All-Star Survivor: Hawaii Episode #9 A Cold-Blooded Assassin

Manakai Tribe (white): Alicia Calaway, John Carroll, Gretchen Cordy, Colleen Haskell, Rob Mariano, Vecepia Towery, Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien, Tina Wesson

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

DAY 25

Colleen Haskell wanted to quit.

It was the production crew's worst nightmare, and the worst-case scenario for the people in charge, but Colleen had already dropped hints that she wasn't planning on staying for very much longer. The Sweetheart of Borneo was already beginning to shut down and cut herself off from the rest of the game. And for the producers who had seen this sort of thing in players before, red flags were already being thrown up all over the place. Because they knew. Every single member of this production crew was well aware that if Colleen Haskell-- the most popular player in Survivor history-- voluntarily quit All-Star Survivor, then the show would be ruined.

Colleen quitting was the worst possible thing that could happen, and everyone knew it.

"Don't let her quit!" came the word from the powers above. That was the message to everyone. The camera crew. The producers. The interviewers. Everyone. They were not to let Colleen quit. Under any circumstance. Ever. The minute they saw her drift off into "I Don't Care" land, they were supposed to step in and do something.

But that was proving to be exceedingly difficult this morning, because Colleen had managed to go off where no one could find her.

Colleen Haskell, who had felt incredibly betrayed by Rob's little eleventh-hour attack on Frank last night at Tribal Council, had wanted no part of this tribe this morning. None. Zero. Zilch. She hadn't wanted to look Rob in the face. Nor had she wanted to look Tina in the face. Hell, she hadn't wanted to look anybody in the face. She had simply wanted to crawl under a rock, or hide in a hole, and disappear.

And that's why first thing in the morning, she had gone out on a raft by herself, where she could be all alone.

"Is that Colleen way out there?" asked Vecepia, as she stood by the firepit and squinted off in the distance.

"Yeah, I think so," said Gretchen, as she squinted and stared off towards the ocean. Colleen was out there all by herself on a raft, just staring at the sky.

"Poor girl," empathized Vecepia

Gretchen nodded. Because she understood exactly what Colleen was going through.. She knew how incredibly hard Survivor could be. Especially if you were the type of person who wasn't all that naturally good at it. This game could be a real bastard if you were the type of person who tended to get caught up in all the personal relations, like Colleen. Because she was that type of person, she had got caught up in a couple of friendships, and that's why she was feeling so betrayed by the way her alliance had managed to manipulate her.

"Well I hope she's going to be okay," said Vecepia, as she sat down and started chewing the skin off a mango.

"She'll be okay," assured Gretchen. "Don't worry. She's tough. She probably just wants to get away from all the cameras for a little while."

Vecepia just chuckled. She liked that. How very Colleen to decide you didn't want to be on TV today, so you'd just go out and go float for a couple of hours. As a fellow introvert herself, Vecepia sort of admired it.

"Hey, is that Colleen?" asked John, as he came over to join the two women. John had been digging a new hole for the Manakai latrine, but had been distracted by Colleen's little rafting trip. Concerned, he decided to come over to Gretchen to find out the scoop.

"Yeah, she's just out there thinking," explained Gretchen, for already the fourth time this morning. "Don't worry. She'll be back. She always is."

What was this? Was Gretchen suddenly turning into Colleen's personal secretary? Why was everybody coming to her for information today?

"Okay, good," nodded John. "I was concerned. She didn't look good last night."

"Nah, she'll be fine," Gretchen assured him. "Don't worry. She's a tough kid."

John nodded, and then he went back to his work.

So that was how the morning went for the eight remaining members of Manakai. Colleen spent just about every waking minute away from the rest of the tribe, just thinking. And one by one, the rest of the tribe came up to Gretchen and asked if she was going to be okay. Every one of them. Even Tina came by and inquired about Colleen. And as far as Gretchen knew, Tina was the one Colleen was most trying to avoid.

"Well if you talk to her, could you please explain that I'm not mad?" Tina asked. "I mean, I know I was a little surprised by the vote last night, but I still want to be friends with her. This doesn't mean we have to be enemies."

"I'll tell her if she comes back," Gretchen shrugged, "But you know Colleen. If she doesn't want to come back, she's not going to. She's stubborn. She'll come back when she wants to."

Tina nodded, understanding. Because stubbornness was something she had always had in common with Colleen. It was a trait she very much understood, and very much admired.

It was also a trait that Tina planned to put to good use in the next couple of days.

^^

Even though Gretchen may have said that Colleen was going to be okay, deep down, she wasn't all that sure. Because Gretchen was the one person here who knew Colleen as well as most of the production crew. Gretchen knew Colleen and Gretchen understood Colleen. And that's why she was as worried about her young teammate as they were. Because, as Colleen's surrogate Survivor mom, Gretchen of course had seen all the very same warning signs.

"She's going to quit, isn't she?" a producer asked Gretchen, as he sat down for their traditional morning interview.

That was it. No preamble, no introductions, nothing. The interview started with that very simple question, "Is she going to quit?" And they both knew who the "she" was in that sentence, because this was turning into something potentially serious.

"If you asked me," Gretchen shrugged, scrunching up her face, "I would say... maybe." She paused. "Last night I would have said no, but this morning I'm not all that sure. She doesn't look happy."

"Well you can't let her quit," came the surprisingly un-producerlike response.

Gretchen just glared at him. What kind of a request was that?

"I can't stop her," she said. "I mean, honestly, you guys. If Colleen wants out of here, how am I going to change her mind? She won't listen to me. She won't listen to anybody. If she's already made up her mind, we're not gonna stop her."

"Well, do you think she's made up her mind?"

"No. She hasn't."

"Do you think she's going to quit?"

Gretchen just glared at him again. Hadn't he already asked her that? Hadn't she already given him a very strong "maybe"?

"Come on," he implored. "Yes or no. What's your gut feeling? Do we need to be worried about this?"

"In my opinion..." Gretchen hated to say it, but, "Yes. I think she's checking out. And I think you need to be incredibly worried. Because I think she's done."

"Shit."

"I know," nodded Gretchen.

She shook her head, sadly. Because both she and the producer knew what this could potentially mean. If they lost Colleen right now, if she quit this game voluntarily, it wouldn't just screw over Keko's comeback, it would also screw over the show. Colleen Haskell was the one player in All-Star Survivor who was completely irreplaceable. She was important to everyone. And that's why Gretchen was just as worried as the producers when it came to her fate.





^^

As Gretchen and the producers debated what they needed to do to get Colleen back into this game, there was one player here who had never left the game for even a second. Because even though she had been legitimately concerned about Colleen's fragile mindset-- after all, she was very much a maternal, Christian woman at heart-- Vecepia Towery was still a hardcore player who knew the show simply had to go on.

And that's why she was currently making some last-minute negotiations with Tina.

"Here's the way I look at it," Vee was currently explaining, as she sat down with Tina under the shade of a date palm. "If you and I go to the end together, they have to vote for one of us. Right? I mean, even if they don't want to reward a former winner, when I'm guessing they don't, if it's you against me they won't be able to do that. If it's you against me in the finals, they'll hate it, but they'll have to pick one of us."

Tina, who of course was well aware of the handicap that a former winner would face at the end of the game, simply nodded her head.

After all, with Frank gone, she was now officially a free agent. And that meant she was open to anything.

"Do you really think the jury would never vote for a former winner?" she now asked, curiously. Because this was a question she had been wondering about since the very first day of this game. Could a former winner ever win again? Was her time here essentially futile? Would the jury really be that closed-minded that they would ignore the fact that you might have actually played the best game?

"In my opinion, yes," nodded Vecepia. "I don't think they would ever reward a former winner. If you win Survivor once, that's all you get."

"Well I think that's kind of shallow," said Tina, sadly. Because it was. It was the sort of thinking that made her a little embarrassed to be a part of this game.

"Well of course it's shallow," laughed Vee. "But what do you expect? I mean... with people like Alicia on the jury, would you be surprised? With people like Gretchen? Have you ever even met Gretchen? She's ridiculous!"

"I know," nodded Tina, sadly. "I know."

Because Vecepia was right.

With this jury, against these players, every former winner had probably been screwed from the start.

"So that's my suggestion," smiled Vecepia. "I'm not asking you for a final two deal. I 'm not asking for the world. I'm just saying, just stick with me to the end because it's in both of our best interests. Just stick with me because I couldn't beat anyone else, and neither could you."

There. The pitch was made, and the line had been cast.

This was the only way the Ahis would keep Tina from jumping to Keko, and Vecepia had known that.

"You just don't want me running to Keko and forcing a tie," Tina smiled now, slyly. Because she knew how Vecepia worked. She knew Vecepia quite well. Vee just didn't want to face that purple rock. It was as clear as crystal if you looked at the big picture. Vecepia was scared of the next vote. Vecepia hated ties. And Tina wasn't stupid.

"Well, duh," laughed Vee, good-naturedly "No, I don't want a tie. But I also don't want you pairing up with Rob and Colleen. If we get down to five, I want you with me."

"Smart move," nodded Tina.

Vee smiled.

"Well you don't have to worry about that," Tina dismissed. "I mean, there's no way I would ever pair up with Rob and Colleen again. Ever. Why would I walk into the same trap twice? Like my daddy always used to say, fool me twice, shame on me."

"That's sort of what I was counting on."

And so, right there on the spot, Vecepia finally got the pledge she had desperately been hoping for. Tina promised that she would not force a tie at the next vote. She would stick with the Ahis, and she would work to get to the end with Vecepia, because that was the only move that strategically made sense. Of course this wasn't the move that Tina would have liked to make. Deep down, all she wanted to do right now was screw all four of them, including Vecepia. But, alas, she couldn't do that. At least not yet. Tina was far too logical a player to go blazing down a path of suicidal retribution. Because Vecepia was right. No matter what, this close to the end, the two former winners simply had to be allies.

It looked like Tina's revenge would just have to come later, in the form of a win.

"Well no matter what happens today, watch out for the Kekos," said Vee, as she stood up and brushed sand off the seat of her pants. "Because you know they're gonna come looking for you. They're gonna come after you hard."

"Oh they've already started," Tina informed her, smiling. "Kathy's been all over me all morning."

"Well Kathy will promise you anything. Watch out. She's desperate."

Tina just looked over and smiled, confidently.

She wasn't worried.

After all, she knew exactly what the Kekos were going to offer her.

She knew exactly what they would offer, exactly how they would offer it, and Vecepia really didn't have to know that she would probably say "yes."

^^

While Vecepia and Tina finished up their negotiations, the three Keko women had stolen off into the jungle to have a little state of the union discussion. Because a lot of things had happened since their last chat. A very different person had been voted out last night than they had originally expected. And both Kathy and Gretchen were curious as to why Alicia had known more about the Frank vote than she had tried to play off.

"I told you," Alicia explained carefully, "I did it because Rob already had the votes to take out Frank, and he wanted to use me as insurance. He just wanted me as an extra vote in case something went wrong."

"And you weren't going to tell us?" Gretchen asked, warily.

Alicia simply shook her head. "I couldn't. It was part of the deal." She looked at Gretchen. "If Rob found out I had warned either one of you that Frank was going home, what do you think would have happened? I'll tell you. He would have been pissed, and I would have been next."

"Not necessarily," rebutted Kathy.

But it was no use. As always, Alicia had simply made up her mind and was refusing to budge. Contrition was not a popular word in Alicia Calaway's vocabulary. The choice had been made and now it was done. She had voted for Frank. End of discussion.

"So where do we stand now?" asked Gretchen.

She turned and looked at Kathy. And Kathy simply shrugged. She really had no idea where they stood. Kathy was still reeling over the fact that it had been Frank last night. She had been so sure it was going to be her going home that she had never even planned what to do in case she survived. So all she could do this morning was simply improvise. She didn't know where they stood.

"I think we stand in the exact same place we've always stood," Alicia shrugged, dismissively. "There's three of us, and there's more of them. I mean, how much more obvious could it be? Nothing has changed."

"So you're not with Rob?" Kathy asked.

"Hell no," Alicia spat. She looked offended at the question. "Kathy, my deal for him was for one vote only, and that was it. If I did what he said, and if I warned him if he was in danger, he said he'd remember it."

"Remember it? How?"

"I don't know," Alicia replied. "He just said it would be 'good.'"

"Good how?" Kathy looked confused.

"I don't know," Alicia snarked. "Who knows? Maybe he'll turn on the Ahis. Maybe he'll vote for me in the jury. Maybe he'll buy me a fucking pony." She laughed. "I don't know. And I don't care. All I care about now is... how do we use this? How do we turn my relationship with Rob into an advantage?"

Gretchen shot Kathy another look.

It was iffy, but they knew enough about Alicia to think she was probably telling the truth.

"So you're not just playing us now?" Kathy asked one last time.

"No," Alicia said, honestly. "I'm not. My deal with Rob was for one vote, and that was it. It was never against either of you. Swear to God."

"Good," nodded Kathy.

"The only reason I did it," joked Alicia, "Was to see the look on Rob's face. Because you should have seen him. You should have seen the look on his face when he thought it would actually work. He was ready to cream in his pants."

Kathy laughed. Okay, now that sounded more like Alicia. And Rob, too, come to think of it. Pulling off that vote last night had probably been the highlight of the Robfather's life.

"So then what's the next step?" asked Gretchen.

That was the big question. Where did they go from here? After all, despite the miracle last night, the Kekos were still outnumbered, 5-3, and all of them knew it.

"Well obviously if we can pull one person over," said Gretchen, "Then we've got a tie. And from what I can tell, that would be much better for us than it would for the Ahis. Correct?" She turned and looked at Kathy.

"Oh heck yeah," Kathy nodded. "I mean, I don't know about you guys but when I say we go down together, I mean it. If there's a purple rock, I don't care. Just give me the bag. I won't even think about it."

Alicia nodded, and so did Gretchen.

All for one, and one for all.

That was still the deal.

"But I can promise you," added Kathy, "No... I can guarantee you... that they don't have that same deal on Ahi. I swear to you guys, if we manage to force a tie in two days, they're going to crumble. You can see it in their faces."

"You can guarantee that?" Gretchen smirked over at her, mockingly.

"I can guarantee it," smiled Kathy.

After all, as a former Marquesan acquaintance, she knew with one hundred percent certainty there was no way that John, Rob, or Vecepia would be facing that rock. It just wouldn't happen. None of them could stand one another.

"Well then it's settled," nodded Gretchen, authoritatively. "We just need to get one of them to join us. Who do we pick?"

"Tina."

Alicia just laughed. Because all three women had said the exact same name at the exact same time. Because, duh. Who else could it be? Tina was the only one over there who was essentially powerless. Not to mention probably furious over the fact that Frank had been blindsided a few hours ago, and she hadn't been told. Yes sir, if there was a perfect candidate to sway over to Keko, it was the suddenly very desperate and angry Tina. It seemed like the Ahis had basically done everything they could to drop her right in their lap.

"Well I guess that settles it, then," chuckled Kathy.

"Yeah but would she turn on Ahi?" asked Gretchen.

"Well just look at the math," Kathy shrugged. "I mean, over there she's what? Fifth out of five?"

Alicia nodded.

"Well over here she'd be fourth out of four," Kathy continued. "And while that's not the best place in the world to be, at least she's got better odds. I mean, we could basically promise her a shot in the final four. And that's better than nothing."

"And you know that's all she really wants," Alicia pointed out.

"Why?" asked Kathy.

