All-Star Survivor: Hawaii Episode #5 Take Two

Keko Tribe (green): Alicia Calaway, Gretchen Cordy, Colby Donaldson, Michael Skupin, Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien
Ahi Tribe (orange): John Carroll, Frank Garrison, Colleen Haskell, Rob Mariano, Vecepia Towery, Lex van den Berghe, Tina Wesson

Click here to watch the All-Star Hawaii opening credits!

DAY 13



It was only 6:45 in the morning, and already it was about ninety degrees. That meant that today was going to be a scorcher. And that was a bad omen. Because already Mike could sense that today just wasn't going to be a whole lot of fun.

As always, Mike had been the first one up at Camp Keko. And, as always, he immediately started off on the menial, yet necessary, tasks that needed to be done each and every day here at camp.

Today, Mike's primary goal had been acquiring firewood. So, first thing in the morning, he had grabbed the tribe machete, walked off towards a cluster of trees, and prepared to start chopping.

But then, unexpectedly, he had stopped.

And then, he looked up at the sun.

For the first time all game, Mike saw the sun, and realized the impending harbinger of unpleasantness it would bring very soon. And for the first time all game, he decided that heavy physical labor, on a day like this, just wasn't going to be worth it for anyone.

So he came back to camp, and he sat. And relaxed.

Just this once, for the first time all game, Mike Skupin was going to take a day off, and stay away from the heat of the sun.




^^




"Whew, it's hot as shit out here," said Alicia, as she joined Mike by the firepit about half an hour later.

Mike just looked up, and he nodded. "No kidding."

It was just after seven, and already Alicia was up. In fact, she was the second one up. And considering that Alicia Calaway was the most notorious sleeper-inner of the Keko tribe, well that just pretty much confirmed Mike's belief that today was going to be a strange one indeed.

"So, we twisting today?" she asked, as she sat down next to Mike on his log.

"Looks like it," he nodded. "I don't think Jeff could have been any more clear about it last night if he had wanted to."

"Crap," said Alicia.

And Mike nodded.

He knew how she felt, and he agreed.

Last night, right after the Kekos had teamed up to dispatch Richard Hatch in a most glorious and satisfying blindside vote, Jeff had dropped the smug little announcement that they'd expected, and been fearing, for the first twelve days of the game.

"This game can change. It changes every minute. In fact, it can change in a heartbeat, just like that."

A twist.

Jeff had been warning them that tomorrow was going to be the all-important All-Star twist. Just like he always warned people. Mike knew it. Alicia knew it. Heck, the entire Keko tribe had instinctively known it. The twist this morning was going to make or break each and every one of their chances in this game. And, right now, there really was very little they could do about it.

And for players who had never been through a twist before, like Mike or Alicia, their complete lack of control at the moment was absolutely, positively demoralizing.

"We had this thing all set up," Mike now said, wistfully, as he slowly removed the peel from a small, dark passion fruit. "We had it, Alicia. We finally had the game in the palm of our hands. And now it's gonna all go to waste."

Mike, of course, was referring to the Australian alliance. The one between him, Colby, and Alicia. It was the alliance they'd had since almost the very first minute of the game. And, as far as Mike knew, it was still the alliance to beat at the moment on Keko.

"Hey, you don't know that it's all gonna get thrown away," said Alicia. "Who knows? We could still all end up on the same tribe."

"True," said Mike, "But what are the odds? Five to one? Ten to one?"

Alicia just shrugged.

Truth be told, she really wasn't all that interested in the plight of Mike and Colby at the moment. She was far more concerned with the plight of Kathy and Gretchen.

Mike didn't yet know this, and things certainly wouldn't be better if he did know it, but Alicia's new alliance, the three-women Keko alliance, was far more important to her at the moment. Because if the three women broke up due to a twist, and Mike or Colby ever found out that Alicia had been playing a little more deviously than she liked to let on...?

Well that would be bad for Alicia.

Very bad.

Right now, she just hoped that if there was a twist, whatever it was, she would get a good draw.

"Well, no matter what happens," smiled Mike, "We can always tell ourselves that we had this thing wrapped up. We can always say, if there hadn't been a twist, we would have had an all-Kucha final two in All-Star Survivor. Right?"

Alicia nodded.

Then she smiled and patted her tribesmate, the most inspirational Keko member, on the knee.

God bless Mike's naive enthusiasm.

God bless his happiness just to be here.

She hoped that he never found out, not in a million years, that he would have been next.




^^

Over at Ahi, John Carroll was currently on his second day as "camp cook." So he sliced up his mango/fish mixture, he slid it onto a plate, and he awaited feedback from Rob and Colleen, his nearest tribesmates, to see what they thought.

"What is it?" Rob asked, suspiciously, as he eyed the yellowish-white mixture on his plate.

"Fish."

"What kind?" asked Rob, still very dubiously. After all, fish just wasn't his bag, and the rest of the Ahis were aware of this. "Rob Mariano" and "trying new fish" just really weren't much of a match.

John heard Rob's question, but he said nothing in response. Instead, he just smiled and shrugged at Colleen. After all, she had already taken a bite of it. Colleen would try new food. She always did. And this time, much to John's delight, she seemed to have liked it.

And who the hell was Rob Mariano to be questioning the cook?

"Dude," said Rob, one last time, a little exasperated, "What is it? Are we talkin' cod ovah heah? What kind of fish is this?"

"Fafaru."

Colleen giggled.

John had just nailed Rob in his one very-sensitive chink in the armor.

"Yeah, whatever, smartass," said Rob, as he put his plate down on the ground.

He had always been annoyed by John. Always had. And the fact that John actually knew how to get his goat just made it a little bit worse.

You see, Rob Mariano, as a person, was one of the most ambitious players in the history of the game of Survivor. Always had been, always would be. He thought big in this game, he aimed big, and he had that perfect sense of self-confidence/cockiness that the producers enjoyed so very, very much.

For this reason-- this reach-for-the-sky ambition-- Boston Rob was obviously one of the producer favorites. They loved the fact that he was such a goofy, happy-go-lucky kid on the outside, but such a cutthroat and mean player on the inside. This two-faced dichotomy made him the biggest paradox in All-Star Survivor, because the Boston Rob you saw on the outside was almost nothing like the Boston Rob that the other players faced in the game. He was easily the most two-faced character in Survivor history, and that's why, from a production standpoint, he was made for this game.

And of course, Rob also had that wonderful Achilles Heel-- his embarrassing failure last season with fafaru-- that gave him a touch of humility. The producers loved this about him. Because no matter how cocky Rob could get, or how big he could talk about what he was going to do in this game, all you had to do was drop in a joke about fafaru and he'd inevitably shut up.

It's what made Rob a much better character than even someone like Richard.

The thing that made Rob such a wonderful TV character in the first place was the fact that he possessed absolutely no humility whatsoever. Rob was never embarrassed in Survivor. Ever. He never felt bad about anything. He was the sort of person who felt that whatever he said or did in this game was always completely justified, because he was just "playing the game" or "playing a role."

So Rob would say anything when the cameras were rolling. Anything. He would say anything, and he would do anything. Even if it was the most offensive or mean-spirited comment in the world, it would come out of his mouth. And he wouldn't feel bad.

And why would he?

After all, if it was funny, and it made for good TV, and it got a reaction, how bad could it be?

It was precisely this factor, his "I don't give a crap, this is just a game" side, that made Boston Rob such a delicious Survivor character for the people in charge. After all, love him, or hate him, the producers didn't care. All they cared about was that you remembered his name. Rob Mariano was bound to get a reaction out of you one way or another, and, from a production standpoint, that made him the easy MVP of Survivor: Marquesas.

And that was before he had even puked up the fafaru!

On day six in Marquesas, Rob had cost his tribe a win, he had done it in the most embarrassing and humiliating manner possible, and-- even to this day-- he had a chip on his shoulder the size of Nebraska if you brought up the subject.

The producers knew this very well.

So did John.

And so did Colleen.

And that's why Colleen started giggling uncontrollably when John went for the throat.

"Oh come on, Rob," said John, admonishingly, "I'm just teasing you. It's some kind of moon fish. Lex caught it last night."

But Rob wasn't listening. Furious, he was already walking away.

John knew Rob way too well not to have done that with malicious intent.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" John now asked Colleen, once Rob was out of earshot range. "He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

"I don't think his mom is even allowed to make fafaru jokes," laughed Colleen. "That was great."

So John laughed, and Colleen laughed. They stood there and shared a small moment together next to the fire. And John thought it was great. Fuck Rob. John Carroll had never liked the asshole one iota, and never would. And he was quite happy to make fafaru jokes all day long if Rob would always react.

This was the famous Boston Rob that was supposed to be dangerous??

Feeling feisty now, and without a care in the world, John slid another helping of his mango fish breakfast onto Colleen's plate. And he smiled. After all, he really did enjoy her company. No, Colleen wasn't the most talkative person on the tribe. And truth be told he hadn't had that many conversations with her up to this point in the game. But then again, how could he? No one had talked to Colleen! Whenever Colleen Haskell sat down and talked to anyone on Ahi, Rob sat there, right behind, and watched like a hawk. Most of the time, he wouldn't let his little lapdog out of his sight for a minute. Not with John. Not with Tina. Not with Vecepia. Not with Lex. Not with anyone.

When Colleen sat and chatted, Rob usually chaperoned.

That was just the way it was around camp.

So to have a rare moment with the "camp sweetheart", even if it was just over breakfast, John, the new tribe cook, felt incredibly blessed.

"This fish is actually pretty good," Colleen said, as she eagerly chowed down into her second piece. "In fact, it's really good. John, you should have been cooking for us all along!"

"Well thank you," he said.

Then he grinned, a little mischievously.

"And hey," he added, "If Rob doesn't want some, that's more fafaru for us!"

^^




Rob had gone off to talk with Vecepia, and plot their next strategy. Colleen was currently sitting by the fire, laughing until she thought she would pee, as John made fun of Rob mercilessly, like only John could. It seemed to be just another warm, yet typical, day in All-Star Survivor.

At least, until Frank pulled the treemail out of the box.

And read, out loud to Lex, what it said in big, black, cursive script.

"You knew them before, but now they’re strangers again.
Which two will you decide to send out...?"

"Oh man," said Lex, crestfallen. After all, he understood, with a personal sense of deja vu, what this meant. "A twist? Now? But we had them! They were ours!"

Frank waited a second for Lex to provide commentary. Then, when his teammate was quiet, he continued.

"... One man and one woman, take two from your tribe.
Do you send outsiders? Or do you send two with clout?"

"Shit," cursed Lex.

Well that was it.

His alliance, and all the time he'd spent bringing together the foursome he wanted, were now both going to be completely for naught. The Ahi Four, the Stable Foursome Elders, Lex and his Three Sidekicks, were going to be scattered to the wind in the next two hours. And he hated it.

Because, worst of all, he'd already been through this sort of thing before!

Ahi was about to meet the same fate that Boran did on day seven back in Africa. They were about to be torn apart by a bitch of a twist. Lex knew this, and Lex hated this. And he had already decided that this time, there was no way he was walking into a twist without some sort of Plan B already firmly in place.

"We need to get back and talk to Tina," he told Frank, "And we need to talk to John. And we need to talk to them, quick."

"Why?" asked Frank. "What can they do?"

But Lex hadn't heard.

His head down, and his mind whirring, the Ahi leader was already in contingency mode.

Frank could have been standing here flapping his arms, and wearing a tutu, and Lex wouldn't have cared.

^^




Back at camp, Vecepia glanced up from the clue skeptically, her face mirroring the other six members of Ahi. She really didn't know what to expect from this twist. And she was obviously a little bit worried.

"What do you guys think?" she said.

"Well first off, I wouldn't assume it's a twist," said Tina, as she stood with hands on her hips, behind Vecepia. "It just says, 'Take Two.'" She reached over and pointed out the words on the parchment. "The people we choose could be diplomats or some sort of decision-makers. So I don't think it necessarily means we're losing two people."

"It's true," said Colleen, a little bit heartened by Tina's opinion. "It could be an early merge. They could just be meeting for details."

Frank standing next to Colleen, just shook his head and frowned.

