. The two of us really hadn't spoken much since then."

But then after his chat with Joni, after their reconciliation over lunch, Hogan was again ready to trust her. He couldn't stay mad with her, not really. Joni was his friend. He knew she would come through when it counted.

"Once she explained," he admitted, "I was totally fine with it. I mean, how was I to know what her mindset was at the time? She was scared. But the truth remains that she didn't try to screw -me-, she just tried to screw Sato. And that's a big difference. She'll never make a move against me and I'll never make a move against her. The two of us have always been destined for the final four... as a team."

So reconciliations were taking place all over the island today. Long talks were being held, hugs were being exchanged, and friendships were being reborn. There was very little strategy going on at the moment-- for one day at least people seemed to just be enjoying themselves. People just seemed to be enjoying the experience. And it was odd that today would be so relaxed... what with it being a Tribal Council day. Normally days like today were filled with stress, and filled with uncertainty.

The only difference was that there -was- no uncertainty today. So long as Isabella didn't win immunity, the brash talking New Yorker would be the one going home tonight. There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. So long as she didn't think she needed immunity-- and most people felt she didn't have a clue-- she was going to be a pushover in today's immunity challenge. After all, she had been hapless in just about every challenge to date-- why should today be any different?

So long as she didn't finish in the top four-- Isabella Smith was doomed. And the Kamiyans intended to make -sure- she didn't finish in the top four...

... But unfortunately for them, Isabella was about to deduce this fact for herself.

"Hey Matt," she said, as she cozied up next to the young redhead just before the tribe left for the challenge, "Can I have a word with you?"

Matt was packing his backpack as she spoke. And he looked up now, suspiciously. That was his new reaction to everything that came out of Isabella's mouth-- blatant and total suspicion. Hell, you could probably throw in distaste and contempt as well and you would be pretty close to the truth. In short, Matt didn't like Isabella. And he wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.

"Are you ready for the challenge?" she smiled, "It sounds fun. I always wanted to do an obstacle course."

Sure enough, Lance had retrieved the treemail a little more than an hour ago-- and today's immunity challenge was going to be an obstacle course. A -military- obstacle course, such as soldiers did in basic training. It was going to be grueling for sure-- possibly the most physical one the players had faced to date.

"Oh yeah," nodded Matt, looking back down at his packing, "It should be great."

Isabella watched Matt's body language as he spoke-- just as she had been doing all morning. She had been paying careful attention to what he was doing today-- just watching. Because truth be told-- his inattention to her was beginning to spook her. His seeming lack of interest in talking to her about any sort of deal was beginning to throw her radar into danger mode.

"Matt," she added, "I think we need to discuss some things." She lowered her voice. "We need to clear up some of the things we discussed the other day."

"Well why don't you refresh my memory..." Matt muttered, not looking up. "It's a little hazy you know."

"I just want to get everything straight," Isabella said, "And out into the open. I want to make sure we're still on the same page with all of this."

"Yeah," Matt murmured.

"Well I already told you how your Tribal Council comments hurt me..."

"And I told you I don't regret them."

"Yes," she said, "I know. And I don't like it but I agree you should never regret anything. We can only learn from what we've done." She paused... warily... as Matt still hadn't even looked up at her. "Matt, I need to know what you think of me now and where we stand on this. I'd really like to know what's going on."

Matt didn't reply. He simply stared down at the ground. And by now Isabella was starting to put the pieces together. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out... Matt was still furious with her. Matt wasn't going to talk to her.

Matt was probably going to vote her out.

"Matt," she finally added, "I've been nothing but truthful with you... and I hope you know that."

"Mmm-hmm," he nodded, absently.

"I told you flat out that I wasn't expecting anything from you. And I know that might have been silly to admit but it was always the truth. I just wanted the deception to end..."

"Yeah," he said, mockingly, "It ended. More or less."

"I already told you," Isabella admitted, now growing annoyed, "That if I voted out the Kamiyas-- none of them would ever vote for me to win. Even if I got to the final two, there was no way I could win. So by saving you last vote I was really kind of shooting myself in the foot."

"You only saved me because of the wheel," Matt said, looking up sharply. "Why don't you just admit it? You would have voted for Amy if she had been vulnerable and you know it."

"Matt..." sighed Isabella, "Why do you still think I'm trying to play you... or use you? Why do you think this is a big set up?"

Matt glared at her.

"I mean..." she added, "Maybe you don't consider me a friend like Amy... but I handed you a bunch of power and honesty. I basically handed it right to you!"

"Look Emma," said Matt, now standing up. He stood up to his full height-- which was well over six feet. And at this angle he dwarfed the petite blonde woman. He was going for intimidation-- and he hoped it was going to work. "This is the deal. Amy never screwed me. And you've screwed me on a couple of occasions. So pardon me for not believing a word of this anymore..."

"Yeah, I understand that. So now you're just trying to get even with me?"

"Oh no," Matt smiled, trying to look disarming. "It's just that things are so crazy right now... there's all this stuff going on in so many directions... everyone is so mixed up right now..."

"Well," she smiled, "Which direction are -you- going in?"

Matt paused after this question and he and Isabella exchanged a brief staredown. And in that moment she knew for sure. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he had turned on her. It didn't matter how he answered, she knew. Matt had many skills and charms as a player-- but subtlety had never been one of them.

"I'll go," he answered, "In the direction that allows me to sleep at night." He paused, then added more information than he probably should have. "But I don't really want you gone. Not yet, at least..."

"So someone wants me gone?"

"Oh no," Matt said, backpedaling, "That's just a figure of speech..."

"Well good," she smiled, coldly. "And all I can say, Matt, is that when you watch this on TV you'll know I was always true to you. You'll see that I was always honest in my intentions with you, and I never lied to you..."

Matt didn't reply, so Isabella continued.

"But what you -don't- realize is this," she added, "When you called me out at Tribal Council and made fun of me... it hurt me. But it also hurt -you- too. Because now everybody knows that the two of us talked. You didn't just screw me, you also screwed yourself..."

"And what -you- did..." Matt explained, "Is you just made Sato closer. I don't know what you were trying but Sato is actually a lot closer now than we were before. Whatcha did was a good thing for us."

Isabella sighed again. Gosh, this was frustrating. Why was he doing this? Did he realize he was biting the hand that was feeding him? Did he have any concept of that at all??

"Matt," she shook her head, sadly, "You sound a lot different now than you did two days ago and I don't understand why..."

"Different how?"

"You're just more suspicious. More reserved..."

"Bah," said Matt, squatting down to work on his backpack again, "Kamiya has just left me jaded. I don't have time for bullshit anymore."

"Well there's always been a lot of bad energy around Kamiya," Isabella said, "But you're just stereotyping us all together. I mean... I'm not perfect and neither are they... but I bet some of the Satos aren't perfect either."

Matt didn't respond. He had apparently stopped talking to her.

"Well..." she sighed, "I guess you're waiting to see who wins immunity then..."

No response.

"If you want to talk about this anymore," she added, "I'll be here..."

No response.

"Matt, I hope you realize how much I feel like the sore thumb of this tribe right now..."

Again, no response. Matt continued to pack, trying his best to block her out. So Isabella simply shrugged. If he wasn't interested in her deal anymore... if he wasn't interested in her help, she really wasn't going to offer it anymore. Besides, she now had other things to worry about. She now had other things that had to be done today.

And number one on that list was now easy-- Isabella's life in this game now depended on her winning immunity today. She knew it, and Matt had confirmed it.

It was time to see if twenty-six years of yoga were about to pay off.


^^


"Come on in, guys," smiled Jeff.

The eight members of Miyagi walked across the beach-- single file-- as Jeff stood before them near the shore. Michelle walked in front, leading the way. Isabella brought up the rear... carefully scanning the obstacle course before them. She was already trying to figure out how she could win this. And then her eye caught the Sundial... standing just behind Jeff on the sand. Up to four immunities. Up to four necklaces. That would probably be the key today.

"Welcome," added Jeff, "To today's immunity challenge." He smiled. "But first, I'm gonna need those amulets back."

