Burn the Witch!

This is the 5th episode of my second fan fiction, Survivor: Couples’ Showdown.

Previously On Survivor...
After their Bulan's Tribal Council, Leo unleashes his true colors to Martin, telling him he will vote him out soon-- and further antagonized him the next day. At Tala, tensions arose between dating couple Kasia and Toby which carried over in a patience-testing Immunity Challenge. Toby's frustrations caused Tala to lose and sent them to Tribal Council. At Tribal Council, the two continued their fight, causing Kasia to not only to break up with Toby, but also helped the tribe vote him out. 16 are left, two Immunity Challenges and two people going home. Who will they be?

Challenges
Day 14 Immunity Challenge: Mud Wrestling A pair of survivors will be competing against another pair from the rival tribe at a vast mud field. The objective is to drag the other tribe's pair to their end zone. First tribe to three wins immunity. Winner: Tala

Day 15 Immunity Challenge: Spelling Bees With letters painted on their fronts and backs and standing on a balance beam over water, seven tribe members must race to spell a 7-letter word given by the host. To spell, each member must traverse the ledge across their tribemates (there are instances where they can or need to turn around to use the letters on their backs). They can only touch one tribemate at a time. The first tribe to form the correct answer wins a point. First tribe to five points wins immunity. Winner: Tala

Night of Day 12
Returning from Tribal Council after voting out Toby Speck, his partner Kasia is left alone at Tala and emotional after she received verbal attacks from her boyfriend. Kevin and Camille console her, telling her that they would include her to the new majority alliance, which will be bent on taking out the Deckers twins, whom the tribe sees as both comedic and sometimes, pesky.

Day 13
At Bulan, Leo overhears a conversation between Salina, Jacki and Melissa wanting to vote him out because of his prissy, pompous attitude. Leo barges in their conversation and initiates a catfight with Salina. Martin comes to Salina's rescue and tells his partner to go away and don't treat women lowly. As Leo leaves the conversation, Martin approaches Salina and reveals his rivalry with Leo, even the fact Leo is gay. Dumbfounded by Leo's secret, Salina tells him that if he wants Leo out of the game, she and Jacki would help him.

At Tala, Camille and Kasia wake up the earliest and make a morning walk. Camille tells Kasia that she will not be singled out in the tribe even she does not have a partner, even promising a final three deal with her and her husband. "tala"

- Of course I can't trust Kev and Cam and Talia and Ricky. Like, I don't have a partner to play with, so when it comes down to them and I, I'll be either the swing vote, or if it makes more sense, the joke's on me. But hey, if this brings me further, I would go with them.

Day 14
The tribes convene for the next Immunity Challenge, which is a good 'ol mud fight between pairs. Since Tala can only produce three pairs, Bulan sits out Melissa, Martin and Declan, while the it also enables Tala to sit out one tribemate as well, which they picked Kevin. During the first round, Andy pulls Tyler, whilst Josh pulls Devon. Josh lets go of Devon and starts helping his twin brother in pulling Andy. Helpless, Andy gets dragged by team Double Deckers while Devon tries to slow Tyler down. After a few moments, Josh places Andy's foot beyond Tala's end zone, while his partner tries to fend for himself. Eventually, Devon gives in, giving Tala their first point.

In the second round, Salina and Leo face Ricky and Camille. Having mutual distate for each other, Leo and Salina hold themselves individually, not even caring what happens to the other. Ricky decides to switch partners by grabbing Salina instead, while Camille fights Leo. While the spectators expect Camille to be torn apart by Leo, Camille holds her own perfectly. While Salina is at the mercy of Ricky, Salina cries for help, but Leo completely ignores her, until Ricky pulls her to Tala's finish line. Ricky and Camille then turn their sights at Leo and double team him. Tala gets their second point. After the match, Salina shouts "GAY!" on Leo, to his chagrin. The gesture raises eyebrows from both teams.

The third round is an all-girl match, Burgundy and Jacki versus Kasia and Talia. Talia targets Burgundy, seeing that Burgundy is Bulan's weakest member, while Kasia and Jacki duke it out. Talia tosses Burgundy out of the ring, leaving Jacki at the mercy of Kasia and Talia. Jacki tears off Kasia's top, which makes Kasia infuriated. Kasia and Talia drag Jacki by her feet toward Tala's end zone, but Jacki escapes. Tired, Kasia and Talia try to catch Jacki, who is running around the field to avoid getting caught. Feeling uncomfortable wearing her torn-up T-shirt, Kasia rips the piece of clothing completely and goes after Jacki topless. Kasia throws herself toward Jacki and pulls her toward Tala's end zone. Talia comes to her rescue, making the job easier. In the end, Tala wins immunity by a blow-out 3-0 win.

