Disclaimer: The wonderful game of Survivor was created by Mark Burnett. I imagine CBS owns a piece of that cash cow, too. All of the Power Rangers and villains belong to Saban. Yes, I am obsessed with Survivor, and I am going to audition for Survivor 4: South America. But since that won't be happening 'til sometime next year, I'm living vicariously through these characters. I rate this fic TV-PG. And I do have plans to write every episode up to the season finale, where a winner will be chosen. If you've watched Survivor, you know the rules. They also apply here. If you've read this, I would love to hear any comments you might have for me. Send 'em to jeremyl@stellarpath.net. Thanks, and enjoy.
Author's Note: Many, many thanks to Eurydice and Adrienne Sekitou, two Survivor and Ranger fans who agreed to be the beta-readers for this series. Ladies, I thank you both; you were invaluable in the completion of this fic. To the readers, I will mention that I did not take all of their advice, so any mistakes found in the fic are mine and mine alone.

Survivor: Phaedos
Episode One: The Vortex
By Jeremy Ray Logsdon

Jeff Probst, standing in Angel Cove with hair and clothing whipped wildly by the wind streaming from the energy vortex behind him, shouted, "Today, we take sixteen total strangers and place them in one of the world's most unforgiving environments!"

"We aren't strangers," Lord Zedd growled as Cassie tied an orange bandana around his left bicep.

"Well, just the same, we are taking sixteen people and we are placing them in one of the world's most unforgiving environments," Jeff clarified.

"Not really," Billy remarked, shouldering a heavy duffel bag. "I mean, the vortex is taking us to Phaedos. That's hardly on Earth; it's on the other side of the galaxy."

Jeff sighed deeply and said, "We are stranding sixteen Rangers-"

"And villains!" Rita shrieked.

"And villains, on the deserted, dangerous, but beautiful, planet Phaedos, located light years from Earth," Jeff said. "For the next forty-two days, they will be marooned on this planet, with no comforts of home. And one very important thing to note, the Rangers and villains are not allowed to take any power source with them. No morphing. No Wrath Staff. Nothing but their bare hands, some tools we've provided, and their wits."

"You're screwed," Goldar said to Rito.

"Sixteen beings, forced to band together, carve out a new existence, and be totally accountable for their actions, or they'll be voted off," Jeff spoke as the survivors were herded through the whirling vortex. "In the end, only one will remain, and will leave the planet with one million dollars in cash as their reward. Forty-two days, sixteen people… one survivor."

Instantaneously, trillions of miles from Earth, the sixteen survivors (along with a camera crew that would never be seen) and Jeff Probst reappeared on one of Phaedos' rocky beaches. Jeff said, "The sixteen contestants have been divided into two tribes, named after the locations where they will live. The Ugatu tribe, who will always wear orange, consists of…

"Lord Zedd, a supervillain from locations unknown.

"Jason Scott, a martial arts instructor from Angel Grove, California.

"Leo Corbett, a student from the space colony Terra Venture, currently located on Mirinoi.

"Zhane, Brad Pitt's movie stand-in, from Los Angeles, California.

"Tanya Sloan, a disc jockey from Angel Grove, California.

"Cassie Chan, a college student from Angel Grove, California.

"Divatox, a space pirate.

"And lastly, Karone, currently exploring her options. She has residences on both Mirinoi and Earth.

"The Neola Tribe, who will always wear blue, consists of…

"Rita Repulsa, a supervillain from Galaxy M-51.

"Kimberly Hart, a gymnast from Orlando, Florida.

"Katherine Hillard, a dancer, who currently resides in London, England.

"Maya, a hippie from the planet Mirinoi.

"Billy Cranston, a student from Angel Grove, California.

"Goldar, a henchman to the supervillain team of Rita and Zedd.

"TJ Andrews, a college student from Angel Grove, California.

"Rito Revolto, also a henchman to the supervillain team of Rita and Zedd."

On the rocky beach were two crates, one labeled Ugatu and the other Neola. On the top of each crate was a map to their camp, and within was a rather meager assortment of goods that would serve them on their adventure. As per the rules of the game, they were only allowed to take with them what they could carry.

While Ugatu opened their crate and began to rummage through it, much to Neola's delight, Goldar and Rito picked up the massive crate and hoisted it above their heads.

"If we were allowed to talk to the other tribe," Kimberly said to no one in particular as they began to follow the map off of the beach, "I'd totally be making fun of them already."

Day One
Ugatu Tribe

"I'm already disgusted," Cassie said to Karone. The two women had taken the map and run ahead of the group, trying to see if they were perhaps going in the right direction. They were trying to find their camp, located on Ugatu River that was on the outskirts of the Neola jungle, but so far, they had been going in circles for what felt like hours.

