Animation Survivor- Episode Six

Key
(Stage Directions in parentheses indicate no speech is attached to them. There may be background music or sound though.)
[Stage Directions in brackets show action, with irrelevant speech associated. Screaming and other reactions may be there too.]
Italic speech indicates a one-on-one interview with the character. Shot is of that character alone unless otherwise indicated.

Episode Script:
(Tom Wallace is at Tribal Council, standing in front of the five extinguished torches of Eric, Matt, Buttercup, Serena, and Ash.)

Tom: Sure "Cardcaptors" isn’t on the Survivor roster this time, but they say it best- Expect the unexpected. Anything can happen on a battlefield like this. Alliances can appear, anyone’s back can be stabbed, and anybody can be paired up with anyone else. At Tribal Council, all of these come into play, and can contribute to who gets voted off.

(He points to Eric’s extinguished torch.)
Tom: Eric knows it. His long-time friends Stan and Kyle had no guilt voting him off, despite his rather odd contribution to the team.

(He points to Matt’s extinguished torch.)
Tom: In Matt’s case, which show you are on means nothing, as Sora and Tai chose to defend Serena’s right to exist on the island, removing Matt in the process.

(He points to Serena’s torch.)
Tom: Of course, Serena’s right to exist proved to be short-lived, as Misty and Tracey felt that she was the easiest to remove from the team. But it was the last three days that proved that anything can happen. Lisa joined into an alliance with Blossom, the same person who had attempted to vote Lisa’s own brother off days earlier. Sora, lonely after Serena’s removal, found consolidation with Tracey, whom Sora had attempted to vote off the previous night. Also, instead of the usual alternation of the immunity idol, the Americans won it twice in a row, sending Japan to Tribal Council. There, the fate was sealed for young Ash Ketchum.

(He points to Ash’s torch)
Tom: Stabbed in the back not only by Tracey, but by newly found friend Tai Kamiya. What aftermaths will his vote bring to the Japanese team, and what of the impending merger that will occur on Day Twenty? The next three days will provide some answers.
 

Day Sixteen- American Tribe

(Kyle and Stan are out at sea fishing. Both are using poles, although Stan doesn’t have a grip on his, he’s just relaxing.)
Stan: I gotta say I didn’t think I’d still be here today.

Kyle: You know what Stan? We both know that the girls are going to vote you off next. Instead of waiting for it, maybe we should try to go up against them.

Stan: Dude, we’d need to get Bart for that. And he’s not gonna budge away from them.

Kyle: Oh. How ‘bout if you tried making it look like you should be here.

Stan: And how am I supposed to do that?

(Stan’s line gets a tug.)

Kyle: Stan! Your line!

Stan: Holy s**t!

[Stan grabs his line, and struggles for awhile, but finally wins the battle, reeling to the surface…. Gomamon (he’s a Digimon… research him yourself), with a hook in his cheek. He bats at it, and gets it free eventually. He stays at the surface.]

Gomamon: Ow! Pass the Neosporin!

Stan: Dude, you can talk?

Gomamon: Sure I can, we Digimon can say all sorts of stuff. Like "Joe, lighten up!"

Kyle: Or how about, "let’s go bomb Pearl Harbor."

Gomamon: That was Gatomon, and she had waaaay too much catnip that day. So anyway, what are you doing here?

Kyle: We… we’re just fishing.

Gomamon: (in a mocking sinister tone) What, are you fishing for me?

(Stan and Kyle are silent)

Gomamon: (same mocking tone) No, really, are you fishing for me? I don’t see anyone else here, are you fishing for me? Do you think I’m just some tasty morsel, here only so you can eat poached Gomamon for lunch?

Stan: Uh, no.

Kyle: We were looking for other stuff. There’s plenty of fish in the sea.

Gomamon: Heh, you got that right. Marching fishes!

(Stan and Kyle get narrow eyed as a shadow falls over their raft. Stan puts up a fishing net in self-defense.)

(Bubbles is playing tag with Bart on the beach. Bubbles flies and hides behind a tree, with Bart following.)
Bart: Okay, I’m gonna…

Stan, Kyle: Whaaaa!!

[They both slide on the beach right up next to Bart. The raft sails overhead and lands upside down behind them. Bubbles comes out of hiding.]

