Skywise
endures the cold shoulder from Nightfall on their long trek back to Camp
Green Moon. “You betrayed us,” she growls under her breath. “I’m next,
Skywise, you realize that! Don’t tell me you think otherwise.”
At sunrise, Savin and Skywise go for a walk on the beach. Skywise leans in several times to try to snatch her hand and nuzzle her neck, and each time Savin twists away at the last moment. “Skywise...” she warns. But he is not to be deterred. “Come on,” he urges gently. “It’s your Fahr.”
Savin: But you’re not my Fahr. You’re the other one.Skywise smiles disarmingly. “Don’t you share?” he wheedles. Savin shakes her head. “Come on,” he tries again. “It’s hardly cheating. Hey, if he’s anything like me he’d probably think it’s pretty hot.”
Savin: Kiss me.Over at Camp Kumquat, the Alt elves are in a nervous mood as they eat their morning meal a pointed distance from the Warp elves. “I’m sorry,” Brightmetal says. “They were going to vote me off, but then they switched and they turned on Gypsy. It should have been me voted off last night.”Skywise: (confused) I’m sorry, what?
Savin: Just what I thought.
“Don’t talk like that!” Swift says. “Gypsy went because Winnowill pulled that damn draw on us. And we’re glad to still have you. We’ll need you in the days ahead. The Warp elves think you’re a soft touch. Keep playing that. Cheipar. See if you and Strongbow can’t get some sort of bonding underway.” Cheipar snorts audibly at that, but Swift soldiers on. “And I’ll work on the others. We’re an endangered species right now. And I wouldn’t put it past these guys to flub an immunity challenge on purpose to get rid of us before the merge.”
Brightmetal: You think they got that in ‘em?Meanwhile, Cutter gathers his alliance of Strongbow, Tyleet and Crescent around him. “I think it might serve us well to lose the next immunity challenge on purpose. The other tribe’s probably already voted off Scouter or Skywise or Nightfall. We want to buy our tribemates in the other camp time. And we want to get rid of... that drag-act and her cronies.”Swift: Wouldn’t you do the same?
Brightmetal: Sure. But I'm capable of abstract thought.
Strongbow:**I still vote we take care of Swift first. We can’t let her go on the merge.**Crescent broods. “Wasn’t the purpose of this tribe swap so we could develop new tribal loyalties and strategies? Aren’t we supposed to be looking out for our tribe, no matter who’s in it? I... I don’t like this, chief Cutter. It goes against the Way.”
Strongbow:**The Way doesn’t apply to them!**
Crescent: Don’t yell at me.Tyleet bites her lip. “I’m worried about Scouter and Mother and the others. I think we should do all we can to help them. If that means losing on purpose, I think it’s a good idea.”
The camera goes in for several tight shots as the Warp elves contemplate their situation. Then it pans up to the trees where Cheipar is silently spying on them. He shakes his head sadly and disappears into the foliage. He meets Swift back on the beach. “Well?” she asks. Cheipar shakes his head. “Oh, come on, you’ve got to give me more!” Swift hisses.
Cheipar: Crescent. We need her.The two tribes meet in a jungle clearing for their reward challenge. Winnowill, dressed in a slinky hula skirt and bikini-top, calls attention to the new departures: Gypsy Moth from the Kumquat tribe and Scouter from the Green Moon tribe. Littlefire grins to see Cheipar again. Savin and Swift exchange meaningful glances.
“All right,” Winnowill says cheerfully. “Today’s reward challenge is a simple one. Look overhead and you’ll see a bundle of supplies suspended from a branch twenty feet over your head. You’re not allowed to climb the tree. You’re not allowed to cut the tree down with New Moon. You’re not allowed any magic. The tribe which successfully retrieves the bundle gets all the supplies inside it. Survivors ready? Go!”
“We need rope,” Savin tells her group. Immediately they start foraging for vines and fibers they can twist into a rope. Cutter is eyeing the ropes holding the bundle in place and wondering if he can throw New Moon up in an arc. Before Swift can talk him out of it, he hurls it wide. It misses its target and nearly decapitates Winnowill. “Oops,” Cutter says insincerely.