"Well, because she's going to rock any sort of endurance challenge at the end. She's small, and you know she'll be unbeatable. Once she gets to the end, she knows she'll be hard to stop."

Ouch.

Now that was a variable they hadn't taken into consideration.

Would they be able to knock off Tina at the end, when it could all come down to balance and endurance? Did they really want to be up against someone as stubborn and determined as tiny little Tiny? Was giving her an open invitation into the final four a recipe for suicide?

"Well I don't think we really have the luxury to worry about that yet," said Gretchen. "I mean, no, I'd rather not have her at the end, myself. But what choice do we have, really?" She looked at Kathy. "I mean, first we have to get to the final four in the first place. And how else could we get there?"

Kathy looked stumped. So did Alicia. It looked like Tina was basically their only chance.

"What about Colleen?" Kathy asked, curiously. "Would she ever flip?" She turned and looked at Gretchen.

But Gretchen didn't know.

"I... I'm not really sure," Gretchen looked pained to be saying this. "Twenty-five days ago, I would have said yes. But now, I don't know. I don't think I really know her anymore. She's done a lot of stuff in this game that I didn't see coming."

Gretchen simply shook her head, sadly. Because Colleen just wasn't the same anymore. Gretchen's favorite little daughter on Pagong had disappointed just about everybody out here. She had been playing an entirely different type of game from the very first minute in Hawaii, and no matter how hard she tried, Gretchen didn't understand. In fact, the more she thought about Colleen these days, the more she felt a little bit sad. It seemed like Borneo had been such a long time ago.

"Besides," Gretchen added, "I don't know if Colleen will even still be here to flip. Because you've seen her. She's been out on that raft all day. For all I know, she's going to quit. She could be going home, I have no idea."

Kathy nodded, frustrated. Because she knew that Colleen would be an intriguing variable if she ever wanted to switch. Hell, if Colleen ever decided she was sick of dealing with Rob and the Ahi scumbags, that would spell a whole lot of change in this game, and the Kekos all knew it. Colleen turning on her Ahi captors was their absolute best-case scenario.

"Right now, I don't think we can rely on Colleen," Gretchen sadly concluded. "I think for the time being that we have to forget about her."

She hated to say it, but it was true.

It looked like their only option, at this point in time, was relying on Tina.





^^

Colleen came back to camp in the middle of lunchtime.

She didn't come back to talk. Nor did she come back to apologize to Tina, or to demand some answers from Rob. No, the only reason Colleen came back to camp was because she was starving, because they had food here, and because her body demanded it. In Survivor, you learned very quickly that defiant withdrawal wasn't always an available luxury. No matter how ticked off you might be with your tribesmates, your anger often took a backseat to the needs of your stomach.

"You okay, sweetie?" asked a concerned Vecepia, as Colleen sat down next to her on the communal eating log.

Colleen said nothing. Her face down, and her mouth full of rice, she just ate. She didn't feel like talking to anyone. And if she did, it certainly wouldn't be Vecepia.

Vee turned and shot a curious look at Rob, who just shrugged. He knew that Colleen was upset. But it didn't really bother him . After all, she'd be back in the game when it mattered. She always was. Right now he figured his best bet was to just sit here and let her blow off some steam. Partly because he felt she had earned it, and partly because he just didn't feel like dealing with this. Besides, what was the rush? The Manakais wouldn't have to vote again for another three days. And three days is a long time in Survivor. Rob had already decided he had plenty of time to sit down and have a rational talk with Colleen when she was done with her pissy fit. And that meant that for now he would just sit here and wait.

"Sweetie, you want any more rice?" Tina came over and asked her.

Colleen didn't look up. She didn't even acknowledge the question. And Tina was surprised. Because she had never seen Colleen like this before. Colleen was usually never this sullen. She almost always said "hi" if you talked to her. Something was wrong, and Tina was concerned.

"Look, Colleen, I'm not mad at you..." Tina started, hopefully. But she didn't really know how she was supposed to finish that sentence. Because this was just an awkward moment. What do you say?

In any case, it didn't really matter, because Colleen wasn't up for this conversation anyway.

Excusing herself politely, she simply stood up, set down her bowl, and walked into the shelter. And then she laid down inside. Hopefully, this was a place where she could get some privacy for a while. Hopefully the rest of the tribe would get the hint and just leave her alone.

The Manakais who remained around the firepit exchanged glances with one another. And most of them showed varying degrees of concern. Tina, of course, felt horrible. She didn't like to see Colleen like this. And Vecepia, off to the side, also looked genuinely concerned. Because Colleen Haskell looked about as down as a player could be and still be in the game. Vecepia had seen this, Vecepia had recognized this, and Vecepia-- ever the sympathetic Christian-- wanted to help if she could.

"Should we talk to her?" Vee mouthed to Tina. But Tina just shook her head. This wasn't the time. After all, as the only mother sitting here around the campfire, Tina could see all the signs. They would just have to leave their little moody teenager alone until she was ready to talk. Because if there was one thing you learned when having a daughter, it was that sometimes you just had to leave her alone.

And then Tina felt a tap on her shoulder.

Whipping her head around, she saw a pair of producers standing behind her. They had stopped by camp because it was interview time. They had also stopped by to check on Colleen. After all, now that she was back at camp, the worried producers were desperate to check on her firsthand to see how bad she was doing.

"Colleen's not up for an interview right now," Tina told them.

"How's she doing?"

But Tina just shook her head. Then she motioned for them to come with her. If they wanted an interview, they could do one with her instead. She wasn't going to let them anywhere near Colleen. After all, she was a player, but she was also a mother.

If the vultures wanted to pick on poor Colleen, they would just have to wait.

^^

"No questions about Colleen, okay?"

Tina laid down the ground rules right off the bat. The producers weren't very happy about this, but at the same time they really didn't have much of a choice. Those were the rules, and Tina was going to stand firm. If they wanted her to give them a confessional, they would just have to ask about something else, or they weren't getting an interview.

Although, truth be told, it wasn't going to be that big of a problem. After all, there was a lot more going on right now than the fate of Colleen.

"So where do you stand after last night's vote?" came the first question. It was a question that Tina had anticipated because, after all, it happened to be a fairly major one. Right now, the direction of All-Star Survivor rested in Tina Wesson's petite little experienced hands, and everyone knew it.

"Well I've suddenly become very popular," Tina smiled, "This morning, it seems like everybody wants me to be their date to the prom."

"And do you like that?"

Tina just laughed. Well that was a silly question. Did she like it? Of course she did. How could she not like it? How could you be the biggest free agent in the game, how could you have everyone courting you to join their side, and not feel a little bit giddy? Even for a player as savvy as Tina, this attention and newfound importance was a little bit flattering.

"Well yes, I like that I'm suddenly popular," she explained. "But no, I don't like what had to happen to get me here."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning I don't like what they did to Frank."

So there it was. Tina was still upset about the way that the Ahis had blindsided her best friend Frank last night. She was still very much holding a grudge, even though she was trying to hide it.

"So what does that mean?" came the follow-up question. "Does that mean you're out for revenge?"

Tina had to think about this question for a moment. Because "revenge" was an awfully loaded term. It didn't happen to be a very Christian word. It also didn't happen to be a very Tina word. So she knew she would have to be careful about the way this came out when it aired on TV.

"I wouldn't say that I'm out for revenge..." she explained, choosing her words very carefully, "But I will say that I'm not going to forget. I'm never going to forget how they treated Frank on his way out... and I don't want them to forget either. I want last night's vote to be important."

"Well, that's pretty much revenge."

"It is not, either!" Tina looked a little taken aback. "I'm just saying that if any of the Ahis get to the end, I want the Frank vote to come back to haunt them. I want this to be a moment that costs someone some votes."

"Someone like Rob?" the producer grinned.

"Well to be honest, it could be any of them," Tina shrugged. "Even John. Because they all worked together. They all did it maliciously." She paused. "There are two ways to play this game, the right way and the wrong way. And I'm sorry, but last night's vote, to me, seemed a little bit harsh. I don't think it needed to happen that way."

"So then where do you go from here?"

Obviously, this was a question that Tina had been mulling over for much of the morning. Where did she go from here? After all, it was one thing to tell Vecepia that she was going to stick with the Ahis, but it was another thing entirely to actually go through with it. Because this was an important decision. How wise was it to stay on a tribe where you had always been last on the totem pole? How smart was it to stay in an alliance that you simply wanted to lose?

"If I go with the Kekos, I'd be fourth," explained Tina. "I'd be fourth out of four. And those aren't very good odds."

She paused.

"But if I stay with the Ahis," she continued, "I'd be in the exact same place. I'd be fifth out of five. It doesn't matter which tribe I stick with, I'm still the last on the list."

"But with Keko you'd be guaranteed final four."

"Ah," smiled Tina, "Yes, but then of course there's a catch. Because if Vecepia really is telling the truth, if she really does want to get to the end with a former winner, then maybe my situation is a little bit better. Maybe then, I'd actually be second out of two. Or... at the very least... maybe third out of three. Because who knows what she plans to do about Rob. The two of them could have some sort of secret alliance, I have no idea."

"So do you think that Vee is telling the truth?"

"Oh gosh, I don't know," Tina smiled, a little nervously. Because that was a shaky proposition. How on Earth would she know if Vecepia was making a legitimate offer? And how was that any better than the offer the Kekos had started to float over to her, which offered her a guaranteed spot in the final four? After all, even though it wasn't quite as sexy or glamorous, a guaranteed spot in the final four was still an exciting prospect, especially for a player who had been skating on thin ice for most of the game.

"If I went with the Kekos," Tina mused out loud, "Then I'd have a 1-in-4 chance at a million dollars. And I wouldn't have to worry about it because I'd know I could trust them. If people like Gretchen and Kathy give you their word, you know it is good."

"But do you think you could win against them?"

Tina scowled slightly. Because that was-- in its most literal sense-- the million dollar question. Could she beat a Keko in a jury vote? Could a former winner beat anyone here, other than Vecepia? Was it theoretically possible for a winner to beat a non-winner in All-Star Survivor? Did she ever really want to find out?

"I just don't know," she finally sighed.

Because she didn't.

The next vote was probably going to be the biggest vote in the entire game. And Tina knew it. Her decision to flip or not flip on the Ahis would impact just about everybody, it was going to set the game down a certain course, and already she could feel the weight of the world bearing down on her tiny little shoulders. And as much as Tina relished her newfound importance, at the same time she had already found herself starting to resent it.

Was Tina really going to turn on the Ahis? Was she really going to join with the Kekos?

Who knew?

For now, all she would tell the producers was that she hadn't decided.





^^





The Manakais were expecting some sort of a reward challenge today but, surprisingly, they never got one. Their treemail box remained empty for the entire day. And the minute the players realized they now had a free evening to strategize, that meant it was time to negotiate. With just two short weeks until one of them became a millionaire, it was time to get serious.

And the first player to start making plans for the next vote was the Robfather himself, Rob Mariano. After all, who else would it be? Rob would always be the biggest overachiever in this game. He had no interest at all in leaving things to chance, because he had come here to win this.

"You still mad at me?"

It was near dusk, and Rob finally came into the shelter for the first time all day. Because it was time to make up with Colleen. He had left his number one sidekick all alone for most of the day, sulking, but he had finally decided that enough was enough. Colleen had had her little pouting time. He had given it to her. But now it was time to get back to business.

That's why Rob finally came in to apologize.

"You should have told me," Colleen said, weakly, as she lay down with her back to Rob, her face pressed up against the wall of the shelter.

"I know, I was a dick," Rob explained. "And you probably hate me. But I had to keep it quiet. I couldn't say anything to you about the Frank vote. Or else someone might have figured it out."

"Who?"

"I don't know. Tina. Alicia. Frank. Anybody."

"I wouldn't have told them," Colleen protested.

But that wasn't the point. Colleen would have given away the Frank blindside with her body language, and Rob knew it. Because she just wasn't very skilled at this. Colleen wasn't very good at keeping a secret. She was just too much of a novice. But there was no way he could actually explain it to her in those words, or she'd flip out. She'd flip out, she'd be pissed off, and then he'd be down one very important-- and one very needed-- number two ally. So Rob had to be careful about how he explained this to her.

"Look, if you want to vote me out, then vote me out," Rob said, cautiously. "But we're in a really good spot right now. I mean, we're still up five to three. Tina isn't going anywhere..."

"Yes she is."

"Where? To Keko?" Rob nearly laughed. "If she did that, she'd be the stupidest player in Survivor history!" He looked amused. "You think Tina's gonna walk over there and play for fourth place? She'd have to be an idiot."

But Colleen simply shook her head.

Rob may have known a lot of things about Survivor strategy, but he didn't know Tina. He didn't know her at all. He had no idea now stubborn and defiant she could be, mostly because the two of them had never really had much of a bond. But Colleen knew. Colleen knew Tina well. And if you asked her, she would tell you the truth. Tina was now officially dead to them. Tina would never stay another minute on Ahi because Tina was stubborn. There was no way you could pull the wool over on the woman that blatantly, and then expect her to stay.

"So you really think Tina's running to Keko?" Rob asked.

"I know she is."

"Why? Did she tell you?"

"No," Colleen said, sadly. "She didn't say anything. I just know her."

"Well then what's the point?"

Caught off guard, Colleen finally turned around and looked at him. Because that wasn't a very Rob thing to say. Since when did Rob admit a situation was hopeless? That wasn't like him at all, and Colleen was a little surprised.

"Ha, I got you," he grinned, in that irritatingly charming way of his. "I knew I'd get you to turn around."

"You suck."

"I know. But come on, get up, we got work to do. It's late."

He patted her amicably on the shoulder, then stood up and offered her a shrug. That was apparently all the apology she was going to get. Just that little shrug. It said that yes, Rob felt bad for having had to deceive her. He felt bad, but that was in the past, and it was time to move on.

^^





As dusk turned to night, Kathy met up with Alicia to assess the latest casualty report from the war at Camp Manakai. It was time to go over just how much damage the Kekos had managed to do today. It was time to discuss just how close they had come to bringing Tina over from Ahi.

"Well, I gave her the offer," Alicia shrugged, "And she said she'd consider it."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Bugger."

Alicia just chuckled. She always did get a kick out of Kathy's colorful little way of swearing. Because Kathy normally wouldn't say an actual swear word. Instead, she would say something colurful, like "bugger." Alicia could hear that phrase over and over, and she'd never get sick of it. That word was said quite often, and it was so totally Kathy.

"I don't think Tina necessarily meant she wouldn't join us," explained Alicia, "Because you know her, she doesn't make snap decisions. She likes to think about things. Even though we didn't get a yes today doesn't mean that we won't."

Kathy nodded, hopefully. Because that was the decision all three of the Kekos were counting on. Beyond all hope, they needed Tina to agree to vote with them. They needed it desperately, and they needed it soon.

"Where do we stand on Colleen?" Kathy now asked, quietly. After all, if Tina wasn't going to flip, they always had their backup plan. They always had Colleen. The only problem was that for most of the day today, she had been out of commission.

"Colleen?" Alicia asked, dubiously.

"Yeah. Where's her head at right now?"

"She's a basket case," Alicia assessed, bluntly.

"Nothing?"

"Nah," frowned Alicia. "Why bother? She's a waste of time."

Standing under the moonlight, with her white buff covering her hair, Kathy just stood there and shook her head, sadly. Because she really had had high hopes for Colleen coming over to join them. They all had. It had just seemed so right, and so inevitable-- Colleen and the Kekos. Like it was supposed to happen. And it was just so frustrating that up to this point it had been such a dead end for everyone involved.