Bubbles: Are you guys okay?

Stan: Yeah, I’ll just need a hip replacement.

Kyle: I’ll never eat seafood again! I swear!

Bart: Whoa, Stan!

Stan: How swelled up is it anyway?

Bart: No, look what you caught!

(Stan’s net is now nearly filled with numerous variously-colored small fish from Gomamon’s attack. They are all flopping about, but Stan and Bart get control of them rather quickly.)

Kyle: Sweet! Stan, that freaky-ass seal was a blessing in disguise!

Bart: (confused) Freaky-ass seal?

Blossom: I was really impressed with Stan. We’ve never seen those fish before; Kyle was catching the same stuff and it was getting boring. He’s still on top of the list to get voted off next, but it’s nice to see him making an effort.

Lisa: I think Stan realized that he was in trouble with the group. He’s trying to be a lot more active, and working harder to impress us. The problem is that Kyle is still proving to be more useful, and although Stan’s doing a good job, it may be too little, too late.

Bart: How can the girls vote Stan off now? After that haul, he should be winning this game! I know I’m not voting for him, even though Blossom is trying to get me on her side.

(In the woods, Blossom and Bart are talking.)
Blossom: I know it sounds bad, but we have this merger coming up, and I want us all to be unified so we can take the other tribe out. Bart, we need you on this team.

Bart: What about Kyle? I don’t think he’s going to join the team that voted his best friend off.

Blossom: Yeah, but I’m going to talk to Kyle too. I want all five of us together before the merger.

Bart: Hold on a second, you said five of us?

Blossom: Yeah?

Bart: Man, don’t you have any faith in this team? We already broke the rule that said teams alternate winning challenges, why is it that we can’t just win the next challenge? That way, we go in six to four, and we kick some butt.

Blossom: Well, I’m planning for the worst, just in case we lose next time. Besides, if we did go in six to four, those four would be really close, and we’d need four of our own to counter them.

Bart: Look, we’ll deal with that then. Right now, let’s just concentrate on winning the next challenge. I’m not voting for Stan, and that’s final.

Blossom: Although Bubbles and Lisa agree with me about uniting before the merger, I’d feel a lot better if I could get Bart with us. I think he’s still mad because I tried to vote him off last time, but I’m sure he’ll realize that it’s best for all of us if he joins us in the alliance.

Japanese Tribe

[Misty and Tracey are walking alone down the beach. Misty is visibly sad and sighs.]

Tracey: You can’t believe last night either?

Misty: No.

Tracey: Misty, I don’t know why you don’t just fess up now.

Misty: About what?

Tracey: You seriously miss Ash, don’t you? You really care for him.

(Misty looks angry, but doesn’t say anything. She fights the rage and goes back to being sad)

Misty: I just didn’t think he’d go so early. He got three votes too.

Tracey: You know what I think it is?

Misty: What?

Tracey: I think those Digimon guys saw that Ash had a good chance of winning, so they all grouped together and got rid of him now.

Misty: But, that means that Tai… (points at Tracey) and Sora!

Tracey: I don’t tell her who to vote for. And you never know what kind of stuff Izzy’s concocting.

Misty: But how could Tai do something like that? They were getting along so well.

Tracey: I don’t know either, but he must have. There’s no other way.

Misty: (angry) Well, I’ll let him know what I think.

(Misty keeps walking forward, while Tracey stops.)

Tracey: Um, Misty. The camp’s back the other way.

Misty: (sadder) I just need some time alone right now.

(Misty keeps walking until she’s out of earshot, then Tracey turns around, smiling.)

Tracey: What an idiot.
 

(Tracey is with Sora and Izzy. Tracey is laughing, while Izzy looks serious.)

Tracey: I can’t believe she didn’t think about who would vote for her.

Sora: Who did vote for Misty anyway?

Izzy: (almost defiantly) I did.

Tracey: Ah. That’s not a bad choice. Heh, if those two thought they could dump me that easily, then they obviously don’t know me very well.

Tracey: When I saw Misty and Ash talking last night, I guessed that they were going to try to vote me off. I never really made a serious effort at becoming good friends with them, so I figured they’d vote for me. Fortunately, I also guessed that Tai was the one who voted for Ash before, so all I had to do was talk to Sora and the deal was done. I know that a lot of us are here simply to have fun, and sure Sora’s great to be around, but I want to see if I can’t win this thing.