Brightmetal whistles to Swift, and offers her a lift. He makes a stirrup with his hands and launches the slight elf high in the air. She reaches ten feet, but no higher, and she falls back to the ground.
Cheipar
wanders away from the group and spots a fishing eagle nesting in a nearby
tree. Meanwhile, Camp Kumquat is hard at work weaving their rope together.
Strongbow, Tyleet and Crescent belatedly begin work on their own rope.
Cutter hurls New Moon again, and again misses. This time he nicks the edge
of the bundle, and the elves duck as a bottle of shampoo falls to the sand.
Cutter races to claim it, but Winnowill confiscates it.
Cheipar whistles to the eagle. The eagle flies down to land on his arm, and he and the bird share a silent moment. Then the eagle flies up and lands on the tree branch. It claws and scratches at the rope holding the bundle in place until the bundle drops to the ground. It breaks open, revealing soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, deodorant, and other grooming products. “Foul! Foul!” cries Savin’s tribe. “You said no magic!”
“I’m sorry,” Winnowill says as she consults the Wolfrider's Guide for guidance. “But Beastmastering is not actually classified as magic, but as a mystical skill. Magic is innate and inborn. Mystical skills can be taught. Kumquat Tribe wins!”
The Kumquat Tribe returns to camp with their supplies, while the Green Moon Tribe must content themselves with sand scrubs. Coppersky is especially depressed, as he is almost out of his conditioner. “Bloody Wolfriders won’t even use it anyway,” he growls.
Swift claims the scented body wash and retires to bathe. Cutter sniffs the soap bar and starts to sneeze. Brightmetal goes off to bathe in the shallow water, and the camera spots Tyleet, Crescent, and a newly refreshed Swift ogling him from afar.
At Camp Green Moon, Nightfall is clumsily trying to connect with Spar. “So... what am I like in your world? Am... am I a good mother?” Spar smiles warmly and whips out her photos, showing off a picture of mother and daughter arm-in-arm. Alternaverse Nightfall is plumper, with darker hair and softer cheekbones. “Aw... she looks like my mother,” Nightfall smiles. Spar nods. “Yeah... I don’t know who you look like.”
Weatherbird: Spar's playing the sweet little daughter. But she knows that Nightfall and Scouter were trying to get rid of her. Now... I don’t know about Tyleet, but Spar doesn’t forget an insult. Don’t know where she gets that from, really. Hey... did anyone see Littlefire?At night, the members of Camp Kumquat eat a meal together, and tribal tensions emerge once more. Before long, the two factions have split up to sleep. “Swift was telling us all about her brother,” Crescent says. “I really wanted to hear more about Grayling... and Alt-me. But Father was so rude.”
Strongbow: **Oh! Grayling! Don’t get me started. Drukkin’ Gay!Strongbow. Now that’s not a flaming Stu. (pause) Although... it would explain where Dart got his swish from.**“Are there troll souls in the Palace?” Brightmetal asks Crescent. “Do you ever see any? My grandfather, maybe?” But the ghost can only shrug. “Troll spirits keep to themselves. You don’t talk to them very often.”Cutter: I’m a little worried about Crescent. She is letting herself forget the mission of this game. And that’s to be the last Verse standing.
Strongbow:**So... Cheipar. You’re basically a Miyazaki rip-off, huh?**
Cheipar:(raises eyebrow dryly) And?“I’m worried,” Swift confesses. “We’re in enemy territory, and we can never forget that.”
Day 17 dawns to see an impromptu game of rugby on the beach at Camp Green Moon. Savin, Nightfall and Spar are up against Coppersky, Weatherbird and Littlefire. Skywise is refereeing. Littlefire is always flying with the ball, while Coppersky defends him. Their team is leading by a significant margin. The one time Nightfall manages to tackle Littlefire, he stuns her with a powerful sending star and leaves her reeling.
