Author: JustSkipIt
Rating: PG
Feedback: Please leave feedback on the Survivor - Ash Island thread on the Kitten Board.
Disclaimer: I own none of these characters nor do I own Survivor. And believe it or not, I also don't own any small islands. On the other hand, this island is fictional so let's say I own it. I'm making no money from this fiction and intend no copyright infringement.
More Disclaimer: Yeah, I'm using and altering challenges from the actual show. Don't sue me. It's easier that way than thinking up 24 challenges myself.

Akathla Team - Day 4

We see the team coming out of their shelter and stretching or bending to get the kinks out of their bodies. Again they watch Mac doing his morning push-ups.

"I could really go for a cup of coffee," Amy complains.

"You know ancient warriors just chewed tree bark to wake up in the morning," Willow deadpans.

Opening Credits and Survivor Theme Song

MFashnek Team - Day 4

The team sits around the fire again sharing water and eating plantains. Tara appears to have been appointed cook and divides the fruits and passes them around along with a portion of rice.

"I wonder who they voted off," Darla remarks.

"Well," Richard starts, "I would think they'd need to keep some of their strength."

"Right," Faith responds a little aggressively, "whereas we have strength to spare?"

"That's not what I was saying," Richard defends himself as Faith and Kendra look around the group.

Confessional Caption - Kendra - Interpreter
"I'm not sure that it's time to start being so divisive but I think that Richard's trying to get Faith's goat. Of course he wants to get off the physically strong people or he will get his ass kicked in the individual immunity challenges."

Next we see Faith and Kendra walking through the trees looking for food. They walk up behind Tara who has gathered berries and is holding the bounty in the shirt she has stretched in front of her. "What did you find?" Kendra asks.

"B-berries," Tara explains as she holds out a handful.

"Are they safe to eat?" Faith asks. Tara explains that she's already done three days of testing the berries and knows that they are not poisonous. The three girls have a handful and continue gathering them.

"Richard, Robin, and Darla are going to want to get rid of the ‘young p-people,'" Tara states.

The three girls look at each other for a long moment. "We are the firestarters, the heart," Kendra states with authority.

"Do you want to make an alliance?" Faith asks. Both other girls agree and state that they are going to the final three together. "Can you get Joyce to vote with us?" Faith asks Tara.

"I t-think so," Tara answers.

Akathla Team

Buffy and Willow are bathing in the shallow water and talking, getting to know each other. Xander swims out and joins them, splashing them gently. Lacking subtlety he tells them, "Oz will come with us."

"So this alliance is the final three?" Willow confirms. All three shake on it.

Meanwhile we see Mac talking to Andrew. "You can see how those three are," he tells the young man. "You and I need to be strong together." Andrew agrees and another alliance is born.

Akathla Team

"Tree mail," Andrew called as he carried the small carved pig. "Quick hands, quick feet, you'll get dirty but it will be worth it."

"Chasing pigs," Amy remarked, "Yuck!"

"Pigs are fine," Willow muttered, "I just hope there aren't any spiders."

Confessional Challenge - Andrew - Chef
"We need to win a challenge but more than that, we need food. I think that everyone is getting to be really on edge. We've had virtually no water and little food in 3 days. I'll be shocked if we can even complete the challenge today."

Reward Challenge
The MFashnek team enters first to stand on their mat. Jeff announces their arrival and then the "new Akathla team." Murmurs go through the group as they realize that the Akathla team has gotten rid of Wesley rather than one of the women.

"Today's challenge," Jeff quickly explains, "is very simple." He points to a pen holding small pigs which are standing in the mud. "To win the game, six people on the team have to catch a pig and put it in this enclosure." He points to the enclosure. "One person will hold the door." "Want to see what you're playing for?" The teams shout their agreement and he pulls the cover off a pile of items, including two blankets, shampoo, soap, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and a metal tin of matches.

"MFashnek, who's sitting this one out?" he asks. The team points to Darla who stands to the side. Richard and Andrew take their places by the gate as Buffy and Faith line up to take their first chance at catching their pigs. Both girls rush into the pen and quickly corner their pigs. Buffy grabs hers by the leg and pulls in it to rush back to the enclosure while Faith dives and misses hers. As she stands up another pig literally runs into the back of her legs and she manages to grab it. In the meanwhile, Oz runs into the muddy pen and chases a pig toward the corner. When Robin enters, he dives at a pig but comes up empty handed. Oz traps a pig against the fence and quickly makes the score Akathla 2, MFashnek 1.