The ex-military man, a less rosy-colored optimist than the rest, had not one ounce of doubt in his mind.

"I don't think so," he said, in his straightforward, matter-of-fact blunt style of speaking. "I think we're losing two people. In fact it says so right there. Why else would the message go out of its way to refer to them as 'strangers'?"

John just stood there and groaned.

Like Lex, he had been through a twist once before. And, like Lex, he had once had the game of Survivor in the bag, only to lose control through a very nasty bit of reshuffling. John had been through the exact same scenario as Lex once before.

And that's why Lex and John, as the two biggest twist victims, were the most worried ones here.

"So who do we send?" asked Lex, once the hubbub over the surprise treemail had died down. The Ahis had all had a chance to read it. They'd all had a chance to react. And now, under the scorching sun of the single hottest day in Hawaii, they had to chat about this twist, and this choice, and decide what was best.

Lex asked the question, then looked around at his tribemates.

Any volunteers?

Anybody want to step up right now and volunteer to take a hit for the good of the tribe?

Apparently not.

All seven members of Ahi just stared at the ground, wordlessly.

No one wanted to go.

"Well let me say right now," said Lex, honestly, "That I would prefer not to go. Because I've been through a twist before. And it screwed me up pretty bad. So if you guys don't mind," he looked around, "I'd prefer to stay here."

That was that. Lex had said his piece. He'd given his two cents on the matter. And now he was done.

Lex hadn't liked that he'd had to do that. After all, Lex hated saying anything in life that made him sound like some sort of a coward. But then again, this wasn't life. This was All-Star Survivor. This was for all the marbles. And Lex would regret it for the rest of his life if he voluntarily walked into a trap.

So Lex took his name out of the running.

It would now be up to John or Frank or Rob to volunteer.

John Carroll, for his part, knew that Frank was way too stubborn to volunteer. So that wasn't going to happen. And he also knew that Boston Rob meeting with the Kekos would cause far more damage than it ever could help. Hell, Boston Rob talking to anyone on the other tribe was bound to end poorly. So John knew that, by this logic, he was the only choice to go, and that's all that there was.

And he hated it.

Why him?

Lex was supposed to be the one to volunteer!

"I'll go," John said, sighing, as he raised his hand. After all, he felt like he didn't have much of a choice. It was going to be him, or it was going to be Rob. And if John had any say in the matter, there was no way Rob was ever going to be able to go out and meet with the Kekos. So in an effort to ward off future trouble, John raised his hand, he took one for the tribe, and he volunteered.

Victim selected.

"Okay, cool," said Lex, once John had volunteered his services. And he was delighted. That was exactly the person he hoped would volunteer. Not Frank. And not Rob.

John.

This was perfect!

After all, if this was a merge, well, John would make an excellent diplomat. In any case, he'd certainly be a lot better than Rob. Because John was far and away a much more likable person. He was also trustworthy and very well-respected around camp. So if all the diplomats were doing today was hammering out details in regards to a merge... well, John knew exactly what Lex and the alliance would want, and that was great. Lex couldn't have picked a better representative if he had tried!

And if this was a twist?

Well if this was a twist, and they really were about to lose somebody, then John wouldn't be Lex's number one choice. He would much rather lose someone like Boston Rob. After all, who wouldn't want to lose Rob Mariano? The guy was an ass! But at the same time, Lex felt he would also be able to handle losing losing John, at least if push came to shove. After all, John had been a little bit jumpy lately. And he had been acting a little bit weird. John was easily the least stable and most volatile member of the alliance. So Lex felt that if he had to lose anybody, well then John would be fine.

Of course, Lex didn't want to lose John, at least not at this point in the game. But John was also the one member of the alliance who was replaceable. With, of course, the added bonus that he just wasn't Frank. Good lord, if Lex lost Frank at this point in the game, he'd be back to square one. For Lex, losing Frank (or Tina) right now was the worst thing that could possibly happen!

So John raised his hand to volunteer.

And Rob didn't.

And, inwardly, Lex smiled with relief.

One victim down. Who was next?

Standing at the back of the group, Rob Mariano watched with bemused interest as John stepped up and volunteered to be the spokesman for the tribe. Truth be told, Rob had almost volunteered. Hell, his hand had almost shot up a few seconds before John's . But in the end, Rob had decided that the enemies you know in this game are far better than the enemies you don't.

After all, Rob knew Lex. He knew Lex well. He also knew that Lex's hold on this tribe was incredibly fragile.

So Rob decided to stay with Ahi, and stick with the plan.

Because when Lex fell... and that day wasn't far off... Rob wanted the world to know exactly who had done it, and.how fun it had been.

"So who goes with John?" Lex was currently asking, as he looked around the circle at the rest of his tribe. "Tina? Vecepia?" Lex had just named the two most likely candidates for day thirteen martyrhood.

"How about Colleen?" Rob piped up from the back.

Six pairs of eyes suddenly turned towards the sound of Rob's voice. Including a very surprised and understandably speechless Colleen.

Colleen Haskell?

As their volunteer?

Her?

"Me?" Colleen squeaked.

"Look," explained Rob, seriously, "The Kekos will never expect Colleen. She's the last person on earth they'll expect to walk out of this camp. So if we send her, it'll throw them off. And they won't know what to make of it."

Well, that wasn't quite his exact reasoning. Deep down, what Rob really wanted was some sort of eyes and ears out at this "twist." He wanted to have some sort of ally involved in the proceeding, and he wanted some sort of informant. After all, he certainly didn't want Tina there. And Vecepia was far too closed-mouthed to be able to count on in something like this.

Rob's most trusted ally in this game was Colleen, and that's exactly who he wanted to go.

After all, Colleen being at this twist was just as good... and with far less danger... as if Rob had actually gone on his own!

"Colleen's smart," Rob continued. "She's smart, and she's good at puzzles. So if this is something like an immunity challenge, or some other sort of contest, I think she'd be really good at comin' through in the clutch."

And there it was.

The pitch.

Now it was just up to Lex, and if he'd fall for the bait.

Lex, who had been surprised by Rob's unorthodox request, much like everyone, just turned and looked at Colleen for a moment.

She hated when he did that. Always had. After all, when Lex concentrated, and stared a hole through you, as he often did in this game, you felt like you were standing there naked. He just looked right through you, like you really weren't there.

"I'm not sure I really want to go," stammered Colleen.

Twists?

Volunteering for twists?

Um, that was a little bit scary for a player whose previous experience in this game didn't even get to the stage of "alliances."

But, sadly, like John, Colleen suddenly realized she really didn't have much of a choice.

After all, Tina sure as hell wasn't going to go. Because Tina was stubborn. Talking Tina into volunteering for this twist would be like winning the lottery. It just wouldn't happen. And, of course, Vecepia sure as hell wasn't going to go either. She was perfectly fine where she was, here on Ahi. Because if you had asked Vee her honest opinion of her status in this game right now, she would tell you she was doing quite well, thank you very much. And there was no way a twist was going to ruin the things she'd managed to accomplish thus far in this game.

So Tina was out. And Vecepia out. And those were the only two other female choices.

Rob had just volunteered Colleen as the lone female representative.

And, all of a sudden, Colleen felt like she couldn't say no.

"Okay," she shrugged, "I guess I'll do it."

Crap.

"Thanks a lot, Rob," she thought, sarcastically. "This is great."

The rest of the Ahis now crowded around Colleen and thanked her for choosing to go. And even though Colleen didn't really remember it as "choosing", she at least felt a shred of excitement over what lay before her. After all, maybe this really wasn't a twist. Maybe it really was some sort of diplomat mission, like Tina had suggested. Or maybe it really was just a reward trip, like Rob had earlier theorized.

Colleen really had no idea what lay in front of her later today.

All she knew was that she was heading out with John.

And that meant that, if nothing else, the next few hours were probably going to be filled with gossip, and laughing, and jokes about Rob.

Which, in Colleen's mind, meant that this big, long hike might actually be fun.

^^

"Is it two men and two women? Or just one of each?"

Alicia asked the question because she hadn't heard the treemail all that clearly. Sometimes when Gretchen was talking, she tended to slur.

"No, one of each," Gretchen clarified. "We're just sending two people. A man and a woman."

"Hell, if we sent four people," joked Colby, "There'd only be one of us left back at camp."

The Kekos were currently facing the same choice that the Ahis had faced a little more than fifteen minutes before. Gretchen had brought back the tree mail announcement, she had read it aloud to the group, and now they were expected to pick one player of either gender, and send them off into the great dark unknown.

"Well I'll volunteer for the woman," said Gretchen, almost immediately. Then she instantaneously looked around, concerned, as if she shouldn't have done that. "Unless, Alicia or Kathy, one of you wants to go instead."

Kathy just stuck out her lower lip and shook her head, almost comically. Like hell she was going to volunteer for this. Kathy was in a great spot on Keko at the moment, and she knew it.

"Alicia?" asked Gretchen.

Alicia, standing off to Gretchen's right, just stuck her hands in the pockets of her shorts and smiled. It was the "I know I shouldn't be considering this, but it's just so tempting to see what it would be!" smile that they knew so well. Because sometimes, even when Alicia knew that a choice was wrong with every fiber of her being, her curiosity tried to seduce her.

Just like it was doing right now.

On some occasions, even when she knew it was suicide... well, sometimes, Alicia just needed to know.

"Alicia?" Gretchen asked again, smiling, as Alicia rocked back and forth on her heels.

Alicia thought, and she thought. And she debated, and she debated. And even though the curious child inside her was dying to volunteer for this and find some adventure, in the end, the pragmatist in Alicia Calaway just wouldn't let her deviate from the conservative plan that was working thus far.

"I can't," she finally said, as she put her face down and laughed. "Sorry, Gretch. But this one is yours if you want it. I'll stay here."

So Gretchen was chosen as the female representative from Keko.

And Mike volunteered, with great enthusiasm, to join her in almost the very next breath.

"Is that okay, Colby?" asked Gretchen, once Mike had offered forth his services as the Keko alpha male going into this twist.

Colby just nodded behind a pair of dark sunglasses.

He didn't mind.

Mostly because this was Mike territory.

After all, his desire to walk head-first into recklessness was pretty much what defined Mike as being a little bit off.

So with that being decided, the two Keko representatives were soon packed up and ready to go. Mike packed up his extra pair of shoes, and an extra hunting knife, and Gretchen prepared a little bit of lunch for the two of them to eat on their hike. After all, packing food for a road trip was second nature for the only mom on the tribe. So Gretchen packed some food for herself. And she packed some food for Mike.

And, true to her nature as "tribe mom", their lunch today would be nutritious and healthy.

With the big road trip ready to go, Gretchen and Mike took one last moment to say goodbye to the people they were leaving behind. And Gretchen was a little surprised to actually be misting up when she got a big, long embrace from her friend Kathy.

"You be sure to come back," Kathy said, under her breath, as the two women shared what could very well be their last hug in this game.

"Oh don't worry," said Gretchen, as she tried to pooh-pooh away any sentimentality this moment might hold. "I'll be back. Don't worry about me. "

"You'd better," said Kathy.

"Just make sure the place stays clean," joked Gretchen. "Remember, when I'm gone, you're in charge. So stay on them. Because I don't want to hear about any parties from Colby and Alicia when I wasn't around."

Kathy laughed.

And Gretchen laughed.

Even though she had a very bad feeling this was somehow goodbye.

^^

After about 90 minutes of hiking over rough hills, and bumpy-sharp lava rock, and following a map that was virtually undecipherable, John and Colleen finally arrived at a wooden lodge that sat at the base of a hill.

Finally, their trek was over, and they were finally here.

It was time to see just what exactly this twist, and these producers, had in store for them today.

And, more importantly, how badly it was going to hurt.

"Um, I don't think I want to go in that cabin," joked John, as he looked over at his fellow Ahi representative. "What do you say we just stay out here instead?"

Colleen, whose face was hidden behind a pair of black sunglasses, and carried a large green backpack upon her shoulders, just smiled up at John and said nothing.

The wooden lodge that John and Colleen were expected to enter currently looked to be abandoned. There was no sign of Jeff Probst. And there was no sign of whichever two players the Keko had decided to send. John and Colleen were the first two players to arrive at the twist. So they just stood here, and looked at that ominous brown shack off to their left.