One by one, the small sun amulets were removed and handed back to the host. First Mike, then Lance, then Hogan and then Amy. Amy pouted as she handed hers over-- she hadn't removed it from her neck since winning it three days ago. This was the first time they had been parted. Jeff turned and hung each of the amulets from a peg under the wheel. Then he turned back to the players... and smiled.

"Immunity is once again back up for grabs. But as to how -many-... well..." He shrugged. "We'll just have to wait and find out. Because we spin the wheel -after- we run the challenge."

A few players nodded, while others stood motionless.

"The challenge today is called Boot Camp. And as you can see, it is a military-style obstacle course. There are -eight- stages to be completed and they will test you in every way possible. So be warned that this is the ultimate challenge." He nodded. "We will be finding out today just -who- can handle the physical aspects of this game... and who can't."

He nodded... and then pointed out the eight stages in order. And they were pretty straightforward for the most part. Balance beam... swimming pool... sandbag carry... ladder crawl... all of it pretty easy to do.

"But the catch," Jeff added, "Is that you'll be running this course over the sand. And be warned that sand makes things -much- harder. I think we'll be lucky if half of you even finish this course."

Then Jeff pointed to the final stage of the challenge. He pointed to eight flagpoles that dotted the end of the course.

"You must raise that flag to win immunity," he finished. "So finish all eight stages... and raise your flag." He smiled. "First two to do so win immunity for sure..." He shrugged. "And we could have up to two more, depending on the wheel."

He clapped his hands together.

"So let's get lined up, guys. It's time to race."

The eight members of Miyagi took their places at the starting line in the sand. Just before them lay a long thick balance beam-- fifty feet worth. This challenge was going to start with a bang. Anyone with poor balance was likely to be knocked out of the running before the contest really even began. And Isabella smiled happily at her old friend-- the balance beam. A former dancer could do a balance beam in her sleep. She was starting to feel quite confident about this. She knew she could win today.

But now Jeff raised his right arm... as the players were all in their positions, ready to go.

Mike Ruff stood on the far left... his large frame already dripping with sweat from the pressure of the challenge. He looked pumped and ready to go. And he wasn't going to let Isabella beat him.

Joni Newman stood next to him... her petite dancer's frame looking a lot smaller compared to most of her opponents. Like Isabella, she wasn't worried about the balance beam... but the rest of the course was a bit daunting for her. She wasn't really sure she could pull this off. But as long as she beat Isabella, she would be happy.

Amy Twieg stood next to her... her dark hair pulled back in a ponytail, as usual, by her red buff. Amy stood with hands on hips, ready to go. She looked very focused and determined.

Matt Carter stood fourth... his omnipresent hockey mask having had been removed and placed down in the sand. Matt looked almost naked without it, as he stretched his legs and prepared to run.

Lance McHale stood fifth... and the young man from San Diego breathed in and out deeply as he tried to focus on the task at hand. As always, Lance looked determined. He looked confident, focused, and ready to win.

Isabella Smith stood sixth... as she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for Jeff to give the go-ahead. But this challenge she was definitely going to try for. For the first time all game... going against every strategy she had ever planned... she was ready to kick butt and take names. She knew without a doubt that she was going to win.

Michelle Kin-Fraley stood seventh... her dark hair pulled back, her eyes gleaming with fierce determination. And it was no coincidence that Michelle was lining up next to Isabella in the sand. That wasn't an accident at all. She was here to ensure that Isabella didn't win. She was here for a reason.

And Hogan Mueller stood on the end-- the young Eagle Scout staring at Jeff for last minute instructions. The tall young man appeared to be the favorite for this challenge, as he was probably the most athletic of the bunch. Well, so far, anyway. If Isabella had anything to say about it... Hogan Mueller would be left in the dust. Not that she cared much for him, anyway.

"This is for immunity," said Jeff, his right arm still held aloft. "Survivors ready..."

He paused.

Then dropped his arm.

"Go!"

The eight players scampered across the sand as fast as they could... all racing towards their balance beam. And it was the usual athletes who reached it first... Michelle, Lance and Hogan... but everybody was surprised that Isabella was right there along with the pack. Mike Ruff looked up in surprise as Isabella jumped onto her balance beam first.

"Oh crap," he said to Joni, "She knows! She's in first!"

Isabella cruised over her balance beam almost at a run. She was smiling to herself as she did so, loving the fact that she was leaving her bewildered opponents back in the dust. Behind her, she heard Hogan fall off the beam-- and get sent back to the starting line by Jeff. Hogan was out-- and Hogan was supposed to be the best. Suddenly this contest wasn't likely to be close.

"Emma is the first off her beam!" Jeff announced. "Moving on to the swimming portion!"

Isabella climbed down into a large dirt pit and splashed down into a pool of water. She then started to swim through the water. This wasn't her best event... but she was capable enough to get by. And behind her she soon heard Michelle and Lance splash into the water as well. Suddenly this was now a three person race.

"You can't win, Emma..." Michelle started to hiss, under her breath. "We're gonna catch you... watch out behind..."

Sure enough, Lance and Michelle started to close the gap. Lance in particular cut through the water like a fish, and was soon within striking distance of Isabella. And the athletic young man had just about caught her as the two of them climbed out of the pool at nearly the same time.

"Lance and Emma," announced Jeff, "In the lead. Michelle just behind!"

Way back on the course, Hogan had fallen off the balance beam for a second time. Stunned, Hogan was now relegated to last place, right next to the hapless Matt. The two of them were likely already eliminated from winning immunity.

Isabella and Lance breezed through the third and fourth stages with ease. Both of them carried a sandbag across the beach then dug up a treasure chest. And while Isabella was doing her best, Lance's superior strength now carried him past her into first place. Lance opened his treasure chest happily, revealing twenty puzzle pieces that would have to be assembled.

"Lance moving on to the puzzle!" Jeff announced. "And Michelle has passed Emma for second place!"

Michelle revealed her puzzle pieces before Isabella, laughing mockingly at the smaller blonde woman to her left. But Michelle smiled as she had done it. She had knocked Isabella out of the top two. And she could hear Joni cheering for her from behind.

"Let's go, Mich!" Joni cheered. "You know what to do!"

Lance, Michelle and Isabella all started to work on their puzzles-- frantically trying to arrange the pieces into a picture of a sun. It was going to take concentration. It was going to take skill. And it was going to take...

"Done!" smiled Isabella happily.

Michelle looked up, incredulous, as Isabella's work was verified and she raced off down the sand. How the hell had she done it so fast? How had Emma the dipshit solved a puzzle in less than one minute?

"Emma opening up a big lead!" Jeff announced. "Michelle is almost done. Lance is struggling."

Sure enough, Lance had become frazzled on the puzzle and was starting to lose his confidence. And by now he was falling out of the running. Michelle finished her puzzle and took off-- bolting after Isabella for all she was worth. Oh no... Michelle wasn't going to finish in second place. Not to Isabella. Sorry but that -wasn't- going to happen.

Isabella ran across the sand, her blonde hair flying, as she headed for the seventh stage. It was a ladder crawl-- horizontally over a pit-- and it was going to take some concentration. She leaned down on the ladder... testing its weight. It didn't look too hard...

"Emmmmmmmaaaaaa..." came a mocking taunt from behind. It was Michelle... and she was right on her tail. Suddenly Michelle was here as well, and Michelle looked pissed. Quite frankly Isabella was afraid she was just about to be pushed into the pit.

The two women climbed on their ladders and started to scuttle their way over the pit. Isabella was in the lead but she could tell that Michelle just wanted this too badly. Michelle wasn't going to give up.

So at the last moment Isabella slowed down... letting Michelle take the lead instead. And with a cry of triumph Michelle burst ahead, reaching the other side of the pit in first place. And just like that, Michelle was now the leader. Michelle had now passed her rival.

"Michelle moving on to the flagpole!" Jeff announced. "If she raises the flag she wins immunity!"

It only took a few moments for Michelle to slice through her string with a rock. The string snapped and she raised her arms in triumph as her red flag shot up and into the air.

"Yeah, baby!" she shouted.

"Michelle! Wins immunity!"