"I'd almost guarantee that we'll be the tribe to have somebody naked in it," Karone groused as well. In less than fifteen minutes, Jason and Leo had both stripped to the waist. Only Divatox seemed even remotely impressed.

"I think we're going the right way," Cassie said. "You wait here, I'll be back with everybody else."

Neola Tribe

"We found our camp really easy," TJ said. "I mean… Rito and Goldar carried everything, and it didn't even seem to be hard on them. All we had to concentrate on was reading the map. It would be easy to be butt-lost way out here in the jungle, but we found it. It's very nice… Beautiful creek runs through it, nice soft sand on our little beach… It's great. There are even some fruit trees nearby, and we're all hopeful that they aren't poisonous."

A distance away, talking to a different cameraman, Rito and Goldar were already griping. "It's appalling," Goldar growled.

"They made us carry the crate," Rito said. "We were just picking it up to show off, y'know?"

"And they wouldn't let us set it down," Goldar added. "They're like… 'Oh, look how strong Goldar and Rito are. They can just freakin' carry the freakin' crate the whole freakin' way through the freakin' jungle to the freakin' camp.'"

"Goldar and I are going to form an alliance," Rito said. "We think if we can get Billy and one of the Pink Rangers in it, we can make it to the final four."

"Believe it or not, I'm hoping it'll be Katherine," Goldar thought out loud. "I mean, Kimberly has the cute, spunky thing going on, but… she's really irritating after awhile."

"You might think, hey, we're villains, we'll align with Rita," said Rito.

"But the fact is, we don't trust Rita," Goldar added. "I don't trust her as far as I could drop-kick her." As Rito wandered away from the cameraman, Goldar, in a lower voice, said, "I don't trust any of these villains, honestly. If a villain is going to hope to win this thing, they're going to have to align with Rangers and keep one villain around to sacrifice at the end. I'm only aligning with Rito because he's so incredibly stupid. I honestly believe that I'll be able to turn Rito into my pawn. He's the Rudy, I'm the Rich. Except for me being a fat, naked fag, of course."

Down beside the creek bank, Rita and TJ were slowly going through the contents of the crate, while Billy was trying to get everyone to gather around. It was an interesting image. Rita was dressed in shorts and a black t-shirt, and her hair was down in a ponytail instead of her trademark cones. She was actually rather attractive.

"We're going to have an Immunity Challenge tomorrow," Billy said. "I think we stand a real chance of winning it if we can get some significant rest today, and that means only taking care of the bare essentials before the Challenge."

"Basic shelter and latrine?" Katherine asked.

"That's what I was thinking," Billy said.

"Us too," Rita said, referring to herself and TJ.

"Shelter?" Maya asked. "That should be easy. We'll just take that tarp from the crate and stretch it up through the bottom branches of the trees. That'll keep out rain, and any excess we can drape along the sides to block wind. We can build something more later."

"Well, let's decide where to put the latrine, then," Kimberly said.

Ugatu Tribe

Three hours after Neola had already started building their shelter and latrine, Ugatu had just found their base camp. They were within walking distance of the ocean, although they were situated next to the Ugatu River. It was probably have been more accurately named Ugatu Creek, because it was very slow-moving, shallow, and narrow, but it did lead directly into the ocean.

"We found it!" Zhane cried happily, dancing around the orange flag reading UGATU.

"Thank God," Tanya sighed, sinking onto the ground in a boneless heap.

"I'm starving," Lord Zedd growled. Shaking the tin of rice he held in his arms, he said, "Let's eat the rice."

"That has to last for eighteen days, Zedd," Karone snapped, yanking the rice from his grip. "Rationing, Zedd. Rationing."

Divatox, with her arms crossed, and looking very out of place in a pair of khaki shorts, a purple t-shirt, and her facemask, instead of her standard pirate outfit, said, "Maybe we can catch rats."

"I am NOT eating rats," Cassie said firmly. "I will starve first."

"If Cassie starves, I call dibs on her butt muscles," Lord Zedd said quickly. At Divatox's dumbfounded stare, he clarified, "The butt muscle is the biggest muscle in the body… Protein… I'm hungry!"

"You are not eating my butt!" Cassie cried.

"I think I've heard that, actually," Zhane agreed.

"It isn't the butt, it's the tongue," Divatox said. "The tongue is the biggest muscle in the body."

"The tongue is the strongest muscle in the body," Leo offered. When Divatox shifted her glance from Zedd to him, he added, "What? I can't know stuff?"

"No one is eating my butt or my tongue!" Cassie shouted.