Skywise: That was an eye-opener. We had always thought of Littlefire as pretty harmless. And helpless. But I bet he could go toe-to-toe with the Black Snake and come out on top.
Weatherbird: You know... I think Coppersky let her tackle him just to see what would happen.Nightfall crawls off to sleep off her headache, while Skywise continues to ingratiate himself with Savin. “It’s strategy,” he assures the camera later. “It is. I’m playing her. And she’s playing me. But...” he frowns. “You know... we were looking through Spar’s photo album. And... there was this little picture of Spar and Quicksilver when they were cubs. And Quicksilver... she’s so cute. She looks just like me. And then there’s Weatherbird. I mean... my daughter and Sunstream make that? It’s... it’s humbling, man. I don’t know what to do, really. You kind of wonder what you’ve done with your life to equal that. This other Skywise... I don’t know. Maybe it’s because...” he fights back sudden tears. “His parents never died. I mean... he never had to lose his mom or dad. He always had them... and Starjumper... and he has a baby brother, for Timmain’s sake! He’s... he’s got everything I lost. And... I... I can’t talk right now. I just can’t.” Abruptly he rises and leaves.
Savin: Poor Skywise. I... I can’t imagine what might have happened to my Skywise if he had lost his parents the day he was born...
Coppersky: Skywise and Savin are getting in a little... (sneers) deep. Nightfall and Spar are all giggly and... girly. Bah. I’m just glad I don’t have any of this canon baggage.
Weatherbird: Sust and Pool.
Coppersky:(hotly) That hasn’t been proven! They’re just friends, dammit! Just friends!Over at Camp Kumquat, Tyleet is foraging for fruit. Cheipar and Brightmetal are spearing small fish in the shallows, and Swift is preparing the fire. Suddenly a piercing cry sounds over the camp. It is Tyleet.
Cutter and Strongbow find her first. She is lying on the ground, holding her left calf in her hand. A snake is seen slithering under cover. The camera crew is panicking. **Get the med-kit!** Strongbow sends frantically. Tyleet’s calf is already swelling, and the skin around the bite is taken on dangerous greyish cast.
Swift arrives with the med-kit. Cheipar is soon at Tyleet’s side. He yanks Strongbow’s bandana from his hair and ties it tight above Tyleet’s kneecap, making a tourniquet. Swift is fumbling through the medical supplies. Finally she finds the syringe she seeks. ESSENCE OF HEALER. Swift jams the syringe in Tyleet’s hip and presses down on the plunger. The elves carry the stricken patient back to the camp and Brightmetal and Strongbow prepare a pallet of palm fronds. Tyleet lies down and Crescent brings her a coconut shell of water.
Crescent: I was really pleased to see how well we’ve all bonded together in a time of crisis. It makes me question Cutter’s policies of segregation.As the tribe recovers from the shock, Swift takes the opportunity to take Crescent aside. “We all played our parts today. And you can see how well the tribe works when it wants to. But a tribe is only as strong as its weakest link. Cutter wants you to think it’s me. But you know better, don’t you? We need to be drawing together now. And someone is standing in our way.”
“I can’t turn against my father and my chief,” Crescent says. “But Swift’s right. They think they can destroy the Alt-elves and suddenly everything will be fine at the merge. But we can’t be thinking like that. We have to be a united tribe. I... I don’t know.”
Morning on Day 18 sees Skywise getting treemail. “Immunity challenge,” he sighs. “It’s something about a strength test. We’re supposed to choose our stronger player. Well... that’d probably Coppersky. Or maybe me.”
Over at Camp Kumquat, the choice is obvious. Brightmetal’s Pecs of Steel set him ahead of the rest of the pack.
Nightfall: I’m nervous. If this a strength test, then we’re at a disadvantage. They have Cutter and Brightmetal!The tribes assemble in a little bay. There are two slings suspended on pulleys from bamboo posts over the water. The elves frown at the set-up. Is the strongest tribe-member meant to lift weights to be set in those slings?