Izzy: I had my suspicions that Tracey had a hidden agenda before, but I was really surprised to see him target Ash like that. Tracey appears to remain distant whenever possible, but I think his mind is going a mile a minute. He appears to be very goal-oriented, trying not to reveal too much of his intentions before following through on them. Still, since we are his friends, he’s been opening up a lot to me and Sora. He is quite set on winning this game. And for the most part I stand by him there. However, I am getting somewhat annoyed at his recent attempts to pin Ash’s removal on me. Ash was one of the hardest workers around here, and I don’t think anyone captured the spirit of this game as much as he did. It’s a real shame that he’s gone.

(Tai is alone in the spring. He appears to be somewhat sad. Misty approaches.)
Misty: Tai, how could you vote for Ash? He was your friend!

(Tai remains silent)

Misty: Of all the people here, why did it have to be Ash? Couldn’t you have picked… well, Tracey? Or even Izzy?

Tai: (sad) I hate this game.

Misty: What?

Tai: It’s sadistic, they make you vote to remove your best friends. First Matt, now Ash.

Misty: That’s what I mean, you didn’t have to vote for Ash, you could have gone with somebody you didn’t like as much.

Tai: Like who? I like everybody here. And after what I’m going through because of Matt, I’m definitely not going to vote against Sora or Izzy. And I couldn’t possibly vote for you. Ash just seemed like the right choice, so I did it… again.

(He walks away.)

Misty: Again? You mean?

(He has his back turned to her)

Tai: He just gets on my nerves sometimes. I don’t know what it is about him. You and I are trying to talk, and he barges between us and starts going on about something else. It bothered me. I didn’t think it would do any damage. Misty… I’m sorry.

(Tai continues walking. Misty looks at him sadly.)

Tai: Compared to the way I feel now, voting for Matt was like a walk in the park. How was I to know Tracey and Izzy were going to vote for him too? Usually when you have friends that bug you sometimes, you ignore them when they get annoying, because there’s no way to get rid of them. But here, we do have the chance to get rid of them. And it’s a power we aren’t supposed to have.

(Shot of Misty, sitting alone at the shoreline, thinking to herself. In the background, Tai is watching her.)

Day Seventeen- American Tribe

Stan: Well, they finally stopped talking about voting me off and are talking about how they’re going to vote the other team off when we merge.

(Blossom, Bubbles, and Lisa are at the campfire talking.)
Lisa: I agree with Bart, let’s just win the next challenge so we don’t have to worry about voting him off. We need to concentrate on the other tribe.

Blossom: Right.

Bubbles: But who do we vote off first?

Blossom: Well, I think Tracey’s gotta go. I don’t know what he’s doing over there, but he’s creepy. I bet he’s the one forming the alliances and stuff on the other team, so he should be on the list.

Lisa: I think Tai’s on the list too.

Blossom: (total agreement) Yes. Definitely.

Lisa: He’s like the nice, friendly guy over there, but he’s already taken down Matt and Ash, so he seems like a guy that stabs his friends in the back first chance he gets.

Blossom: We also have to look at Izzy. He’s smart and all, but he’s not adding much to the team. Just because he has book smarts doesn’t mean he can make it on this island.

Lisa: Well, I have what you call book smarts, so wouldn’t that apply to me as well?

Bubbles: Yeah, but you’re on our team, silly!

Blossom: Oh, yeah, you do your part, you’ll be fine.

Lisa: I think that here, the only safe route to take is being in an alliance. By teaming up with Blossom and Bubbles, I’ve made sure that I won’t get a majority of the votes. I’ll admit that I’m somewhat lacking physically, and being associated with those two makes up for that. And besides that, they’re great friends when you get to know them. If I just lay low and do my share in the alliance, I have a solid chance at winning. I only hope Bart realizes that.
 

(On a different part of the beach, Kyle and Bart are talking.)
Kyle: Can’t you at least talk to them? Can’t they pick somebody besides Stan?

Bart: Like who? You catch the fish, I cook the fish. I don’t like it any more than you do, but out of all of us guys, Stan’s the weakest.

Kyle: Well, he’s doing more than Lisa.