"Guys, we can't start fighting amongst ourselves," Karone interjected. "We have to stay sane, or Neola will eat us alive." When Zedd started to say something, she put her hand out and said firmly, "Zedd, if you mention something about eating someone's butt, I will kill you with my bare hands."

"She's right," Jason agreed. "We have to get started on shelter. It's already late afternoon, and I have a hunch that Phaedosian nights are cold."

"Anyone here ever spent a night on Phaedos?" Zhane asked.

"It's a shame Rocky isn't here," Divatox drawled, emphasizing the word Rocky. Jason fixed an icy glare on her, but she just licked her lips and smiled.

"Let's just assume they are cold so we'll be prepared if they aren't," suggested Tanya. "Why don't you guys start building a shelter? I'll take Karone, and we'll go on a search for food, okay?"

"I'm an excellent hunter," Karone said, grabbing one of a few knives that had been provided for them.

Neola Tribe
Nightfall

For all the troubles the Ugatu Tribe was having, the Neola Tribe didn't really seem to have any. In just a few short hours, a crude but sufficient shelter had been erected. Although the night was clear, if it were to rain, they would be kept dry. A latrine was already established about a hundred yards away on the downwind side of camp.

The sun had set, but Phaedos's twin moons were providing a fair amount of light. The octet was currently hanging out beneath their shelter, providing moral support for Goldar, Maya, and Billy as they attempted to build a fire.

"Radial keratotomy, my ass," Goldar groused. "If you had glasses, we could start a fire in just a few seconds!"

"We need flint," Billy said, ignoring Goldar. "I don't even know if it's possible with our capabilities to start a fire with just wood."

Maya, on her hands and knees, was trying her hardest to start a fire with two twigs. She was succeeding in producing a lot of smoke, but thus far, no spark had been created.

"I wonder what the other tribe is doing right now," Kimberly pondered.

"Zedd is probably trying to eat somebody's butt muscles," Rita said with a sigh.

Ugatu Tribe

"Do you remember that time I tried to kidnap Kimberly?" Lord Zedd asked with a chuckle. The Ugatu tribe's spirits had been boosted into the stratosphere when Lord Zedd had successfully started a fire by clicking his metal nails together. Although there was no food, the warmth of the fire raised their spirits. The sun had long ago set, and the brightest of the Phaedosian moons was directly above them. Jason's prediction had been right. It was bitterly cold, and the fire helped a great deal.

"I kidnapped Tommy once," Divatox remarked. "Oh, and Jason and Kimberly, of course."

Karone said, rather idly, "Being a Ranger was more fun than the bad guys."

"I would imagine," Tanya agreed. "I mean, the good guys always win."

"Say what?" Lord Zedd asked, propping himself up on his elbows. "Good guys always win?"

"You didn't notice?" Divatox asked.

"It's true," Cassie said. All of the Rangers, Karone included, were nodding in unison.

"That doesn't include reality television shows, does it?" Zedd asked.

Divatox suddenly sat bolt upright from her position, leaning against Zhane. "Hey," she said softly. "That's a good point."

"Of course they could win," Leo said. "It all depends on votes and immunity challenges. Absolutely any one of us could win."

"I wonder if anybody has formed any alliances yet," Jason murmured to himself.

Behind him, Tanya and Karone shared a knowing, sideways glance, unseen by everyone except Zedd.

Ugatu Tribe
Day Two

"The fire helped a great deal," Divatox said to the camera as she knelt beside the river, washing her face off with the cold, clear water. "It got so cold last night, but we were all huddled together, and the fire was roaring just a few feet away." She wiped the water from her face and placed her mask back on. "I'm not going to say I slept well, but I slept a lot better than I thought I would."

She walked away from the beach, headed back to their crude camp. "We're trying to decide whether or not we should cook rice," Cassie told Divatox as she sat beside her on a log. "On the one hand, we should save it, but on the other, we do have a hot fire to cook it on."

"Food could give us a real edge in the competition this afternoon," Leo speculated. He was standing off to the side, already shirtless.

"Should we vote?" Tanya asked. "It's kind of corny, but…"

"Is everybody hungry?" asked Karone. "I know I am."

"Then let's eat," Zedd said. "Somebody cook the rice, and some of us can start looking for twigs to make spoons out of."

Neola Tribe

"I slept pretty well," Maya said as she walked along a crude path in the Neola jungle, "but I figured I would. The weather is pretty similar to Mirinoi. It did get a little colder last night than Mirinoi weather, but… I managed. Everyone else, though… We didn't get a fire going, and the only real source of warmth was our body heat. And Goldar and Rito didn't contribute anything to that. Bones and metal are not warm."