Isabella watched with amusement as Michelle pumped her fist repeatedly into the air. But it didn't matter much to her, as Isabella calmly cut through her own string moments later. Her flag snapped up the flagpole as well.

"Emma! Second place!"

Isabella nodded to Michelle-- who did not return the gesture. The two women just stood there, coldly, as Mike came barreling over the ladder to reach his flag. He was a surprising third place finisher-- but Mike had just been trying his best to catch Isabella. His determination had almost allowed him to beat her.

"Mike! Third place!"

And the three finalists watched as Amy and Joni battled it out for that coveted fourth spot. The two females were now crawling across the ladder-- each one trying badly to beat the other. Joni didn't want to lose to Amy and Amy didn't want to lose to Joni. Even if this -hadn't- been for a possible immunity-- neither one wanted to lose to the other. Especially not after their jousting showdown yesterday.

Amy finally crossed the pit first, as Joni's foot had become stuck in one of the last rungs. Joni muttered something under her breath... but that had been the slip that cost her. Amy raised her flag just seconds before Joni... and the young mom from Wisconsin thrust her fists in the air, happily.

"Amy! Fourth place!"

With that, the rest of the players eventually trickled into the finish line. A frustrated Joni stood with hands on hips-- angry with herself for just falling short. She was even angrier that Isabella had beaten her and was going to be immune. Lance came in sixth, looking sheepish at his struggles with the puzzle portion of the challenge. Hogan came in seventh-- his early struggles with the balance beam being too much to overcome. And Matt finished dead last because... well, because he was Matt.

"Congratulations guys," said Jeff, as the players all took a chance to catch their breath. Michelle stood at the front of the pack, still winded, though she looked thrilled for having beaten Isabella at the end. She was currently whispering something to Mike-- and odds are it was about Isabella. Mike stared at the young blonde woman now, nodding something in agreement with Michelle.

"Okay," said Jeff, "It's time to spin the wheel. You guys ready?"

The players nodded-- so Jeff called Michelle over to stand in front of the Sundial.

"Here we go," said Jeff, as the woman from Tennessee grabbed ahold of the wheel. "For immunity."

Michelle closed her eyes and gave it a hard spin. And the players watched in eager anticipation as the three colors of the wheel spun by in rapid succession. Red. Yellow. Green. Red. Yellow. Green.

After thirty seconds, the wheel started to slow. And it was evident to -everybody- what was going to happen. Because that large number four was looming ever so slowly at the top of the wheel. The wheel slowed, slowed and slowed... and then it stopped:

On red number four.

"Four immunities, for the second time in a row..." smiled Jeff. "Man, I love this game."

A few players cheered... while Joni looked around in a panic. Uh oh... she quickly started to do the math in her head. How many Kamiyas had finished in the top four again??

Jeff handed Michelle the first sun amulet... and she placed it around her neck with pride.

Isabella accepted the second one... thanking Jeff as he placed it over her head. -That should show them-, she thought.

Mike beamed with pride as he caught his amulet in the air. And then he placed it around his neck... for the second time in a row.

And the fourth amulet... once again... went to a very relieved looking Amy Twieg. She was smiling from ear to ear as she happily placed it over her head. This sun was right back where it belonged. After all, maybe they called her "Sunni" for a reason.

"Michelle, Emma, Mike and Amy," said Jeff, "You four are immune tonight. You cannot receive any votes."

And as Jeff turned to face the rest... that was the first moment in the game that Joni Newman wished she could swear. That was the first moment in sixteen years that Joni wished she could reel off a string of curse words.

"Hogan, Lance, Matt and Joni..." started Jeff, "I'm sorry but one of you four is going home tonight."

And suddenly Joni was terrified for her life.

Three Kamiyas.

Two of them immune.

One vengeful Amy.

And one very traitorous (and immune!) Fallen Angel.

And all those factors clearly added up to one thing in her mind. All of them pointed to one clear outcome at tonight's vote: Joni Newman knew her time in this game was over.


^^


Back at camp... things were ready to finally kick into gear. The strategy talks were about to begin. It was time to determine the second juror of the game... and for most people, the target was going to be simple. Even with the hated Isabella being immune, the target wasn't going to be that difficult to figure out.

"I love Joni," Amy admitted, as she walked along the beach, "And I've told her that I'll always love her. We've made our peace, we're on the same level again... But the fact remains that she -is- a threat and she -does- have some power over a member of my alliance." She shrugged. "So I'm sorry Joni, but you turned on me once... so why would I -ever- give you the chance to do it again?"

And with Joni in danger, the first thing she did back at camp was to hightail it back to her alliance-- back to her friends-- and try to come up with some strategy with which she could save herself. With only hours to go before the vote... it was time for the Kamiyas to start brainstorming.

"You need to go make nice with Amy," Michelle suggested, "Just go kiss up to her. Do whatever you have to do to make her not vote for you."

But Joni simply shook her head, vehemently. She knew that wasn't going to work.

"But look at it this way," Michelle added. "Emma will only go wherever the majority is. And if Amy doesn't vote with the rest of them... they'll lose Emma's vote as well. Amy's the one you need to convince. She calls all the shots over there!"

"But I know Amy," Joni said. "There's no way she'll let me get past her again. She's nice and all... but she holds a grudge. She's so much as told me."

"What about Hogan?" Mike suggested. "Can he be swayed?"

"I don't know," said a frustrated Joni, "I've made up with him... but he's still ticked that I voted for a Sato last time. I doubt he'd be too thrilled if I came begging him now. Especially if it's just to force a tie."

"Well I've talked with Amy..." Michelle said, giving her young friend a hug, "And I know she's agonizing over this decision. She likes you, and she really wanted to vote for Emma anyway. She didn't want to make this choice."

"Stupid Emma," muttered Joni. Then she groaned. "Argggh. This sucks. This -really- sucks. Why did I have to suck so bad today?" Then she alarmed her friends by slamming one of her fists into her head. "Why couldn't it be five immunities? Why not five??"

"Well," said Michelle, leaning over to hug Joni once again, "Maybe we should all just vote for Emma anyway. Just vote for her out of spite. Even if the votes won't count."

Joni started to cry now, as she leaned up against Michelle for support.

"Emma knew," Michelle confirmed, "She knew that if she didn't win immunity... she'd be sitting next to Ryan tonight. You could tell at the challenge."

"Good," nodded Mike. "That should show her what a back-stabber gets. I hope she feels stupid now."

The air was quiet for a moment as the three Kamiyans stood there, helplessly. Joni was still trying to fight back tears. She was just -not- ready to go home tonight.

"Hey..." joked Michelle, trying to lighten the mood, "Maybe Emma will do something stupid like give up immunity tonight. Maybe she'll be a bonehead again and do something dumb."

"Or maybe we can knock her out and take it," Joni murmured.

And the three of them stood there... in the clear afternoon air... as they made their last stand against Sato. Joni, Michelle and Mike, the final three Kamiyans-- doing their best to keep Joni's spirits up as she readied herself to walk right into the Sato firing squad. She knew it, they knew it, everybody knew it. Joni was going home tonight... and there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.

"I'd give you my immunity if I could," Michelle said, as she rubbed Joni's back for support. "You know I would."

"I know," nodded Joni.

"I'd do anything for a friend, and you know it," Michelle said.

"Thanks, Mich," smiled Joni. "You know I'd do the same for you..."

And no sooner were these words out of Joni's mouth than something miraculous started to happen. All of a sudden a vision appeared on the beach. It was a form, walking towards them-- and Mike groaned when he saw who it was.

It was the last person Mike wanted to see. It was the last person Joni wanted to see. And it was -definitely- the last person Michelle wanted to see. But as the three of them soon found out... this was going to be their lucky day. This was the one person who could save them. This was the one person who could spare Joni-- and get Kamiya back in the game. This was the one person who could change the course of this game... for the second time in a row.

Her name was Isabella.

And sometimes Fallen Angels come home.


^^


"Go away," Michelle spat, once Isabella came into range. "Just leave us alone, you've done enough! Can't you see she's crying?"

"I have something to tell you..."

"Emma," said Mike, walking up close to her, "If you don't get the hell away from us, I swear to God I'll..."