With John was feeling quite certain that he was about to get screwed.

But before he could say another word, or make a move to enter the building, John was startled to hear a female voice shouting behind him. All of a sudden he and Colleen were no longer alone.

Because here came Mike and Gretchen.

Walking together.

And the smile on Gretchen's face, when she saw Colleen, was visible all the way from here.

"Colleen Haskell!" shouted Gretchen, from about three hundred feet behind them. "Colleeeeeen! Sitting Duck! Pagong is in the house!!!"

Colleen heard this, turned around, and gasped, excitedly.

Then ran off to embrace Gretchen as if she were one of her best friends in the world.




^^




Mike, Gretchen, Colleen, and John met up with one another soon enough, and within five minutes had shared just about all the gossip from camp that they'd been willing to share.

John and Colleen heard all about the glorious booting of Richard Hatch, and how it was going to be the episode that all of America would be talking about, in a few months, when it aired.

Mike and Gretchen, meanwhile, heard all about the big Sue-Lex showdown from a few days ago. And how nobody had known what was going to happen until all eight votes had come out of the urn.

"Oh, man, that's awesome," laughed Mike, as he tried to picture the look on Sue's face when she realized she had been beaten by Lex. "I bet Sue was pissed. That must have been awesome."

"It was," nodded John.

"So who voted for Sue?" Gretchen asked, casually.

"What?" asked John.

"I mean, was it unanimous?" Gretchen looked over the top of her sunglasses at him. "Or was it a tribal split, down the middle? Four to four?"

John heard this, then looked down at the ground, and laughed.

"Come on, Gretchen," he said, as he cocked his head sideways at her. "You little scamp. You think I'm gonna tell you that? What do you think I am, suicidal?"

Gretchen said nothing in response. She just got a sly little look on her face and shrugged.

"Nice try," Mike stage-whispered to her. Although, truth be told, he was actually a little surprised. That sneaky little move wasn't one that the Gretchen he thought he knew would have tried to pull off. And Mike was impressed.

"Well I'll tell you guys what happened," said Colleen. "I mean, if you really want to know."

Gretchen looked over at her.

And John, panicked, whipped his head around, as if to scream at his younger teammate, "SHUT UP!"

"I'll tell you because I don't like secrets in this game," Colleen explained. "I really don't. I think it makes things ugly." She turned and shrugged at John, almost apologetically. "So if you guys really want to know what happened, I'll tell you."

Gretchen paused for a second, then glanced at Mike.

While Mike wasted no time in glancing back at Gretchen.

Should they take the bait?

Was Colleen Haskell, the sweetheart of Borneo, about to sell her tribe out?

Just like that?

"Sure," smiled Gretchen, after a short pause, "What happened? Was it unanimous?"

Colleen stole a glance at John, who looked incredibly disapproving.

But he didn't have to worry.

After all, Colleen might have been a little childlike sometimes, but she certainly wasn't dumb. And people quite often forgot that about her. Because if you took Colleen at face value most of the time, you would only get a very superficial view of what she was like. You would have no idea that she was incredibly smart, very playful, and liked to play games.

Creating mischief, fooling people, and getting reactions were second nature to a girl who had once sat at the right hand of Greg Buis, the ultimate puppet master, back in Borneo.

And Colleen was a little surprised that Gretchen Cordy, Greg's original den mom herself, had taken the bait, just like that.

"Do you really know what happened?" asked Colleen, rhetorically, "Well what happened, Kekos, is that you just opened a whole case of NONE OF YOUR BEESWAX! What the hell?"

Gretchen burst out laughing. She couldn't help it.

"I got news for you, Gretchen," Colleen continued, as she raised her hand and lapsed into a mock gangsta accent for a moment. "You just got played, girlfriend. Cause you aint one of the good guys no mo'. So knock that shit off and get outta my face."

Now Gretchen was practically convulsing. Wait a minute, wasn't Colleen supposed to be timid and shy?

"That was good," chuckled Mike, appreciatively. He'd now known Colleen Haskell for approximately four minutes, and already he thought she was awesome. Apparently this tiny little pixie behind the dark black sunglasses was as fun to hang around as Gretchen had said.

"That's what I miss about you, Colleen," laughed Gretchen, as she embraced her friend in one final hug. "We don't have any of that over at Keko."

"Not even from Richard?" asked John.

"Um, no."

After this exchange, the four All-Star diplomats-- Mike, Gretchen, Colleen, and John-- hung around outside the lodge for a good half hour or so, just chatting away and enjoying the company. After all, Jeff wasn't here yet. Nobody was here yet. So why worry about what was going to happen? The four All-Stars just stood here, under the unusually warm Hawaiian sun, and enjoyed a comfortable break from the stress of the game.

The four of them stood here, outside the lodge, and they chatted.

Until Jeff arrived, just before sunset, and it was time to begin.









DAY 14

There was not going be a twist today in All-Star Survivor.

At least, not an overt, producer-manipulated one. No, the only twist in All-Star Survivor was going to be a subtle one. A social one. A twist in which players who didn't normally associate with one another would go off on reward.

You see, this trip to the woods for Gretchen and company had nothing to do with "tribes switching up" or "players changing teams." After all, why would the producers do something as obvious as that? This wasn't normal Survivor. This was All-Star Survivor! Featuring the players who were the best of the best!

The producers had known that every single player in this game would be expecting, and planning for a twist, since the very first moment of the game. That was just the way that Survivor players thought nowadays. Twists were becoming so commonplace that they were now considered to be a legitimate, and expected, part of the game.

The producers had realized this going in.

And they had known that there was actually one simple way to get around it.

So they'd thrown in this unexpected twist -- the twist of "no twist at all" -- just to drive the micro-managing All-Stars insane.

"There's no twist?" Mike had asked, baffled, once Jeff had told them the news late last night. "No twist at all? We're going back to our original camps?"

"You got it," Jeff had smiled. "No twist. At least not today. Today, this is just a reward."

Once Jeff had broken the news that the status quo was going to remain pretty much the same at either camp, he then broke out the pizza. And the beer. And the chips. And the cake. The four diplomats were going to share a feast to end all feasts out here in the woods.

They were going to have an overnight here in this cabin.

And by the end, they'd all be inseparable friends.

In actuality, the idea of "no twist" in All-Star Survivor wasn't quite as innocent as it looked on paper. After all, this did have the possibility of changing the game. And that meant it was still a twist, no matter what you called it. But of course it wasn't a physical twist. No changes were going to be made to the structure of the game. And no player was ever going to be required to switch tribes. Either now, or at any point later.

Switching tribes? That was such an old idea for a twist. That was so 2001!

The producers knew they would be fools to use such an obvious twist in All-Star Survivor.

So they'd gone with this plan, instead, just to throw everyone off.

In the producers' minds, they figured... well... even if there was no twist, the "outcast" pairs would probably cut some sort of deal during their hike. And afterwards, they'd probably discuss some sort of deal with the diplomats from the other tribe when they finally met up. And that meant that, by the end of the pizza party, even with no twist at all, you'd have all sorts of new cross-tribal alliances floating around, which would be complicated and a whole lot of fun.

And why did the producers expect a bunch of new alliances to come out of this "twist"?

Well, because that's what Survivor players do when they're feeling vulnerable and a little bit scared!

When players walk into an unexpected situation in Survivor, they tend to make "panic alliances." This is where a player will turn to the nearest possible friend they can find, no matter how tenuous the bond, and start cutting deals. Hastily-thought-out, ill-advised deals. Deals that, many times, will end up being unnecessary, and can later just lead to regret.

The producers had seen panic deals get made time and time again through four seasons of Survivor. And by this point, it happened to be one of the most entertaining, and predictable, parts of a season.

Survivor players usually panic when facing a twist.

And they then make deals they might later regret.

So that's why the producers came up with the idea of a "fake twist" in All-Star Survivor.

Because panic deals were just so much fun to watch when they inevitably showed up!





^^





In actuality, the foursome of Mike-Gretchen-Colleen-and-John didn't make any overt, game-changing panic deals during their time together. At least not here today. Mostly, the four of them just sat here in the lodge, for most of the morning, and chowed down on food.

But there was one panic deal that took place on the morning of day 14 in Hawaii.

And surprisingly, it came not from one of the players involved in the "twist", but rather from the frazzled mind of one of the men who had, perhaps unwisely, remained back at camp.

You see, Lex van den Berghe was a micro-manager.

An obsessive micro-manager.

In fact, in many regards, he was probably the biggest micro-manager the game of Survivor had ever seen.

When Lex played Survivor, every detail had to be right. And it all had to be under his control. All the time. It was sad, and he hated this aspect of his personality, but that just happened to be the way that it was. Lex was a bonafide, grade-A, Survivor control freak. He had to control every little detail about everything. Because if the slightest bit of his plan want awry, at any time, he'd start to flip out.

Lex, of course, wished he could change this about himself.

He wished he could actually relax once in a while-- he wished he could just zen out, ride the waves, and chill out.

But he couldn't.

Lex could never relax.

Because the fear of John, one of his allies, never returning, was positively driving him mad.

If the producers had been hoping for players to make "panic deals" over this "twist/not a twist" mind game, well, they couldn't have come up with a better candidate than the King of the Micromanagers himself, Lex van den Berghe. Because all it had taken was for John to be gone for sixteen hours before Lex went to cut a backup deal with Boston Rob Mariano, just in case.

You see, Lex's biggest fear with this twist was that John would be lost to Keko, forever.

Actually, no that's not correct. Lex's biggest fear wasn't that he would lose an ally. No, Lex's biggest fear was the flip side of that statement. Because if John and Colleen truly were lost to the other tribe, well that meant that Ahi would get two members of Keko as some sort of "swap" in exchange.

John would be gone.

There would be two strangers here in their place.

And they'd be alone, powerless, and perfectly willing pawns in some sort of overthrow coup d'etat led by Vecepia and Rob.

And there it was. That was the scenario that had Lex so jumpy when he thought of this twist. It wasn't losing John that was so bad. It was the fact that Boston Rob might all of a sudden get his hands on two scared, new powerless Kekos. Whom he'd then charm, offer his allegiance, and form into a bloc.

This scenario was very realistic to Lex, and very frightening. And also very plausible, considering the way the producers now switched tribes at the drop of a hat.

So Lex, in proactive retaliation, did the only thing he knew could head off this threat before it actually had a chance to bite him in the butt.

He went to Boston Rob.

And offered him a spot at the head of the table.

Before the kid had a chance to entertain the idea of any such a rise on his own.

^^




"You want me to replace John?" asked a surprised Rob Mariano.

After all, that's what Lex's deal had sounded like. Lex was cutting John out of the Ahi "Final Four" alliance, and bringing in Rob. Just in case.

"I didn't say you'd be replacing John," Lex clarified, as he stood knee-deep in the warm, Hawaiian water. "I just said you'd be in ahead of him. John would still be in the alliance. In fact, if he were to walk back to camp today, he'd still be just as safe as he was before."

"So what?" asked Rob, as he cocked his blue Red Sox cap back on his head. "So you want me to come here and play for fifth place?"

"I can offer you final four," Lex promised. "Final four. You, me, Frank, and Tina. John's out at five. And then it's every man for himself."

Lex, of course, wasn't really intending to stick by this. He just wanted to keep Rob off the scent of a counter-alliance. In fact, he'd say anything right now, within reason, just to keep Rob off his back in case of a twist.

"Come on, Lex," Rob now smiled, in that boyishly-charming way of his, "You come here askin' me for a deal, and you don't even offer a final two? What're you, too good for somethin' like that?"

Lex just laughed in response.

"Well if I offered you a final two," he explained, "Then you'd think I was full of shit."

And this was correct.

Lex would never make a legitimate final two deal with someone unless he knew them exceedingly well.

"Final four," repeated Lex. "It's the only deal I can make, and it's the only deal I can honor. And you know as well as I do that this is the best deal you're going to get on this tribe at the moment."

Rob heard this, and casually shrugged. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But he knew he'd gain absolutely nothing at all if he appeared to be too eager to shake.

"Why'd you come to me?" Rob suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Why not Vecepia?" Rob eyed Lex, curiously. "I mean, she's kind of a free agent too. So why aren't you talking to her right now? In fact, who's to say you aren't making this exact same deal with Vecepia, and you aren't going to tell me?"