She sighed and continue walking along, pausing every few steps to examine the nearby trees. "I got up early, so I'm looking for fruit or nuts," she explained. "Those fruit trees near camp aren't edible yet. The fruit hasn't ripened, and it's hard as rocks. We're clearly not going to have rice, and I'm hoping for something to eat. I am just SO hungry."

Back at camp, the other Survivors had awakened. While Billy, Rito, Rita, and Goldar were trying to fully wake up, Kimberly, Katherine, and TJ were already working. They were going into the jungle and returning with long poles. "I figure we can use these and some of the rope to build a frame for the shelter," TJ said as he and Kimberly carried two between them, one on each shoulder, as they made their way back to camp.

"Need some help Kat?" Rito asked, looking at the former Pink Ranger struggling with an armful of a foreign plant that looked remarkably similar to palm fronds.

"That'd be great, thanks," she said. As the two began carrying items out of the jungle, Kat said, "Teamwork. That's the only way we stand a chance this afternoon. For the whole game."

Somewhere near the Ugatu camp, Jeff Probst was standing near a tree to which a deep but narrow-mouthed wicker basket was attached. "The tribes will compete in challenges," Jeff explained to the camera. "They'll be notified of these challenges with messages at their Tree Mail."

He placed a note on a sheet of rolled-up papyrus in the basket and continued, "Today's challenge is both Immunity and Reward. Whoever wins will receive fifty waterproof matches, and best yet, immunity. Win immunity, and you stay on the planet a few days longer. Lose, and you must make the long journey to the Tribal Council, where you must vote off one of your own."

Ugatu Camp

Still full from what was actually a rather skimpy breakfast of just rice, Zedd and Leo returned to camp with the note in their Tree Mail. "It's about the challenge," Leo said, holding the papyrus up for all to see.

"What's it say?" Cassie asked as all eight crowded around.

"Today your tribe will face the waves, and it's not an easy play, one tribe takes home the fire, the other sends someone away," he read.

"Something in the ocean, I guess," Tanya theorized. "Face the waves?"

Zhane said, "Looks like whoever wins gets fire."

Rocky Beach

Later that afternoon, both tribes were gathered on one of Phaedos' rocky ocean beaches. Rocks, some small and some boulders, lay everywhere. There wasn't one single patch of true sand on the entire beach. Near the cliff on the beach, where the rocks weren't quite so rough, lay two sections of wood, one painted blue and the other orange. The Neola tribe was standing on the blue section, and Ugatu stood on the orange.

Far off in the ocean, two floating buoys, both aflame, were bobbing peacefully on the rather still sea. At the far end of the beach, where the rock was beginning to merge into sand, stood two long rows of tiki torches. They led to a gigantic, twenty-foot tall Fire Idol, a crude, human figure with outstretched arms. In each of its hands was a disc covered in flammable materials with a wick extending downward.

Jeff Probst was standing before the two tribes. Looking at Ugatu, he said, "Congratulations; I hear you had fire last night." As whoops went up from the Ugatu Tribe members, he quickly said, "But you aren't there tending the fire now. There is always the threat of rain or a strong wind; fire is never a certainty here. Win today, and you'll get fifty waterproof matches. Certainly valuable.

"But even more important than that, immunity." He held up a three-foot tall wooden statue, the Immunity Idol. It was a rather crude totem pole, and closer inspection would reveal the image of the Falcon, Wolf, Crane, Bear, Frog, and Ape on it. "I want everybody to touch this, feel this." He passed the idol to the tribes, as he continued, "This is the Immunity Idol, your life on Phaedos. Win this, and you get three more days here. Lose it, and you might be the first one to go home."

He took the Idol back. "Okay, here's the game, called 'Fire and Water Expedition.' There are two fire buoys, about two hundred feet out in the water. Your job is for all of you to race across the beach, down to the ocean, and take your torch out to your buoy, light it, and swim back to the beach. Upon reaching the beach, you must hurry to the torches and light each one in your row. All torches must be lit. Then, hurry to the Fire Idol, and the first to light it wins the Immunity Idol.

"But as always, there is a catch." He held up a long chain with eight manacles on it. "You'll be shackled together." Worried murmurs passed through both groups. "Each tribe has already selected one torchbearer. Who are they?"

"Me," Karone said, raising her hand.

"And me," Katherine chimed in.

"Karone for Ugatu, Katherine for Neola. You will all swim out to the fire buoys. When the torch is lit, you swim back. Then, you have to run across the rocky beach, and upon reaching the line of tiki torches, light each one in your row. If any goes out, you must go back and light it. If your main torch goes out, you must swim back out to the Fire Buoys. When all of your tiki torches are lit, you then light your side of the Fire Idol. The first tribe to do this wins. Any questions?"

He rattled the shackles, and in just a few moments, he had all the members of each tribe locked together. "Okay. Tribes ready? On your mark, get set, GO!"