But Isabella just ignored him. Unlike most of the Miyagis, she wasn't scared of Mike Ruff and his rants. She knew it was all an act. She simply walked past him, effectively shutting him off, as she came closer to talk to Michelle.

"Mich, I just wanted to let you know that I want to vote with Kamiya. I'm going to help you guys force a tie."

Isabella Smith's path in this game had taken some unusual twists and turns thus far, to say the least. From her early shunning for being meek and female... to her alliance with the Angels... to her role in the Kamiya drama play... to her flirtation with Beth and Matt... Isabella's game had been all over the place up to this point. She had been inside alliances, outside alliances, in with the power group, targeted by the power group... and all matter of positions in between.

But the strangest thing to ever happen to her in two seasons of Survivor had been her emotional empathy over the plight of Matt Carter. Quite simply it had been so out of character that it had shocked her. So she had played emotionally, she had given herself a challenge, she had done something that was so completely non-strategic that she knew it was taking a risk. Oh, she still knew she was going to win, that had never been in question. No-- it was just the way she had gone about it that had been so unusual in the way she liked to play this game.

"Don't give us any more bullshit," Michelle accused. "If you're gonna jerk us around at least have the courtesy to wait until after the vote."

But what had stunned Isabella the most-- in some ways she would probably -never- understand it-- had been Matt's reaction to her help. To say he had been ungrateful would be an understatement. Not only had Matt turned down her offer, but he had then called her out to her alliance... tried to get her voted out... openly insulted her... and then caused all sorts of trouble for her around camp.

"And it was just shocking to me," she would admit in a confessional, "Because first I felt pity for him. But then, after his Tribal Council rant, I no longer wanted to help him win anymore. I now just wanted to see how he could help me." She would shrug. "But eventually I realized that-- not only did he not offer me any protection after the vote-- he was actively trying to get me out!"

So that had been that. By now, Isabella realized her future in the game with Matt was done. It had been a blow to her dreams of keeping a Kamiya from winning... but what else could she do? Matt had burned her twice, he made no secret of the fact that he would do so again, he was waaaay too close to Amy, and she finally realized that she just had no more use for him whatsoever.

And when Isabella had no more need for somebody, it was time for them to go.

It was just as simple as that.

"I'm not lying," she said to Michelle, "And I'm not jerking you around. And if you're -really- serious about getting back in this game... I know the way to do it."

"Why should we believe you?" asked Mike. "Give us one good reason! You haven't even talked to us since the last vote!"

"Well all I can say..." Isabella started, "Is that maybe I was just a little scared of y'all to talk about it. I knew you were mad at me and I didn't really like the idea of you hating me."

"So what do you want?" asked Michelle.

"I would like to come back to Kamiya." Isabella shrugged, nervously. "If there still is one anyway. I'd love it if y'all would take me back."

No one said a word. No one replied. They just glared.

"I know you don't have a reason to..." she added, "But I hope you will because what I did was a mistake. I realize it was a mistake and I'm sorry." She paused. "And, well, I can't go back and change it but I just wanted you to know how bad I felt about it all."

"Fuck. You. Emma." said Michelle, loudly and slowly. She wanted to make sure the message came across loud and clear.

"Michelle," Isabella said, "Look at it this way. I know there's a lot of resentment towards me--- and it's probably deserved-- but I have one of these amulets around my neck. But so do you... and so does Mike."

Michelle continued to glare.

"And if we force a tie..." Isabella smiled, "Odds are it won't be one of us leaving tonight. It would be a 75% chance that a Sato gets picked... which are a lot better odds than if you don't believe me."

"Who do you want to vote for?" Mike asked, still suspicious.

"Well Amy preferably," Isabella answered, truthfully, "But since she's immune I'd rather vote for Hogan or Matt. Those two don't like each other anyway... so I'd bet one of them would flip in the revote. Just to avoid the tiebreaker."

"Hogan would -never- take a dagger for Matt," Joni piped up, suddenly feeling a sense of hope in all of this. "Hogan would bail in a minute if it was him or Matt. He's told me that. He can't stand him."

"Well..." said Michelle, still not wanting to get her hopes up, "What about you Joni? Would you vote for Hogan?"

"I don't want to..." she said, sadly. "I mean I would if I have to obviously. But if we could take Matt out I'd be happier. Hogan's a nice guy, I think he deserves to be here longer than the rest of them."

"What about you, Mike?" asked Michelle. "Would you vote for Matt?"

"I'd rather not. I kind of promised him I wouldn't."

"Well what if came down to him or Kamiya?" Michelle asked.

"Then yes. I'd vote for Matt."

And at this point the plan suddenly started to take shape. Suddenly things were looking a whole lot brighter for the doomed Kamiyans-- suddenly a tie vote seemed very possible. And Isabella wasn't even done yet. She wanted to make -sure- the tables were tilted in favor of Matt Carter-- without a shadow of a doubt. She really needed him to be gone.

"I think," she said, as if hit by a sudden brainstorm, "We should vote for Matt. Because you know he's a lot closer to Amy than Hogan is. We could take out Amy's best ally and get Kamiya back in it all at once."

"I agree," nodded Michelle.

"And I know I could get Hogan to vote for Matt..." Joni grinned. "And I don't mean in the revote. I mean in the first vote." She shrugged. "Hey I don't want to face a tie if I don't have to. I mean -you- guys aren't the ones without the necklaces."

Michelle laughed.

"But I'll work on Hogan," Joni promised. "Because I am -not- ready to go home yet. Nosiree, I'll do whatever it takes."

Mike laughed, as he clapped Joni on the shoulder. And as the Kamiyans celebrated their newfound optimism, Michelle and Isabella locked eyes across the sand. And Isabella could see that Michelle still didn't trust her. Michelle still didn't trust her... or like her... at all.

But as Michelle once said in an angry confessional... you don't actually need to like a person in order to be in an alliance with them.

Sometimes all you need is that one extra vote.


^^


Matt probably wouldn't have figured out he was a target on his own. He didn't even realize his head was on the chopping block until just before dinner-- when he returned from the mainland and saw Mike Ruff waiting for him. Mike was standing on the shore, fishtrap in hand, and he looked like he had something important to say.

"I just wanted to warn you," Mike said, under his breath, "That I've been approached with an offer of a tie. Emma wants back with Kamiya and she is willing to vote you out tonight. And I just wanted to make sure you got a heads up."

"What??" Matt was surprised.

"I've told them that I'll vote for you," Mike added, "But I'm not entirely sure I will. But I just wanted you to be aware something is up. They're gunning for you." He paused, then added ominously. "And if it gets back to me that I warned you, I'll vote you out so fast..."

"So wait..." Matt was still surprised, "You'll vote with Emma? After what she did to you?"

"Hey," shrugged Mike, "I don't like her any more than you do. And it's not like Joni and I are super close either." He shook his head. "That's why I'm considering going with you guys. And I am considering it too... I'm not just jerking you around."

"I know," nodded Matt.

"But the catch is..." Mike said, "That you guys are all super close. You and Amy are tight, Lance and Hogan are tight. So what's in it for me?" He shrugged. "Do you see my problem?"

Matt nodded. "Well all I can ask," he said, hating to beg, "Is that you please don't vote for me, Mike. And I know it's not gonna sway your mind one way or another... but I'd kick myself if I didn't at least ask."

Mike nodded, smiling.

"The four Satos are all sticking together," Matt said, "So that means by default we have to vote for Joni. And I know you're not the best of friends with her, so take that as you will."

Mike nodded again.

"And if you -do- come with us," Matt added, "I won't let a Pagonging happen. You'll just have to take my word on this... if you come with us tonight I'll do all I can."

"I know you will," nodded Mike. "That's why I'm thinking it over."

"Well no matter what you do," Matt shrugged, "At the very least thanks for warning me." He nodded, grateful. "No matter what you do... I won't judge you either way, you know I respect your honesty."

"Same here," nodded Mike.

"And I won't tell on ya," Matt added. "But I reserve the right to go save myself."

"Fair enough," Mike smiled.

So with that news in mind Matt knew he was in serious trouble. And with his neck on the line he went straight to the person he knew could help-- he went to Amy. Because if anyone could save him right now it was his good friend Amy Twieg.