By the time Robin catches his pig, Xander has made it 3 to 2. Willow and Tara rush into the pen simultaneously. Tara slows as she nears her target while Willow rushes toward a squealer. Cornering her pig, the blonde is just about to pick him up as Willow dives for hers and slides into the girl's legs. "Sorry," she pants as Tara unexpectedly offers her hand before turning back to grab her pig. When the redhead gets hers also the score is 4 to 3. Joyce enters the pen next for MFashnek but can't even the score. By the time the running, splashing, and squealing is over, the Akathla team has won its first challenge at 6-5. The MFashnek team stands dejected and filthy as the Akathla team hugs to celebrate.

"Everyone sit," Jeff instructs and tells the Akathla team, "Ok now. You've both been out here four days. You can either take all your booty back with you or trade your blankets for matches and rice for the MFashneks." The Akathla team discusses this for a few minutes with Mac, Andrew, and Amy arguing that it is a competition and that MFashnek already has fire and Willow and Buffy putting in that their good gesture could come back to help them later. After a few minutes discussion the team agrees to the trade. Jeff holds up the matches and rice and waits for someone to come forward. Willow steps up and takes the offerings then turns and walks toward the MFashnek team. Allowing her eyes to sweep over the motley crew, she delivers the gifts gently to Tara with a smile. As she hands her the items, she leans in and whispers in the blonde's ear before turning back to her team.

MFashnek Team

The team returns slowly to their campsite. "Man, that soap would have been really good after that challenge," Riley comments.

"Das the truth, mon," Kendra playfully answers, faking a Jamaican accent and evoking laughter from the rest of her team.

As they walk the team breaks into smaller groups. Robin and Riley lead the pack; Kendra, Faith, and Tara follow them; and Richard, Joyce, and Darla bring up the rear. "What did the redhead whisper?" Faith asks.

"Willow," Kendra says.

"Ok, what did Willow say?" Faith repeats.

"S-s-she said she'd l-like to share her shampoo with me," Tara blushingly explains.

"You hussy," Faith teases.

Kendra joins in: "Do you want to share her shampoo?"

"I w-want to win the game," Tara assures the other two girls.

"Which I notice doesn't answer the question," Kendra teases.

Confessional Caption - Joyce - Art Gallery Owner
"When Willow handed Tara the matches today she seemed to whisper something to her. It makes me suspicious that maybe they know each other from before. I mean it's not exactly something I'd put past the show; look at me and Buffy."

Akathla Team

We see the Akathlas bathing with their new products and enjoying the feeling of having won a challenge. Mac and Andrew work the fire as Andrew cooks rice. Amy approaches them asking for a bite of the rice and they look to the younger group before giving her a taste. Later we see all the Akathlas around the fire enjoying drinks of water and small bites of rice.

Confessional Caption - Buffy - College Student
"It's really hard being here. I feel close to this girl Willow but I know I'm keeping a big secret. And that's the other thing. I'm concerned for my mom. She's over there and she's all alone. I hope she's getting along ok and can eat and everything. It's more nerve-racking than I expected."

MFashnek Team

Confessional Caption - Joyce - Art Gallery Owner
"I'm really proud of Buffy for catching her pig today. I can tell that she's doing great over there. The hard thing is that being here makes it all the harder to know what she's going through. I almost wish I didn't know."

MFashnek Team - Day 5

Robin and Tara return from the tree mail with the day's missive:

"Figure out who should lead
and who should follow blindly.
Skill at both will keep you here another day."

"I'd say it's one of those puzzles where one person directs and the others follow the directions while blindfolded," Darla concludes.

Immunity Challenge
Everyone gathers and stands on the mats. The players seem to be taking more time to examine each other now that they are learning more and more. "Ok," Jeff greets the group, "Akathla team. How are you feeling?"

"So much better now that we've had some water," Amy answers, "if we could just get some coffee too…" Everyone laughs at her comment.

"Well, I can't do anything about that but this game may determine how long you stay," Jeff jokes back. Jeff points to the field in front of the players. A seat is mounted about 8-10 feet off the ground. That seat faces a field filled with brightly painted puzzle pieces, some nearly as large as the players. There are 10 pieces of each color. He quickly explains that one person on each team will direct the others who will be blindfolded. Those players must get every piece back to the mat before they can take off their blindfolds and assemble the pieces.