"Well I still say Colleen's gonna get sick of Rob," Kathy opined.

"Yeah but when?"

"Beats me. But it has to happen. Doesn't it?"

Alicia just shrugged. Common sense said of course so. Common sense said it was inevitable. But at the same time, Alicia had also seen firsthand how persuasive Rob could be, so she knew it would be hard. When Rob wanted something to happen, he went out and he did it. If Rob wanted Colleen to stay, she would probably stay. After all, Rob had already started his second round of spy game requests to Alicia. So she knew that even though he clearly had the numbers around him, he was still working his magic.

"Well I just think Colleen's too smart to be Rob's little messenger girl for thirty-nine days," Kathy said, optimistically. "Because, you know, I've seen him play someone like that before. I saw him do it with Sarah. And Colleen just isn't like that."

"Colleen's smarter?"

"Oh God yes," Kathy nearly laughed. "I mean, I loved Sarah and all. But the girl was an idiot. She could have gotten lost in the shelter."

Alicia laughed out loud.

Even though the game seemed hopeless, and a comeback seemed unlikely, and one of their best options was probably a basket case, it was impossible to really get down about it. After all, as she had learned a long time ago, it was hard to wallow in your hopelessness when you hung around Kathy. No matter what you thought about Kathy as a player, she was always good for a laugh.

"We should probably get back to camp," Alicia said, as she looked over her shoulder back towards the visible campfire. "Rob's gonna have a shit fit if he sees us chatting out here."

"Is he still trying to get you to spy on us?" Kathy asked, astonished.

"He never lets up."

"Wow," Kathy whistled through her teeth.

"Yeah but I don't care," smiled Alicia. "'Cause it's gonna be awesome when Tina joins us. 'Cause then I get to tell him to fuck off."

Now it was Kathy's turn to laugh.

"Can you imagine the look on his face?" Alicia was laughing. "Can you just picture it? It's gonna be awesome."

"Oh man," Kathy laughed, as she wiped tears from her eyes. "That would be classic."

Apparently some things really were worth looking forward to out here. Like Alicia finally going off on the Robfather. Kathy had no idea how likely it was to actually happen. But, hey, at least it was something to strive for.

After all, sometimes it was the smallest little goal that kept you fighting when you began to lose hope.

DAY 26






Today's reward challenge was scheduled to take place at the crack of dawn, for reasons the players didn't yet understand. After all, a challenge first thing in the morning wasn't something that normally happened in Survivor. Usually they gave you a little time to get ready. But no, not today. Today something special was in the works. Today, they had been instructed to meet down by the beach first thing in the morning.

And it wasn't until Jeff explained the reward that they understood whey they were competing so early.

"The winners of today's challenge," smiled Jeff, "will be taken out on the trip of a lifetime. The two of you will be treated to a five star meal on a yacht. You'll be given champagne. You'll be doing a little deep-sea fishing..."

He paused, and then delivered the money shot.

"... And you'll also get a chance to go down in a shark cage, and swim with the sharks."

"No! Way!" said a clearly excited Kathy.

But Jeff just smiled and nodded his head. After all, this was Hawaii. And Hawaii was known for its sharks. The pair that won today's challenge would get to go down and swim with the great whites, the makos, and the hammerheads. Which would be frightening, but was actually perfectly safe, and was an experience they would always remember.

"So have you guys picked teams yet?"

Vecepia shook her head. The treemail had suggested that the Manakais divide up into pairs before the challenge, but most of them hadn't wanted to do that. There were just too many politics involved. Instead, they figured they'd come down to the challenge and pick numbers out of a hat, in an attempt to at least make things a little more fair.

"Okay," grinned Jeff, "So we're drawing straws. Who wants to go first?"

Five minutes later, the teams had been picked.





^^





Standing on the far end of Kahelai Beach, John Carroll looked over at his partner, Rob Mariano.

Ugh.

Why did this happen? After all, there were only two men left in the game. And yet somehow, improbably, they had wound up as partners? Really? John and Rob were now the favorites to win this thing?

In two hours, John Carroll was probably going to be sharing the trip of a lifetime with an asshole like Rob, and he wasn't very thrilled about this.

"Hey good luck," said Rob, as he tightened his white buff around his arm in preparation. He turned and nodded to his partner. And John simply smiled. Kiss my ass.

Standing next to John and Rob on the beach was the only other strong team in this challenge, the pairing of Tina and Gretchen. And even though they were a formidable team, they weren't that formidable. After all, the two women might be able to match the the men in the water, but John knew they'd get dusted the minute it came down to brute strength. Because Jeff had already explained that that's what this challenge was going to be all about. The pairs would be building a raft out of bamboo, then carrying it to water, and then rowing out to an obstacle course. It was a challenge totally stacked for an all-male team to win easily.

And John was already debating if he wanted to throw this challenge and screw Rob, just so Tina and Gretchen could have the shark-diving reward trip instead.

"Hey, good luck ladies," John called over towards his opponents. Tina just looked at him and smirked. Because she knew how much he hated Rob. They all did. She knew full well that John was already weighing the pros of cons of how much he really wanted to win this.

"Good luck to you too," she called over, almost mockingly.

Next to Tina stood the teams of Kathy/Alicia and Colleen/Vecepia.

Neither one would be a factor in this challenge, and everyone knew it.

"On my go," Jeff now explained, "You and your partner are going to race down to your pile of bamboo, and you're going to build a raft. Now how big you want to make your raft, and how strong you want it to be, well that's pretty much up to you. Because remember, you will be rowing this raft through an obstacle course, so you might want to consider that."

Rob simply nodded his head.

He saw the pile of bamboo. He saw the rope. He saw the hammer and nails. He saw the machete. He was already planning this out. In his construction worker's mind, that raft was practically already built. Now all he had do was run over there and actually build it.

"First team through the obstacle course and back here wins reward," finished Jeff, "The two of you will spend the rest of the day on one of the most fantastic luxury yachts you will ever see in your life. You will get the trip of a lifetime. You will get a five-course dinner. And, best of all, you will get a big advantage going into tomorrow's immunity challenge, which... at this stage in the game... is becoming increasingly important."

With that, he stepped back and got out of the way.

It was time to see just how badly John wanted to spend the rest of his day with Rob on a yacht.





^^





"Survivors, ready... go!"

Jeff dropped his arm.

The challenge began.

"Grab the rope! Grab the rope!" Rob screamed, as he raced down the beach towards their pile of materials. As any good carpenter would know, Rob wanted no part of those nails in their delicate pieces of bamboo. One wrong hit and you'd split your board. And then you'd be screwed.

"Get the rope! Forget the nails!" Rob shouted. And John was in no position to argue. After all, Rob may have been deficient in a lot of areas, but he sure knew his way around a construction project. In five minutes, he and John had already tied up several pieces of bamboo and had created the working semblance of a raft.

"John and Rob, getting something going," announced Jeff, as he walked along the beach, scouting everyone's progress. "Tina and Gretchen, making good time too."

John took a glance over at their competitors.

Tina and Gretchen's raft was about the half the size of Rob's so far, but it looked like it was going to hold. Gretchen had ambitiously attempted to use nails on the ends of the wood, and so far, she hadn't made any mistakes. So far, it looked like Gretchen's reputation as an amateur carpenter was proving to be true.

"We need to get this in the water," John implored Rob, as he turned back to his partner. Because whether he liked Rob or not, he still wanted to put on a good show today. He didn't want to get cocky. John had been skunked by women in a rowing challenge before, and of course this was something he had never forgotten. That hadn't been funny. So even if John and Rob did end up losing this challenge, John preferred that along the way, they actually sort of looked good.

"Three more boards," Rob promised, as he used a machete to hack a piece of wood down to the perfect length. "That's all I need. Just three more."

And that's when Gretchen and Tina started carrying their raft down towards the ocean.

"Gretchen and Tina!" announced Jeff. "First team with their raft in the water! Let's see if it floats!"

As John watched in horror, the two women placed their raft on the ocean, and climbed on top of it. Then they both grabbed a paddle and started to row. And much to everyone's surprise, they started to move.

"Wooooooo!" cheered Tina, merrily, as they started to pull out towards the obstacle course. The women were winning.

But now Rob was done.

His raft was all built.

It was time to catch up.

"Let's go!" he shouted, as he and John each grabbed an end. They started booking down the sand as fast as they could. Meanwhile, they could see Tina and Gretchen, who had reached their first buoy.

"Tina and Gretchen are in the obstacle course!" announced Jeff. "Rob and John, trying to make up some ground!" He turned and looked at the two other teams. "Meanwhile, Colleen and Vecepia have created a disaster."

Jeff laughed.

Vecepia and Colleen had no chance to win this, because their raft had already fallen apart.

With one team completely out of the running, and Alicia/Kathy struggling just to get their haphazard creation down to the water, that meant that only two teams had any real chance to win this. It was going to be Rob/John, or it was going to be Gretchen/Tina.

And John had finally decided that he wanted to win this.

Why? Well not because he liked Rob, but because he was competitive.

He had competed against women before. He had lost to women before. It sucked, it had been embarrassing, and he didn't want to repeat it.

"Don't worry," Rob assured him, as the two men cut a strong path through the water with their powerful arms. "We'll catch them. That raft won't stay together. Watch."

Sitting behind Rob on their raft, John looked up. And he'd be damned if the guy was right. Sure enough, Gretchen's raft was starting to fall apart. She and Tina were slowly sinking down in the ocean, despite their desperate attempts to bail out water. Their raft hadn't held. It was too small to support their combined weight. Rob had been absolutely correct.

"Noooo!" shouted Gretchen, laughingly, as she and Tina slowly sank down into the blue Pacific Ocean. They had managed to paddle around three of the ten buoys, but it was too little, too late. Even Tina frantically bailing water in the back wouldn't be able to save them.

"Next time, use more wood!" Rob called gleefully, as he and John paddled easily around the Gretchen-wreck and took over the lead. John, who of course had learned not to taunt his opponents during challenges (a lesson which Rob apparently had not), simply shrugged at Tina as they paddled on by.

It looked like John would soon be sharing a romantic overnight with Rob Mariano.

And Tina could only laugh at the irony.





^^





Ten minutes later, the challenge was over. And only one team had finished. Boston Rob's raft was the only one that hadn't fallen apart at some point in the water. The two men had won reward in a landslide.

In other words, the winning team in this challenge hadn't been a surprise.

But there was a big surprise coming, and even Jeff didn't know it.

You see, ever since yesterday afternoon, Rob Mariano had been feeling guilty. Incredibly guilty. And for a guy who didn't feel all that guilty in the game of Survivor, that was a fairly big deal.

Why was Rob feeling so guilty?

Well it certainly wasn't over what he had done to Frank. And it certainly wasn't over what he had done to Tina. Because screw them. Rob didn't really have a use for either one of them. All Tina and Frank were were pawns in his game. He couldn't have given a rat's ass if he betrayed either one of them, because that was just what you did in Survivor. You treated your opponents like crap. And you never felt bad about it.

But when it came to his betrayal of Colleen... well... that was a little bit different. Because Colleen was his friend. And he had definitely hurt her. It had been unintentional, but of course it had happened. Rob had betrayed Colleen quite badly with his actions over the last couple of days.

And ever since yesterday, he had been looking for some way to make it up her.

He had been looking for some way to put that smile once again on her face.

"... In one hour," Jeff was explaining, "A boat will come to your camp. And it's going to pick up John and Rob, and take them out to the yacht."

"Lucky," teased Kathy, with an envious grin.

And that's when the ethical side of Rob Mariano finally kicked in. Because deep down, he was a good kid. He really was. He was basically just a sweet kid from Boston who had a big heart. And even in Survivor, even out here in the most cutthroat game known to man, the dreaded Robfather knew that you were supposed to be good to your friends.

"Jeff, can I say something?" Rob suddenly asked.

"Sure."

Rob looked nervous.

"Can I give up the reward if I wanted?"

Seven shocked members of Manakai turned and looked at this completely out of character request. What the hell? Since when would Rob Mariano ever turn down a reward? Wasn't this the same guy who had been gleefully taunting Gretchen and Tina as their raft sunk? Wasn't this the same guy who basically taunted Frank all the way to the jury? Mister Hardcore, Rob Mariano, wanted to give his reward to somebody else? Since when?

Even Jeff was a little bit stunned.

Who would give up the trip of a lifetime?

"Well, you can if you want," Jeff explained, a little bit cautiously. "But can I ask why?"

"Well..." Rob started, almost bashfully. He looked down at the sand. "Last night, a lot of things were said between people after Tribal Council. And I didn't feel all that great about it. Because even though this is just a game, I thought some feelings got hurt. And I didn't think it was necessary."

Standing next to Rob, John suddenly perked up. Because he knew exactly where Rob was going with this. Rob was giving his reward to Colleen. John's reward trip was about to become a lot more exciting and interesting than he had originally expected. He was about to get a dinner date who was a little bit fun.

"So, Rob, what do you want to do?" Jeff asked, again very tentatively.

"If no one minds, I'd like to give my reward to Colleen."

Down at the end of the line, Colleen Haskell gasped in astonished surprise.

"Let me get this straight," Jeff asked, increduolusly. "You're giving up this reward, you're giving up the trip of a lifetime, and a chance to go shark diving, just so Colleen can go instead? Is that what you're asking to do?"

"Yes, sir."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because I think she's had a really hard time the past twenty-four hours. And because I think she could use it."

Even though he knew the other players were going to call bullshit on him, Rob didn't care. He was serious. This wasn't strategy. He would swear by it. He simply wanted to give it to Colleen because he was a good kid, and because he had screwed up and wanted her forgiveness. That was it.

"So, Colleen, do you want to go swimming with sharks?" smiled Jeff.

Well, duh.

All of a sudden her smile was back.

Colleen suddenly ran over to Rob and she gave him a hug.





^^

"Man, Mariano's a smooth one, isn't he?"

Kathy asked this question innocently to Tina, as the two women stood knee deep in the water, washing clothes. Because even though they had been back at camp for more than an hour, it was still a hot topic. Kathy and most of the Manakais were still debating Rob's decision, and why he had done it. Had it had been legitimate, as Rob was claiming? Or was it strategic, and just a means to an end?

Just how sincere had his gift to Colleen Haskell really been?

And just how much was Robfather strategy?

"Well you know what Rob really did, don't you?" asked Tina. She turned and looked over at Kathy. "What he really did is keep Colleen away from everyone. He found a way to keep her from talking to y'all. Because if he hadn't, you three would have been all over her."

Kathy nodded, understanding. Because Tina was correct. If Rob had left Colleen here all alone, for twenty-four hours... man... there was nothing the Kekos wouldn't have done to try and sway her. They would have pulled out all the stops. And, meanwhile, Rob would have been helpless. He would have been stuck out on a yacht somewhere, unable to protect her, and Colleen would have been ripe for the picking. She could have been theirs.

"But even so," added Tina, "I still don't think it was strategy."

"You don't?"

"No." Tina shook her head. "I mean, sure, it worked out for him and all, but it think that was just a bonus. Because to me, he seemed sincere. I think he felt really bad about everything. It seemed to me like he just wanted to make it up to her."

"Yeah," Kathy nodded absently.

But deep down she didn't like that answer.

In fact, she didn't like Tina's answer at all.

You see, if there was one thing they knew about Rob Mariano, it was that he was a throat-cutting, mercenary asshole. Oh, he might be a very charming throat-cutting mercenary asshole, but deep down they all knew he sort of got off on playing the bad guy. Rob liked being reckless. And Rob liked (or didn't seem to mind) making enemies. That was just part of his game..