Bart: What, do you want me to vote off my sister? No way, man.

Kyle: I’m just saying, can’t one of the girls go?

Bart: Doesn’t look like it, it’s that stupid alliance. If everybody would just start voting based on the way they feel, we wouldn’t have this problem.

(From the campfire, the girls pause to watch Kyle and Bart talk in the distance. They can’t hear what they’re saying.)

Blossom: Hmm, wonder what they’re talking about.

Lisa: Well, anyway, I think that it’s necessary to win the next immunity challenge.

Bubbles: Yeah, I’m getting sick of voting people off.

Blossom: Well, you’ll still have to vote people off, Bubbles, it just won’t be as hard.

[They continue talking, with Blossom occasionally glancing over her shoulder to watch Kyle and Bart.]
 

Japanese Tribe

[Early morning. Misty and Izzy are eating by the campfire.]

Izzy: I’m not going to hide anything from you, Misty, I’m not the person to do that kind of thing. Tracey did it, I thought Ash captured the mood of this game quite well and…

Misty: Well, if you didn’t vote for Ash, who did you vote for?

Izzy: (nervous) Well, I, eeh, uh…

Misty: (sing-song) Remember, you aren’t the kind of person to hide something from me!

Izzy: Okay. Fine. I voted for you. I had my reasons for it, and stand by them wholeheartedly.

[Misty’s staring at Izzy, about ready to pounce, when they are interrupted by Sora, entering into the picture. She looks somewhat ruffled, and isn’t wearing her lucky hat. She keeps a normal demeanor, but is trying hard not to explode.]

Sora: Hey, guys, have any of you seen my hat?

Misty: No, where’d you put it last?

Sora: I took it off before I went to sleep.

Izzy: Well, did you ask Tracey where it is?

Sora: He hasn’t woken up yet.

Misty: I’ll fix that.

[Misty gets up and walks past Sora, pulling her trusty mallet out of thin air on the way.]

Izzy: To be frank, I think you look better without it.

Sora: That’s not the point.

[Tai walks into view. He looks at Sora and points, dumbfounded.]

Tai: (noticing something different with Sora) Um, uh…

Sora: Someone took my hat.

Tai: Thank you.

[We hear a loud crash in the background.]

Izzy: This should provide some answers.

[Misty is practically dragging a half-asleep Tracey back to camp. Tracey isn’t wearing his traditional headband.]

Tracey: I must say that isn’t how I wanted to get up this morning.

Tai: Have you seen Sora’s hat?

Tracey: (tired) Yeah, looks good on her… (to Sora) why aren’t you wearing it?

Izzy: So you don’t know where it is either?

Tracey: No.

Sora: (slowly starting to lose it) This is starting to bug me. Somehow my helmet disappeared and, and… wait! Tracey, you took your headband off last night too, where is it?

(Tracey yawns and opens his left hand, revealing the headband.)

Izzy: Sora, there has to be some explanation for it. The hat didn’t magically vanish.

Tracey: (almost mumbling) Look, can I get to sleep, I had a rough night. All those footsteps keeping me up, I swear they were right next to us. Well, g’night.

(Tracey walks back to his sleeping quarters. Sora gets something of a tic in her eye, looking peeved.)

Tai: (cheery) So, who’s up for some fishing?

(Tai and Izzy are on a raft, "fishing". In reality, neither expect to actually catch anything.)
Izzy: Say, Tai? As a fellow digi-destined concerned for a teammate, have you noticed that Sora’s been acting odd lately?

Tai: You know, I have. Of course, she is with Tracey, so that explains it.

Izzy: I think that her involvement with Tracey may be an effect rather than a cause of her behavioral shift. But I’ve attributed that to her need for companionship after Serena’s removal. That should’ve fixed the problem, but now she’s obsessing over the hat.

Tai: Yeah, and I’ve never seen her lose her temper like that.

Izzy: I think that the hat thing is actually a sign. The way that she acts over the missing hat indicates that she’s diverting attention away from more troubling issues that she has less control over. She’s taking her problems out on the hat.

Tai: Wow, that’s pretty insightful Izzy.

Izzy: Actually, I saw it on an episode of "Frasier."

Tai: So what are her troubling issues?

Izzy: I believe she feels guilty regarding the way she voted Ash off.