Back at Bulan, Andy and Leo talk strategy, while Leo proposes to vote for Salina, telling him she is a threat. Andy is unsure of the plan, for Salina is the strongest female in the tribe. Leo assures him they would do just fine without her.

Meanwhile, Martin, Melissa, Salina and Jacki brew a plot against Leo by persuading the vulnerable Burgundy. Jacki approaches Burgundy, but Declan, who was not informed by the said plan yet, catches them, and relay the message to Leo. Leo then taunts the group that they will be left for dead for doing so, even telling Martin he will save him for last.

At Tribal Council, Leo gets scolded by the tribe for his rudeness, but Leo merely shuns them. Before the vote, Martin makes one last plea to Burgundy to reconsider, while Declan gets possessive. In the end, Burgundy and Declan join Leo, Andy and Devon in voting Salina out of the game after a harrowing 5-4 vote. Before leaving, Salina hugs her partner Jacki, winks at Martin and gives Leo the middle finger.

Returning from Tribal Council, Martin asks Burgundy her thought process of why she aligned with Leo after all his rudeness. Perceiving the question as a form of intimidation, Declan comes to Burgundy's rescue and tells Martin to go away.

Day 15
The tribes meet for another Immunity Challenge where they recognize the familiar homoerotic balance beam challenge from, and. But to add an element of excitement, Jeff reveals they would not fully follow the mechanics of the said past seasons. Instead, Jeff informs them they will have letters body-painted on their fronts and backs, telling them the challenge will be a combination of the said game and a spelling contest. Devon sits this out for Bulan. While the tribes strategize, Talia proposes that the women should be on one side because they are nimbler than the men.

Jeff calls out the first word, "amenity." Talia calls her tribe to do their "women first" strategy, and it turns out to be working very well. Bulan on the other hand is a hot mess, with several members continually falling down to the water. Tala gets the first round. For the second round, Jeff tells the survivors to spell out "tandems." Bulan continues to falter whereas Tala's composure and patience achieved them their second point. The third word, "mislead" is the easiest for Tala, because luckily, only Talia and Kevin need to move, whilst the others only need to turn around, using the letters on their backs. After Tala gets their third consecutive point, Leo shouts in frustration and stomps on the balance beam, irritating his tribemates. Bulan finally gets on board after getting "disable," but Tala wins immunity after correctly spelling the words "bedtime" and "annelid" at the next two rounds. Bulan returns to camp, and Leo brings Andy and Devon to the woods, and ask them if it is he right time to vote out Martin. Frustrated by Leo's half-thought ideas, Devon warns Leo outright that if he continues his grating personality, they would find a way to vote him out.

"Leo: 'Don't you think it's time to get rid of Martin now?' Devon: 'Leo, Stop it.' Leo: 'Stop what?' Andy: 'You gotta stop asserting your plans too much, or we'll find a way to vote you out.' Leo: 'Huh?' Devon: 'We are voting Burgundy tonight, whether you like it or yes.' Andy: 'If you do something crazy, you're going home tonight. We can't afford having dead weight at challenges bro.' Devon: 'Andy's right. We got to keep our tribe strong, and Burgundy's a hindrance. You gotta stop targeting Martin, or we'll vote you out. That's gonna happen.' Leo: 'Fine!'"

Though still reluctant, Leo asks the best buddies of what to do with Declan. Andy proposes that Leo should vote for Martin to make Declan believe that Leo was also out of the loop, despite him being in control of the vote the whole time, and just vote Declan out the next time they go to Tribal Council. Leo insists that the two would vote for Melissa under the premise of keeping the tribe strong. The plan is relayed to Jacki, Martin and Melissa, who are all relieved it is not either of them going home. While the three are displeased that Leo will not go home, they get Leo's fall from grace as a consolation prize. Leo then approaches Burgundy and Declan, telling them they should vote for Melissa, stating her awkwardness is a hindrance to the tribes challenge performances.

At Tribal Council, the tribe discusses what went wrong during the past two Immunity Challenges. Leo is on hot water once again for his assertive and aggressive personality, yet Leo remains unmoved. In the end, Andy and Devon's "assertion strategy" pays off -- Burgundy and Declan are oblivious that Andy and Declan manipulated the vote to Burgundy's direction, sending her home in a 5-1-1-1 decision.

Next Time On Survivor...

 * Leo is on the hot seat. A double Tribal Council shakes up the game, and a Temptation Reward like no other.

Author's Notes

 * The Day 15 Immunity Challenge is a modified version of the homoerotic Immunity Challenge from Survivor: One World episode, Total Dysfunction. Furthermore, this spelling challenge was used in the second season of our local version, which was shot in Palau.
 * All words used in the second Immunity Challenge are derived from a 14-letter word, "absentmindedly." Each player has two letters each, one painted on their abdomen, and another on their lower back.