“Tyleet, how’s it going?” Winnowill asks. “You’re limping, I see. Anything happen?”
Tyleet: Had a little fight with a snake last night. I’m all right. I’m ready to compete.“All right. Strongest tribemembers?” Winnowill asks. “Step forward.” Brightmetal steps up. So does Coppersky. The members of tribe Kumquat are a little surprised. So is Winnowill. “You think you can beat this guy in weightlifting?” Winnowill asks Coppersky.
Coppersky: Can anyone?“Fair enough. Well, you can rest easy,” Winnowill assures him. “Because this is indeed a weight-lifting challenge. But you two won’t be competing. In fact... have you figured it out yet? That’s right!” she announces when Coppersky’s jaw drops. “You will be the weight to be lifted by the rest of your tribe.”
Coppersky
bursts out laughing. So does the entire Green Moon tribe. The Kumquat tribe
gapes in dejected terror. “We’re screwed,” Swift moans. “Seriously. He
weighs like... aw, he’s gotta be a hundred and fifty easy!”
Cutter: And all they have to do is hold the little anorexic afloat? This game is so rigged!Brightmetal and Coppersky swim out to the bamboo piling and climb into the slings. The remaining six members on either tribe take hold of the rope attached to the pulley system. “The rules are simple,” Winnowill says. “Hold up your tribemember the longest. As soon as their feet are clear of the water, this challenge is on. As soon as their feet hit the water again, this challenge is over. Survivors ready? Go!”
The Kumquat tribe hauls as hard as they can. Brightmetal is slowly hoisted up out of the water. The Green Moon tribe pulls on the rope, and easily pulls Coppersky out of the water. Winnowill settles down in a chaise and beckons a troll bearing a margarita.
Swift: Pain... pain!Coppersky is hanging directly beneath the pulley. Brightmetal is suspended just barely above the water. “Okay, dig in,” Swift tells the Kumquats. “Pull harder. Let’s give him a bit more room.”
At half an hour the Kumquats are struggling to hold on. Cutter has looped the rope around his hands. Swift’s palms are bleeding. Tyleet is favouring her good leg. Only Cheipar and Crescent seem unaffected. The Green Moon tribe shows no signs of exhaustion. Coppersky is leaning against his sling and dozing. Brightmetal is trying to think buoyant thoughts.
Suddenly Tyleet loses her grip. Brightmetal drops, and nearly hits the water before the others pull him back up. “Go sit down!” Cutter tells her. “You’re no use to us.”
Tyleet limps away. Over at Green Moon, Littlefire lets go of the rope and goes to sit down. “It’s only fair,” he says when the camera gets in his face. “Go away.”
At one hour approaches, Swift is nearly doubled over. Cheipar is showing definite strain. Crescent is fading in and out of the corporial universe. Cutter is cursing like a sailor. He stumbles back, collides with Strongbow, and suddenly it is all over. Strongbow trips. Swift loses her grip. The rope goes flying. Brightmetal hits the water. Coppersky let out a cheer. Suddenly his tribemates let him drop. He hits the water, and emerges looking somewhat less than stunning.
Skywise: Ever seen a wet cat? They’re all stringy and mean as all hell? That’s our Coppersky.“Sorry,” Brightmetal says as he climbs up the beach. He sees Swift’s bloody palms and winces again. “Sorry.” Swift hugs him. Crescent pats his back. “You did your best.”
“How sweet,” says Winnowill. “But you’ll still have to go to tribal council and vote one of your own out tonight.”
Coppersky bitch-slaps Skywise as he hikes over in search of a towel. Weatherbird gives Littlefire’s hand a squeeze and pulls him to his feet. The Green Moon tribe heads back to camp. The Kumquat tribe lingers on the beach, suddenly uncertain.
Crescent: This is going to be the worst tribal council ever, I think. Everyone tried so hard. How can we do this?Back at camp, the Warp elves strategize. **Swift,** Strongbow sends. **It’s time.** But Cutter is still uncertain. “I don’t trust Cheipar,” he broods. “Or Swift. But Brightmetal bugs me. He’s up to something. And he’s too much of a physical threat to let make it to the merge.”