"I blame Emma for all this," he concluded to her, once he had finished his tale of woe. "This is all her fault and it's all because she made a huge deal out of something that was very minor!"

"What's that?" said Amy, as she held Matt's hand for support.

"We exchanged those stupid shark-tooth necklaces!" Matt said. "It's like she thinks we exchanged our goddamn class rings or something. It was just something I did to placate her and now she's acting like we were in a serious relationship or something."

Amy looked on in concern.

"She's like an ex-girlfriend," Matt added. "It's creepy!"

"Maybe she had a crush," Amy joked. "I mean, we all love Matt, don't we?" She blushed. "And don't think I wasn't a little jealous of you two."

Matt snorted, trying not to laugh.

"But I'm serious," Amy added, trying to keep his spirits up. "I didn't want her having you, plus I never liked her that much anyway. That girl's trouble."

"No kidding."

"But we'll save you..." Amy said, biting her lip. "We can do something. As long as Sato sticks together we should all have a fighting chance." She paused, brainstorming. "Maybe I should go kiss up to Joni...?"


^^


But Amy didn't realize things were already much too late. Joni had gotten to Hogan already, and Hogan was getting the hard sell from his best friend in the game. And really, how could he resist? When Joni asked, how could he possibly resist?

"And that's why if you come with us tonight..." Joni explained, "You're guaranteeing yourself a spot in the final three. Come with me tonight... we vote out Matt... we take out the Satos... and then we battle it out with Michelle in the final three." She paused, then patted the Eagle Scout on the knee. "It's not like the Satos care for you much anyway."

"Yeah, I know. I've never really been tight with them anyway... except for Lance."

And this was the line that Joni knew she could exploit. Hogan had just given her an opening wide enough to drive a truck through.

"Well I do have to warn you..." Joni said, "That if the target isn't Matt tonight, it's going to be Lance. That's kind of what my team has decided. They're gonna go for Lance tonight unless I can get your vote for sure." She smiled. "And hopefully, we're both still together on this."

And really... it hadn't been much of a task at all to get Hogan to flip. She hadn't even needed to bring up Lance's name, that part hadn't even been a requirement. Hogan's main allegiance was to Joni-- had -always- been to Joni-- and he didn't have a problem whatsoever voting for somebody like Matt Carter. And the main reason for this was that Hogan and Matt just never talked. The two of them had probably not had a meaningful conversation at any point in the past twenty-seven days-- as they just had very little in common. There just had never been a common pool of interests for the two of them to draw on, despite the fact that they were only two years apart.

"The problem with Matt," Hogan once said, "Is that he's a Democrat. And I'm sorry but I don't trust Democrats. I don't like them, I don't talk to them, and I don't really care what they have to say." This had always been a sticking point between the two young men-- their choice of politics-- and few of their teammates had even noticed. Most of the Satos didn't realize that Young Republican Hogan and Outspoken Liberal Matt were never, ever, ever going to be best friends. And it wasn't that they fought-- it was just that they never talked.

Ever.

"And he's an atheist," Hogan once ranted, "And excuse me but if you don't believe in God, what business would I ever have trying to be your friend? Why on earth would I choose to align with someone like that... who doesn't have the common sense to realize there's something greater than all of us out there? I'm sorry but no. If you're an atheist then you're an idiot."

And this point of contention had always been the straw that had broken Hogan Mueller's back. Once this fact was known to be true-- Hogan and Matt had always been doomed. It had never been in question.

"Plus," Hogan liked to laugh in his confessionals, "He's weird and I'm not. So we're total opposites. And if the chance ever came to take him out... I'd love to take it. I wouldn't hesitate for a second."

And now that chance was here.

"I've never -really- been a Sato," Hogan explained to Joni, "I know it looks like I am but Lance is the only one I even talk to. Amy and Matt are too busy not having crushes on each other and they don't give a crap about me anyway." He nodded. "So yeah, I would have voted for Matt even if you didn't ask me. Sticking with him has never been an option."

And Joni was shocked. The plan had actually worked?

"Besides," Hogan said, "They're all voting for you tonight and I said I never would. I keep my promises, Joni, because I'm a Scout." He smiled at her. "That's why they call it Scout's Honor. When I say something, you know it's gonna be the truth."

"Well..." Joni said, smiling happily and trying not to burst out in song, "I won't vote for you either, and you know it. And I wouldn't let Kamiya vote for you either. If they ever try I'd flip on them so fast..."

And with that, the two friends shared a hug. And a promise. And suddenly... the future of Matt Carter in this game was looking to be very much in doubt indeed.


^^


With Hogan Mueller now on board, the news spreads fast among the Kamiyans. Joni had done it. Joni had single-handedly managed to avoid a tie tonight. And at this even Isabella was impressed. She had expected there to be a tiebreaker. But she had to tip her cap and give credit where it was due... the little Mormon who could had done it. Joni Newman had managed to finagle her way out of a tie.

It was no wonder Isabella considered the sixteen-year-old to be a major, major threat in this game.

"Please you guys," Joni implored to her alliance, "Please please do -not- tell any of the Satos about this. I don't want Hogan to get in trouble and I don't want him to get screwed."

"Do you trust him for sure?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," nodded Joni. "And please... make sure he's the last Sato standing, okay? For me, just let him be the last one to go."

"No problem," nodded Mike.

"I think what we need..." commented Michelle, "Is for Hogan to mark his ballot. Like maybe have him write all in caps or something. That way we'll know he voted with us for sure."

Joni nodded and Isabella smiled inwardly, trying not to roll her eyes. Some things never changed around here.

"So at Tribal Council," Michelle said, "I think we should all give answers like we still hate each other. Like none of us are with Emma." She nodded. "Just so nobody knows for sure." She turned to Isabella. "Are you okay with that? It will all be an act."

"Yeah," nodded Isabella, "I understand."

"And I'll just play Darrah all night," Joni grinned, "I'll just go into woe-is-me mode... like I know my time is up."

Michelle laughed.

"Well if we pull this off tonight without a tie," Michelle grinned, "Then you win the MVP for this one, Darrah. They're not gonna know what happened."

Joni smiled, happily.

"And like I told you earlier," Michelle said, putting an arm around her young Mormon friend, "We're all standing behind you in this game... just remember to -never- give up until your torch is snuffed out."

She paused.

Then grinned.

"And it sure as hell aint going out tonight!"


^^


With just an hour to go before Tribal Council, Hogan Mueller was definitely in a state of anticipation. He knew he was going to turn on his Satos... and he knew he wasn't going to have any regrets. Oh he knew they would hate it... and he knew they'd probably never forgive him... but he hoped they would understand it somewhere down the road.

"After all," he would shrug, "This is business. If I can't get it done here, might as well try to get it done over there."

But one thing Hogan did worry about... the -only- thing he worried about... was the effect this was going to have on Lance. Because Lance McHale was his closest friend on Sato, and Lance McHale bled Sato blood from his every pore. Lance wasn't going to appreciate this move, Lance wasn't going to understand it, and Lance sure as hell wasn't going to like it.

And that's exactly why Lance McHale wasn't going to get a warning. It would just be too much trouble. Hogan just didn't want to go there at all.

"Hey Hogan," Lance said, as he drew the young man aside just before they left for the vote. "I just wanted to tell you something before we headed off for Tribal."

"Oh hey Lance," smiled Hogan.

"I just wanted to tell you," Lance laid a hand on his shoulder, "That I'm sorry it had to be Joni tonight. I know you guys are close and I know it can't be easy to vote for a friend."

"Yeah."

"And I know nobody here really understands how close you two are... so I just wanted to tell you that we'll be here for you afterwards. We'll all be around if you wanted to talk about it."

"Thanks Lance," said Hogan, reaching to shake the pre-school teacher's hand. "I really appreciate it."

And it was killing Hogan not to say something right about now. Lance just didn't have a clue at all. Ugh, why did this game have to be so hard sometimes? Why did it have to get complicated like this?

"If you want to share Joni stories or memories," Lance smiled, "I'd be glad to listen. You can just talk to me anytime, I'll always be there."