Tai: Sora voted for Ash too!?

Izzy: Yeah, she and Tracey teamed up to remove him. I have no trouble seeing how Sora could be guilty about it; personally it disgusts me.

Tai: So… who did you vote for?

Izzy: (plainly) Misty…

(Tai has a somewhat angry look at Izzy.)

Izzy: I really should stop telling everybody that.

Tai: (letting it slide) Well, that was productive… another mutant turkey tonight?

Izzy: Sounds delightful.

Tai: I wanna finish them off before the merger. We can’t let those grubby Americans get their hands on them.
 

(Two hands are holding a circular piece of paper, showing three pictures of a pokeball, a digivice, and a tiara, all connected with arrows to each other.)
Tracey: Mr. Wallace… (yawns) you’ve done it again.

Misty: What does this mean?

Tracey: Well, it’s obviously a challenge, probably for a reward.

(Sora joins them. Tracey smiles and ruffles her exposed hair.)

Sora: (definitely not in the mood) Misty?

(Misty whacks Tracey with her mallet. He goes down.)

Sora: Thanks.

Misty: So what do you make of it?

Sora: I guess they are all symbols for our three shows, Digimon, Pokémon, and Sailor Moon. But I don’t know how this relates to a reward challenge.

Misty: Yeah. We already got rid of Sailor Moon.

Sora: (dry sarcasm) Yeah, thanks for voting her off.

Misty: Well, since Ash isn’t here, I guess I have to say it. We have to win this.

Sora: Hmm.

Misty: (mocking) And thanks for voting him off too.

Tracey: (from below, weak.) Don’t blame me, I voted for both of them!

Sora: Misty?
 

(Nighttime in an old field on an island. Tom, Barb, and Manny are standing with the Japanese Tribe. Tom holds two sets of night-vision goggles. The Americans arrive.)
Tom: Okay, we’re ready to get started. Now, I’m sure you are a tad mystified about your clue, but this’ll provide some answers. You see, you are all participating in a game. And in this odd game, the teams are divided in three different ways. The first, between the American Tribe and the Japanese Tribe, has been covered heavily, with challenges such as these. But with the merger on the horizon, that division will mean much less. Another division is simple- every kid for themselves. Only one of you eleven will capture the gold. But the final division is one we haven’t touched on much. The division between shows. Right now, there are five shows competing for supremacy, and each show has two representatives, with the exception of Digimon, who has three. So this reward challenge is designed to put the spotlight on each show. We need one representative from each show to step forward.

(After some hesitation, Bart, Blossom, Stan, Izzy, and Misty step forward.)

Tai: Wait, they have more people.

Tom: Yes. It seems that you removed the sixth show from the equation. Let me first explain how the challenge works. Each show has one item of symbolic value hidden in an old abandoned shack fifty yards down the path. There’s a donut, a can of Weight Gain 4000, the Powerpuff Girls hotline phone, a pokéball, and a digivice. Each tribe will send one member at a time into the shack with the goggles to retrieve the item from their show. They come back, and hand off the goggles to the next person. Whoever comes back with all the items wins and gets a cartload of scrumptious goodies. Now, as for Sailor Moon’s removal, we decided to replace her item with another one from Digimon…

Sora: My hat!!

Tom: Yes. Manny snuck in while you were all sleeping and took the hat.

Manny: We also had to check up on you, and make sure that nothing was going on that we, as chaperones, should know about. And there wasn’t.

Barb: Darn.

Tracey: See Tai, I told you.

Tai: Misty?

(While Tom speaks, a loud crash is heard in the background.)

Tom: Please note that if you cross the line with someone else’s item, you are disqualified. First tribesmen, ready?

(Blossom and Izzy take the goggles. Izzy admires them.)

Izzy: Prodigious. (courteous, to Blossom) May the best team win, Blossom.

(Blossom and Izzy line up.)

Tom: GO!

(Blossom takes off in a pink streak, leaving Izzy behind. She reaches first, and searches until Izzy arrives. She then finds the phone and speeds off. Izzy spies the digivice in all the mess Blossom makes. He takes it and runs off.)

[To the cheers of her teammates, Blossom arrives first. She takes off the goggles and hands them off to Bart, who starts down the path. He disappears just as Izzy arrives. He takes off the goggles while running, and quickly hands them off to Misty, who is positioned like a track runner waiting to receive the baton. She takes off.]