Strongbow:**Cutter is hesitating because he fears Swift. This is a fatal weakness in a leader. And I cannot let that pass.**Crescent and Brightmetal go for a walk. “Don’t feel bad about today,” Crescent says. “There wasn’t anything you could do. It’s not your fault.” Brightmetal shakes his head. “But it might be me who’s going home today because of that,” he says sadly.
Crescent is seen conversing with Tyleet later that afternoon. Meanwhile, Cutter staggers about the beach, clenching his head in his hands. **What’s going on?** Strongbow demands. Cheipar only shrugs. “Swift used their soulname again.”
Cutter: **Damn you, Tam!**Swift: **Sheee-et! Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! I say ‘Tam’ at you! Tam, Tam, Tam!**
Cutter: **Daagh! Tam! Tam! Tam!**“Well,” Winnowill announces when the Kumquat tribe meets for tribal council. “Cutter. Swift. You’re looking rather rough.”
Swift and Cutter are both holding their heads in their hands. They look severely hung over. Cheipar and Brightmetal look glum. Strongbow and Crescent look conflicted. Tyleet averts her eyes. “Cutter, how are you doing?” Winnowill asks next. “You’ve been leader of your own tribe up until the other night. Now you’ve shared three days with your counterpart. What’s it like being around Swift?”
Cutter: (shell-shocked) I have been to the dark side. I have seen things no man should seen.Swift laughs. But it’s nervous laughter. “This is what bad acid does to you,” she says. “So it can’t last much longer, then?” Winnowill asks. Swift shakes her head.
“Crescent,” Winnowill says. “How is this vote going to go? Old tribal lines? If so, the Alternaverse elves are at a disadvantage.”
Crescent shrugs. “I can’t speak for my entire tribe. But I know how I am going to vote.”
“Cheipar?” Winnowill asks. “In case it’s you who is going home – any last words to the Warp elves?”
Cheipar: Wrapstuff.
Cutter: Wrapstuff? What the...? (pause) Oh. (abashed) Wrapstuff. Right.“And with that, it is time to vote,” Winnowill announces. “Cutter, you’re up.”
Cutter withdraws into the voting booth. He writes Brightmetal’s name on the paper and holds it up in front of the camera. “Sorry. I’d like to keep you on. But it’s time.”
Swift goes
in to vote. So does Cheipar. So do Brightmetal, Strongbow, Tyleet and Crescent.
Winnowill gathers the votes together and reads them out one at a time.
“Cutter. Brightmetal. Brightmetal. Brightmetal. That’s one vote Cutter,
three votes Brightmetal. Cutter. Cutter. Two votes Cutter, three votes
Brightmetal. Cutter. Three votes Cutter, three votes Brightmetal. And...”
Winnowill sneaks a peak inside, then bursts out into unholy laughter.
“And the sixth elf voted off Survivor:Alternaverse – Cutter!”
Swift is amazed. Brightmetal and Cheipar let out long sighs of relief. Cutter turns and looks over his tribe. Tyleet looks bewildered. Crescent is biting her lip. But Strongbow meets Cutter’s gaze steadily. Cutter sets his jaw angrily and gathers his supplies. Tyleet rushes to him for a farewell embrace. "My chief..." she whispers. Cutter can only pat her shoulder gently. At length he stalks over to Winnowill to have his flame extinguished.
“It is with great joy that I say the tribe has spoken,” Winnowill says.
“Piss off,” Cutter growls. He turns and walks down the catwalk, disappearing
into the night.
CUTTER’S LAST WORDS
 Ohh...
Strongbow. Strongbow, Strongbow. So I’m out again. Didn’t even make the
Jury. But Swift won’t make it either. We have the same soul. She killed
me. But now she’ll die without me. It’s like that old Star Trek with the
good Kirk and the bad Kirk. Ah... Kirk, now there was a chief. You wait
and see. She won’t even make it to the merge. |