With jangling chains, both groups of eight tore off for the water. Rita was the first to trip on the uneven surface, but TJ was right behind her, and he quickly had her righted before they could fall. For Ugatu, Zedd took a tragic misstep and fell, bringing Jason and Divatox to the ground with him. As such, it was Neola who plunged into the warm ocean waters first.

"You just concentrate on keeping the torch dry!" Billy cried from the back to Katherine. Katherine was at the front of the group, the torch held as high out of the water as she could manage. After twenty feet, the water still wasn't deep enough to require swimming, and they had a very impressive lead on Ugatu, who was just now recovering from Zedd's fall and entering the ocean.

However, as soon as Neola's feet had to leave the bottom to swim, they ran into a serious problem. Goldar, with his heavy full-body armor, sank like a stone, and all of Neola was pulled to a halt. Katherine cried out, but she began to quickly tread water, holding the torch high above the waves.

"Come on, Rito!" Kimberly cried, ducking beneath the surface. She got under Goldar's right arm while the very buoyant Rito got under his left, and together, they attempted to get Goldar back to the surface. Rita and Billy, the two in the very back of the group, ducked beneath as well, and with the four providing their own muscle, they managed to keep Goldar's face above the water.

"Keep swimming, keep swimming!" Rita shouted, her face just barely above the water. Unfortunately for Neola, they weren't really swimming; they were just treading water and Katherine, Maya, and TJ were essentially pulling the entire group.

"One of you push, one of you push!" Maya cried. Rita let go of Goldar and swam behind him, pushing on his massive shoulders as she kicked her feet frantically.

Neola's impressive lead had promptly dwindled. Now about one hundred feet off of the beach, Ugatu had caught up. Zedd was having his own buoyancy problems, as he did have a metal exoskeleton, but his wasn't nearly as bad as Goldar's problem. The rest of Ugatu were able to swim powerfully, and they were rapidly approaching the fire buoy.

"We're still in the lead!" Kimberly shouted encouragingly, even as Ugatu overtook them.

It took Neola a few moments, but they quickly got in a surprisingly good groove. Katherine, TJ, and Maya were swimming at the front of the group, pulling them all along with the shackles. Rito, Kimberly, and Billy were helping Goldar keep afloat, and Rita was providing a powerful push from behind. However, when Neola was still twenty feet from the fire buoys, Ugatu had already approached it, and Karone had their torch stuck in the flames.

"It's lit, it's lit!" she cried. Taking even more care with the torch than on their quest out there, she held the torch with one arm, stroked with the other, and kicked away from the buoy. Ugatu was in the lead, and Neola hadn't lit their torch yet.

Finally, Neola's torch burst into flames. Katherine rolled over on her back and swam using just her legs. The rest of her tribe was swimming along as best they could manage, but they hadn't made it more than forty feet from the shore when Ugatu clambered out onto the rocky beach. "We're not done yet!" Kimberly cried encouragingly.

Indeed, in a stroke of pure luck for Neola, Ugatu stumbled once again. Zedd, once again, tripped, falling face forward. Divatox and Jason were the first to collapse, and the sudden yank of the chains also brought Tanya, Cassie, and Zhane to the ground. Only Leo and Karone were left standing. Karone, holding the torch upright, pulled Tanya and Cassie to their feet, while Leo moved to quickly twist Zedd's foot from beneath the rock his metal toe plate had gotten caught on.

Twenty feet from the shore, the water was shallow enough that they could walk, and as soon as all's feet touched the ground, Neola kicked it into high-gear. Running in two lines of four, they ran through the water, splashing it so hard that Katherine held the torch even higher in the air to keep it from getting wet. When they reached the shore, Ugatu had just recovered from their group fall, and their forty-foot plus lead had dwindled to just ten.

"Don't fall, don't fall!" Leo shouted as Ugatu continued to run down the beach. Zedd wisely stuck to watching his step, hitting the large boulders when he had the chance. Despite Neola's greatly reducing the lead, Ugatu was still the tribe to light the first of the tiki torches.

They waited impatiently as Karone made sure the flame stuck, and as soon as it had, they ran to the second torch a few feet away.

Neola reached their torches, and Katherine had the first torch lit so quickly they didn't even have to stop. Karone got the second torch lit, just as Katherine's fire touched Neola's second.

They progressed in that manner through the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth torches, Ugatu just barely ahead. Karone made a huge gamble and just briefly touched the flame to the seventh. She had already moved on to the eighth, and when she heard Tanya whoop behind her, she knew that the seventh tiki torch was lit, and she continued moving toward the goal.