It also happened to be the reason several players-- including Kathy-- had recently started to want to keep him around. Because he was unpopular. That's just who Boston Rob was! If you sat next to the guy in the final two, you had a chance to win, no matter who you were. That was just the conventional wisdom. You could be Vecepia. You could be Frank. You could be Richard. You could be anybody. Because anybody had a chance against an asshole like Rob in the finals. That was just common sense. No matter how good a game he might play, no matter how dominating the guy was when it came to strategy, he would always have enemies.

But now, today, thanks to his generosity to Colleen, Rob had shown that maybe he really wasn't all that bad a person. Maybe he actually was sort of an honorable guy. Oh, it might not be the consensus yet. But it was definitely moving in that direction. Some people-- like Tina-- were starting to come around to the fact that Rob had actually done something nice for their fragile young teammate. In fact Tina had already gone on record and praised Rob for doing the right thing.

In the span of two hours, Rob had gone from "public enemy number one" to "the guy who kept Colleen from quitting." He had managed to turn a simple reward trip into a nice little image makeover.

And Kathy, who knew the Robfather better than anyone, was finding it a little unnerving.

"Well I still think it was strategy," she shrugged, rebutting Tina's argument. "I mean, you can say how sweet it was, and you can say how noble it was, but in the end, who did it help? Rob. The simple fact is that Rob's gift probably just kept Colleen from dumping his sorry butt." She shot a glance at Tina. "And, you know, if you aren't careful, it's the move that could have won him the game."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Tina smiled, coyly.

"Why?"

But Tina said nothing. She just smiled over, like she had the biggest secret in the world, and she didn't want to tell. It was a smile that only Tina truly knew how to do. And as much as Kathy appreciated the nobility of the southern female, she had to admit she found that silent smugness a little annoying.

"Come on, T," Kathy pleaded. "Spill it. You're killin' me."

But Tina just laughed.

"I'm not saying anything specific," she explained, "I'm just saying that Rob isn't gonna win this game. There's no way."

"Why? 'Cause you're gonna take him down."

"Maybe," Tina shrugged.

And she raised a coy little eyebrow in response.

And... okay...that was it. Now this was serious. Tina was suddenly hinting that she wanted to talk strategy. And that just didn't happen much. Like Colleen, Tina usually preferred to keep her mouth shut and her name out of the headlines. She usually liked to lay low. But now, all of a sudden she had dropped a hint like she wanted to deal?

Well Kathy, as a desperate businesswoman, knew this was potentially huge.

She also knew that it was time to call in some help if she wanted to negotiate.

"Gretchen!" called Kathy, as she turned around and waved back towards the beach.

Tina just folded her arms across her chest and looked amused.

But Gretchen knew the signal. She had seen Kathy chatting with Tina. She had been waiting for the sign that something interesting might be happening. And now, here she came, walking briskly down the beach. She knew it was time. It was time to pull Tina over to Keko. Because it looked like she was finally dropping the hint that she wanted to chat.

^^

"Did Rob see you guys together?" Gretchen asked, in a low voice, as she treaded into the waist-deep water. Because she knew he had been watching. Rob had been keeping an eye on Tina for the past hour or so. He had been watching her to make sure she didn't do anything stupid. After all, with John and Colleen away on their reward trip all day, keeping an eye on Tina was pretty much all he could do.

"I haven't seen Rob in a while." Kathy reported. "I don't know where he is."

She looked back towards camp, nervously.

Apparently Rob was gone. And so was Vecepia. In fact, so was Alicia. Right now it was just the three women of Manakai, alone in the water. Everyone else in this game had... for whatever reason... decided to leave them alone for the last ten minutes. And as uncharacteristic as that was for Rob, Kathy knew their window of opportunity would be short. Rob would realize his mistake in a few minutes, so they'd have to act fast.

"So here's the pitch..." Kathy said, quietly.

"Alicia already gave me the pitch!" Tina smiled.

"Yeah I know, but we're doing it again."

Tina just laughed.

"If you join Keko today, the four of us will go to the end," Kathy promised. "And I mean it. No backstabbing. No side deals. No cutting you out. Nothing." She paused. "If you force a tie at the next vote, we all make the final four. And you know it will work."

Tina just stared down at the water, nodding softly.

"Look, Tina, this is the only chance you have to get to the end," added Gretchen, "And it's the only chance we have to get to the end. So... you know... from both of our points of view, it sort of makes sense."

"An all-woman alliance," said Kathy, "We all stick together."

"No more stress," smiled Gretchen. "No more dishonesty."

And that line, more than anything, was the one that started to tug at Tina's heart.

You see, out of all the players in this game, Tina Wesson had probably had the hardest time out here. She'd had a very hard time. Even worse than Colleen. Tina had basically been under fire, and under attack, since the very first week in Hawaii. And it had been incredibly taxing. After all, how much fun can you have when you lose ally after ally seemingly every single time your tribe goes to Tribal Council? How can it not be stressful when Rob and his attack dogs have been making your life miserable and unpleasant for nearly three weeks?

Even though Tina had been trying to put on a chipper face for the cameras... after all, she was Tina... deep down, she had actually come close to cracking on several occasions in the past few weeks. She didn't like to admit it, but the truth was that she actually had come close. In fact, one time, last week, she had almost broken down in tears during one of her interviews. She had managed to catch herself in time-- only a last minute catch in composure had spared her that shame-- but she had come awfully close to crying, and it had gotten under her skin. Because she wasn't the type of player who cried or let this game get to her. Tina Wesson wasn't the type of player who took things personally, and the fact that she was nearly crying over Survivor had obviously shaken her up.

So as you can imagine, when Tina heard a promise that there would be "no more stress" for the next few weeks if she took this deal, she found the idea to be more than a little bit tempting.

For a player who had been shit on for every single minute of this game, the idea of an alliance with the Kekos actually sounded quite nice.

"Come on, T," Kathy prodded. "This will work, and you know it."

Tina opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Because she didn't know what she was supposed to say. It had been a long time since she had been in the driver's seat of anything, and she'd forgotten the feeling. Even though she desperately wanted to say "yes", like her heart told her she should, she wasn't sure if this was the time or the place.

"All you have to do is say yes," Kathy continued to prod. "Just say that you want to go with us to the end."

Gretchen just nodded her head, reassuringly.

Tina wanted to. She really wanted to. But she just didn't know. After all, if she took this deal, then what about her deal with Vecepia? Weren't they supposed to be going against one another in the final two? Wasn't it supposed to be winner against winner? Wasn't that the only way that Tina would ever be able to win? Against Vecepia?

As if sensing Tina's inner turmoil, Kathy suddenly realized there was something she needed to ask.

"Tina, if you stick with Ahi, what's your plan?" She looked her shorter tribesmate directly in the eyes. "Because you have to have one. I mean, obviously you're not going to just sit there and let them take you out at five. Right?"

"Well, no..."

"So then what's your side deal?" Kathy probed. Because she knew there had to be one. Tina wasn't stupid. She obviously had a side offer to go to the final three with someone, and she just wasn't telling.

But Tina never even got a chance to answer this question.

Because Gretchen was smart. And Gretchen had already figured it out.

"It's Vee, isn't it?" asked Gretchen.

Sure enough, it all made sense. Tina was expecting to go to the end against Vecepia. Winner against winner. She had to, the pieces all fit. It was the only possible reason she would stick with the Ahis, it was the only possible reason she would balk at joining the Kekos, and Kathy was a little surprised that a player as non-strategic as Gretchen had already figured it out. Gretchen had managed to pinpoint the number one variable.

In Tina's mind, the only way she can win this game is against Vecepia.

And Kathy, of course, was bound and determined to shoot a hole in this ridiculous argument.

"Tina, let me tell you a little something I know about Vecepia..." Kathy started.

Tina just laughed and shook her head, amused.

Kathy slamming her archrival, Vecepia?

This should be interesting.

"No, I'm not gonna just stand here and slam her," Kathy explained. "Come on. I'm not here to talk trash. There's just something I think you should know about her."

"And what's that?" Tina asked, still amused.

"You just need to know that Vecepia will never let you get to the end," Kathy said. "Despite what she promises, despite what she tells you, you're never gonna get there." She looked into Tina's eyes. "And I'm not saying that in a "Hey, Vee screwed me over and now I'm a bitch" sort of way. I just mean that in the sense of you're a lot more likable. If she faced you in the finals, you'd kick her butt.."

"And Vecepia would know that." Gretchen chimed in. "She knows that if she takes you to the finals, it's suicide."

Tina, who wanted to mount some sort of a defense for herself, found herself powerless against the ping-ponging two-barrel argument of the Keko women. Gretchen and Kathy had clearly planned out this conversation beforehand, and they were hitting her hard. They were hitting her with some very good points that they had clearly thought out, and they were hitting her so hard it made it impossible to argue.

"Vee's only plan is to go to the end against Rob," explained Kathy. "Because believe me, Tina, I know her. She's malicious. She'll cut your throat. She wants to go up against Rob because nobody likes him. And because she's smart enough to know she can beat him."

"Besides," asked Gretchen, "Didn't the Ahis already screw you over once? Didn't they vote out Frank about twenty-four hours ago? Don't you think they would do it again?"

"And Vee knew," Kathy added. "Vee knew all about the Frank vote. You better believe it. After all, why do you think she didn't warn you until it was too late? Because she didn't want you to be able to save him. She's a snake, T. She doesn't want any part of you."

"Okay! Enough!" Tina finally shouted, as she thrust her hands out to her sides.

Jeez!

She knew that Kathy and Gretchen were persistent, but this was getting ridiculous.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do," Tina implored, "And I understand your arguments. But I'm just not ready to make a decision. Not now. Not like this. I'm not sure a final four deal is even in my best interests."

"Well then, how about a final three deal?" asked Gretchen, impulsively.

Alarmed, Kathy turned and shot a look at Gretchen. Because a final three offer had not been a part of the plan. But Gretchen didn't waver. She didn't care. She was here to win Tina over and get her to force a tie. And if offering her a final three berth was going to sway her decision, well then that's exactly what she was going to do. No matter what the other players might think of Gretchen as a strategist, she was here to win this game for the Kekos, and it was time to play hardball.

"You would bring me in over Alicia?" Tina asked, surprised.

"I love her, but yes," explained Gretchen. "Because I'm not losing to Rob. And neither are you."

Kathy, fully aware that this conversation could have major, major repercussions down the road, simply stood there and kept her mouth shut. Because she didn't want to be known as an Anti-Alicia conspirator. It was much too late in the game to have a person with that kind of temper find out you're their enemy. Secrets had a way of not staying secret in the game of Survivor. And Gretchen should know that.

This subject had to be changed right now, before it went any further.

"Seriously... Tina..." Kathy finally broke her silence, "Just think about our offer, will you? Because I think it would be good for all of us."

She paused and looked over her shoulder, just to make sure that Rob hadn't returned. Luckily, he hadn't. He was still God knows where. It looked like he had missed this entire conversation.

"I'll think about it," Tina nodded, somewhat nervously. After all, she was aware that Rob could be watching too.

"We can't offer you much," shrugged Kathy, "But we can at least give you some security. Because, come on. If you're with us, you can relax."

Tina nodded.

Of course she'd consider it.

But at the same time, the bigger plan that had suddenly entered her head just might prove to be a little too tempting...






^^





As the three Manakai women finished up their chat, and then scattered off back to their assorted chores, John and Colleen were currently sitting on the deck of a luxury yacht, and they were caught in a giggle-fest.

"... and did you see when Rob got up to take a piss the other night?" John asked, a glass of red wine in his hand. "I swear, he got up, and because it was dark he didn't know where he was going. So he accidentally stepped on Alicia and she started cursing him out."

"I heard that!" Colleen laughed, a glass of wine in her hand as well. "I didn't know what it was! I just thought she was just sleep cursing."

"You better get that foot off my ass, boy," John lowered his voice, in a pitch-perfect imitation of Alicia, "You better get it off me, or I'm bustin' it off."

Colleen, who was already slightly tipsy from the wine, was now lost in the giggles. John's imitations of his teammates were always too funny. It was what made hanging out with him so fun. He trashed everybody.

"So you didn't know why Alicia was swearing?" John asked, half-tipsy himself.

"No! I just thought she was talking in her sleep!"

"Oh man, that was classic," John laughed, as he downed the last few sips of his wine. "I can't believe you missed it. She almost threw him out of the shelter."

For the past two hours, John and Colleen had been sitting here on the yacht, all alone, enjoying their Hawaiian feast. And it had been awesome. Because the minute those braised pork ribs came out, and the minute those two bottles of wine had been uncorked, the party had officially begun. John had started trashing the rest of their Manakai teammates, Colleen had pitched in whenever she could, and for a while, the game had been dumped unceremoniously to the curb.

For two hours, Colleen Haskell hadn't thought of the game of Survivor for a second. And she loved it. It was just the sort of thing she had needed to recharge her batteries.

And the best part was that the two of them could sit here and do this all night, because they had nowhere to go.

"Did you ever hear Sue fart when she sat down?" John asked, giggling.

Oh man. Now Colleen was dying.

She thought she was the only one who had noticed Sue's peculiar sitting malady.

"Stop!" she giggled, helplessly, as she spilled some of her wine onto her leg. "Stop it John. My stomach hurts. I'm serious."

"Kathy farts too. But you just have to listen for it. She's sneaky."

Colleen just put her head down on the table and laughed like a maniac. She couldn't help it. She knew that she probably looked like an idiot, but it was too late to care.





^^

After two hours of eating, and what seemed like two hours of giggling, John and Colleen finally finished up their little luau feast. The waiters took away their plates, Colleen licked the excess teriyaki sauce off of her fingers, and now they were done. The food was gone, the wine was gone, and that meant it was time to get back to the game.

But not before Colleen could say something that she meant from the bottom of her heart.

"You know, John, I just wanted to thank you for this."

"For what?" he giggled helplessly. "For getting you drunk?"

"No, I'm being serious."

She looked at him with those plaintive, doe-like eyes, and he quickly clammed up.

"I just want to thank you for taking me out of the game for a while. Because I really needed it today."

She almost looked embarrassed to be admitting this.

"Well it's no problem," shrugged John. "I mean, we all have bad periods out here. Right? We're all down in the dumps at some point or another."

"I know..."

"It's not anything you need to feel ashamed about. Heck, it could have happened to any of us. It could have happened to Gretchen. It could have happened to Alicia."

Colleen just looked up and nodded her head. But John could see that she was near tears. She truly was embarrassed about the way she'd gone off the deep end this morning, and she just didn't know how to phrase it. Depression didn't hit Colleen very often. And she wanted to tell him that through her eyes. She really wanted him to know that this feast had meant everything.

"Well what's the one thing I promised you back at the twist?" John smiled, as he tried to soothe her damaged pride. "Do you remember?"

"Yeah. You promised you would never pressure me into playing the game."

John nodded. Yep, those had been his words, alright. Very early on in this game, he had recognized how much Colleen hated to be pressured. She hated it with a passion. So he had wisely decided to make her that promise. No matter how the game turned out, no matter how stressed everyone got, no matter what alliance the two of them ended up on, he would always be the one person on Ahi who would never force her to play. No matter what happened in All-Star Suvivor, he promised to always be her safe place out here.

"Well I just want to reiterate to you that I mean it," John added. "And I'm not just saying that because I'm drunk."

Colleen giggled.