(Bart literally dives into the mess, searching for the donut. Misty arrives while he’s looking. After some searching, Bart finds the donut (actually a plastic toy) first. Misty has trouble finding the pokeball, but does eventually after Bart leaves.)

[Back at the finish line, Bart puts the donut in his mouth while taking the goggles off mid-stride. Misty is close behind. Bart makes the handoff to Stan, and spits the donut out as soon as he stops. Misty makes a clean tag to Sora, and she’s off.]

(Stan does not have the goggles on, and can’t use them properly. He feels around for the can as Sora arrives. Stan eventually grabs something in the dark, and heads out. When he leaves, Sora picks up the can of Weight Gain 4000, and chases after him.)

[Nearing the finish line, it’s clear that Stan has the hat. Sora follows him, and throws the can of weight gain at him. It misses, sailing past his head, so Sora dive tackles him just short of the finish line, causing Stan to fumble the hat.]

Tai: Yeah! Go Sora!

(Stan weakly reaches across the finish line and picks up the fallen can.)

Tom: Um, since Stan technically has his item across the finish line, he wins.

[American Tribe, minus Stan, cheers as Barb and Manny reveal a cart full of chocolates, fruit, and other foodstuffs. The Americans start to dig in, when Blossom stops them.]

Blossom: Wait, we didn’t clearly win this one…

Bart: Sure we did, didn’t you hear Tom?

Blossom: Hold on, this doesn’t feel right… Hey guys!

(The Japanese team looks at Blossom.)

Blossom: There’s more than enough here for you, we’ll split it.

[Tai, Misty and Izzy join the Americans in pigging out on chocolate. Meanwhile, Tracey goes over to Sora, who finally stood up from the tackle.]

Tracey: Are you alright, Sora?

Sora: Yep.

(She puts on the hat)

Sora: This is enough of a reward for me.

(Pan down to show Stan still buried in the ground.)
 

Day Eighteen

(Manny is headed towards the Japanese camp. All members are present.)

Misty: Well, at least we don’t have to hear about it anymore. Oh, there’s Manny.

Tai: Hopefully Sora won’t have to tackle anybody this time.

Izzy: (to Sora) That was quite humorous, but we would have had a definitive win if you hadn’t done it.

Tai: Aw, lay off Izz. That was awesome.

Manny: Hello everybody. (to Tai) Hi Tai, (to Izzy) Izzy, (to Tracey) Studmuffin.

Tracey: You don’t do that to the other team, do you?

Manny: Nope, that’s Barb’s job.

Tai: So what’s our challenge?

Manny: Obstacle Course. You’ll need four people to run it. Meet at the sandspit at 1400 hours.

Izzy: Yes sir. You are dismissed.

Manny: Aye aye, Sergeant Izumi.

(Manny turns around)
 

(On the American side, Barb is having a drink with Blossom, apparently having a nice, womanly conversation.)
Barb: So anyway, while one of Dexter’s robots was beating up on Eddy, Og snuck into the lab. He’s got quite a brain too, so he concocted something crazy himself. Too bad he put Johnny…

Blossom: Um, what’s the challenge again?

Barb: Oh, um… pick four people and go to the sandspit at 2:00.
 

(At the sandspit, we get an overhead shot of a large obstacle course, featuring walls, rope obstacles, and a bunch of fun stuff. The end of the course looks like the façade of the fort. Next to it, Tom is standing, while Izzy, Lisa, and Kyle are sitting behind him.)

Tom: Quite simply, this is a major obstacle course. Two tribesmen will start from each team, and will go to the halfway point. There, they’ll be greeted by two teammates, where they will negotiate the second half of the course. Barb will explain that later. And just to make it fair, we’ve told Blossom and Bubbles to refrain from flying. Well, Manny is ready to start them off.

(Quick shot over to Manny, who is standing between the teams of Tai & Sora and Blossom & Bart.)

Manny: On your mark. Get set. GO!

[They start with a rope ladder, which Tai and Bart traverse first. They continue on, as the agility of Bart and Blossom give them a narrow lead.]

(Meanwhile, Lisa is talking to Kyle.)