That single move put Ugatu securely in the lead. No one tripped, but when Ugatu was lighting their tenth and final torch, Neola was still on number nine. As Ugatu's tenth torch went up in flames, they ran as one unit to the Fire Idol. Karone stuck the torch at the wick hanging down from it, and in a powerful burst of light, their side of the Fire Idol lit up.

"UGATU!" Jeff Probst announced. Karone whooped and tossed the torch to the ground, and all eight Ugatu tribe members piled atop each other in a group hug.

Defeated, Katherine dropped her torch to the ground and bent her head. Jeff Probst gave them the key, and they were quickly unshackled. Billy and Kimberly hugged each other, clearly drained, as Maya and Rita hugged Kat. TJ, Goldar, and Rito merely stood there aimlessly.

Ugatu, however, also removed from their chains, were having a celebration, dancing happily. Jeff Probst said, "Your reward, fifty water-proof matches. And even better, the Immunity Idol." Still jumping around happily, Karone took it. All of Ugatu placed a hand on the idol and danced around it.

"Neola, unfortunately, you have a date with me tomorrow night. See you then. Ugatu, congratulations on your win. You've just earned three more days on Phaedos."

Dejected, the beaten Neola left the beach, while Ugatu continued their celebration.

Neola Tribe
Day Three

"I'm so hungry," Kimberly remarked as she, Kat, and Billy worked on the shelter. "We'll get to eat tomorrow morning, at least."

"Do you guys know who you're voting for?" Kat asked idly. She was up in a tree, attaching palm fronds to the roof of their lean-to shelter.

"I figure Goldar," Billy said quietly. "He's strong, I know, but it was clearly his fault we lost."

"Goldar says he's going to stop wearing his armor in the competitions," Kat answered. "I think it might be a bad idea to get rid of somebody who is as strong as him."

"I don't know," Kimberly said hesitantly. "Sure, he's strong, but…"

"He caused us to lose," Billy told them. "When I came into this game, I said that, at least in the beginning, I was going to vote for whoever made us lose. It was clearly his fault, so… Goldar gets my vote."

"Mine too," agreed Kimberly. Katherine said nothing but nodded in understanding.

Maya was sitting in a tree, braiding together thick vines to make a rope while she spoke to the camera. "I feel very vulnerable today," she admitted. "As I see it, there are three people who may be going today. Goldar, Rita, or me. I am definitely the outsider here. There are bonds already established, and I just don't fit in with any of them. Billy, Kimberly, and Kat were all on the first generation team, so they're pretty tight. Goldar and Rito are practically inseparable, and Rita is kind of floating around both of those groups. She's a villain, so she's got Goldar and Rito, but at the same time, she was the villain when Billy and Kim were active Rangers, and Kat and Rita have some weird bond, so she could even fit in with them. I had hoped to bond with TJ. We've met before, but… It just didn't work out that way. For some reason I can't explain, he's bonded with Rita. Rita and TJ are already close after just three days. I have no one. I'm a hard worker, and some people here are not, but… I'm worried they'll get rid of me because I don't have a niche here yet.

"I'll probably vote for Goldar, just because he made us lose, but I still don't know. I'm thinking about Rita, just because she's lazy. I heard Kat and Kim talking this morning, and they were talking about her, so I think that may be how they're planning to vote."

Maya sighed heavily and jumped out of the tree, having easily fashioned a fifty-foot length of rope from tough vine. As she coiled the vine around her right arm, she said, "I expect Goldar, Rito, Rita, and TJ to vote against me. I'd love to try and get Billy, Kat, and Kim on my side, but I'm afraid it might backfire against me. Best-case scenario is that I'll get a tie. On the plus side, I should get to eat a nice meal and sleep in a secure hammock tonight after I get voted off."

Rita and TJ were sitting side-by-side on the bank, TJ fashioning crude silverware out of sticks while Rita watched intently. "I'm not voting for Goldar," Rita said.

"You aren't?" TJ asked.

"Nope. Yeah, he made us lose, but Goldar is strong. He's already gotten rid of the armor, and that's what weighed him down. He's strong, he's packed with muscle, and in the next competition we have, Goldar will be an asset. We'd be stupid to vote him off now."

"Who are you thinking of voting for?" he asked.

"I'm planning to vote for someone I don't like," Rita said. "Which, except for you, could be just about any Ranger here."

"I know Kat really well, and I wouldn't want to vote for her," TJ told her.

"Oh yeah, not Kat. She's a good swimmer. It'd be stupid to get rid of her this early."

"Are you thinking Kimberly?" TJ asked.

"I've thought about it," she admitted. She sighed and leaned back on the beach, her silver hair, having been taken down from its cones three days before, forming a halo around her. "I'm worried a bit about myself, honestly. I'm the weakest one here, so I think it might be me."