"I don't care if you play the game," John half-slurred his words. "I don't care if you vote me out. Hell, if we lose, we lose. If we win, we win. Right? In the long run, who cares?"

Colleen nodded. Her thoughts exactly.

"It's just a game," John smiled. "So fuck it. Let's just go out and have fun."

Colleen closed her eyes and let out a great big sigh of relief.

Because if there was one person here who understood the bigger picture, it was her good friend John Carroll. After all, he had been burned by paranoia once before. He had once been consumed by the game of Survivor. And if there was one person who understood how important it was to keep your sense of humor out here, he was sitting across from her right now. John knew what it was like to be devoured by the game of Survivor. And he had long since vowed that it would never happen again. This time, he was here to relax, and simply sit back and enjoy the experience for what it was.

And for Colleen, this "I don't care" attitude was like a breath of fresh air.

"Well this has been awesome," she smiled at her friend. "And here I was thinking that we'd come out here and you'd try to make a final two deal with me." She laughed at him, coyly. "I was worried that you'd get me drunk and then you'd want to start scheming."

"Bah. Fuck it. Vecepia's gonna win anyway. So why would it matter?"

He laughed. And she laughed. And right there, Colleen decided she no longer cared about the game of Survivor. She just no longer cared. No matter how seriously the people treated it back at camp, no matter how life and death it was to people like Rob and Vecepia, Colleen decided that it was all once again a big joke to her, and she no longer cared.

This revelation was refreshing. It was inspiring. She absolutely loved it.

And she also blamed it on John.

^^

As the sun set low over the western horizon, John and Colleen were escorted out to a fishing trawler where they would share the second part of their Hawaiian adventure. It was time to go diving with sharks. After all, sharks are most active at sunset, so around 6:00 it was time to go down in a cage.

"You nervous?" John asked, as he watched Colleen warily eye the opening into her personal shark cage.

"Um... yeah. Terrified, actually," she turned around and admitted.

"Nah, don't worry. They only attack you if you move. So just don't breathe and you'll be fine."

"Asshole."

John just laughed.

"Don't worry," he finally reassured her, clapping her on the back, "I've done it before. They can't get you through the cage. In fact they really don't even care about you. Humans are too skinny to eat. We're too bony."

"Seriously?" she still looked concerned.

"Yeah, don't worry. You'll be fine."

John splashed down into his cage. Then, clad in his wetsuit, he took his oxygen tube and placed it in his mouth. He tested out his equipment. Everything seemed to work.

"You coming in?" he looked up, teasingly.

Colleen was still petrified beyond belief, but there was no turning back now. It was too late to wimp out. So with a tiny little squeal she jumped down into her own cage and was surrounded by water. Man, the deep ocean was cold!

With their heads bobbing above the water, John instructed her on how to put on a scuba mask, and then he showed her how to breathe using the oxygen tube. And then he gave her a few hand signals she could use when they were both underwater. If Colleen flashed one finger, it meant she was okay. Two fingers meant she was terrified of something. If John saw two fingers, he promised he'd do whatever it took to distract whatever was swimming.

For the second time today, Colleen was most grateful.

And so there, off the northern shore of Ni'ihau, Hawaii, their adventure continued. John Carroll and Colleen Haskell took part in one of the most memorable experiences they would ever have in their lives. They went into the open ocean. They went down in a cage. They took pictures of sharks.

And Colleen was now one hundred percent back to herself.

All it had taken was some wine, some time away from the game, and the support and understanding of her good friend, John.

And also, the realization that Survivor would never again have the chance to break her because she simply no longer cared.

DAY 27

It was eight o'clock in the morning, and Kathy was still groggy over the fact that she had only been awake for about fifteen minutes. And that's why this was the last conversation she wanted to be having right about now. With the sun hanging low in the sky, and the morning air still crisp with its frigid chilliness, the last thing Kathy wanted to be doing this early was convincing a suspicious Alicia that she hadn't been cut out of the loop.

It was too damn early, and she was too damn sleepy for this type of conversation right now.

Why couldn't this have waited for a couple of hours?

"All I need to know is, is there something I need to worry about?" Alicia asked, for the second time in as many minutes. She currently had Kathy cornered out on the trail to the water hole. Because Alicia's gut was telling her that something was wrong. Something fishy was going on with their deal with Tina. Something suspicious. And before anything else happened this morning, she wanted some answers.

"No!" Kathy reassured her. "You don't need to worry about anything! We just talked to Tina. That's it."

"Nothing more?"

"Nothing! I swear!"

But Alicia still had that look in her eye. The look that said she knew something was up. Something had happened during that chat with Tina yesterday. Something big. Alicia knew it. There was something that Kathy wasn't telling her, and it was pissing her off.

"Well then let me ask you this..." Alicia began.

Uh oh.

Kathy braced for the worst.

"Why is Tina suddenly on cloud nine this morning?" asked Alicia. "I mean, you've seen her. She's so happy, she's floating around on a little cloud. And as far as I know, Tina doesn't look that way very often. In fact, most of the time she seems a little depressed." Alicia scanned Kathy's face, expectantly. "So why's she so damn happy today?"

"Well we gave her the offer last night."

"I know that." Alicia looked exasperated. "You gave her the exact same deal that I did. But she didn't look like that after I asked her. And she sure as hell didn't look that happy yesterday morning."

Kathy groaned.

This was the worst possible time for this.

"So what's the deal?" Alicia still looked pissed. "What did the two of you say to her that was so goddamn exciting? And why am I being left out of the loop? What's the deal, Kathy? I thought we were friends."

Kathy just closed her eyes and shook her head, sadly. Because this wasn't supposed to be happening. Not now. Not today. Not when they were this close to having Tina in the palm of their hand. The Kekos were this close to taking over the game, and now this? Suspicion from Alicia? A last minute speed bump?

Was any sort of Keko comeback just inherently cursed?

"Okay, you want the scoop?" Kathy hated to be doing this. But in the interest of full disclosure, it had to be done. Alicia had to know, because they just couldn't lose her. Not now. Not today. If they ever wanted Tina to come over to join Keko, they needed Alicia. They needed her loyalty and, more importantly, they desperately needed her vote.

"Tell me," Alicia said, arms folded across her chest. "Spill it."

"We were talking to Tina yesterday," Kathy explained, sighing, "And Gretchen said something stupid. Something she didn't mean, but Tina probably latched onto."

"What?" Alicia asked, flatly.

Kathy paused and took a deep breath.

Oh well.

This blowout between Alicia and Gretchen had been building for a long time now.

Might as well rip off the Band-Aid quickly, and hope it didn't hurt much.

"Gretchen told Tina that if she comes over to Keko, then she's guaranteed final three. Because Gretchen would be willing to cut you out of the picture at that point. Tina makes three, and you're gone at four. That was the deal."

"And what did Tina say?" asked Alicia.

"She didn't say anything." Kathy paused, looking harried. "She sort of left us hanging, and it's making me nervous."

Kathy had expected some sort of angry outburst from Alicia, but surprisingly, there wasn't one. Alicia didn't say anything. She simply looked down at the ground, lost in thought. In fact, she stood that way for so long, Kathy became a little bit worried. Why was she being so quiet?

"Um, Alicia...?"

"Weren't we supposed to be all for one?" Alicia asked, as she finally looked up.

"Of course. And this deal never would have happened."

"It wouldn't?"

"No way," Kathy shook her head, insistently. "When I said we all go to the end, I meant it. I wouldn't have voted you out. And I don't think Gretchen would have either."

"No?" Alicia looked suspicious.

"I mean, I can't speak for the woman," Kathy explained, "But why would she? She'd have to know that she'd lose your jury vote. And there's no way she'd ever beat Tina in a final endurance challenge. Tina would beat her and then she'd vote her out. So what would Gretchen gain by actually doing this? Nothing! If she ever turned on you, she'd be slitting her own throat."

"But still, you didn't tell me."

And there it was. That was the big question. Why had Kathy known about this little indecency, and had neglected to tell her? If it was so innocent, if it really did mean nothing, then why had Kathy chosen to not say a word to Alicia, who was supposedly her number one ally?

Something was fishy, something was wrong about this, and Alicia was wary.

"I meant to tell you," Kathy said, weakly, "But jeez, you're a little crazy sometimes, you know?" She shrugged helplessly at her friend. "I mean, what do you expect? Sometimes you just scare the hell out of people, because you're nuts."

Alicia just glared at her for a moment.

And then finally, she had to break down into a small smile. She couldn't help it. Nobody else would have admitted that they were scared to death of Alicia. Only Kathy. Kathy was the only person here who could defuse her anger with a wisecrack like that. Kathy was the only one here who knew how to disarm her, and she did it a lot..

"So I'm scary?" Alicia asked, smirking slightly.

"Man, you're like a freaking pitbull."

And with that, Kathy had officially saved the day. She didn't yet know if Alicia was going to hold a grudge over this issue-- after all, it would be a very un-Alicia reaction not to-- but for now, Alicia seemed convinced that Gretchen had simply made a mistake. After all, Gretchen might be a survival god when it came to living outdoors, and people might defer to her general leadership most of the time, but deep down, she was just as human as the rest of them. She made impulsive and stupid decisions just like everyone else. So in this case, Kathy theorized, Alicia would understand that Gretchen just wasn't all that good at playing Survivor, and had simply made a mistake.

The only problem was that Alicia didn't entirely believe that.

Oh, she might have looked like she believed Kathy's explanation. Kathy might have gotten her to laugh. Kathy might have broken her scowl. But Alicia Calaway was no dummy. She knew full well that there were plans being made behind her back. She knew full well that the Kekos probably didn't expect her to be around at the end. She knew full well that she wasn't one of the top two members of the Keko alliance. She knew all this was probably true, and she didn't much like it.

"So are we good now?" asked Kathy, a friendly little smile on her face. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, no worries," nodded Alicia, sincerely. "I just wanted to hear it from you. So thanks for telling me."

"Good. Cause you had me worried for a second."

And with that, the two Kekos started walking down the path to collect water. One of them, who thought she had just saved the day, and the other, who knew it was probably time to start making some alternate plans. You see, for as good as Kathy was at defusing Alicia, there was one thing she had never really learned about her number one ally.

Alicia Calaway happened to be an exceptional actress.

She was also not the type of person who forgave and forgot.

^^






Colleen and John returned to camp just after breakfast time. And they came back relaxed and refreshed. Gone were the stresses of Survivor. Gone was the need to lose sleep. Instead, they came back to camp with a new attitude towards the game, a new lease on life, and the refreshing option to no longer care.

And, most importantly, four pockets full of Alaskan king crab claws, to share with the tribe.

"Oh, you guys are awesome!" said Vecepia, as she dug into the most succulent crab she had ever tasted in her life. My goodness, this was like heaven. Vecepia and the Manakais were so overjoyed, they could barely speak. They just stood here and feasted.

"Well this is our gift from us, to you," smiled John, as he pulled out a few scraps of dinner roll from his shirt pocket.

He put them on the communal dinner table.

They were gone in a second.

With their gifts of appeasement having been made, and their ingratiation back into the tribe now being complete, Colleen took a moment to go over and thank the one person who had given her that wonderful reward. She pulled Rob aside, and thanked him for the trip that had changed her entire outlook on the last twelve days of All-Star Survivor. After all, his gesture, and that gift, may have significantly altered her fate out here. Rob Mariano, and the twenty-four hours of freedom he had given her, may have single-handedly kept Colleen Haskell from quitting this game.

"You'll never know how much I appreciate it," she said, honestly. Because he wouldn't. Rob had no idea-- and would probably never have any idea-- how much that trip had affected her psyche. It had literally been one of the most important twenty-four hours of her life. It had strengthened her soul. It had made her a new person. And she wished she were eloquent enough to be able to convey that in words.

"Well I felt bad," Rob explained.

But Colleen just shook her head. There was no need for explanation. There was no need for apologies. Rob had given her a special gift, and he had won back her friendship.

She had officially forgiven him.

Just like they had planned at the start, they were once again friends to the end.






^^






Well as much Colleen wanted to never care about Survivor again, as much as she wanted to just float back into happy land and let the game drift along on its expected course, of course that wasn't going to happen. The ability to turn off your emotions and go on auto-pilot doesn't present itself very often in a game that can change by the second.

Just like the game was about to change right now.

Because, you see, Tina Wesson had mulled over the variables, she had weighed all her options, and she had finally decided the time was right to switch over to Keko.

"But I'll only do it on one condition," Tina explained to Kathy, as the two women stood under the shade of a date palm.

"Sure. Anything." Kathy answered, breathlessly.

"I'll only do it if we take out Rob first."

Was that it? Was that Tina's only demand? Hell, the Kekos had been dying to dump Rob's sorry ass to the curb about three weeks ago. Was that the only condition that had been holding this up all along? That Rob had to be first?

"Deal," grinned Kathy.

She tried to remain businesslike, but deep down her heart was doing flip-flops and kicking its heels in the air. Because the plan had worked. Tina's vote was theirs. The Keko comeback was on!

Even though Kathy had a thousand questions she wanted to follow up with-- most namely, "why?"-- deep down, she knew that such details weren't really necessary. All she needed to know was that Tina was in. All Kathy needed to know was that they now had four votes in the bag against Rob tonight, and that was good enough for her. In fact, at the moment, she still couldn't believe that this had actually worked.

Having said her piece, Tina decided she didn't want to arouse any suspicions among the rest of the Ahis, so she quickly said her goodbyes and slipped off into the trees.

And then it was just Kathy.

Who just stood here, jubilant.

Fully aware that from this point on, the hunters were about to become the hunted... because Tina had officially flipped.





^^





Kathy couldn't resist. She ran to go tell Gretchen the news. She had to. Then she ran to go tell Alicia the news. Tina was going to help them force a tie against the Ahis tonight! Tina had finally decided that she no longer wanted to put up with their crap!

"Oh man, that's awesome. Rob's gonna shit his pants," Alicia grinned, giddily.

Kathy laughed but just smiled and put her finger to her lips. Shhhh. This was supposed to remain a secret. There was no way Rob could find out what was about to happen. Or this plan could get messy.

"Well you don't have to worry about me," Alicia promised. "Hell, I'll be the happiest one here when that bastard goes down. I want to see the look on his face when it happens."

"I know," grinned Kathy. "Isn't it going to be great?"

The two women continued their little giggle fest for a moment, as they shared what was easily the happiest moment for the Kekos in this game. But that was when Gretchen hit them with a question that they hadn't considered. That was when the pragmatist hit them over the head with some unpleasant reality.

"But what if Rob wins immunity?" Gretchen asked, from her seat next to the firepit.

The giddiness ended.

"Shit," cursed Alicia, under her breath.

Because Gretchen was right. This wasn't a sure thing yet. Rob's ticket had yet to be punched. The big Keko comeback was probably getting a little too far ahead of itself. After all, it wasn't wise to celebrate the death of the enemy if he was still hanging around camp.

"I mean, I don't want to jinx it," Gretchen shrugged, "But what happens if he's immune tonight? Where do we go from there?"

"We just vote out somebody else," Alicia said.

"No, no, no, we can't," said Kathy, as she stared down at the ground. Because Gretchen was right. What would they do if Rob were somehow immune tonight? Tina had made it quite clear that the only reason she was doing this was so that Rob would be voted out of the game. She wanted no part of voting for Colleen, John, or Vecepia. And she had specifically mentioned this.

Would Tina still be on board if Rob were to win immunity tonight?

Kathy didn't know.