"I would never deal with Vecepia," Lex answered, quite honestly. "Never have. Never will."

"Why?"

"Because she's an eel."

There was that description again. "Eel." It was a word people constantly used when talking about Vecepia, and it was the main reason no one (but maybe Rob) would ever trust her. Vecepia was slippery, and hard to deal with, because she was an eel.

No, of course Lex didn't trust Boston Rob for one millisecond.

But Rob was still a far more viable option than Vecepia.

"I'm offering my hand to you right now," Lex said one last time, as he extended his right hand. "I'm a man of my word, Rob, and I promise you, man to man, that you're in the final four with this deal. And I swear on my life that I'm not trying to bullshit you. I just wouldn't do that."

Rob just cocked his left eyebrow at the scarily intense Ahi leader. Hmm, now this could be interesting. Lex, switching up the game? Making an executive decision? Adding a member? Without so much as a discussion with the rest of his alliance?

So Rob stuck out his right hand.

And he shook.

One panic deal made.

Check.

One crisis averted.

Check.

And Lex was relieved.

Of course, he had no idea that Rob could be extraordinarily dangerous if someone told him a little too much.





^^





As the pizza party wound down for the four players in the lodge, Jeff gave them a few minutes to say their goodbyes. Because this was it. The "twist" had been a fun little diversion in the woods, and they had spent nearly twenty-four enjoyable hours together, just living it up, but now they were done.

It was time to go.

Back to the game.

With the pizza party coming to an end, Gretchen and Mike were headed back to Keko, and John and Colleen were headed back to Ahi. Just like before. In five minutes, they'd all be enemies once again, just like they'd been since the start of the game.

So the four players packed up, and did their best to stash a little extra food in their packs for the unlucky people they'd left behind, back at camp.

Then they said their goodbyes.

And wished one another well.

Because it was now time to talk on the way back to camp.

^^

Mike and Gretchen, the two Keko diplomats, decided to take a leisurely route on their way back to camp. After all, they were certainly in no hurry. What fun could possibly be waiting for them back at camp? The minute they returned to Keko, it would be back to camp chores, alliance drama, and sleeping on a hard wooden plank.

And, sorry, but no thanks.

Mike and Gretchen were both avid and competent outdoorspeople.

But life back at camp wasn't much of a treat.

"You want to take a break for a minute?" asked Gretchen, as she leaned down to rest her hands on her knees, and catch a quick breath.

"Yeah, sure, no problem," said Mike.

Truth be told, he had been jonesing for a break as well. After all, even though it had cooled down since yesterday, this was still a very long hike on very hot day. So he leaned up against a tree, he wiped the sweat from his brow, and he placed his large red backpack on the leaf-covered dirt.

Mike and Gretchen were currently resting by a stream, about a half hour from camp. That meant they were far enough away that none of the Kekos would stumble upon them, and just close enough that they'd be home at camp right around lunch.

The two of them were now here, resting in the forest, all alone.

With no distractions.

And Mike knew this was the perfect time to start planning for the rest of the game.

"You know, I thought John and Colleen were really cool," he said, as he casually sat down next to a tree. "Didn't you? I mean, you can say you're gonna hate the enemy all you want. But in truth, when you meet them, they're really no different from us."

"Well, Colleen's always been good people," Gretchen agreed. "In fact, I really miss her. She was always one of my favorites."

"I can see why," Mike nodded. "She's spunky."

Gretchen nodded. She was. Plus John had turned out to be more charming than she or Mike had originally thought.

As the two Kekos rested here and tried to stay out of the sun, a strange, awkward silence descended upon the valley around them. It was clear that strategy was about to be discussed. It was really just a matter of who would fire the first volley. Which one of them, Mike or Gretchen, was going to step up to the plate first, take the initiative, and break the ice?

As if thinking along the same lines, Mike took a quick peek at his teammate.

It was clear from one glance that Gretchen wasn't about to initiate anything. Because all she was doing at the moment was bending over the stream, and dumping cold water on the back of her neck. And this didn't surprise Mike. After all, he had been having an incredibly difficult time trying to get a read on this woman since the very first day of the game.

Was Gretchen here to play this game all the way?

Did Gretchen come to Hawaii to actually win?

Every time Mike thought he had an answer to these questions, Gretchen would somehow throw him a curveball. Every time he thought she'd zig, she'd inevitably zag. And this confounded him. It also led Mike to the realization that he had no idea what the hell Gretchen's strategy was in this game. Hell, maybe she didn't even have one! Maybe all she was, to Mike, and to everybody, was just one big ethical wild card.

At this moment, all Mike knew was that, recently, Gretchen had hinted that she'd soon be open to alliances.

What kind of alliances?

He didn't know.

All he knew was that Gretchen had dropped hints about this topic only yesterday.

To both him and Alicia.

And he'd be a fool, here, alone in the jungle, not to try and play ball.

"So, do you think we can win tomorrow's immunity?" he asked, somewhat casually.

"You don't think we're having a challenge today?" asked Gretchen, not looking up. She simply spoke while pouring water on the back of her neck.

"I doubt it," shrugged Mike. "We'll get back too late. I don't see how it could work."

With that, Gretchen finally stopped cooling herself off.

And sat down.

"Yeah, I think we can win immunity," she replied. "After all, we've still got you and Colby. So we're still a much stronger tribe than Ahi. Even if, as Colleen so delicately put it," she smiled, "Ahi's gonna kick a quintet of our ass."

Mike just chuckled.

"If we keep our energy up," continued Gretchen, "And rest up tonight, I don't think Ahi can stop us. In fact, I still say we're going to the merge tied up at five. I think this game's gonna be a big free-for-all once we hit ten."

"That would be interesting," nodded Mike, thoughtfully.

"Hey, best case scenario," shrugged Gretchen. Then she smiled. "But what can I say? I'm an optimist."

And with that, Mike finally found the opening he knew he should take.

"You know, I'd love to share your enthusiasm," he admitted, "I really would. But right now I have a bigger problem facing me, and that's just making the merge."

Gretchen quickly looked over at him, surprised.

Did Mike already know about the three-women Keko alliance?

How was that possible?

It was still all a big secret!

"Why wouldn't you make the merge?" Gretchen asked. "Has somebody said something?"

"Well, no," started Mike, "Well, unless you count Richard. After all, he seemed pretty damn sure that after he left, you three women would team up and take out Colby and then me."

Gretchen tried to laugh.

But it was forced.

Because Mike was way closer to the truth than he ever could have possibly known.

"You're not going anywhere," Gretchen promised. And she immediately regretted it. After all, this wasn't like her. Bald-faced lying? Just like that?? "I'm sure you'll be here for a while, Mike. Because I don't know what the Kekos would do if they didn't have you, and they didn't have me."

Mike just looked up at her.

He didn't look convinced.

And then he hit her with the one simple argument that tugged right at her heart.

"You know, Gretchen," he said, furtively, "When I came out here for All-Stars, there was only one goal I had in my mind. Right from the start I told myself there was only one thing I wanted, now that God had given me a second chance to actually play."

"What was that?"

"I said that no matter what," Mike continued, "I just wanted to make the merge. You know?" He looked over at her. "Because you might not realize this, but I'm the only player here who's never experienced that before. I've never felt what it's like to actually sit there, and know I made the second stage of this game."

Gretchen, feeling guilty, just looked down at the dirt.

Damn it.

Just why did he have to go there?

"Well you don't have to worry, Mike," she finally said. "I certainly don't have any plans to vote you out. And I know that Alicia would never vote you out. At least as much as she's ever told me. And as far as what Colby would want to do, well, you know as well as I do that he wants to keep winning. So why on earth would he get rid of you when it just hurts the team?"

Mike nodded.

"So if you ask me," Gretchen said, "I think you're just worrying about it too much. We're not going to lose another immunity, Mike. And if we did, there would be no reason to get rid of you. You're too valuable."

"Okay," smiled Mike. "Well, at least that's something. I feel better."

He smiled at her.

And she smiled back at him.

Even though, perhaps unwisely, she had just given a solemn promise to Mike that he'd be making the merge.

Alicia and Kathy were going to be furious!

"So, what do you say we get back to camp?" Mike asked, as he shrugged his backpack up onto his shoulders. "Care to finish off this walk, and get back to cooking for Colby?"

"Bleh," Gretchen made a face. That said enough.

With that being said, they were done with their chat. The two Keko diplomats stood up, got their equipment, and finally started the last half hour of their walk back to camp. With Mike, who walked in the front, being very pleased with the way he just guaranteed himself a spot at the merge.

Mike was going to the second half of this game, no matter what..

You could carve it in stone.

Because there was no a way a player like Gretchen, who was that ethical, would have flat out just lied to his face.

^^

While Mike and Gretchen continued their trek to the west, John and Colleen strode in an eastern direction, back towards Ahi. With both of them feeling mighty fortunate about the way this "twist" had worked out for everyone involved.

"You think we'll see both of them after the merge?" he asked Colleen, as the two of them strode briskly under banyan tree after banyan tree. "You think both Gretchen and Mike will be there at the final ten?"

"Gretchen will," Colleen said, from behind her giant sunglasses. "There's no way they'll get rid of her this early. She's too good."

"What about Mike?" asked John.

"I don't think so," Colleen said, after a short pause.

"Really?" John was surprised. "Why not?"

"He's kind of a shlub."

John couldn't help it. He had to stop for a moment and laugh after that one. Because he was immensely surprised. First Colleen busts out into gangsta-speak with Gretchen? And now she takes a dig at Mike Skupin? The sacred cow of Survivor, who they were supposed to all like?

Who was this girl?

And why on earth had he waited until now to actually give her a chance?

"Colleen, I have to tell you," he said, appreciatively. "You crack my shit up. Seriously."

She just smiled up at him, from behind the dark sunglasses.

"Why weren't you this fun and outgoing back on day one?" John asked, inquisitively. "Seriously? Because at the start it was like you just sat there and wanted to cry."

"Well I just didn't know any of you yet," Colleen admitted, sheepishly. "I wish I did, but I didn't. Everybody on this tribe was a stranger to me. So I just sat there and bided my time until I knew what to say."

Sadly, shyness around strangers had always been Colleen's Achilles Heel. Both in life as well as in Survivor. She knew it, and she accepted it, but she hated it. Why couldn't she just be fun and funny around new people like everyone else? Why was it so hard to be herself around people she didn't yet know?

Colleen Haskell was well aware of the fact that she had come off as a worthless little prima donna at the start of this game. And she was well aware that people like Frank, and John, and Lex had considered her one step above worthless as she sat there and stared at the beach.

But she also knew she couldn't have helped it. The only way Colleen could ever be herself around people was if she knew them, and knew who they were.

And that's why she was immensely grateful that she'd had this chance to talk and laugh around with someone besides Rob for a change.

"I wish all the challenges were this easy," she said now, as she and John helped each other ford their equipment over a stream. "Man, I'd be like Colby if every challenge was to just sit there and eat pizza. I'd be unstoppable."

John laughed once again.

"Hey, you know what would have been awesome?" he said. "If Boston Rob had come with us. And if he couldn't get the pizza down just like the fafaru."

Colleen started giggling.

Only John had the balls to make jokes about this.

"I can just see it," John grinned. "We'd all be sitting there, eating happily. And there's Rob, off to the side, puking up every bite. He'd be like, 'Oh shit! There's pepperoni! Gack!'"

John pretended to throw up on the ground.

"This piece has sausage on it ovah heah!" he continued his Rob impression. "That shit's nasty! Fuck! It's kinda sorta like fish!"

John puked again.

And now Colleen was dying.

She quickly made a mental note to hang out with John more if Rob wasn't around.





^^





About an hour later, John and his new best friend finally arrived back at camp. They finally breached the border of Camp Ahi, and that meant the game was about to resume.

The fun and joking would have to be over.

Their temporary alliance would have to subside.

John would go back to his side, and Colleen would go back to her side.

Just like in the Civil War.

Because alliances in Survivor were much more powerful than bonding as friends.