"Thanks, man." Hogan patted Lance on the shoulder and that was that.

And as the tribe prepared for their trip across the sea, Hogan thought he would have plenty of time to think about this choice... alone. He thought he would have plenty of time to sit in his boat... in peace... and think about things. Did he really want to do this? Did he really want to let Lance down like this?

But as Hogan trekked down to the water, he was suddenly approached by Mike Ruff. The big man from Kamiya walked alongside him for a moment, looking like he had something to say. And then quickly, before anyone else could see the two of them together... Mike imparted just one bit of wisdom. It was just one quick blurb, one last bit of advice... before Hogan got in his boat and headed off across the sea to vote.

"With this vote you're replacing Emma," Mike said, quickly.

Hogan nodded, solemnly.

"And remember..." Mike added, "I was once a scout too so I know the value of a promise. I know your word as a scout is good."

He nodded, patting the young man once on the arm.

"So please don't disappoint me. Remember that scouts -never- go back on their word."


^^


The eight players set sail for the mainland just after 7:00-- as the darkness had already overtaken the small sand spit in the middle of the sea. One by one they boarded their boats and set off-- Hogan first... followed by Mike... followed by Michelle...

And though he wasn't feeling particularly confident about tonight's vote-- Matt was still somewhat secure that there would be a tie tonight. He was still relatively sure that it would be four votes for Matt and four votes for Joni. It was going to be right down tribal lines. And this fact was confirmed, of course, by Isabella-- who drew up next to him just before he boarded his boat. She had one final message to impart to him just before they went to vote.

"I just want you to know," she said quietly, "That whatever happens tonight-- I've been completely honest with you and I'll always consider you a friend." She smiled as she laid a hand on his arm. "But you never offered me -any- protection since the last vote... and in fact you sounded very hesitant about even going with me at -all-."

Matt grunted, non-committally.

"So I thank you for your friendship and your honesty," she finished. "Good luck tonight, Matt, and good luck to you."

She finished with a small shrug... and then she was off. Soon they were all off.

And as the eight boats glided across the moonlit sea... the players all took their chance to give a last minute confessional before the vote. All eight of them gave their thoughts on the vote... who they thought would be going home tonight... and how they thought the vote would go down. And since it was an hour long boatride across the sea, most of them had a lot to say.

"As of right now," Isabella confessed, "I'm planning on voting for Matt. And it's not something I wanted to do, really, but I feel he more or less forced my hand into it." She chuckled, wryly. "This whole shift in strategy is a surprise for me, honestly, but I'll just adapt and make do without him."

She paused, looking maternally over her shoulder at Matt Carter's boat to her left. She saw him looking down at the sea, sadly-- as if he knew his time in the game was up. And she couldn't help but feel a fair amount of pity for the kid... even if most of this had been his fault. She just couldn't help it. She'd really had such high hopes for him... and now it was coming down to this.

"What Matt has shown me recently," she continued, "Is that he's very hypocritical, emotional and naive. And while I once found these traits to be charming... in time I've found that they can also be quite destructive to himself and to those around him." She shrugged. "Plus by getting him removed... I can more or less blame this whole debacle on him and he won't be here to prove otherwise."

She paused, then grinned.

"Oh yeah, and with Matt gone I'll be the only searcher here left on the tribe. He probably shouldn't have reminded me of that this morning. Miyagi needs food, therefore Miyagi will now need me... even if they don't like me."

She chuckled.

"So Matt... -what- were you thinking?"

As Isabella finished up her thoughts, Michelle Kin-Fraley was doing the same thing in her own boat-- way in front of the rest of the pack. Michelle lowered her voice to a hushed whisper as she weighed in with her thoughts on tonight's vote.

"I'm putting a lot of faith," she admitted, "In a plan that could go south in a hurry. Because Emma is -not- the most trustworthy person in the world-- but right now she's all we've got." She grimaced. "Emma is the only way we can save Joni and I just hate to have to use her once more... but that's that. I need Emma and she needs me, so even though we hate each other, it's something that pretty much has to be done."

She paused.

"Although if Emma -is- lying to us... then I'm just gonna go off on her tonight. I won't hold back and that's a promise. If she does this to me again..." Michelle darkened. "Then God help her soul because I will literally kill her."

The third member to weigh in with his thoughts was Mike Ruff. The big man reclined in his boat casually, leaning back to stare up at the full moon in the sky high above. And he felt good about tonight's vote. Mike knew it was going to work... even if he did not yet know for whom he was going to vote. But luckily, with Joni getting Hogan on board... it really didn't matter.

"Right now," he explained, "I know Kamiya is all gonna vote for Matt... but I'm not sure I really will as well. My choices at the moment have been narrowed down to Matt and Hogan... with the off chance of voting for Joni instead." He shrugged. "Sato's come around with a counter offer but it isn't really anything I'd take. So I'll just pretty much play it as it goes... and see the kind of answers I hear at Tribal Council."

He smiled, somewhat bashfully.

"The thing that's tripping me up is that I swore I would never vote for Matt... and I've been trying hard not to break that vow. I've been trying so hard to play with honesty and integrity... and this is pretty much my first test." He exhaled now, slowly. "There's been so much deception in this game-- including my fair share, of course-- that it's all just gotten tiring and out of hand." He shook his head, reluctantly. "So if I tell Matt I won't write his name down, then by God I don't want to do it."

He shrugged.

"But like I said, we'll just see what happens. I want to play nice, but I'd also rather win. And if voting Matt out ensures a win down the road... well that won't be much of a dilemma at all."

And as the boats began to near the Okinawan coastline... it was Amy Twieg who was bemoaning the fact that her friend Matt may very well be the one sent packing tonight. She was quite upset about the way things had gone down... even if she didn't yet realize that one of her Satos had turned. She was mad enough even without knowing that one crucial piece of news.

"So they're targeting Matt," she sighed, as she cast a worried glance at the young man in the mask. "I get told a whole two hours before the vote that the target has now shifted to Matt. And I know they have the votes for it. They'd be fools to target him and then let him stay. Matt's too dangerous to try something like that with him."

And as Amy discussed this fact out loud, a sudden dawning realization gradually started to hit her. Suddenly she realized that there was an extra vote here she had kind of ignored.

"Oh my God," she said, holding a hand to her mouth. "Hogan!"

She looked to the boats ahead of her... but Hogan's craft had already landed. And suddenly she realized that Hogan had spent an -awful- lot of time away from the Satos today. Suddenly she realized that he might not be as secure as a vote as she had once anticipated. And what if...

"What if..." she gasped, "Joni already got to him? What if Joni cut him some sort of deal today?" She shuddered, not even realizing she was doing it. "Because I'm pretty sure Hogan talks to them a -lot- more than he lets on. And I know he doesn't care much for Matt..."

And she closed her eyes now, panicked. Uh oh. Why hadn't she seen this before?

"Oh God..." she muttered, "If Hogan decides to vote for Matt tonight we're going to be finished. If he flips on us... it means he will have dismissed -everything- we've worked for with him since day one. It means he'll be giving the win to a Kamiya... and jacking us all in the process."

She stared up ahead now, trying furtfully to get a glance of the young Eagle Scout. Where was he? Was he with the Kamiyas? Who was he walking with? Had he been giving off any subtle clues today? She racked her brain. Had he been giving off any hints?

"Well all I can say..." she said, hopelessly, "Is that Hogan better realize we're all he's got. He better realize that if he flips sides, he's just ensuring himself a fifth place finish. Joni or not... there's no way they're going to let him win."

She shook her head now, angrily.

"And Hogan..." she finished, "If you vote against us... if you even -think- of voting against us, you'll be nothing more than a ho. That's right, this time -you'll- be the ho."

Amy glowered, already seeing it come true in her mind.

"The only difference is that now you'll be working for a different pimp."


^^


"So tell me Michelle," smiled Jeff, once Tribal Council had started, "What was your reaction to the last Tribal Council vote? Were you surprised that Ryan was voted out?"

"I was shocked, Jeff," nodded Michelle. "I was shocked... surprised.... mad... furious..." She laughed. "And just basically pissed off."

"So are you still mad?"