Quickly Darla and Willow take their places on the seats as the other players put on their blindfolds. Joyce takes a seat behind Darla as the person who is sitting out the challenge. As Jeff blows the whistle Darla and Willow begin shouting instructions to the players. Darla's first instructions are to Riley and Robin who she sends the farthest out and then she directs the others. The excitement is high as Willow shouts to Buffy and Xander to bring in the farthest pieces and accidentally directs Amy into a tree. The dark-haired girl becomes lost and confused for at least 15-20 seconds as she continues trying to find her way back without direction from Willow.

On the MFashnek team, some players aren't faring much better. Robin and Tara collide full force while both are carrying pieces back toward their mat and Tara drops her piece. Robin is able to continue back toward the mat and head out for another piece. Tara takes a moment to rest her hands on her knees as she is clearly winded by the collision. After a few moments she finds her piece again and makes her way toward Darla's voice. In the meantime, Oz picks up a piece and barely avoids colliding with Riley. Although Willow's directions appear to be more clear than Darla's it is obvious that the MFashnek team's strength is again an asset as Faith returns with the eighth piece for MFashnek while Oz is bringing only Akathla's fifth piece.

Conserving her teammates's energy, Darla sends only Robin, Riley, and Kendra for the last two pieces while the others gather their breath. When the three players drop the last pieces, MFashnek quickly peel off their blindfolds and attempt to construct the puzzle. As they look at the puzzle, the team begins fighting about how to place the pieces with Richard and Faith wanting to lead simultaneously. As they disagree about how to build the puzzle, Buffy drops Akathla's final piece onto their map. The smaller team pulls off their blindfolds and follows Willow's direction to build their puzzle. Unfortunately for them, even MFashnek's bickering and Willow's brilliant puzzle solving skills can't overcome MFashnek's lead. The stronger team places the final piece less than 5 seconds before the Akathla team does the same, again earning the immunity icon.

MFashnek Team

The walk back is somewhat more chilly as it is apparent that the MFashneks are splitting down a line with Faith and Richard leading the factions.

Confessional Caption - Faith - Personal Trainer
"Basically Dick's done nothing since he's been here but he thinks he's the leader. I don't mind if we let him think that as long as he doesn't make us lose out there."

Confessional Caption - Riley - Pro-Triathlete
"I think right now there's a lot of politics going on. But I also think that the best strategy for me is to be a strong person on a strong team"

Akathla Team

We see Oz walk away from the fire to walk down the beach and a few minutes later Amy gets up to follow him. "You know what that's about?" Buffy asks Xander.

"I'm guessing Mac, Andrew, and Amy here want to send one of us home," Xander replies looking straight at Andrew and Mac.

"What makes you think we're doing that?" Andrew asks.

"You're not that subtle," Xander explains.

"Amy's been complaining a lot," Mac mentions.

"We'll think about it," Buffy and Willow agree.

Confessional Caption - Xander - Construction
"Mac wants us to send Amy home tonight so he can save his own butt."

Confessional Caption - Mac - Retired Military
"This Amy girl has just got to go. She's always complaining about having no food. You know what? We're all hungry. We're all tired. We're all thirsty. But she acts like she's worse off. And she doesn't make us stronger."

Tribal Council

The Akathla team enters with their torches and takes their place on the benches.

"Mac," Jeff directs his first question, "how is the mood around the camp?"

"Everyone's pretty dejected about our losing the first two immunity challenges," Mac explains.

"Do some people complain more than others, Andrew?" Jeff asks.

"I think some people are more hit by the hunger," Andrew says.

"Let's go vote," Jeff tells them.

Amy votes first. She writes down Mac's name and addresses the camera: "Sorry Mac, but you're just too dangerous out here."

Next is Mac and he writes down Amy's name. We don't see Xander or Buffy's votes but do see Willow write down Amy's name. Oz and Andrew finish off the voting.

Jeff returns with the votes and begins to count them. "Mac," he counts first. Next he pulls a vote for Amy. The next four votes come up for Amy, completely surprising the girl. It is apparent that the girl has her torch snuffed rather than Mac to keep some strength on the team.

Parting Words - Amy
"Well I thought it was all settled and we were voting off Mac but I guess that's how you play the game."

Next week on Survivor

Voice-over - Can Akathla over come two straight immunity losses?

Voice-over -- A visit to the enemy

Voice-over -- And an injury has serious consequences. We hear a scream and see people running toward the sound.

Next week on Survivor