"Well I had fun," smiled Colleen, as she looked over at her once-again enemy. "So thanks for coming with me. It's too bad we have to get back to the game now." She stuck out her tongue. "I have a feeling that the next few days are going to suck."

"No kidding." said John.

And then he paused, and silently debated himself.

Right now, in his heart, John knew that he should make a deal with Colleen. That's what every instinct in his body was screaming, and it was driving him crazy because it was yelling so loud. John and Colleen were supposed to make an alliance right now, and they were supposed to stick to it. They were supposed to be the "super-secret" alliance that no one suspected, and could work as a team.

After all, both John and Colleen were miserable in their current alliance, and both of them knew it!

You see, even though Lex had repeatedly cajoled John with promises of loyalty and trust and friendship, John was well aware of the fact that he was little more than the fourth, unimportant cog, in the van den Berghe family. Lex didn't need John here. Lex had Tina! And Lex had Frank! John was currently the lint on the bottom of Lex's shoe, and it wasn't a secret.

And Colleen, for her part, was also unhappy. After all, she was currently teamed up in a losing alliance with scoundrels she just couldn't stand. She didn't like her alliance, she didn't like her allies, she didn't like their methods, and it was driving her crazy!

Boston Rob?

Vecepia?

Colleen was sure they were both nice people. At least, outside the game. But she didn't like the way they played. And she didn't like the tactics they asked her to use. Because teaming up with Rob and Vecepia meant doing things that were way more hardcore than you ever would have intended. Teaming up with Rob and Vecepia meant forcing ties. It meant puffing up leaders. It meant starting fights with anyone you could, just to create drama around camp.

Yes, Colleen absolutely hated her alliance with Rob and Vecepia. And she'd freely admit it. She hated their approach to the game. She hated everything about it.

What she really wanted was to team up with people more like herself. Someone more laid back. Maybe someone like John.

So she just stood here.

And she waited.

For the offer she expected would come out of his mouth.

As the moment stretched on, and John and Colleen continued to stand here and make small talk, John silently debated the pros and cons of this decision in his head. Because this decision could cost him the game. Did he really want to form a new alliance with Colleen? Did he really want to throw away his easy ticket to the final four, and be greedy? After all, if he turned his back on Lex, that's all that this really would be.

Oh, sure, he could tell himself over and over that he just wanted to team up with Colleen because she was sweet. And that he just wanted to team up with someone new because Lex had tossed him aside. But in the end, a flip-flop would primarily be motivated by greed. Greed and bitterness. Those were the two current motiviations behind turning on Lex.

And, in the end, John finally decided he just couldn't do that.

He didn't want to go there at this point in the game.

And that meant that an alliance with Colleen was just not in the cards.

"Well, I suppose we should get back to the grind," he sighed, mournfully, once he decided that he was going to stick with his current alliance as far as he could.

"Oh," sighed Colleen, disappointed.

"Yeah," he shrugged. "I know."

What more could he say?

Right now, John just didn't want to be seen as "the bitter, spiteful gay guy" who turned his back on his alliance. He didn't want to be edited as the villain of All-Stars. He didn't want to be seen as the asshole on Ahi who got greedy and screwed all his friends..

Of course, there was also the fear that Rob might have more of a leash on Colleen than she liked to let on. Because if John said a little too much to Colleen right now, and she turned around and reported it back to the Godfather, well, John knew enough about Boston Rob to know that that couldn't end well. After all, you didn't give an asshole like Rob Mariano information. You just didn't. Because if he had information he'd know how to use it. And that was bad!

So, yes, Colleen was sweet.

And, yes, Colleen was nice.

But she was way too close to Rob.

And John hated Rob's guts.

And that's why this alliance was dead in the water.

"Okay," smiled John, one last time, "Let's head on back to camp and lie our asses off and tell them we didn't get pizza."

"Fine with me," Colleen laughed. "Lead the way."

So John walked off ahead.

And Colleen trailed behind.

Feeling depressed.

Like she'd just been on the world's greatest date, but hadn't been kissed.

^^

Mike and Gretchen's return to Keko had flabbergasted their three very surprised tribesmates. Alicia hadn't expected them to return. Colby hadn't expected them to return. And Kathy was just as surprised as anyone. The return of their beloved diplomats turned out to be a total surprise for everybody, and all five of the Kekos laughed and rejoiced.

But the reunion of the Kekos was nothing compared to the fireworks that happened at Ahi.

Because ten minutes after John and Colleen had returned back to camp, sans alliance, the opening shots of World War III had officially been fired.

The drama all started when Boston Rob looked up from his fishing pole and saw John and Colleen walking across the beach, back towards camp. And Rob, of course, was understandably startled. So he did a quick double take, rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating, and peered out into the distance one more time. And sure enough, there they were. The two Ahi diplomats. John and Colleen. Returning back to camp all alone.

In a split second, Rob quickly deduced that the tribal lines were going to remain firmly in place here at Ahi. Just like before. Lex was still going to hold the power, Rob and his misfit alliance were going to be in the minority, and John... dear, sweet John... was going to be Lex van den Berghe's bitch, like he had been all game.

But that could change.

Of course it could.

After all, anything could change, if you knew how to play!

With a mile-wide smile across his face, Rob put down his fishing pole, strolled over to John and Colleen, and was the first one from Ahi to welcome them back. He gave Colleen a big hug. He shook John's hand firmly, with the semblance of honor.

And then, of course, he spilled his guts.

About the promise Lex made yesterday, to bring Rob into the alliance, and drop John to fifth.

"Oh that's such bullshit," John replied, once Rob had filled him in with the details of the chat. "Come on, dude. If you're gonna stir some shit up today, you could at least have the decency to wait until I get back and unpack."

"But I swear to God!" Rob protested. "Look, John, this is the truth! I swear to God Lex actually said that!"

John just shot a dubious glance at Colleen.

But Colleen, who was now back in Rob's presence, was no longer a part of Team John.

She just ignored his glance.

And stared at the ground.

As quiet, and as passive, as before.

"Look, Rob," John retorted, angrily, "You can save all that shit for someone else. Because I'm not buyin' it. I didn't buy it in Marquesas. And I don't buy it now. In fact, I've never believed a word that comes out of your mouth. So you can go take a flying leap into the ocean, because I really don't care."

"Johnny..." Rob started.

"Don't Johnny me," John spat. "What am I, your brother? Are we supposed to we friends?" He shot an angry look at Rob. "I thought I was just some 'big time queer.' I thought I was the guy you said you'd never sleep next to, because you thought I was weird."

Angrily, John moved to the side. Then he simply stepped around Rob, and walked back towards camp.

"But I'm bein' completely serious," Rob protested towards John's back. "Look, John, I know we don't get along too well, but I'm bein' dead serious. This is the truth! Lex told me that he wants me in the alliance, and you'd be dropped down to fifth."

John turned around, extended his arms, animatedly, and started walking backwards as he spoke.

"And I suppose you're just telling me out of the goodness of your heart?" asked John. "Is that it? You're just telling me because you want me to know that you care?"

"I just want you to know that, with my help, tomorrow we can take care of Lex! Just like you want!"

But John wasn't listening.

"Fuck you, Rob!" he screamed.

"Just ask Lex to deny that he said it! Because he did! It's the truth!"

Rob had shouted this last sentence at the top of his voice, but John hadn't turned around. He had just kept walking back towards camp, in a huff. But this wasn't a surprise. John always left conversations with Rob in a huff. That was pretty much the extent of their tenuous relationship.

But Rob didn't mind. After all, he hadn't been disappointed by this little chat.

Far from it.

After all, he had done exactly what he had intended to do. He had planted the seed!

Because as of this moment, John now had some vague idea in his head that Lex had discussed replacing John when John wasn't around. And even though this information had come from Rob, the least reputable source around, there was no way John could possibly ignore it.

At some point tonight, John was going to ask Lex about this chat.

He wouldn't be able to resist.

That's what he did.

And Lex would be just stupid... er, honest... enough to admit that Rob had been telling the truth.

And with that, Boston Rob knew his plan had officially begun. John's aggressive paranoia was about to be turned against Lex. And Lex's aggressive paranoia was about to be turned against John. Their greatest strength was officially going to become both of their greatest weakness.

John was going to be suspicious of Lex. Lex was going to be wary of John. Tina and Frank weren't going to like that Lex had added an alliance member without consulting them and asking them first. And it would all be thanks to Boston Rob that it had finally happened.

So Rob just stood here, on the beach, and he laughed.

While Colleen looked sad.

Because Rob's second attempt at the War Against Lex... "Take Two"... was about to begin.

DAY 15

Vecepia Towery had always considered herself a very adaptable player.

She was also not the slightest bit scared to take chances.

If Vecepia saw an opening in the game of Survivor, and if she thought it could further her stay in the game, then in almost every circumstance possible, she was going to take it.

And that's why, as she sat here in the middle of her daily morning interview, she suddenly paused for a moment, politely excused herself, and asked if they could continue this particular interview later.

"What?" asked the surprised producer, who had been midway through a question about Vecepia's strange relationship with fellow-winner Tina.

"I just realized I have to go do something," explained Vecepia. She stood up, and then she shrugged, embarrassed. After all, rudeness was normally not her forte in life. Normally, Vecepia prided herself on being polite and having good manners almost all of the time. "Can we please finish this later? I just realized I have to go talk to someone."

"Um, sure," said the producer, looking confused. Because this wasn't like Vecepia. Normally she was as willing to sit down for an interview as anyone here.

"I promise I'll be back later, okay?" said Vecepia, as she took a worried glance over the producer's shoulder. "There's just, like, something I realized I have to do, right now. Because if I don't do it now, there's a good chance it might never happen ."

"What might not happen?"

"I'll tell you later," Vee said, cryptically.

And then she was off.

As the ever-adaptable "Eel of Marquesas" traipsed off over a large, craggly mound of volcano rock, the producer turned around and watched her, confused.

Because he had no idea what the hell had just happened.

One minute, he had been asking Vecepia about the big fight between John and Rob last night, and how Rob had been needling John all night into attempting some sort of revenge against Lex. It was clear that Rob didn't like John all that much. And it was clear that John felt pretty much the same way about Rob. And the producers had been curious to get Vecepia's thoughts on this subject, since she was the only player on Ahi who knew both John and Boston Rob like the back of her hand.

So the interview had drifted into John/Rob questions, and that's when things had begun to get weird.

Because that's when Vecepia's eyes had started to glaze over, and it was clear that her mind was on something else other than having this chat.

"Hey Vee, you okay?" the producer had asked, once Vecepia's mind had clearly started to drift. "You still with me?"

"Huh?" Vecepia looked confused.

"Are you still with me?"

Vecepia had nodded her head, but already the producer had realized that something was off. Because Vecepia was usually a very easy interview. And she usually gave very detailed insights about everyone here. So for her to just sit here, and stare off into space, as if in a trance... well that was so not Vecepia that he immediately knew something was up.

"So what's going on between you and Tina?" the producer had finally asked, as he attempted to move on. "I mean, I know you guys have been sharing information. But do you think there were any hard feelings about the way she sided with Lex, and you sided with Sue?"

No response.

The producer just stared at her, a little confused.

Because Vecepia was currently lost somewhere out in the ozone.

"Can you excuse me?" she suddenly asked.

And then she was gone.

Off to talk to John.

And change up this game.

The producer didn't yet realize this, but the image that had been pre-occupying Vecepia's thoughts for the last five minutes had been that of John Carroll fighting with Rob. For some reason, the image of the two of them fighting had stuck inside Vecepia's head, and had rattled around, all over the place, to the point where she had been virtually incapable of thinking of anything else.

But why?

Vecepia didn't immediately catch on to what this image was telling her, but eventually the strategist in her caught on to what her brain was desperately trying to say. And as she sat here and spaced out, annoying the producer, her mind slowly... but surely... wrapped itself around the opportunity that had suddenly popped up.

And she nearly cursed herself out loud for not seeing it sooner.

John!

John Carroll had officially been backed into a strategic corner!

You see, Vecepia Towery was normally as calm and level-headed as just about any player in the history of Survivor. She was the type of person who never lost her cool, never got too up or too down, and never let the other players see her sweat. And it was this level-headedness, and this rationality, that had allowed her to win Survivor: Marquesas-- despite worse odds than nearly any other player in the history of the game.