Lisa: Wow, this course is so nicely set up. It’s challenging, it requires good coordination, speed, strength. It’s quite… prodigious.

(Izzy approaches them, as if on cue.)

Izzy: So, guys, are you ready for that merger in a couple days?

Kyle: You bet.

Lisa: It’s going to be a lot of fun getting to know you guys.

Izzy: I have a feeling it’ll be fun getting to know you too.

Kyle: Uh, guys, there’s a challenge going on.

(Midway through the course, Sora has stumbled on a rope. Tai helps her to her feet quickly as they reach the midway point, where Bart, Blossom, Bubbles, and Stan are starting to work on a series of boards on posts. Misty, Tracey, and Barb approach them.)

Barb: Okay, you have these planks, and you have to get all four of you across those posts without touching the ground.

(They go to work. It’s really hard to describe the process which they do it, but they do it very effectively, and all get across, although the Americans are milliseconds ahead. They go through a few more obstacles. Now, it becomes a speed issue. All of the Japanese are average runners, with Misty pulling slightly ahead. Blossom and Bubbles are quite faster, but Stan drags the team down. They reach the fort, with two flags laying on the ground. Tom approaches them.)

Tom: Okay, first to get your teams flag hoisted, and have all four people with a hand on it wins immunity.

(Blossom and Bubbles have no trouble getting the flag hoisted, but by the time Bart arrives, all four of the Japanese are working to get their flag up. Stan arrives and makes a last second dive for his life to get a hand on the flag… to no avail. The Japanese get theirs up just in time.)

Tom: Oh, close call, but immunity goes to the Japanese.

[Japanese team starts celebrating again. Izzy and Lisa are working math equations in the sand, but Izzy sees the celebration and joins them.]

[Of the Americans, Bart seems the most disappointed, although Stan is still on the ground, with a hand still on the flag, too depressed to get up.]

American Tribe

Stan: And now, that stupid alliance will decide which one of us is the next to fall. I don’t even have a say in it. It’s depressing, but at least it means I don’t have to worry about it anymore.

(Lisa is walking the beach with Kyle)
Kyle: Lisa, I’m begging you. Don’t vote him off.

Lisa: There’s not much of a choice, Kyle. It’s either him or you.

Kyle: Look, all I’m asking is for you to vote based on who you want off. Not Blossom, not Bart. You.

Lisa: If I were to do that, it would mean letting my friends down. And besides, it would still be Stan. He doesn’t contribute to the team as much as you do. I’m sorry.

Kyle: Just don’t ask me to join your stupid alliance, okay?

Kyle: I’m not sure what to think. Part of me is glad that it’s not me, part of me wants to give up and get on their good side, and part of me wants to kick all of their asses. You’ll have to wait and see which one wins out.

(Blossom, Bubbles, and Lisa are lighting their torches.)
Blossom: So, are we agreed?

Bubbles: Yep!

Lisa: (hesitantly) Yes.

Blossom: Then let’s get this over with.

Tribal Council
(Tom is standing in our second-favorite treehouse of horror.)

Tom: Eighteen days on the island. As short as it seems, the castaways are now almost half-way done with the excursion. And in those eighteen days, powerful alliances have formed within the tribes. And starting tomorrow, the alliances will clash head to head, to determine the ultimate survivor. Will Tracey and Sora remain as powerful as when they voted off Ash, or will the American girls, Blossom, Bubbles, and Lisa, prevail? Before this happens, the Americans have one more order of business to take care of.

(The team arrives, puts their torches in place, and sits down.)

Tom: Well, you got a bit of a reprieve last time, which nobody expected. But in the end, it will still be five-on-five going into the merger. Blossom, are you at all disappointed by the outcome of this? Were you expecting to go into the merger two men up?

Blossom: Well, I was hoping so, but going in even doesn’t bother me. I figure that although more people could be one advantage, it’s just as equal advantage to have five united people. And after tonight, we’ll have five strong, true, and hopefully united people on this team, and that’s just as good as any person advantage.

Tom: Bart, has your vote changed at all in these six days? Is the person you are planning to vote for now different from the person you were planning to vote for three days ago?

Bart: I don’t think about things like that. I go in with a much more positive attitude. Last time, I didn’t think about who I’d vote for if we lost, I expected to win. And we did. This time, I didn’t give it any thought until the moment they were handed that pen thingy.