She didn't know, but she had a very bad feeling that if that were to happen, then Tina would probably call the whole plan off.

"Well it's easy," Kathy answered, as she looked up and stared at them. "Rob can't win immunity. We can't let him."

Alicia just rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

Oh great.

First it was supposed to be a sure thing. And now... this was a contingency deal?

"Well there's one other thing I think we can do," suggested Gretchen. She looked around at her alliance partners. "I mean, I don't want to start sounding all pessimistic, but there is a good chance Rob could actually be immune tonight. Because it's not like most of us can match him in the challenges."

"No, no, you're right," admitted Kathy. "We should have a backup plan, just in case."

"Well I say we try to sway Colleen," Gretchen said.

With Colleen's name having been mentioned for the umpteenth time in the past forty-eight hours, Alicia just threw her hands up in the air and turned away. Because this was ridiculous. There was no way they were ever going to get Colleen to flip. It was never going to happen. Alicia knew it, and she suspected that Kathy even knew it. Colleen was a dead end strategically. This conversation was a complete waste of time.

Yet Gretchen continued to bring Colleen's name up as a potential ally, and Alicia was tired of it.

"What I think we should do is explain to Colleen exactly what is going to happen tonight," Gretchen continued. "I say we go up to her and we explain that Tina is already with the Kekos, and it's a done deal. And no matter who wins immunity tonight, they're losing an Ahi."

Kathy just looked at her, dubiously.

"If they don't lose Rob tonight, then they lose Vecepia," Gretchen shrugged. "I mean, Colleen's not the most hardcore player in the world, but she's not stupid. If she sees that it's going to happen regardless, then what else can she do? She won't have a choice."

Kathy and Alicia exchanged glances.

Bringing Colleen up to speed was not the most ideal choice in the world at this point. After all, with her close ties to Rob, and her inherent instability lately, there was definitely some inherent danger here. If Colleen knew what was about to go down tonight, and she didn't like it, then she could easily warn Rob, and then there would probably be trouble.

But at the same time, they probably did need some insurance tonight, just in case Tina bailed out or Rob won immunity.

If there was one chance they could sway Colleen over to Keko, perhaps the timing was finally right.

"I don't know..." Kathy mulled over, cautiously. Because the careful strategist in her was worried about this. How close was Gretchen to Colleen, really? Was Gretchen really that tight with her littlest sister from Borneo? Was there actually a bond there that Gretchen could use? Gretchen seemed to think so. But Alicia was completely against this. And Kathy was somewhere in the middle. She just didn't know.

"Come on," Gretchen pleaded, a little half smile on her face. "We need someone, right? Just in case Rob wins immunity?"

"Yeah, but why Colleen?" asked Alicia. "Why not tell John?"

Kathy just closed her eyes and shook her head, somewhat frustrated.

It sure did make your life harder when you were a member of Keko.







^^

In the end, Gretchen's idea to tell Colleen finally won out. Kathy was still dubious about it, but Gretchen seemed insistent that Colleen was their best choice, and the confidence of their unofficial leader eventually swayed her.

So Gretchen came to Colleen to make the big pitch.

And even though Colleen had vowed not to care about Survivor one more minute out here, she was about to learn that the idea that she could actually do that had been horribly naive. Because Gretchen finally dropped the bombshell that the Ahis had been fearing.

"The game changes, Colleen. Tonight. Rob's going home."

Gretchen whispered these words to Colleen as the two women gathered fruit from a nearby papaya tree. And much to Gretchen's shock, Colleen didn't even appear to be all that surprised. All she did was just shake her head, sadly. Because Colleen had known this was coming. In fact, hadn't she explicitly warned Rob to watch out for it a couple of days ago? The Ahis were dead to Tina the minute they decided to screwed her.

As much as Colleen had wanted this not to happen, at the same time she knew Tina, and she had also known that this was probably inevitable.

"So you got Tina?" Colleen asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yeah. She already confirmed it."

"When?"

"When you are John were away on your trip."

And as much as Colleen wanted not to care, she couldn't help it. She had to react. There was no way she could hear this piece of news and not want to angrily scream, "Rob!" Because the Robfather had been back here at camp all day and was supposed to have prevented this.

"Well, crap," was all Colleen could say.

That was it. No outburst. No scream. No crying. No reaction. All Colleen could give was a simple little resigned "oh crap." Because she knew full well that a Keko had just managed to win a million dollars. Rob's mistake had just cost all five of the remaining Ahis a shot at the win.

"And, you know, you can vote with us if you want," Gretchen now prodded, carefully. "Because, you know, you're probably going to be around for a while afterwards. It's not like the Kekos are in any hurry to get rid of you."

"What would that gain me?"

"Well nothing, really," explained Gretchen. "In the short term, it doesn't do anything."

"Then what's the point?"

"Well the point is that once Rob is gone, things are going to start changing in a hurry. Because once he goes, then Vecepia goes. And after him, we take out John."

"And then me."

"Not necessarily," shrugged Gretchen. "I mean, on paper it probably looks like it. But you know as well as I do that people tend to get greedy around here. So if you were to somehow convince people you had switched to the Kekos, and you were able to blend into the background for a while... well it's possible that people like Tina and Alicia might sort of forget about you."

Gretchen gave her a small, little coy smile. Because she knew. She knew that if Colleen decided to join Keko, that's exactly what would probably happen. They would probably forget about her. Colleen would never be a big threat to anyone because she was so quiet and meek.

"Well I can't vote for Rob tonight," Colleen replied, very matter-of-factly.

"What? Why not?"

"Well because I can't," she protested, quietly, hating herself for it. "I mean, even if you think it's a sure thing, even if you know that Tina's on board for sure..."

"She is."

"... I promised him I wouldn't. I won't vote for him, and he won't vote for me. That was our deal. Plus I sort of kind of owe him since he gave me that trip."

"Colleen, you don't owe him anything!"

"No," said Colleen, pausing softly. "You're right. I probably don't."

"Then why not vote for him?"

"Because I promised him I wouldn't," Colleen answered, plainly. "I gave him my word that I wouldn't, and it wouldn't be right."

Gretchen just stared at her younger Pagong friend, uncomprehendingly.

Had Rob really managed to buy back her loyalty back with one little reward? Was she really going to spare the guy who had caused her so much grief? Was Colleen really going to stand there and claim that Rob was her new bestest friend in the world, after all the crap he had put her through up to this point in the game?

Gretchen couldn't believe it.

She had always thought that Colleen was smarter than this.

"Um, Colleen...," she started.

But that was as far as she got.

Because fellow Pagong or not, Colleen was not about to be pushed into anything. Not even by Gretchen. Colleen Haskell's epiphany on the boat may had done a lot of things for her psyche, but one of the most important things was that it had made her a little more defiant. No longer would she be bullied into making an impulsive decision just to please somebody else. Not by Gretchen. Not by Rob. Not by anyone. She wasn't the same Colleen anymore. The rules had been changed.

And if the other players didn't like the new Colleen, they could all go to hell.

"Look, I said I'm not doing it," Colleen said, flatly.

"But it's your big chance!" Gretchen insisted.

"No, it's your big chance," Colleen shrugged. "You do what's best for you, and I'll do what's best for me. I'm not voting for Rob."

And now Gretchen wanted to scream.

Because she could see it in her head. She knew what was going to happen. Colleen was going to be "neutral", or "rebellious", or whatever, and vote for whoever she wanted to tonight. And then the Ahis were just going to pile the rest of their votes onto whoever she chose. It was going to be Doctor Sean all over again. Because no matter who Colleen chose, they were still destined to wind up in a tie.

And with a tie, of course then they would then have to rely on the honor of Tina. Which, as Gretchen would be the first one to admit, was a little bit frightening.

Heck, that was the scenario that Colleen's vote for Rob was supposed to prevent!

"Well if you won't vote for Rob, will you at least vote for Vecepia?" Gretchen asked, weakly.

Colleen simply shook her head. No. She'd vote for an Ahi when she wanted to, and only then. It was her decision. And if Gretchen thought she could push her into this, she had clearly thought wrong.

"Well, whatever you do, just please don't tell Rob," implored Gretchen, "And please don't vote for a Keko. That's all I can ask. I don't care who you vote for, I don't care what you do. But please--- whatever you do-- don't vote for a Keko."

"Please don't tell me what to do."

Gretchen, as the person who knew Colleen the best, simply sighed and hung her head. Because Colleen had clearly gone into defiance mode. It was the same place that all young females hit sooner or later in the game of Survivor. They eventually got pissed off about being used as pawns, they eventually got annoyed at being pushed around because they were so young, and from that point on, they would turn into defiant little teenagers and just do whatever they wanted. It was like a switch had been flipped in their heads.

And Gretchen groaned once she realized what had happened.

Something on that boat trip had sent Colleen Haskell into the dreaded Wiglesworth Zone. Something on that trip had sent her into full-on "Don't tell me what to do" defiance mode.

Damnit.

Gretchen would have to be extremely careful about how she handled this, or their plans could be ruined.

"Well I just wanted to give you a heads up about what was going to happen tonight," smiled Gretchen, weakly. "You know, so you wouldn't be surprised. I just wanted to warn you what was coming."

"Thank you," smiled Colleen. "I appreciate it."

"And I promise I won't say anything more about it," Gretchen said, as she held her hands up, innocently. If you want to vote for Rob, vote for Rob. If you don't want to vote for Rob, don't vote for Rob. I promise I won't ask you again. I just wanted you to know what was happening."

Colleen nodded, gratefully.

See, there was a reason Gretchen had always been her favorite tribesmate.

It was not because she was all that particularly strategic.

It was because Gretchen happened to be exceptionally smart.





^^





Back at camp. the Manakais sat down to enjoy an early lunch. And Colleen, of course, noticed the smug little smile on Tina's face almost immediately. After all, it was hard to miss. Tina was being quite obvious. She was planning on taking down Rob and the Ahis tonight, and she wasn't being subtle about it.

"What's Tina so happy about?" asked Vecepia, as she took a seat next to Colleen.

"I dunno," Colleen shrugged.

But Vecepia didn't buy it. She knew Tina. And she knew Tina's faces. And that was not a Tina face. Vecepia saw it and, like Alicia the other day, she didn't like it. Not one bit. Tina didn't smile like that. Tina was supposed to look haggard and beaten.

"Have you heard anything about the vote tonight?" Vee asked, casually, as she started peeling open a mango. She turned and looked at Colleen, but Colleen simply shook her head. Nope, she hadn't heard anything about the vote at all. Not a peep.

"Is Tina switching on us?" Vee asked, astutely.

Colleen just looked over and shrugged. How would she know? And since when did Vecepia actually come over and talk to her about voting plans? This might have been the first time she had done it in twenty-seven days, and Colleen wasn't buying it. Vee wasn't here for friendship. She was here for some info.

And Colleen didn't appreciate the phoniness.

She never had.

"If I hear something about Tina switching, I'll tell you," Colleen lied.

"Okay," Vecepia nodded. She didn't like that Tina smile one bit, but at least their first line of espionage hadn't heard anything. After all, out of all the Ahis, Colleen was easily the closest to the Kekos. And if Tina had made any promises to force a tie tonight, there was no way Colleen wouldn't know about it. She would have already run back and reported it to Rob, just like she'd done so often before.

So Vecepia just smiled. Because that meant that Tina was probably just trying to bluff everyone right now and stir up some drama.

It's the exact same thing Vee would be doing if she were in Tina's position.

And Vecepia admired that.

"So how was your trip?" Vee now asked, warmly, now that her hackles had been put down for the time being. "Did you guys have fun?"

"Oh, you know, just eating and swimming. Nothing special."

"Did you guys see anything interesting?"

Colleen just looked over and shrugged.

There was no way Vecepia gave a rat's ass about Colleen or how the trip had gone. She never had. Her phoniness oozed out of her like jelly from a donut. But at least she was trying. She was actually trying to put on an empathetic face. And she was doing it well.

So Colleen decided she'd be a sport and actually answer a couple of questions.

For the next fifteen minutes or so, she could pretend Vee was interested.





^^

After lunch, Gretchen and Kathy went for a walk to go check treemail.

And that was when Vecepia met up with John.

Because there was something going on at Manakai this morning, and she didn't much like it.

"I don't think this is a sure thing anymore," Vee said, as she plopped down by John next to the firepit. John was currently bent over, fixing a broken shoelace. But he wasn't surprised by the tone in her voice. After all, Vee wasn't the only member of Ahi who was feeling a little bit paranoid. John had seen some warning signs on his own over the past couple of hours.

"It's Tina, isn't it?" John asked. "She's got you spooked."

"No," Vee shook her head. "I thought it was her, but she's not the one who's bothering me."

"Who then? Kathy?"

"Yeah," nodded Vecepia. "Did you take a look at her? She couldn't look happier."

"Shit," John muttered under his breath. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

Vecepia didn't swear, but she agreed with the sentiment. Because suddenly it felt like the game might have shifted into a different direction. All of a sudden, it seemed like the Manakais might have done a little reshuffling, and hadn't bothered to tell her.

"I thought that Tina was bluffing at first," Vee admitted, "But now I realize I was wrong. Because they're all smiling. Kathy's happy. Gretchen's happy. It's everyone. It's ridiculous."

"Colleen too?" John asked, concerned.

Now that was one question Vecepia didn't have the answer to. She thought she could read Colleen, but... then again... Rob had thought he could read too. Rob had thought that Colleen was as predictable as they come. And then, of course, he had been caught completely off-guard by her anger after the last Tribal Council.

So maybe things really weren't all that easy to read around here. Maybe the Kekos really did have Colleen on their side. Perhaps they had already managed to sway her.

Vee didn't like the thought of it, but perhaps she had actually missed something.

"Well I don't think Colleen will turn on us," John reassured her, as he snapped his lace back into place. "Because I talked to her for twenty-four hours on that boat. She doesn't care."

"Doesn't care about winning?"

"She doesn't care about anything. She just wants to have fun."

Vecepia looked at her closest ally. And she tried to read the tone in his voice. Had John really made an inroads into the psyche of their most unpredictable alliance member? Was he really as good at reading her as he liked to claim? Or had Colleen actually managed to snow him, and make him look like a fool?

Just how much stake could she put in John's assessment of Colleen?

And the bigger question-- where on earth was Rob Mariano now that they needed him the most?

"Do you think Rob has noticed all the changes around camp today?" Vee now asked, curiously. Because it wasn't like the Robfather to have missed all these smiles and grins. That was exactly the type of stuff that he looked for on a daily basis. That was his reason for living. And now, for him to have missed all the warning signs when he should have been looking for them? Had Rob dropped the ball on all his spy games at the most critical point?

Just exactly where was the Robfather this morning, and why had he missed this?

"I haven't seen him at all today," John shrugged, helplessly.

"He hasn't been in camp at all?" Vee whipped her head around in surprise.

"I think he said he was doing an interview."

Sure enough, that's exactly where Rob had been for most of the morning. He had been off doing interviews. He had been talking about his decision to give Colleen the reward, and why he had done it. And why not? After all, both he and the producers had been aware that that would be the plot of this episode. Episode nine would be the story of Rob and Colleen, and how Rob had kept her from quitting.

Apparently the producers had pulled Rob away from camp all morning so they could get the sound bytes for this particular episode.

And Vecepia was horrified.

The producers were focusing on the wrong storyline!

"Hey guys, we've got treemail!"

That was Kathy, who was walking back to camp with a burned piece of parchment in her hand. It looked like it was time for today's immunity challenge. And as much as Vecepia wanted to go throttle Rob for taking so much time away from camp at such a pivotal moment in the game, she knew that any sort of damage control would have to come later. First they would have to play for immunity.