Vecepia calmness was what most people remembered, but it was her adaptability that actually defined her success.

And the game's greatest opportunist had finally figured out that she could turn this entire game around if she just talked to John.

So Vecepia ended her morning interview abruptly, which was so completely out of character for her that the producer had no idea how to react. But she promised to be back. With something juicy. Something that, in the end, was going to be incredibly important and huge and the producers would love.

After all, if what Vecepia was about to do actually worked out, and if John really was backed into a corner like she expected, then she was going to drop a virtual nuclear bomb of drama onto this game, and onto this show.

So she went off to find John.

And cut him a deal.

Because if Lex and Boston Rob really had burned bridges with the guy, by pushing him too far, then right now, all he would need was some sort of a friend.





^^

It didn't take long for Vecepia to find John back at camp. He was over by the campfire, slicing mangoes, all alone. And he seemed beaten down, by the look on his face.

As Vecepia had expected, the now-daily drama involving Lex and Rob-- with John caught in the middle-- was slowly driving the poor guy insane.

"Hey John, want some help?"

John, who had been prepping the fruit for breakfast, looked up and saw Vecepia standing there next to him. And even though Vee wasn't his favorite person in the world most of the time, at the moment, she was better than Lex. And she was certainly better than Rob.

After all, as a player, Vee might be a bit of a sneak. But as a person, she happened to be extraordinarily nice.

So John smiled, and nodded towards their second cooking knife. If Vee wanted to hang out here and help him make breakfast, well, he certainly wasn't above a little company during this menial task.

"So, the king and queen ditched you here all alone again?" Vee asked, smiling, as she picked up a knife and started slicing.

"Yeah, pretty much." John said. "But that's pretty much usual. To them, I'm just the cook."

"Mmmmm," Vee nodded, as she sliced.

Well, that was helpful. In one question, she'd already established that Lex and Tina were nowhere nearby. And since she knew that Rob and Colleen were off gathering wood, that meant that the only person she had to worry about watching them right now was Frank. And since Frank was nowhere in sight... Vee carefully checked as she worked... well that meant that she and John were free to talk about whatever they wanted.

And freedom, in Survivor, was nice.

"Look, John," she said casually, as she dropped a few slices of mango into the pan, "I don't really like the way you get treated around here."

John looked over at her, surprised.

"You don't think I notice that kind of thing?" she looked over at him, disbelievingly. "Come on, John. You know me. I'm a watcher. I sit there, and I watch. And I see. And do you know what I've seen from the start? I've seen that Lex and Tina don't have any plans for you to be part of their team."

John said nothing.

So Vecepia just smiled at him.

"It's true though," she said, "Isn't it? You know as well as I do that the furthest you'll get with those two is fourth."

John just shrugged his shoulders and continued his slicing.

"Maybe," he replied. "Maybe not. Why?"

"Because I'm offering you a deal that nobody else is going to offer you," Vecepia finally got to the point. Then she looked around one more time, to make sure there were no wandering eyes. "John, I've never offered anyone a final two deal in my life. Never have. But if you wanted to, right now, I think we could do it. I think we could go all the way."

John just looked over at her, a little bit stunned.

"You've never had a final two deal with anyone?" he asked, disbelievingly. "Ever? Come on, don't bullshit me, Vee."

"It's true!"

"So you mean to tell me," John asked, "That you never cut a deal with Sean? The two of you never said, 'We're going to be the final two in Marquesas'? You never said that? And I'm supposed to believe this?"

"We never said that," explained Vecepia. "I swear to God, John. I know the rest of you thought so, but Sean and I never went so far to make a pact to the end of the game."

"Whatever," scoffed John.

"Look, you can believe me or not," Vee explained. "But I'm telling you right now that I never had an alliance with Sean. And I never had an alliance with Rob. And I never had an alliance with Kathy. I've never had an alliance with anybody!" She turned and looked at him. "I'm telling you right now, John, that if you and I want to take this game over, we could do it. Nobody in this game would ever expect it."

And there it was.

The pitch.

For Vecepia's first ever final-2 alliance in the game of Survivor.

And if John didn't take this deal, considering the dilemma he currently found himself in now, she'd call him a fool.

"You never had an alliance with Kathy??" John asked, incredulously, changing the subject. Did she think he was actually retarded? Did she think he had no memory of six months before?

"No, I never used the word 'alliance' with Kathy", Vee smiled, somewhat proudly. "I just said 'deal'. I was very careful in the wording I used with her. Because I knew that if I ever used the word 'alliance', it would come back to bite me."

John listened to this, then shook his head, somewhat amusedly.

Yep, same old Vee. The same one they'd learned to deal with back in Marquesas.

After all, he'd been through this whole thing before. He'd seen her semantic arguments firsthand from the Marquesas jury. With Vecepia, alliances were never "alliances." They were always "deals." Or "friendships." Or "bonds of common interest." Talking strategy with Vecepia was like arguing semantic definitions with a lawyer. She would never come out and tell you exactly what she meant.

At least, until now.

"Look John," she continued. "I've never offered anyone a final two alliance, ever. And I know you don't believe me, but I swear it's the truth." She looked at him with pleadingly sincere eyes. "John, if I make an alliance with somebody, I'm going to stick by it. And that's why I don't like to do it."

"Why? Because you don't like to lie?"

"No!" protested Vecepia. "Because making a final-two deal cuts off a lot of your options!"

John just stared at her, thinking this over.

"If you want to make an alliance with me right now," Vecepia concluded, as she put down her knife, "And if you want to leave all this Lex and Rob bullshit behind, well I'll shake your hand right here and we'll go to the end."

John heard this last sentence and he almost did a double take.

After all, he had never heard Vecepia swear before.

Not ever.

She was normally too much of a goody-goody Christian do-gooder to casually drop a b.s. bomb in the middle of a sentence just like that.

And now, of course, he was a little intrigued.

"You're actually serious about this," he said out loud, "Aren't you?"

"I'm deadly serious, John," Vecepia admitted. "I think it stinks what Lex and Tina are doing to you. And I think it sucks how Rob is just trying to bait you into a fight. In fact, I know you don't believe this, but most of the time, I can't stand him. He's a prick."

John heard this, made a face, and laughed.

Boston Rob? A prick?

Since when?

So here, standing near the camp fire, John and Vecepia finally shook hands and made an alliance. It was the first alliance Vecepia had ever agreed to in her life, and right now she was telling herself she was going to mean it. Because this wasn't just a "deal." And this wasn't just a "friendship." This was an actual, honest-to-god alliance. Between her, and a guy who would never be able to win a jury vote, because he'd soon have no friends.

And for the queen of the opportunists herself, this deal was perfect!

In the eyes of Vecepia Towery, yes, Boston Rob's "bad cop" tactics could be a lot of fun to watch. Sure, they could be a hell of a lot of fun. Especially if you were loud and a little bit dumb. But it was her own quiet slipperiness, her "good cop" act to Rob's "bad cop", that would inevitably win in the end.

After all, "nice and smart" beat "loud and obnoxious" every time. And it always would. And she was amused to see that Rob had learned nothing from his mistakes of the past.

As for John's point of view... well of course Vecepia wasn't the ideal partner he would have liked for a final two alliance. After all, she was known for being deceptive and a little bit slick. But in actuality he really hadn't had much of a choice. Because John knew he was out of Lex's final three alliance. That much was obvious. The fact that Lex would replace him so fast, and with someone like Rob, pretty much told him all he needed to know.

So Lex was out as a friend to the end. And if Lex was out, that meant that Tina and Frank were out too. Both of them were way too close to Lex, and way too loyal to their leader. John knew that if he had uttered one word about a sub-alliance to either one of them, if he had so much as mentioned even the possibility of taking out Lex, the first thing they would have done was run right back to the king, and tell him the news.

So John had been stuck. And he had been frustrated. Knowing that success in this game would depend on kissing up to Lex, or teaming up with Rob. And those, of course, were two horrible choices.

Of course, John would have loved to team up with Colleen, which was an idea he'd been debating for the past two days. Colleen was easily his top choice as an ally out of anyone here. But, alas, sadly, this pairing was just never going to happen. Aligning with Colleen was like aligning with Rob. She was too close to him. It was a 2-for-1 package. And John had already vowed that he'd never align with an asshole like Rob for as long as he lived.

And then of course, today, here came Vecepia.

His savior.

And really, the only logical choice.

John hadn't realized this before. Hell, how could he? He'd only had a vague notion that she was even in this game until about ten minutes ago. That was just the sort of effect that Vecepia usually had on your tribe. But now he sure as hell saw her. And he saw that he needed her. And, most importantly, he saw, through the insistency in her eyes, that she needed him just as much.

And finally, after days of denying his fate, John was finally seduced by the greed that he'd tried to resist.

He shook her hand, and now they were friends to the end.

"I'm warning you though, Vee," laughed a suddenly-much-happier John. And why wouldn't he be happy? His Lex- and Rob-less future suddenly looked a lot brighter indeed. . "I swear to God, I'm asking Sean after the game if you guys ever had an alliance. I'm going to call him up, and ask him. And if I find out you're lying to me, I'm going to kill you."

Vecepia, of course, just heard John's threat, and she laughed.

After all, it was hard to be worried about threats when you knew you'd just won.





^^




With a busy day rapidly approaching-- after all, there was still both an immunity challenge as well as Tribal Council planned for tonight-- Kathy and Alicia went off to check the treemail that they knew would be there.

And here, along a dark, lonely path in the rainforest, they finally debated if they really wanted Gretchen to be part of their group.

"She's too dangerous," Alicia was shaking her head, as she walked briskly through the dark green foliage. "She only thinks of herself. And I tell you, Kathy, I'm about this close to just dumping the bitch, and calling it off."

Why was Alicia currently so annoyed with their newest alliance-mate?

Well because Gretchen had now promised Mike a spot at the merge.

Over her alliance-mates' wishes!

Mike was supposed to be next. And Gretchen knew that Yet she had taken it upon herself to promise him safety, and now Alicia was pissed.

"Gretchen's point of view is that we're probably going to win the next two immunities anyway," Kathy said, as she tried to keep this whole thing together. "She doesn't think what she promised him is going to matter. Because she thinks we're going to merge at five-five. And just in case of a tie, she wants Mike on board."

"Well what Gretchen wants," spat Alicia, "And what is actually going to happen, isn't always the same thing." She turned to look at Kathy. "You know?"

"Yeah, I know," Kathy sighed, sadly.

Deep down, she wished that Gretchen hadn't made that promise. Because, in the end, she knew this was going to haunt them. The alpha female "cold war" between Gretchen and Alicia may have died down significantly over the past week or so, but there was still a very real chance that it could come back later, and could come back in force.

After all, Alicia Calaway was a stubborn player who just didn't like people dictating her game. And guess what? Gretchen was exactly like that too! Alicia was way too similar to Gretchen. Gretchen was way too similar to Alicia. And Kathy knew it was only a matter of time until this inevitably came up.

Kathy's only plan at the moment? She just wanted to stay far away from the crossfire when the guns finally appeared.

"Tree mail's here," said Alicia, still quite annoyed.

She reached into the bamboo box and grabbed it.

Without a smile.

And Kathy cringed.

Because if Keko lost immunity today, with Alicia still in this mood of hers, it was going to be a very, very tense night at camp.

^^

As Keko emptied onto the sandy challenge beach area, they saw their hated opponents already standing there, the Ahis.

And the two tribes just glared at one another.

Without so much as a smile.

"Keko, Ahi," smiled Jeff, as he stood before them in a beige cowboy hat. "Welcome back. And, first thing first-- Rob, I’m gonna have to take that idol back from you for a while."

He reached over to take the immunity idol from Boston Rob.

"But he’s got his own torch and everything back at camp!" protested Rob.

"Sorry," said Jeff, as he turned around to place the little tiki statue on a pedestal. "Rob, if you want this back, you guys are going have to earn it."

With the formalities out of the way, and Boston Rob's token smart-ass comment now in the history books, Jeff turned around and motioned to the challenge they all would be facing today.

It was a tug of war match.

On the ocean

They'd all be standing out there on round wooden platforms.