Tom: Okay then. Since you’ve been thinking about it since then, why don’t you go first?

(Bart heads to the voting booth, voter’s shot as he writes down "BLOSSOM")
Bart: She took my friends for her alliance. The only question I have is whether she’ll go after me now, or later. But she’ll get to me sometime.

(He leaves. Fade to aerial shot of Lisa, then Stan voting. Fade to voter’s shot of Stan holding "LISA")
Stan: Man, screw the alliances, has anybody seen her do anything yet?

(He leaves. Aerial shot of Blossom voting, then Bubbles voting. Voter’s shot of Kyle, holding "STAN")
Kyle: I might as well face the facts. I know when I’m defeated. I’m going to lose a best friend in this, but it’s unavoidable, so I should just get on their good side now and prevent any problems. This really sucks though.

(He leaves, back to Tribal Council as Tom takes the box.)

Tom: Once the votes are tallied the decision is final, and the person must leave the island immediately. And yes, that’s my final answer.

(He reaches in)

Tom: The first vote, surprise surprise, is for Stan.

(Shot of Stan, not surprised.)

Tom: Next vote… is for Kyle.

(Shot of Kyle, looking up, now paying attention.)

Tom: Then one for Blossom… and another for Kyle. That’s two for Kyle, and one for Stan and Blossom. The next vote… is for Lisa. And finally… Kyle. Kyle, your torch?

(Kyle hesitates a minute, then complies and takes his torch to Tom.)

Tom: Kyle… the tribe has spoken.

(His flame is extinguished.)
Tom: It’s time for you to go.

(Kyle silently walks away.)

Tom: Rest up, for tomorrow starts the procedure for merging. It’ll be one hell of a day.

(Shot of the group collectively taking their torches away and leaving)

Confessional
Kyle: I think that the biggest mistake I made was that I was so determined to prevent Stan from getting voted off that I put my own head in a noose. Sure, I’ll be kicking myself forever because of that, but I’m happy to say that the mistake was mine alone. They probably had good reason for voting me off. Now, I only hope that Stan can rise to the occasion, and start kicking some serious ass. You’re doing this for both of us, buddy. Good luck.

Preview of Next Week’s Show
Tom: Well, next week’s the big merger, so obviously the bulk of the episode will deal with that. But still, there are other things going on.
*With the teams coming together, questions like which beach they will stay at will have to be addressed. Will the ambassadors handle the job peacefully?
*Fresh new prey for the American alliance.. can Lisa finally persuade Bart to join?
*Tai is still unsure of where he stands with Misty after their last Council, but with him liking her more and more, will he attempt to make a move?

Author’s Notes:
In the words of Dr. Doctor from South Park- "Boy, who didn’t see that one coming a mile away?" Well, the votes are pretty self-explanatory, but they’re here anyway.

Not too much to say with this episode. However, since it’s the first episode I completed after Star Otaku finished her series, and considering what Sora dealt with in this episode, I suppose I should talk a bit about Sora, and her chances here. Now, obviously, these are two different, and non-canonical series, but I think it would be somewhat harsh for me to automatically rule out Sora as a possible winner. In the end, if she went out too early, it would ruin the integrity of both of our series. I can’t say whether or not she wins this one (in fact, as I’m writing this, I’m still currently undecided as to who I want taking the big prize), but I will point out one thing: Since the other series is restricted only to the –mon anime, all the rules are changed once the American side is added into the equation. Therefore, Sora doesn’t have a better chance of winning than anyone else. But if there was no merger, and it was just the five Japanese finishing the game in this situation, I believe that Sora would probably come out as the victor yet again. Unless somebody got mad at her hat antics, she’d lay low while Izzy and Tracey were eliminated, and come out on top. In my opinion, that’s simply a sign of respect to the other series. Rest assured, even if Sora does find her way to the gold again, there is no conspiracy fixing her as the winner of all Survivor ripoffs. The rumors just aren’t true.

And I guess the only other thing I have to say is that yes, Izzy’s analysis on Sora’s obsession over the hat is based on an episode of "Frasier" I saw the evening I wrote that segment. Besides, Izzy watching "Frasier" just seems like a fun, in-character thing for him.