That meant that any attempt to keep this game from spinning out of control would just have to wait.

"Rob screwed up," Vecepia muttered to John under her breath, "He screwed up bad. He should have been here."

"Well what do you expect?" asked John, "He's a fuckup."

Vee groaned.

She hated the idea of saving her alliance one more time. But it looked like that's exactly what she would have to do. Because the red flags were all there. Something big was going down tonight. Something bad. It looked like someone was flipping.

And Vee, as she had done so often before, would simply have to go stop that.

"After the challenge, you go work on Colleen," she muttered to John, as she stood up and got ready for the hike to the immunity challenge. "You work on her, and I'll work on Tina. Because I am not going to let Keko win this game just because Rob wasn't here."

So that was it.

Vecepia and Tina would just have a have a little Come to Jesus meeting after today's immunity challenge. Vee would simply have to straighten her out. And that was just all there was to it.

As always, there was no way Vecepia would let this game get away from her if she could possibly help it.

^^

"Come on in, guys."

With his traditional greeting, Jeff welcomed the Manakais to their third individual immunity challenge. With a surfboard in his hand, and a big cheesy grin on his face, he stood before them, anticipating what promised to be one of the most unique challenges in Survivor history. This one was going to be fun.

"Oh no, surfing," groaned Kathy, once she put two and two together.

"Yep, you got it," smiled Jeff.

Kathy was correct. The players were taking part in the traditional sport of Hawaii this afternoon. They were going to surf for immunity. And even though most of them had never been on a surfboard before in their lives, Jeff had faith in them. He knew that when it came to winning immunity, Survivors tended to learn fast.

"We're going to be pairing off into showdowns," Jeff explained, as he laid out the rules of the challenge. "Two people will swim out on surfboards and catch a wave. And the person who rides their wave the longest moves on to the next round. And then we basically just repeat the process a few times until we have a winner."

"But what if nobody knows how surf?" asked Alicia, concerned.

"If nobody can surf," smiled Jeff, "Then we won't be out here very long, will we?"

He just shrugged.

"All I know is that you guys seem to have had a lot of stress over the past couple of days," Jeff continued. "So I figured, why don't we just have a fun little surfing challenge today? Why don't we just catch some waves, have a little fun, and take our minds off the game?"

"Amen to that," agreed Tina.

And with that, it was decided. The Survivors were going to be surfing for immunity. It wasn't going to be pretty. And it certainly wasn't going to be very graceful. But this was still a very important challenge.

After all, there were several people standing on this beach who really could use some sort of security tonight.





^^

"Our first matchup today," announced Jeff, as he held up two names that had been randomly drawn out of a hat, "Is Rob against Colleen. So the two of you, please swim out to the buoy and take your positions."

Colleen Haskell, who of course was probably not the strongest surfer on the face of the earth, just hung her head, laughing. Oh great. This was going to be fun. Why couldn't she have gone up against somebody easy, like Vecepia? Or Alicia? Why Rob? This matchup was going to be over very fast.

"Come on, Colleen," cheered John from the beach. He was soon joined by the rest of the Manakais, as they made a lot of noise and cheered on their underdog tribesmate.

"Kick his ass, Haskell," yelled Kathy.

Laughing out of a mixture of pointlessness and embarrassment, Colleen paddled her surfboard out to the red buoy and floated there next to the only player here who had any real surfing experience. The two friends looked over at one another and they exchanged a laugh. Rob knew that the gentlemanly thing to do would be to throw this round and give it to Colleen, but at the same time he knew he just couldn't do that. Because that wasn't the Robfather. Rob Mariano didn't throw challenges. Especially challenges he really wanted to win.

"You ready for this?" Rob turned and asked his shivering friend.

Colleen nodded that she was.

Jeff gave the "go", and Rob went out and destroyed her.

"Nice work, Mariano," said Jeff, as he welcomed the victor and the vanquished back to the beach. Rob had ridden a nice wave for about fifteen seconds. Colleen hadn't even managed to get up on her surfboard. As expected, it had been a massacre. Colleen was now shivering and cold, so Jeff threw her a towel.

"Rob moves on to round two," came his announcement, "Next up? John against Kathy."

"Oh, great!" laughed John.

Round two was expected to be another blowout. After all, Kathy had actually tried surfing a few times before in her life, and John never had. So everybody expected to see another slaughter. But in the biggest upset of the first round, John actually went out and caught a nice wave and defeated her. It wasn't the prettiest ride in the world. In fact, it was really more of "John hanging on for dear life". But John defeated Kathy, five seconds to three, and moved on to face the dreaded Robfather in the second round.

"Beginner's luck!" teased Kathy, as she climbed back on the beach and toweled off.

But John didn't care. He wasn't embarrassed. A win was a win.

"Next up!" announced Jeff, "Vecepia against Gretchen!"

In what was expected to be the weakest showdown of the first round, Vecepia the office manager now squared off against Gretchen the pre-school teacher. Neither woman had ever been on a surfboard in her life. And as they swam out and the first wave came hurtling towards them, Gretchen turned to Vecepia and wished her good luck.

"Hope we survive," she laughed.

Well they did. But Vee didn't even manage to make it up on her surfboard.

Gretchen advanced to the second round fairly easily.

Once Gretchen and Vecepia had returned to the beach, that left the final matchup of the first round. Alicia against Tina. And as the two women paddled out to their buoy, Alicia took the opportunity to make one final attempt to guarantee that Tina was going to vote with the Kekos. With immunity on the line, and the fate of the game very much in Tina's hands, Alicia decided that it was time to officially play hardball if they wanted her vote.

"I don't need this immunity," she murmured, as she paddled along next to Tina in the ocean.

Tina just looked over, surprised.

"You need it more than I do," Alicia explained. "You're going to be in more danger tonight."

"Oh? How so?"

"When Rob finds out what you're doing, he's going to kill you."

Tina heard this and laughed.

Well that certainly was a possibility, now wasn't it?

Because Alicia did happen to be right, on a certain level. If Rob did find out that Tina had defected, there was every possibility that the vote might be coming her way tonight instead of Rob's. Tina could very well find herself in a dangerous position. After all, there was no way you could mess with a player as vindictive as the Robfather, and not expect some sort of fallout. Tina was taking her life into her own hands tonight by flipping on Ahi.

"Well you don't need to throw the challenge on my behalf," Tina replied. "I mean, even if I get past this round, there's no guarantee I'll win immunity. I'd still have to beat Rob."

"You will," smiled Alicia.

And with that, she had made her decision. The minute the first wave came in, Alicia tried to ride it, but then "accidentally" slipped and fell into the water. She threw the challenge. And with that, Tina advanced to the second round, where she would square off against Gretchen.





^^

It was time for round two. It was time for the big showdown.

"Hey good luck," said Rob, as he reached over and shook John's hand before their important semi-final match. Rob wasn't trying to be a smartass. He actually was wishing John good luck. But John didn't feel like reciprocating. He didn't want Rob to have good luck at all. All he wanted was for Rob to fall off his surfboard and break his leg.

After all, this grudge had been simmering beneath the surface for nearly four weeks.

And John knew that if Rob were to win this immunity, then it wouldn't be good.

"Hey good luck to you too," John smiled, not meaning it.

With the fate of the game on the line, John took one glance at Vecepia before he paddled his surfboard out into the ocean. And sure enough, he could see the insistent look in her eyes. "WIN THIS." You see, Vecepia was well aware of what would happen tonight if Rob won immunity. She was aware of it just as much as John was. If Rob were to be immune from the vote, and Tina really had flipped on the Ahis? Well guess what? The target would be Vecepia or John instead. And clearly both Vecepia and John were somewhat against that.

"Win!" Vee mouthed to John, insistently. And he nodded. He understood. This was make-or-break time. This was possibly the most pivotal moment in All-Star Survivor. It was now John against the Robfather. The winner would stick around, and the loser would possibly go home. John absolutely knew that he needed to win this showdown, and he began to get focused.

With immunity on the line, and the weight of the entire game now bearing down on his shoulders, John Carroll paddled slowly out to the buoy and took his position.

And then he took a deep breath.

Because it was time.

"Here comes a wave," said Rob, as he peered out under the bill of his navy blue Red Sox cap. "Get ready. It's gonna be a big one."

John did.

He braced.

And then, he caught a wave, and pulled out the most miraculous ride of his lifetime.

It was ugly, but he did it.

John Carroll had officially eliminated his nemesis.

"John!" announced Jeff, amid cheers from the Manakais on the beach, "Defeats Rob! Twenty-one seconds to sixteen! John advances to the finals!"

John Carroll, who had never been more excited in his life, paddled back to the beach and pumped his fist wildly into the air. He screamed with delight. He knew it was bad sportsmanship to be doing this, but hell, he couldn't help it. He was pumped up. He had just personally put the nail in Rob's coffin. He had toppled the dreaded Robfather. This shit was exciting.

"Way to go, Johnny!" called Vecepia, as she cheered wildly along with the rest of the Manakais. Because she could hear it. She could hear it in their cheers. The rest of the players were thrilled that Rob had lost immunity, because that meant he was toast. They were already looking ahead to Tribal Council, and they were tipping their hand.

His head down, and a tight little frown on his face, Rob soon swam back to shore and took a seat on the sand.

He sat by nobody.

Because Rob could hear the glee of his teammates as well.

He heard it, he understood it, and-- most importantly-- he pretty much knew what it meant.

^^





Wet, shivering, and laughing at their pathetic surfing competition, the eight members of Manakai returned to camp about half an hour later. They came back cheering their new hero of the day, John Carroll, who had suddenly become the world's greatest surfer and had wiped the floor with Tina in the finals. John Carroll had immunity, Rob Mariano didn't have immunity, and for most of the players on Manakai, this was very good news.

Although for two people-- namely Vecepia and Rob-- that just meant it was now time to get working.

"Beach," Rob whispered to Vecepia, the moment they got back to camp. "Now."

So much for strategic foreplay.

Excusing herself from the frivolity of the John celebration, Vecepia stole away from camp and walked down the trail to the sand. Sure enough, Rob wanted to talk about tonight's vote. Because like everyone else, he could feel the funky vibe in the air. Rob could officially see the warning signs that were flying around him, and warning signs on Tribal Council night could only spell trouble.

"What the hell's goin' on up there?" Rob asked, accusatory. "What's up with all that laughing?"

"Woah," Vee held up her hands, almost defensively, "Hang on there. What have you heard?"

"Oh don't bullshit me, Vee," Rob glared at her. And Vee didn't like it. This was the side of Rob that she didn't like to see. The back-to-his-wall angry "I need to do something to save myself" side. That look in his eyes scared her. It didn't come out very often, but when it did, she knew there was usually trouble.

"I'm not doing anything!" Vee protested. "I'm not lying to you. I haven't heard anything!"

"Well all I know is that when I lost that challenge, people cheered. They were laughing. And they haven't done that all game. They wouldn't have dared to do that all game."

"Yeah, because they were scared of you."

"Then why aren't they scared of me right now?!"

Vecepia had hoped that Rob wouldn't have jumped all the way to the most logical conclusion, but apparently he had. Because he wasn't stupid. The Robfather ruled by fear, and when the fear was gone, he could obviously see it. Something in his plans had gone terribly wrong in the past twenty-four hours. His aura of invincibility was gone, and he could already sense it.

"Well I haven't heard anything concrete," Vee explained, quietly, "I've just heard rumors. But you're right. The mood is weird. I think that something has changed."

"Who flipped?"

"My guess would be Tina."

And there was the name. The turncoat. Tina.

Rob officially wanted her dead.

"Well I'll tell you what," Rob said, calmer now that he had at least identified the enemy. "If I go talk to Tina, it's not gonna help anything. Because she hates my guts. If I go up to her and start tellin' her what to do, we're gonna be screwed."

Vecepia nodded. She was fully aware of this. She was the only person who could sway Tina back to Ahi. And she could do it with logic. It had always been that way, it always would be that way, and that, more than anything, was why Rob Mariano should be down on his knees on a daily basis and kissing her butt. Vecepia was the only peacemaker he had.

"So you go up to her," Rob spat, "and you tell her that if she fucking turns on us tonight, there's no way she ever fucking gets our jury votes. You tell her that. Make sure she knows I'm serious. Tell her that if she turns on the Ahis tonight, then she's dead."

Vee nodded.

Of course, she wouldn't say it exactly that way.

But she would imply it.

After all, she was simply a much better player than Rob Mariano, because she understood tact.





^^

So Vee went off to talk to the suddenly-much-more-powerful Miss Tina. And Rob went off to solidify his plans with Colleen.

And as chaos started to rear its head among the previously solidified members of Ahi, John Carroll-- the lowest member of the totem pole-- simply turned and shared a laugh with his new campfire buddy.

"God, they're falling apart, aren't they?" mumbled Alicia, as she watched Rob get into an animated discussion with Colleen.

John just looked over at her and smiled.

Yes, the Ahis were falling apart, all right. They were falling apart just like he knew that they would. They were falling apart because Rob was a micro-manager, because he played his allies way too hard when he didn't have to, and because he had pushed the wrong buttons on the wrong people..

For weeks, John had been waiting for this moment.

He had waited patiently, quietly, almost invisibly. He had waited with the discipline of a Shaolin monk. And now, it looked like it was about to pay off. Because tonight the chaos had arrived. Tonight his patience would come to fruition. No matter what happened at Tribal Council in a couple of hours, it could only be good for John Carroll, and he quite simply couldn't be happier.

"Rob did this all to himself," John murmured quietly as he watched. "He did it to himself and it's his own damn fault. He could have prevented this."

Alicia nodded, understanding.

Sure enough, just as John had predicted, Rob had eventually torn the Ahis apart.

He had even predicted the day when it would finally happen.

Just how did John Carroll and Alicia Calaway come to be amused observers of the long-awaited downfall of the Ahi alliance? How were the two of them able to stand here so freely, and comment on the chaos around them without anyone noticing?

Well for starters because that's exactly what they were in this game-- invisible.

You see, John Carroll had always been the forgotten member in terms of power on the Ahi totem pole. With Vecepia and Rob running the show, and Colleen responsible for a large portion of the tribal drama, John had always been dumped to the bottom when it came to importance. He had known this, and he had been aware of this. He had even liked to joke about it.

Because while a complete lack of power might be bothersome to most people in this game, John had never been worried at all. Because he knew the pair of idiots that were steering the ship. He knew what happened when Rob and Vecepia called all the shots. He had seen them on Rotu. And he had known what was coming.

There was a reason John had been without stress for twenty-seven days, you know. It wasn't because he had changed. It was because he had been waiting.

He had been waiting for tonight.

Because it was going to be beautiful.

So John Carroll, in his attempt to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the implosion, had been spending most of his days up here by the campfire, just watching and waiting. He had spent most of his days just standing alone by the campfire, portraying good old Johnny Pots and Pans, the official tribe cook. He had been trying to stay as far away from the drama as he possibly could. And he had done so by spending the majority of his waking hours away from everyone else.

At least, until recently, when the bottom member of the Keko alliance started to hang out with him.

Sure enough, one day, out of the blue, the similarly-invisible Alicia had shown up, just looking for someone to talk to. After all, John wasn't the only player here who was out of the loop with his particular alliance. Alicia happened to feel out of the loop as well. So she had gone looking for someone new to hang out with, and she had stumbled upon John. The forgotten Ahi. The guy who just hung out all day and cooked the food.