"As you can see," Jeff explained, "We're doing tug of war today. Five for Ahi, against five for Keko. One rope in the middle." He smiled. "The first tribe to pull all five members of the other tribe off their platforms, and into the water, wins immunity."

The players looked out and sized up the game.

Yes, it was tug of war, but with the rope being pulled in all sorts of directions, from all sorts of angles.

This was going to be a lot more complicated than "strongest team wins."

"Ahi," Jeff added, "Since you have seven members, and Keko only has five, you'll be required to sit two people out. After all, we only have ten platforms." He smiled. "So who's it gonna be?"

The Ahis met in a circle and conferred for a couple of seconds.

And then it was decided.

Colleen and Tina had been chosen to sit out. Not because they were weak, but because they were small. Tina and Colleen were easily the two lightest people in this challenge, and the Ahis figured they needed all the weight they could today, if they wanted a chance.

^^

There were only two rules in today's challenge. You had to hang on to the rope at all times, and you had to remain standing on top of your platform.

If you let go of the rope, you were out.

If you fell in the water, you were out.

And everything besides that, explained Jeff, was fair game.

"You guys ready, Keko?" screamed Jeff, as he looked at the five wooden platforms on the left. Colby stood on the first platform, of course. After all, he was the Golden Boy. He was the challenge god. If Ahi wanted to win this challenge today, they would have to pull Colby off of that platform, and that wouldn't be easy. About five feet behind Colby stood Mike's platform. And then Gretchen's. Kathy's and Alicia's platforms sat in the back, about ten feet apart.

"We're ready!" screamed Colby, in the front.

Behind him, the rest of the Kekos cheered loudly.

"How about you, Ahi?" asked Jeff, loudly. "Are you guys ready to go?"

"Bring it on, baby!" screamed Boston Rob, from the very first Ahi platform. He currently faced Colby from about twenty feet away. It looked like it was going to be mano-a-mano between them today, their first big "young male athlete" showdown. But Rob wasn't intimdated. Hell, he was from Boston. He didn't get intimidated. He was ready to take the Golden Boy down, and do it with style. In fact, the only thing that was going through Rob's mind at the moment was that he couldn't believe that Colby had gotten this far in the game without being schooled.

Behind Rob's platform stood, in order, the platforms of Lex, John, Vecepia, and Frank.

"This is for immunity!" screamed Jeff, over the soft roar of the ocean. Then he raised his hand, which was the traditional signal for the start of a challenge. "First tribe to pull all five members of the other tribe into the water, wins immunity!"

He looked at Keko, with Colby in front.

Then he looked at Ahi, with Boston Rob in front.

In was time to find out which one was "The Man."

Because that was when Jeff dropped his right hand, and screamed "GO!"

^^

While tug of war is usually a pretty straightforward contest of strength, out here, in Hawaii, it turned out to be way more awkward than the players had initially expected.

For starters, the rope was wet. After all, it had been sitting in the water for God knows how long before they actually got here. So the rope was wet, and that meant it was hard to hold. And, because of this, the players quickly figured out that brute strength would have no say in who won this showdown. Hell, the ability to grasp a wet rope would be half of the challenge alone!

After about thirty seconds of pulling and tugging, the Kekos finally claimed their first victim. Because the wet rope slipped right out of Frank's hands at the back of the platforms. All of a sudden, Ahi had lost its anchor. And all of a sudden, their tribe had been reduced down to four.

"Frank, you're out!" called Jeff, once he saw the splash of the rope.

"I got it!" called Frank, disgustedly, before he dove into the water and swam back to shore.

Even though the Ahis had expected to be competitive in this challenge today, well, once they lost their anchor, that was pretty much it. Because everyone knows that the guy at the back is the single most important member in tug of war. Frank had been that guy, and now they were doomed.

With Frank out, that meant that Vecepia was now the Ahi anchor.

Which meant that Vecepia was pulled, unceremoniously, off her platform, in less than five seconds.

"Frank and Vecepia are out!" announced Jeff, as the Kekos cheered loudly to his left. "Ahi is down to three, and John is going to have to be their anchor!"

John Carroll, at the back of the Ahi line, tried his best to get a good two-handed grip on the rope. But it was useless. He pulled and he pulled, and he watched as Lex and Rob pulled and they pulled, but there were only three of them left, against five hungry Kekos.

That meant that John could pull all he wanted to, and it just wouldn't help.

Because Keko had Colby in front.

And Colby couldn't be beat.

"It looks like Keko is about to win," announced Jeff, as he watched Boston Rob struggle to maintain his balance on the first Ahi platform. Rob had easily been the fiercest puller for the Ahis over the past few minutes, but it was clear that his strength was about to run out.

After all, Rob Mariano could stand in the front and act cocky and vow victory and talk trash all he wanted, but in the end, he was simply no Colby, and that was easy to see.

And as if to drive this point home, Colby finally pulled Rob right into the ocean.

Ker-splash.

Rob went down.

John went down next.

And then Lex was yanked into the water, completing the sweep.

"Keko!" screamed Jeff, at the top of his lungs, "Wins immunity! In a landslide!"

Whooping with joy, the five victorious Kekos stood atop their platforms, and cheered as a team. After all, they hadn't just beaten Ahi. They had destroyed them. That had been a sweep! Ahi's asses had just been beaten so badly, it would be a surprise if they'd be able to sit down for the rest of the night.

"Colby, you the man," screamed Kathy, as she turned and pointed towards their invincible cowboy. After all, Colby had just saved them from Tribal Council. And, better yet, he had saved Gretchen from an angry Alicia. Colby may have just saved Gretchen from a knife in the back.

Kathy hadn't wanted that to happen

And now it wouldn't happen.

Colby had just saved the Keko women from falling apart.

"I'm sorry, Ahi..." Jeff said glumly, as he walked over to the dejected, wet members of the tribe in orange. After all, he had seen how badly they had just been beaten. That had been a bloodbath of epic proportions. And with a bunch of Type-A driven winner types like Lex and Tina and Rob on this tribe, well, Jeff knew how badly that had probably hurt.

"We know, we know," said Lex, under his breath, as he wiped his wet face with his shirt. "Tribal Council tonight. One of us is going home."

No one wanted to hear that.

Especially Lex.

And especially not after that challenge.

Although Lex would have been even more upset had he known that John had already flipped, and the alliance was dead.

^^




Back at camp Ahi, of course the first thing that Lex did was go to his good friend, John Carroll.

His best friend.

Before the big vote, Lex wanted to make sure that John realized just how valuable he was to the Ahi alliance. He wanted John to know that nothing had changed. He wanted John to realize how much he, Tina and Frank needed this vote, and how important it was that they voted as one. And, most critically, Lex wanted to reiterate, for perhaps the fifth time since yesterday, the fact that he had never, ever, ever been serious about replacing John with someone like Rob. Above all else, Lex needed to make sure that John knew that everything Rob said about the "replacement" was just Robfather bullshit.

"You know I was just blowing smoke up Rob's ass, right?" Lex asked, once he and John finally had a chance to discuss tonight's vote. "You know that I only did that because I thought you were gone."

"Oh yeah," John nodded, "Of course I knew that. And it was no big deal."

"Good," sighed Lex.

"You just did what you had to do," smiled John. "After all, this game is just business."

"It is."

"So I understood," lied John. "It's business. You just do what you have to do when push comes to shove."

Even though John's words said that he had forgiven Lex, and even though John's tone gave off no hint that he might still be holding a grudge, Lex was still juuuust paranoid enough to think John might be lying. After all, John had been seen with Rob over the past two days. And John had been seen with Colleen. And that was bad. Any ally of Lex seen talking to Rob or his sidekick was not something he liked.

Of course, John hadn't been seen with Vecepia, at least as far as Lex knew. But, unfortunately, that was mostly because of the fact that Vee was quite good.

"You sure we're still good on this?" Lex asked one last time, as he cocked an eyebrow at his friend. "Are we still tight here? Man to man?"

He stuck out his hand.

"We're good," John said. "Don't worry. It's in the past. All forgotten."

And he shook Lex's hand.

One last time.

Just like that.





^^





Lex, and his gut, had now been assuaged. Because after that handshake, he was now convinced-- despite his persistent paranoia-- that John Carroll had not been seduced by the dark side, and was not going to flip based on greed.

After all, Lex reminded himself, John was smart. And he was honorable. And, most importantly, he'd given his word!

You see, that handshake had been the most important part of the conversation. That handshake had been the antacid to Lex's worried gut. Because with that handshake, Lex now knew that John was going to do the right thing for the Ahi alliance. He was going to vote with the rest of them, they were going to take that asshole Rob right out of the game, and Lex was going to survive a very dicey, and dangerous, attack for the second straight time.

So Lex went to Frank, to tell him the news.

While Tina went to John, to save her own neck.

You see, even though Lex might have been convinced that John was back on board, and part of the team, Tina Wesson was under no such illusion that it would be quite that simple, and easy to solve.

Tina had seen how badly John had been hurt by the way that Lex had replaced him.

Tina had seen it, and she knew this was serious.

So now she went to John, on her own, with the intention of talking him out of making a tragic mistake.

"Look, I know that you felt snubbed by Lex," Tina explained, once she had gotten John to sit down on a large rock, "I know it because I've been there myself.." She reached down to grasp both his hands in her own. "When it happened, John, when Lex did it, I felt awful. Because I could see it in your eyes. You were hurt. And I could see it, because I'd been there myself.."

"You've been replaced?" John asked, surprised.

"Yes I have," Tina nodded. "Swear to God. It happened a few days into Australia."

"With Jerri...," John suddenly remembered. After all, he had been a Survivor fan well before he had ever been a Survivor contestant. And he suddenly remembered this scene very vividly. And why wouldn't he? He had watched Australia on TV just like everyone else. He was a fan.

"That's right," smiled Tina. "With Jerri." She made a disgusted face. "Like you, John, I was in a very powerful alliance at the start of the game. But at a certain point, I also realized that I'd been replaced by our leader, just like you." She held onto John's hand, and looked him in the eye as she said this. "Jerri had dropped me to the bottom of the ladder in her alliance, on a whim, and I was furious. Sound familiar?"

"Yeah but you turned on her," John rebutted. "And you ended up winning."

"I did," Tina nodded. "And I did."

"So, what?" John asked, incredulous. "You're coming here to tell me that I should turn on Lex? And it will get me the win??"

"No, that's not my point at all," Tina explained. Then she smiled. "John, do you know the type of person that Lex is? Have you ever really talked to the man, and gotten to know him?"

"Of course," John nodded.

"Well then you'll know that Lex is an extraordinarily good man," Tina continued. "He cares about people. And he cares about this alliance."

John just stared at the ground.

"Lex is one of the best human beings I've ever met," continued Tina, "And I ask you to keep that in mind."

"Why?" John cocked his head at her.

"Well because if you turn on Lex tonight," she finished, "Then you'll be going against a very good person. You'll be going against a man who really does care..."

"... and Jerri, of course, wasn't a good person," John finished her sentence for her.

"That's right," smiled Tina. "Here in Hawaii, just like in Australia, I want the four of us-- the good guys-- to get to the end."





^^

As the Ahi tribe packed up and prepared for Tribal Council, John sidled up to Vecepia with a bit of bad news. As it turned out, he was not going to be voting for Lex tonight. He was voting for Rob.

Apparently, Tina's words had gotten under his skin that this was playing out wrong.

"Because by voting out Lex," explained John, "I'd be handing control of this tribe over to an asshole like Rob. And I'm sorry, Vee, but I just don't want to be a part of that. I just can't do it. It wouldn't be right."

"What??" Vecepia nearly screamed out in anguish.

Tina!!

"You aren't teaming up with Rob," she protested, as she stuffed a shirt into her backpack, "You're teaming up with me! And Colleen! And you don't think the two of us are good and decent people?"

"Yes, but the minute this goes down tonight," John explained. "And the minute Lex goes home, then this is Rob's tribe. We're going to voluntarily be handing the keys over to the world's biggest prick." He stared at Vecepia. "And Vee, you can tell me you're honestly fine with that?"

"John..." Vecepia just sighed.

She wished she could be more quiet and stealthy about this. After all, big last-minute strategy speeches weren't really her style. She preferred to set a plan in motion, and then step back. She liked to step back, far away from ground zero, so she'd never get hit.