"Well it's no secret that I feel betrayed," Michelle answered. "Because basically Emma put the dagger to my throat and started to draw the blood." She shrugged. "And I felt horribly betrayed because she and I were friends..."

"-Were- friends?" clarified Jeff.

"Yes," nodded Michelle. "We -were- friends."

Ryan Rebez smirked from over in the jury box. He was learning forward, listening to the player responses carefully. He was also wearing a t-shirt-- across which was splashed, "Always a Juror, Never a Bride."

"So what about you, Emma?" asked Jeff. "Were you surprised with how the Ryan vote went down?"

"Well not really..." laughed Isabella. "Considering I was the deciding vote, Jeff, I wasn't really too surprised." She paused as a few players chuckled. "But I didn't mean to betray anyone... or to hurt anyone. I know that vote changed the game and definitely changed my standing in the tribe..." She frowned. "But all I can do is learn and go forward from here."

"So Michelle tells me..." Jeff smiled, "That she feels you stabbed her in the back. Earlier Amy told us that she felt betrayed by Joni. And Joni said the same about Amy. So what about you? Do you feel betrayed by anyone here?"

"Yes," nodded Isabella, "There is someone on this tribe who has betrayed me."

"Care to elaborate?" Jeff asked, after a pause.

Matt looked over at her, raising a curious eyebrow.

"Well not really..." she started. "I mean there's a whole bunch of people who feel I betrayed them, so I can't really judge people like that. Like they say, "Let he who is without sin be the first to condemn.""

Michelle snorted next to her, without meaning to. In the front row Joni started to chuckle as well.

"I -can- say," said Isabella, slyly, "That Matt sang an interesting song at the last vote. And let me add that... maybe the devil -did- come down to Georgia for a little while." She smiled. "But remember at the end of the song, the devil gets kicked out right back to wherever he came from."

"So Matt..." turned Jeff, "How about that last vote? What were your feelings when that last Ryan vote came up?"

"Heh," chuckled Matt. "Well normally I don't like dancing on the graves of the departed, Jeff..."

Ryan started to laugh from the jury box.

"Oh wait a minute," joked Matt, "Yes I do. Ryan was one of my prime tormenters at Kamiya. So no... with the shit he put me through... I don't regret what happened at all."

Ryan shook his head now, smiling, amused by Matt's answer.

"Alright," said Jeff, turning to face the rest of the tribe, "Before we vote-- let's just get some quick thoughts on the Sundial. Do you like the Wheel of Fortune? Has it helped your game out?" He nodded. "Joni?"

"Heck no," exclaimed Joni. "I've been screwed by it twice now. So do I like it?" She appeared to think about it for a moment. "Um... no, not really." She shrugged. "Sorry."

"What about you, Mike? You've won immunity twice now. You've -gotta- be a fan of the wheel."

"Hey," laughed Mike, "You don't have to point that out." He winked. "I was kind of hoping people didn't notice." He paused for a moment-- then elaborated. "I actually love it Jeff, because it affects the game in two ways. First-- it rewards effort. You don't have to finish first to get the benefits."

Hogan nodded next to him, agreeing.

"Second," Mike added, "It takes away all the pre-planning. You can't draw up a boot order any more... it just tends to keep you on your toes."

"Well from where I was sitting..." grinned Jeff, "It looked like the wheel might have saved someone today." He nodded to Isabella. "Emma, there was a -lot- of hostility directed towards you today at that challenge. And it wasn't like it was subtle either."

"No," she said, "It wasn't."

"So pardon me for saying it," Jeff added, "But you just don't appear to be very well liked right about now. Would you call that a fair statement?"

"Yes," she said, sadly. "And it's my own fault, too."

"But tell me..." Jeff smiled, "Did the mood towards you change after you won immunity? Did you suddenly become a lot more popular around camp?"

"Oh yes," she confirmed, "Definitely. And not by everybody... but by a lot." She shrugged again, but didn't say what she was -really- thinking: -I wish I could have invested in Chapstick, Jeff, for all the ass-kissing the Miyagis did to me after that challenge.-

Instead she just smiled.

"And I do believe," she finished, "That the person people wanted to vote for is wearing immunity tonight. And I may have saved myself... but all I've really done so far is buy myself three more days."

"Fair enough," nodded Jeff. Then he stood up...

"Okay guys, it's just about that time." He nodded. "Time to vote. Michelle, you're up first..."


^^


Michelle Kin-Fraley walked up to the podium and cast her vote, as expected, for Matt. This had been the new Kamiya plan and... though Michelle still didn't trust it was going to work... she was more than happy to take out the Sato to whom Isabella had spilled her guts. If it meant ridding Isabella of an ally down the road... she would be -more- than happy to comply.

"This vote is given out of respect," Michelle said, holding up the parchment. "I did not want to vote for you, but this was the new plan. I like you, but you're an obstacle to my game. You and Amy are an alliance that needs to be broken." She paused. "I'm sorry, you played a great game."

Michelle was followed to the podium by Joni Newman, who cast a second vote for Matt. And she decided to be a little more symbolic about it. Joni pricked her finger with a small stick... then blotted a drop of blood onto her ballot. It left a small red circle on the parchment, next to which she wrote the name "Matt."

"In World War Two," she explained, "Japanese fighter planes had red circles on the sides to represent pride... honor... as well as their homeland of Japan." She grinned. "So I suppose this ballot is my way of telling you that you -may- have won a few battles, but -I- have won the war." She put her ballot in the box, disgustedly. "I've worked too long and -too- hard in this game to be voted out before a loud mouthed pompous idiot like yourself."

The third vote was cast by Mike Ruff-- who was still debating his options even up until the moment he uncapped his pen. Matt or Joni? Matt or Joni? Which way did he want to go? Which side did he feel was best? And could he -really- vote against Matt Carter... even after all the two of them had been through?

Lance McHale was fourth. And... as usual... he cast his vote with a tinge of regret. Even though he wasn't the biggest Joni fan in the world, he wasn't the type to slam somebody in his vote.

"I regret not getting to know you more, Joni," he said softly. "And I hope I get to talk to you more on the flip side. Good luck with school."

Amy Twieg was fifth... and she cast her own ballot for Joni. And she couldn't resist a little snippiness as she did so. After all... this one was still a -tad- bit personal.

"Joni, you betrayed me once," she said, "And that can't happen again. And I really didn't want to turn this into an Amy versus Joni thing but... since it is... I'll manage it with a smile. So I'll see you on the flip side." She shrugged... then added, flippantly. "Hey, that would be an appropriate place for you, wouldn't it?"

Matt Carter was the sixth member of the tribe to vote. He walked up slowly, cautiously, hockey mask over his face as usual. Because Matt felt he was going home tonight. He was already having the same premonitions that Amy had been having-- the ones about Hogan. Could they really rely on Hogan? How well did they really know the kid? But those thoughts were cast aside as he uncapped the pen and wrote down the name of the Kamiya target.

"Jones," he wrote, with a small sad face after the name.

"I am Matt's guilty conscience," he said, looking over at his left shoulder, "I feel bad voting for Joni because I actually do like her." He then looked over at his right shoulder. "I am Matt's sense of logic. I have to cast this vote because I have no other logical choices."

He paused... then looked down at his clenched fist.

"I am Matt's sense of rage. This vote should really be for Emma. Fuckin' wheel."

And then as Matt placed his ballot in the box, he shrugged sadly-- almost ashamed.

"I am Matt's overinflated ego. I get too big... and sometimes I get Matt voted out of the game."

Hogan Mueller was the seventh member of the tribe to vote... and he held up his ballot, smiling softly. Because he definitely held a grudge with this person... and it was definitely time for some payback.

"You are a great person," he said, quietly, "And I know that I have an alliance with you... but tonight I am going to have to break it." He nodded. "You are a great player, but unfortunately for you, I beat you to the punch this time." He grinned, then added. "And as we have all seen before, karma out here can be a beeeeeaaaaaaaatch."

He stuffed the ballot in the box.

"So next time try to be more nice to people," he finished. "Next time, be friends with -everybody-."

And the final ballot of the evening was cast by Isabella Smith, who tried to go last each week on purpose. She always loved being the last one to speak her mind... which is exactly why she always sat on the end.