"You're not getting my vote," TJ promised her.

"Thanks," Rita said, smiling. "I won't vote for you, either."

Kimberly was sitting on a rock in the Neola jungle, speaking to the camera. "I feel pretty secure," she said. "I'm just not worried about my safety. And I'm not really wondering who is going down tonight, either. Billy and I have decided to vote for Goldar. We've talked to Kat about it, and she's going to vote for Goldar, too. Maya, I suspect, will vote for Goldar. The only one I'm leery about is TJ, but Billy talked to TJ late last night, and Billy is pretty sure TJ is on our side. I don't know exactly what they talked about, but it was something about a Blue Ranger bond or something or another. From what I gathered, TJ is also voting for Goldar." With a smile, Kimberly waved at the camera and said, "Bye-bye, Goldie."

Katherine sat cross-legged on the bank, giving a confessional to the camera. "I feel kind of bad," she admitted. "Kimberly and I had a real long talk, and while I think a lot of Kimberly, I'm just not so sure I'm going to be voting the way she and Billy want me to. I might vote the way they want me to, but… I didn't promise that I would, and I'm still not entirely sure I will."

Tribal Council

Jeff Probst sat on a large stone in what had once been known as the Ninjetti Temple. The circular area had been changed very little. A circle of protective stones now stood around the Sacred Fire, which was already burning brightly, and torches lined the circular arena. Next to the fire was a treasure chest, filled with money, and two rows of stone benches sat off to one side for the Survivors.

"This is Tribal Council," Jeff explained. The sun was just beginning to set over the cliff that the council looked over, and far off was the Monolith, in which lay the greatest power of the universe. "Every three days, one member will be voted off of Phaedos. Yesterday, Neola lost by a narrow margin to Ugatu. In just a few hours, Neola tribe will be here, and they will have to lose one of their own.

"The experience begins with a long, difficult hike up the mountain to Tribal Council."

The hike was indeed a difficult one. Tribal Council was located on the highest mountain in the area. Their journey took them up a narrow ledge, across an expanse of desert, and then up a literal mountain. But finally, well over an hour after they left Neola camp, they arrived at the Tribal Council.

They walked across the wooden footbridge leading to the Council; torches were everywhere. As they reached the end of the footbridge, they each in turn hit a gong with the attached mallet, signaling their arrival.

"We begin Tribal Council with a ritual," Jeff explained. "Behind each of you is a torch. I'd like you to get your torches, dip them in the flame, light them, and place them back in the slot."

As eight, they retrieved their torches and lit them. When all eight were burning brightly and standing behind them, they all took a seat on the provided stone benches.

"We have this ritual because, as I'm sure you've noticed, on Phaedos, fire represents life. These torches are now your life here at Tribal Council. The good news is you will take these torches with you when you leave, and you will have fire. The bad news is that only seven of you will be going back to camp.

"Welcome to the most dangerous place for you on Phaedos. Here, you are accountable for your actions. They may hurt you, or they may help you. And one of you will be voted off of Phaedos. But we'll worry about the vote in a moment. So, how have your past three days been?"

"We're starving," Kimberly said quickly.

"No food yet," Rita said.

"I've been looking, but I haven't found anything edible yet," Maya said with a sigh. "We have some fruit trees that should produce ripe fruit in a few weeks, but nothing now."

"You'll be able to have food tonight, though, because you'll have fire," Jeff told them. "What'd you think of the competition?"

"We were very close," Billy announced. "We had a major obstacle, and we still were just a few seconds from winning."

"It taught me something," Goldar said. "I know in the future, if I have a future here, to not wear my armor to challenges."

"The object of this game is survival, and that includes surviving Tribal Council. We're going to vote; you'll follow the path across the swinging footbridge, write the name of the person you are voting off in bold, clear letters. Hold it up to the camera and speak your peace; we can't hear you here. Fold it up, put it in the container, come back here, and have a seat. Once the votes are tallied, the decision is final, and you have to leave the Tribal Council area and Phaedos immediately. Okay, it's time to vote. Billy, you're first."

Billy stood up from his seat and walked to the far end of the Tribal Council, walking off on the gently swaying suspension-type bridge. He reached the voting area, picked up the black marker, and on the rectangular sheet of distressed paper, he wrote GOLDAR in capital letters. Holding it up, he said, "Goldar, this honestly isn't anything personal. You are a fierce competitor, I admire you more than you probably know, but when I came here, I said I was going to vote for whoever caused us to lose, and it's pretty clear you caused us to lose. I may regret this later on, but I have to vote for you. Sorry man."

Folding up the sheet of paper, he placed it in the container, returned the lid, and walked back to his seat. TJ was the next to vote, followed by Katherine, and then Maya.