But this drastic move by Tina now called for a drastic response.

Because Tina was far and away the queen of being able to brainwash you out of your game.

"Look, John," Vecepia continued, "Tina's only in this game for Tina. And don't forget that. She's in it for Tina. Not for you."

"Well, duh," John said. "I'm not an idiot."

"So stop playing it for Tina!" Vecepia whispered, angrily. "Play it for you! If you want to win, then go out and win!"

Vecepia wanted to say more, but now they had company.

Frank was nearby.

And so was Lex.

That meant she had to shut up. She had to go back to being quiet, little invisible Vecepia. The one who everyone forgot about, like she wasn't around.

"Play to win," she simply mouthed one last time at John, as if it would help.

But John just shrugged.

And shook his head.

And then turned around.

Honestly, he had no idea what he'd do tonight, at Tribal Council, until he lifted that pen.

^^

As the Ahi tribe entered Tribal Council for the second time in the game, a strangely confident Rob Mariano walked authoritatively at the head of the pack.

And Jeff was extremely surprised.

After all, wasn't Rob on the losing end of the big "Sue versus Lex" showdown six days ago? And hadn't Rob been Sue's right-hand man all along, in a mutiny that fizzled at the end, and cost Sue the game?

Because if that were the case, and Jeff was pretty sure that it was, then Rob should be dead tonight. Dead meat. Dead at the hands of a vengeful Lex. After all, if there was one thing that Jeff had learned about Survivor by this point, one thing that stood head and shoulders above everything else, it was the fact that you didn't target Lex van den Berghe unless you knew it would work.

Rob had tried.

And Rob had failed.

So why on earth was Rob walking in to Tribal Council like that? Just waltzing in, and acting cocky, like he was the cock of the walk?

Jeff just stood there behind his podium, stunned, as Boston Rob strolled in, sat down, grinned, and shot him a wink.

That's right.

Rob had just winked.

Jeff had no idea what was up, he had no idea what had happened.

But, man, this Tribal Council was probably gonna be good.





^^





As the rest of the Ahis filtered in behind Rob, Jeff immediately sensed a strange aura of quiet around the rest of the tribe. And that meant that something was up. It always did. When some sort of power shift was in the works, as a host, he could usually feel it. It was just this strange sense of energy that floated around in the air.

And by that grin on Rob's face in the front, he suspected that Mr. Mariano might have something interesting he wanted to say.

"Rob," asked Jeff, once the Ahis had all taken their seats, "When you came in here, you weren't walking. You were strutting. You were positively floating on air."

Rob leaned over and started to laugh. Although he also looked a little embarrassed. Had he really been that obvious? He hadn't been trying to be.

"So what's up?" Jeff continued, with a slight smirk on his face. "You're just excited to be here, at Tribal Council? What's the deal?"

"Of course not," Rob said, as he dropped his voice into a serious drawl. "This is a serious place, Jeff. So if I was laughing, it was only because... just maybe... I was a little bit scared."

"Oh, please," scoffed Jeff. "You're going to sit there and feed me that crap? And you expect me to believe it?"

"It's true," Rob shrugged. "If I was laughing, it was probably about somethin' that somebody said."

Jeff just frowned and glared at him.

And Rob glared back.

And there was another wink.

Another wink from Rob.

This one said, "Just shut up, dude, let us vote, and we'll all watch the show."

"Am I missing something?" Jeff suddenly asked the rest of the group. "Am I missing something obvious? Because from where I stand, the vote should be pretty straightforward tonight."

He looked over at Lex.

"Lex, you had a showdown with Sue last time, and you won."

Lex nodded.

"So the three of you who voted for Lex last time," continued Jeff, "Should all be pretty big targets tonight." He raised his hands, as if confused. "Are the lines on this tribe going to be that obvious? Tina?"

Tina, who was sitting in the back row, looked up and blinked at Jeff's question.

"Well by all rights it should be pretty obvious," she answered.

"Why?" queried Jeff.

"Well, because, like you said," Tina smiled. "There were four people in Lex's alliance last time, and four people who weren't. So of course it just stands to reason that one of the people in Sue's alliance would probably be next."

"And those three people would be...?" Jeff asked, looking for help. "Lex, do you know who they were?"

"Rob, Vee, and Colleen," said Lex.

"Ah," smiled Jeff.

There they were.

The Enemies of Lex.

All packaged, labeled, and identified for easy dispersal.

As Jeff continued with his questions, he tried his best to ferret out exactly why the mood on this tribe was so odd. But try as he might, he just couldn't get past that smug grin on Rob's face in the front. Because no matter what Jeff asked about, or who he prodded to give more info, that strange smile never left Rob's face for a second.

What was Rob smiling about?

Jeff didn't know.

But he suspected that Godfather II... the sequel... whatever it was... was about to begin.

^^

Sure enough, the thing that Rob was so happy about was the forthcoming downfall of Lex. Because it was about to happen. Jeff was about thirty seconds away from telling them to go up and vote.

Lex was going down tonight.

And Rob was ecstatic.

Because there was no way this would have happened without Rob pushing all the right buttons, hitting nerves, and knowing his prey.

"Watch this," he leaned over and whispered to Colleen. "This is gonna be great."

But Colleen said nothing.

She just looked at the floor, sighed sadly, and wished it were over.

"... Well, I guess that just about does it," said Jeff, as he had finally finished his questions. "I guess it's time to vote." He placed both his hands on his thighs and stood up. The outcome that had been set in motion by the Godfather and his assistant Vecepia was about to take place.

"Colleen," motioned Jeff, "You're up."

With a strange look of sadness on her face, Colleen Haskell walked slowly over to the voting confessional and uncapped the pen.

She wasn't happy about the way this had gone down.

At all.

Of course, Colleen was about to take a giant leap into power in this game, what with Lex gone and all. But she wasn't sure if the price was going to be worth it. After all, Colleen liked Lex. And she liked John. She liked them both. But what she didn't like was the way that certain members of her alliance had gone about baiting them into a fight with one another. As if John and Lex were little more than dogs in a cage.

And so, sadly, and with much regret, Colleen held up her vote for Lex.

She hated the way this was happening.

But she had promised that she would.

So she did.

"Lex, it's been like..." she suddenly paused for a long moment, not knowing any idea of what she was supposed to say. After all, what were the words you used when you finally sold out? Colleen had no idea what the Hallmark Card would say for this moment.

Instead, she just rested her chin on her left hand, and looked away, as if hiding in shame.

"Lex, this vote is for you," she started again, not looking at the camera. "So you can go home now and... whatever... and.... okay. Okay."

She dropped the ballot into the box and felt like complete shit.

Next up to cast a ballot was Boston Rob.

And of course, Rob shared none of the guilt or inner ickiness that plagued young Colleen.

"Been a blast," he grinned, as he held up Lex's name for the camera. "See ya later, buddy. It's been fun."

The third person to cast a ballot was Frank. He stepped up to the podium, wrote down three letters, "R-O-B", and held up his ballot for the viewers at home.

"This individual is a constant source of irritation in camp," Frank said. "I can't say I've liked him much from what I've seen of him, but it was the choice of the rest of the alliance that he just had to go."

After Frank came Tina. Who, of course, cast a very similar vote. After all, the alliance had wanted Rob gone for a very long time.

"You're just a mean player," said Tina, as she held up Rob's vote for the camera. "On one hand, I sort of admire your style, because it's very unique. But on the other hand, I just think you're way too aggressive to be keeping around, with us feeling safe."

Tina dropped the ballot into the box.

And here came Lex.

Who cast a third vote for Rob Mariano, like they'd planned all along.

"Boston Rob," said Lex, as he held up Rob's full nickname on the brown piece of parchment. "I'd heard so much about you before I came out here, and I have to say you lived up to your reputation. You were a sneak, a cheat, and a liar." He smiled. "And I have to say, it's going to be quieter, and a lot more boring, when you won't be around. Take care."

Lex placed the ballot into the box.

That was three votes for Rob.

All they needed now was for John to be a man, and stick to his word, and vote for his sworn enemy, and they'd be good to go.

The sixth player to come up to vote was Vecepia. She simply wrote down three letters, "Lex", and didn't have a whole lot to say.

"Sorry," she shrugged.

And that was it.

Vecepia had never really gotten into the habit of trashing the dead.

With three votes in the urn for Lex, and three votes in the urn for Boston Rob, that left just one player left to go.

John Carroll.

He waited for Vecepia to sit down. Then he took a deep breath, and stood up.

Finally, it was time to decide.





^^

"The person voted out tonight must leave the Tribal Council area immediately," said Jeff, moments later, the urn in his hands.

Six players nodded.

While Lex, in the back, just glared at the fire and nervously chewed on a nail.

This moment was tense.

"First vote," said Jeff, as he reached into the urn.

He pulled it out.

He paused, then slowly revealed it.

"Lex."

Lex van den Berghe, who even in his most relaxed moments could still be considered a bundle of nervous energy, just glared at the fire and said nothing.

"Boston Rob," read the second vote.

That was from Lex.

It was now 1-1, between Lex and Rob, which was pretty much what everyone expected.

And that was exactly the way the voting see-saw continued to go.

One vote for Lex.

Then one vote for Rob.

One after the another.

As the votes continued to add up, and continued to even out, Jeff was amazed to see that Rob's smile never left his face for even a second. Not even once! Rob continued to just sit there, and smile, and laugh, as his name came up three times, as if nothing were wrong!

And now, as Jeff stood with his hand on the last ballot, the vote tied at three, he paused.

While Rob continued to smile.

After all, he knew darn well whose vote remained in that urn.

It was John's. And it wasn't for Rob.

"The fifth person voted out of All-Star Survivor," said Jeff, with a look of complete amazement on his face.

He held up the ballot.

And opened it up.

"Lex."

Poor Tina let out an audible gasp.

"Lex, please bring me your torch," said Jeff, as he looked into Lex's angry, fire-ridden eyes in the back. After all, Lex was furious. He was ready-to-snap angry. He hadn't planned for an exit tonight, and now he was pissed.

"Lex?" asked Jeff, a little cautiously.

But now normal zen Lex was back.

All it had taken was one little glare of rage, one little moment of insanity, and now he was fine. He turned and shot John a momentarily look of disgust, and then it was done.

"Good riddance, asshole," thought Lex, "Enjoy the company you chose to hang out with, you backstabbing creep."

Then he turned his back on John for the rest of his life.

After a goodbye hug from Tina, and one last solid handshake from Frank, Lex brought his torch to the front of the room. And watched as it was snuffed into smoky oblivion.

"The tribe has spoken," said Jeff. "It's time to go."

Lex nodded.

And just like that, the Ahi leader was officially dead.





^^




After Lex's dismissal, Jeff waited about two minutes before he actually said anything. Mainly because he wanted to let the momentousness of this vote sink in for everyone involved. After all, you just don't get power shifts that often in Survivor. You just don't see leaders walking down that path in episode five.

Jeff knew that this vote had been an enormous one. Heck, all you had to do was look at the stunned look on Tina's face, in the back row, to know this had been unexpected and huge. Tina was devastated right now. And she didn't get devastated! This was the first time that Jeff had ever seen her surprised by the end of a vote.

"Well," Jeff summarized, once the moment had started to pass into awkward silence, "I guess that maybe... in this game... things aren't as obvious as they sometimes might seem."

Tina just nodded, sadly.

While Frank, sitting next to her, just closed his eyes and looked down at the ground.

Meanwhile, Rob, in the front, just tried not to laugh.

"But I do know one thing," Jeff continued. "You guys can sit here and be pleased about what you've done all you want..."

He glanced at Rob.

"... But remember, Keko's now only one member behind."

Jeff gave a big, long dramatic pause.

"Remember, Ahi, if you lose the next immunity challenge, then you face the very real possibility of going into a merge with five. And the last time I checked..."

He smirked.

"... That means you'd be tied."

And with that somber warning, Jeff bid them good night.

Time to go back.

Back to camp.

Where a guy named John Carroll was no longer playing for fourth.

- Read Lex van den Berghe's final words

- Read Mario's Episode 5 commentary notes

- Back to the All-Star Hawaii episode archive

- Email the author