In other words... she wanted to be the one to always deal the death blow.

"Matt," she said, holding up her parchment and smiling her best Tina Wesson smile. "You wear the mask and try to be Jason... but you must have forgotten that in the end... Jason always dies. Somebody always beats him."

She shook her head, sadly.

"I had considered having you in the Final two... but you've proven your worth to me. So now, instead of being there -with- me, you can vote -for- me when I'm there against somebody else."

She started to fold up her ballot.

"And Matt... if you remember one thing from this game... please let it be this."

She paused.

"The Lord giveth... and the Lord taketh away. I gave you life at the last Tribal Council. And now..."

She dropped the ballot in the box.

"... I take it away. Goodbye."


^^


All the votes were now cast.

And it was time to determine the second juror of the game.

"I'll go tally the votes."

Jeff went to go retrieve the ballot box. In a moment he was back-- looking stern as always. He took his usual spot behind the podium. "When I read the votes," he said, "The decision is final. The player voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately."

Jeff nodded and opened the urn. He reached in and pulled out the first piece of parchment paper.

"First vote..."

He looked at it for a second, then revealed.

"Hogan."

The young Eagle Scout looked up, surprised. He wasn't expecting a vote tonight and now he looked worried. But he didn't have to be nervous. This was Mike's vote-- and it had been a spur of the moment decision. Mike didn't want to vote for Joni and he had promised not to vote for Matt. So in his latest show of honor... Mike had decided to cast a random, meaningless vote for Hogan instead. This way he wouldn't anger either side. And it was the only Hogan vote in the box.

"Second vote," said Jeff.

He opened it, turned it around and revealed.

"Matt."

Matt nodded slowly, his face still covered by the hockey mask. Next to him Amy reached to hold his hand, protectively. She was still hoping upon hope that a tie was the worst outcome they would face tonight. And she was still terrified that Hogan Mueller had turned on them.

"Third vote," said Jeff.

He looked at it, paused for a moment... then revealed.

"Joni."

The young dancer leaned forward, anxiously. Her feet tapped up and down nervously as she watched her name come up for the first time. She knew it wasn't going to be the last.

"One vote Hogan," said Jeff, "One vote Matt. One vote Joni."

He nodded.

"Fourth vote."

He pulled it out of the box, looking at the name written down. He paused for a moment... then revealed.

"Matt."

Matt still showed no reaction. He simply sat and stared... looking numb. Amy continued to clutch his hand, trying to protect him as best as she could. And the Miyagis looked on in tense silence as Jeff reached into the ballot box again.

He pulled out the fifth vote.

And revealed.

"Jones," it read. That was Matt's vote... and it was marked with the small frowny face he had drawn.

"That's two votes Matt," said Jeff, "Two votes Joni. One vote Hogan."

With that, he nodded and reached into the ballot box once more.

He pulled out the sixth ballot.

He looked at it... paused... then revealed.

"Matt."

This was Joni's vote, and it was marked with the small spot of blood. The red circle stood out, conspicuously, as Jeff held the ballot up for all to see.

"Three votes Matt," said Jeff, "Two votes Joni. One vote Hogan."

He paused. And the air was thick with tension as Jeff reached in to pull out the seventh vote. He held it up... looked at it for a moment, and then revealed.

"Joni."

Joni clutched at her hair with one hand as she stared down at the ground, nervously. This one was going to come down to the last vote... and it was going to come down to the word of Hogan. Or Isabella. And in Joni's mind, things couldn't look more bleak than that. She was relying on two people she didn't trust that much to be true. Argh, why had she lost that challenge?? Why did her foot get tangled in that ladder? Why had she done this to herself?

But for now... the air was thick with anticipation... because there was just one more vote to go.

"Three votes Matt," said Jeff, "Three votes Joni. One vote Hogan."

He nodded, then reached into the urn.

"Last vote."

Matt stared silently through his mask as Jeff pulled out the parchment. And Matt knew it was going to be him. Isabella had told him... Mike had told him. Heck, all the Kamiyas had told him. If that wasn't a fourth Matt vote... well he would probably just eat his mask. That's how surprised he would be.

Joni stared silently at the urn, an angry look of frustration on her face. Like Matt, she also expected to be going home tonight. She fully expected that to be a fourth Joni vote and she fully expected it to come from Isabella. -Screw me once, shame on you,- she thought. But screw me -twice-...

Jeff looked at the ballot for a moment.

He frowned slightly.

Then he looked up at the players.

... and revealed.

"The ninth person voted out of the game... and second member of our jury..."

He turned the ballot around.


"-Matt-."


Just like that, it was over. Hogan Mueller's fatal vote for Matt was the one that did it-- and the Sato tribe was now more or less destroyed. Amy knew it too, as she let out an angry whisper of "Hogan!" under her breath. But Matt Carter was now out of the game. He stood up, exchanged an emotional hug with Amy... and then took off his hockey mask.

He handed it to her.

"This is yours now," he whispered in her ear, "Take care of it for me, will ya?"

"No problem," she smiled up at him, tearfully. "You take care, Big Red."

"Bye, Mrs. R."

Amy sat down now, tears in her eyes, frustrated at her team beyond belief. Next to her Lance McHale sat... stunned... as he couldn't believe what had just happened. But the two of them watched as Matt brought his torch up to the front of the set. He reached down to high five all the Miyagis along the way, trying at least to be a good sport about it in the process.

He slapped hands with Michelle.

He slapped hands with Joni.

He slapped hands with Mike.

Heck, he even slapped hands with Hogan.

But the one player that Matt would -not- high five was Isabella. As she held her hand up in the air, he simply shrugged and dissed her. He walked right by, muttering something under his breath as he passed. He just wasn't going to give her the satisfaction. And soon he stood before the host. Torch in hand, he smiled jovially as Jeff snuffed out his flame for good. And Matt didn't even look that upset.

"Matt," said Jeff, "The tribe has spoken."

And in typical Matt fashion, he wasn't about to leave in silence. No way. Matt Carter knew this was -his- moment... his money shot... and he was going to make it good.

He turned around to face the Miyagis.

"Have fun with the last twelve days," he joked. "And remember that-- when all's said and done-- my place, guys." He nodded. "Five card stud, no wilds, the sky's the limit."

A few players chuckled... but Matt wasn't yet done. He now fell to his knees, looking skyward. And in his best James T. Kirk impression, he let loose a loud wail of despair towards the sky.

"KHAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!"

The scream pretty much broke the tension, and a few players laughed out loud, even Amy. Ryan appeared to be cracking up in the jury box. But Jeff wasn't amused. Jeff didn't appreciate random outbursts at Tribal Council.

"Matt," he said quietly, "Please go."

"Meh. Okay."

And with that Matt was gone. The young psychology student strolled down the path, exited the game, and soon disappeared into the night.

And just like that... the game was down to seven.

"Well," said Jeff, with a slightly disturbed look on his face. "So much for that." He shrugged, then nodded. "You guys have been through a lot so far. The weather... the wheel... the social politics... but just remember one thing. The game may look difficult, and you may feel hopeless at times, but remember this..."

He smiled.

"You only have -twelve- days until the end. You also have a one-in-seven shot at a million dollars. So just remember that the game is about to get -much- harder. This is the time in the game where things start to get really tricky."

He nodded.

"So pack up... and I'll see you guys tomorrow."

The seven members of Miyagi hiked out of the set and back towards the beach. They were headed back to Yamako. They were headed back to the game. They were headed towards destiny. But one place they were -not- headed tonight was a hundred yeards to the east... where Mike's largest deer snare lay. It was too late to check the traps, which was too bad. For in the snare lay the largest deer the tribe would have ever seen. He was mortally wounded, he was helplessly trapped, and he was also chock full of meat.

And in the greatest irony in the dismissal of Matt Carter... in the one fact of the evening that would have killed him to know... That deer was going to be dead and worthless by tomorrow morning. It was going to sit there and rot away to nothing...

... Because there were no more hockey-masked Miyagis to go carve it up.

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

Episode Ten ("Hearts and Ice") debuts in about twelve days.