Maya wrote RITA and held it up for the camera. "I don't know you very well, but in the three days I have known you, it's pretty clear that you're used to having other people do the work for you. The rest of us have done much more work than you, and I'm sick of it. And if you aren't voted off, I will have to talk to you about it."

She walked back to her seat, and Rito walked to the voting area. Holding the marker in his left hand like a child would hold a crayon, he managed to scrawl bILe, with the e written backward. "Billy, you are definitely the coolest geek I know. I think it's pretty weird you were shacked up with a fish once, but hey, to each their own. I'm not casting this vote because you messed up or anything, but because you just seem to be the odd one out. You're too smart for me, man. I can't understand half of what you talk about."

Kimberly was next to vote, and in elegant script, she wrote the name Goldar. "Goldielocks, believe it or not, I like you. I really do. You're one of the sweetest henchmen I know, but… you have to go. Sorry." She folded the vote and dropped it in the container. As she replaced the lid, she added, "And I was pretty flattered when I found out you had a crush on me."

Rita voted, followed by Goldar, the last. His sheet of paper read BILLY, and Goldar explained, "Billy, you do not fit in around here with anyone except Kimberly. Mentally, you are the brightest, but emotionally and in the overall group dynamic, you are the weakest link in the chain. And frankly, someone as smart as you should be able to start a fire just by thinking hard." Goldar shrugged and dropped his vote in the container.

When he returned to his seat, Jeff said, "I'll count the votes."

They all waited nervously, and a few minutes later, Jeff returned with the container. He sat it on the stone pedestal, and said, "I'll now read the votes. First vote, Goldar." He placed it on the stone and glanced at Goldar, who didn't seem the least bit surprised by the vote.

"Second vote, Rita." Rita, however, was visibly shocked and immediately looked her fellow tribesmen over.

"Third vote, Billy." Billy furrowed his brow as the piece of paper reading bILe was held up for all to see.

"Fourth vote, Billy." Kimberly tensed up at that and looked over at Billy.

"Fifth vote, Goldar." The gold-armored simian shifted in his seat.

As he removed the sixth vote from the container, he read, "Billy." With the third vote against him, Billy moved from nervous to afraid. "If the next vote is for Billy, we won't need to look at the eighth vote."

Billy sat with his hands clenched tightly before him, a wishful look on his face. Jeff removed the seventh sheet of paper from the container and looked at it thoughtfully. He then looked up, and after a brief, dramatic pause, he turned it over and said, "The first person voted off of Phaedos… Billy."

The first Blue Ranger exhaled a long breath, a patient smile on his face. "Billy, I need you to grab your pack and your torch."

He stood up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Kimberly quickly hopped up and hurried over to him, giving him a hug. He whispered in her ear, "It'll be okay," and moved on to Jeff.

Removing his torch from its slot, he walked over to Jeff and handed it to him, who planted it in the ground. With the flame snuffer in his hand, he said, "Billy, the tribe has spoken." He placed it on Billy's torch, and a few seconds later, when he lifted it, the flame was snuffed out. Black smoke curled up lazily from the extinguished torch.

Billy took one last look back at his tribe and said, "You can beat 'em, guys."

"Bye Billy," Katherine said despondently. Several waved, and Billy turned and walked away from the Tribal Council area, leaving via a footbridge that led off into the darkness.

Kimberly blew a breath out and ran one hand through her hair, quite displeased with the turn of events.

"To the rest of you," Jeff said, "this is congratulations. You've survived your first Tribal Council, and you're guaranteed three more days. Grab your torches, head back to camp, and I'll see you tomorrow at the next challenge."

The seven remaining Neola tribesmen took their torches, and in single file, they walked away from Tribal Council, going back to camp with one of their own gone.

The End
To Be Continued in Episode Two

Votes Against Rita: Maya
Votes Against Goldar: Billy, Kimberly
Votes Against Billy: Goldar, Rito, TJ, Katherine, Rita

Billy's Final Words

"I'm definitely disappointed, and yes, it surprised me, but now, in hindsight, it makes sense to me why it happened. I just don't really fit in. Kimberly stuck by me because we've been friends forever, but some of these other people, even if they are my friends, just don't know me as well as she does, and I guess Phaedos isn't really the place to learn about me. I should have done more to make myself less noticeable, fly under the radar, but… I didn't. I'm not at all sorry I came here, though, and even if I just lasted three days, these are three days I will remember all of my life. And best yet, this time I wasn't attacked by a dead dinosaur. Guys, have fun, please get along, and Kim, I really hope you take this thing all the way. I suppose I am done. Bye, see you guys later, but I am ready for some food, a shower, and a nice, warm bed. Ciao."