She hadn't known John all that well at first but, like Colleen, she found him funny and a lot of fun to hang out with. And eventually a minor bond had been formed. The two of them had been standing up here for nearly a week-- just watching and snarking-- and basically no one had noticed.

And Alicia found it so refreshing to be able to just stand here and make fun of all the idiots who were playing around them.

"Tina's really forcing a tie tonight, isn't she?" John turned and asked her, casually.

He knew that Alicia didn't know. Hell, why would she? She was always the third wheel on Keko, they wouldn't tell her anything. But he asked her out of a sense of tradition. After all, that's what they did when they hung out together. John made fun of Alicia for never knowing what was going on in Keko, and Alicia made fun of John for being Rob's little bitch slave on Ahi. For a week now, they had been having a good time making light of one another's disposability.

It was also exactly why the two of them were growing so close.

"I don't really know what Tina is gonna do tonight," Alicia admitted. "She could do anything. In fact, I don't even think Tina knows what Tina is gonna do tonight."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She lies through her teeth," Alicia muttered. "I don't trust her at all."

John nodded. He wasn't quite to the point where he would share his every waking thought with Alicia, but they were definitely to the point where a lot of cross-alliance info was being shared. This wasn't what you would call a quote-unquote "alliance" yet, but there was definitely something happening here. There was definitely something brewing between the two most powerless players left in the game. John liked hanging out with Alicia and Alicia liked hanging out with John.

And when the shit hit the fan later tonight, and things started to go topsy-turvy in this game, they both knew this bond could prove to be particularly important.

"Well, Tina told me she's sticking with the Ahis tonight," John chuckled, as he stirred the campfire with a stick. "She told me after the challenge. She told me not to worry."

"Lying bitch."

John just chuckled.

Alicia clearly wasn't much a fan of Tina. In fact she didn't really seem to be much a fan of anybody. It was trait he happened to share with her. They clicked because they were cynical and brutally honest.

"Do you think they'll ever notice that we talk like this?" John turned and suddenly asked her, slyly.

Alicia just looked down at the fire and smiled.

Did she know where this relationship was probably headed? Of course she did. She also knew she was covering her butt. After all, there were only so many times you could be pushed aside by your alliance before you started to look elsewhere. You could only be ignored so many times by your so-called friends before you started to make alternate arrangements.

Were the other players ever going to notice that John and Alicia were growing closer and closer to having some sort of super-secret mysterious counter-alliance?

Alicia didn't know.

All she knew was there was only so long you could push your fringe players aside before they started to click.

^^

There were only about 90 minutes left before the Manakais had to leave for Tribal Council. And that's when Vecepia finally got the news that she had long been dreading. Sure enough, Tina was going to vote with the Kekos tonight. She was going to help them force a tie against Rob, and she finally admitted it.

Luckily, Vecepia had figured this move was probably coming, so it wasn't a shock.

"When did you finally decide?" Vee asked, curiously.

"Oh, a few days ago," Tina smiled, sweetly. "You know me, I like to keep my options open. But I always knew I could force a tie here, and get Rob out if I wanted. I mean, come on. It's just common sense. Why wouldn't I do it?"

Vecepia just nodded.

Damn. And here Rob was thinking all along that this tie could have been averted. He had worked so hard to prevent it. He had done everything in his power to try to keep it from happening. But apparently Tina hadn't cared. All she had been doing was just sitting there all pretty in her little catbird seat, just waiting to pounce. She had simply been waiting for her moment. Because apparently nothing that Rob or the Ahis had done would have been able to stop this.

"Well does this mean I'm screwed too?" asked Vee, somewhat pitifully. After all, if Rob was dead meat tonight, that meant she was probably next. She wasn't stupid. If Tina truly had switched over to Keko, then the Ahis were toast.

"Oh no. I wouldn't say you're screwed at all," Tina explained. "Because, remember, I still need you. It's not like I can beat anyone else. Like you said, we're sort of stuck together in this."

Vee nodded. Sure enough, Tina had understood the logic of Vee's earlier argument. Tina understood that a winner needed to face a winner.

That was a very good sign.

"In fact, if you wanted to help us vote Rob out tonight..." Tina started.

But she didn't have to finish that sentence. Vecepia knew exactly where Tina was going with this logic. Tina wanted a little extra insurance vote. And Vecepia was in.

As always, all that Vecepia Towery really cared about was simply staying in power.

"I was just going to suggest that," Vee said, nodding her head. "And I'd be willing to do it."

"You'd vote for Rob tonight?"

"Sure," Vee laughed. "Rob, Shmob. Who's he?"

Tina nodded and laughed.

Excellent.

Rob had officially just met his fate, at the hands of Vecepia.

"Okay, good," smiled Tina, happily. And then, after looking around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, she decided to drop the bomb. It was time to let Vee in on a secret. It was time to tell her exactly how Tina planned to get to the two of them to the end of the game.

So Tina started explaining.

And Vee started listening.

And by the end, Vecepia realized that Tina was a lot more cunning and devious than she liked to let on.

"Wow," breathed Vee, once she heard it all. Because wow was right. It turned out she had greatly underestimated Tina's powers of observation when it came to this tribe. Tina hadn't been moping. Tina hadn't been giving up. She had simply been laying back, and studying and watching. She had been waiting for this exact moment, when she could make her big move.

And that meant that Vee now officially saw Tina Wesson as a cold-blooded assassin.

It also meant that if the Kekos thought they were getting a fourth member tonight, they were sadly mistaken.

And with that, Vee smiled, as she stood up and stretched her arms in the air. She still didn't like the idea that Rob would have to go home tonight. But hey, that's what happens. Rob wasn't Vecepia, Rob would never be Vecepia, and even though she was going to miss him, it was time to move on. At a certain point in Survivor you had to start changing your plans. After all, if Tina truly was going to be calling the shots for a while, she would need a few friends.

"Do you think that Rob will actually see this coming?" Tina asked, curiously.

Vee did. But she didn't want to admit it. Because it would be more fun to watch.

"No, all I know is that it's going to be somewhat ironic in the way it goes down."

"Ironic? How?"

"Well, you know how Rob tried so hard to avoid a 4-4 tonight, right?" Vee looked over at Tina. "You know how hard he tried to prevent that?"

Tina nodded. Of course she had known. That had been Rob's number one mission for the past week and a half. Avoiding this tie.

"Well guess what?" smiled Vee. "He did manage to avoid it. The only problem is that it's probably be going to be 7-1 instead."

Tina laughed.

She had to.

After all, it was a good day to be Tina.

Because from this point on, starting with this vote, this would be an entirely new game.





^^




Vecepia never did tell Rob that he was going home tonight. She would have liked to, for strategic reasons. But at the same time, it would only lead to drama and she really didn't need that. At this point, Rob Mariano could go crawl off and die in a corner for all she cared. Vecepia didn't make allies with the deceased, and Rob was already dead.

But Vee did go and tell John.

After all, if John panicked and did something stupid, he could mess up the plans.

"So Tina's with the Kekos?" John asked, already knowing the answer.

"Just for one vote," Vee corrected him. "She wants to take Rob out tonight, and then it's back to business as usual."

"And you trust her?"

Vee just stood there, silently. Because she was a little bit surprised by that question. Come to think of it, why on earth had she bought this story hook, line, and sinker? How had Tina managed to sell it to her without the slightest little bit of hesitation? Was Vecepia just walking into a trap? Was Vee, the master adapter herself, about to get herself shanghaied?

"I don't trust her completely," she now answered cautiously, "But you know what? I don't think we have a choice. I think we're forced into this no matter what happens tonight."

"Well Tina's a sneaky little bitch," John reminded her. "Watch out."

"I know," Vee said, nodding her head. "I know. But between you and me, I also think she's scared of the Kekos. I know that she's smart enough not to want anything to do with them."

"I would be scared of them too, if I were her," John nodded.

And so with that, it was set. John agreed to vote with the Kekos tonight. He wasn't going to do it of his own free will. And he certainly wasn't doing it because he thought it was some sort of master strategy. He was simply doing it out of necessity. He was doing it because the votes were already there against the Robfather, and it was pointless to fight it.

Besides, a unanimous vote against Rob Mariano at the peak of his power would really be fun.





^^

The Manakais arrived at Tribal Council just after dark.

The eight players rang the gong, sat down in their assigned seats, and waited for Jeff.

And that's when Rob Mariano looked over, caught Alicia's eye, and flashed his voting instructions.

One finger.

That meant Tina.

Rob had apparently found out all about Tina's little coup d'etat attempt tonight, and he was cutting her throat.

Alicia, amused, just smiled and sat there, staring at the ground. Because you just had to laugh. Did Rob really expect her to play his little spy games tonight? Did he actually have the gall to think she would vote against the newest member of Keko? Did Rob actually expect to manipulate the four women who now had him by the balls?

Just how long would it take Rob Mariano to realize that the tables had turned?

Alicia just looked up now, and smiled her sweetest smile. And then she looked at Rob and simply shook her head. No. I will not be voting with you tonight, sweetie. The games are over. Have fun on the jury.

Then she averted her eyes away from him and refused to look back.




^^

Although Rob Mariano had sensed all day that something might be going wrong tonight, it was the callous dismissal from Alicia that finally sold him. Because with that, he knew he was toast. There was no way Alicia was smart enough to be playing a bluff. If she was dissing him that blatantly, it could only mean he was going.

"Hey, am I going home tonight?" he suddenly leaned up and whispered to Vecepia.

Vee just shrugged. She wasn't going to tell him anything.. Dropping a warning to Rob this late in the game could only bring trouble.

"Am I getting voted out?" Rob now turned and asked Colleen.

But Colleen didn't know. At least not for sure. She thought it probably was "yes", but then again, she had never actually gotten an official confirmation. Nor had she really wanted one. All Colleen knew for sure was that Tina and Gretchen were voting for Rob, and at that point she had decided she didn't want to know any more. After all, the easiest way to stay out of the cross-fire was to not ask any questions. No one could blame you later for covering up information you didn't actually know.

"You might be going," Colleen admitted to him. "I've heard that you are. But I'm not a hundred percent sure."

"Would you tell me if you knew?"

"Yeah," Colleen nodded. Because she would. She honestly would tell Rob if she knew he was going home. The only problem was that she didn't. Colleen had gone out of her way not to snoop for info for this very reason. She simply wasn't very comfortable being in the middle of this.

"Well I think it's me," Rob said, sitting back in his seat. "I think I'm goin' tonight."

He looked around at the players around him. He looked at Tina, with her smug little catbird grin. He looked at Alicia, who was going out of her way not to make eye contact. He looked at Kathy, who just sat there, looking relaxed. He looked at Vecepia, who was completely impossible to read, as always.

And damn, as much as Rob wanted to be confident about this, he just knew it was him.

There was just something in the air.

Here he was, the world's most hardcore Survivor player, and for the first time in twenty-seven days he suddenly felt like he was surrounded by snakes.

^^

Tribal Council began, and Jeff started in on his litany of questions about the events of the past three days. And sure enough, most of his questions were directed at Colleen. Because that was the only story that the producers had really been watching. From their point of view, right now the only storyline in this game was the relationship between Rob and Colleen, and how Rob had single-handedly been able to keep her from quitting. That was going to be the plot of this episode.

And the Kekos were delighted to realize just how shocked the producers were going to be in a couple of hours.

"No, I was never going to quit," Colleen insisted.

"Never?" asked Jeff.

"No way! I just had a few down moments, you know?" Colleen laughed at herself, in that adorably self-conscious way of hers. "I mean, doesn't everyone get down out here once in a while? Don't we all get that way?"

"Yeah, but let's face it, you were pretty extreme," pointed out Jeff. "I mean, come on, Colleen. I saw you at the reward challenge. You were done. You were ready to go home."

"Well I didn't." Colleen smiled.

"No, you didn't. But at the same time, I know the others were worried about you. Right, Tina?"

"Oh gosh, yes," Tina affirmed. "I've never seen anyone so down in the dumps. We were incredibly worried about her."

"We were all worried about her," Vecepia piped up.

"Well with that being said..." Jeff now turned his attention to the leader of the Ahis, "Rob, when you gave Colleen your reward, it shocked the hell out of me. And I'm not ashamed to admit that. Because, man, I had never seen anything like that before. I wasn't even sure I was watching the right show!"

There were a few chuckles from the Manakais.

"Why on earth would you give up your reward?" Jeff continued. "Why? Was it just because you were worried about her?"

"Yeah," Rob nodded.

"Worried that she would quit? Or worried because the two of you were friends?"

"Well, partly because I was worried she'd quit," Rob explained. "But also partly because I knew she was feeling sort of let down. She wasn't very happy with us for a while."

"Why? Because of the last Tribal Council?"

"Yes sir."

Sitting in the back of the Manakais, Gretchen and Kathy suddenly exchanged a curious look. Because why the heck was Jeff only asking questions about Rob and Colleen? Sure, it had been funny at first. Sure, it had been funny to see how clueless Jeff was about Manakai politics. But after a while it was actually starting to grow the slightest bit worrisome. Because what if Jeff really wasn't as clueless as they thought he was. What if there really wasn't a blindside vote coming in a couple of minutes What if Jeff really was talking to the two most important players in All-Star Survivor?

And that's when Kathy was suddenly seized by a moment of panic.

What if Tina was actually lying to us?

Kathy hadn't really spent much time considering this scenario today. Indeed she really hadn't given it more than a couple minutes of thought. But what if it were true? What if Tina had done nothing but play them like a fiddle? What if she really wasn't voting against the Ahis? What if all she had done was to throw the Kekos off the scent so they wouldn't cause trouble?

Panicked, Kathy suddenly searched back in her head to the moment of Tina's promise. She searched back for her actual words, and if there had been any suspicious inflection.

Because it was spooking her out that Jeff was so completely out of the loop about what was about to take place.

^^

As Jeff wound down his questions, and prodded and probed as skillfully as he could into the big Rob-Colleen reward gift, as well as the state of their current relationship, Kathy finally leaned over and whispered something to Alicia. Because by now it was driving her crazy. And she just had to know.

"Does Jeff have any idea what's about to happen?" Kathy whispered, quietly.

Alicia simply opened her eyes wide and shrugged her shoulders. Because she had been wondering the same thing. Jeff was completely focused on the wrong storyline tonight. He was spending all his time talking to Rob and Colleen, and it was making her nervous.

"Well shit," Kathy cursed, quietly.

Alicia did not like that.

Kathy usually didn't swear.

It might be time to get worried.

"Well as you all know," Jeff finally explained, "The person voted out tonight will become the second juror of the game, and will join Frank at the next Tribal Council over in the jury box." He pointed over to Frank, who sat there watching, emotionlessly. "So are you guys ready to vote?"

Jeff expected to see eight nodding heads in response, but suddenly a hand shot up. And Jeff was surprised.

"Rob?"

"Yeah," nodded Rob. "I just have something I want to say before we vote."

"Go ahead."

"I just wanted to say," said Rob, as he turned around to face the vipers of Manakai, "that when I gave Colleen my reward the other day, that was perfectly legit. That wasn't me tryin' to be strategic. I was doing it because I felt bad for her and because she was my friend."

He scanned the eyes of the women who were about to deliver a knife right into his back. Because he felt very strongly that they had to know this. If they truly were going to vote him out, then this had to be said.

"I know a lot of you think I'm just this big asshole, and that everything I do is strategy. But, you know, most of you just don't know me that well. Most of you only know me through what you see out here." He paused. "But you know, that's not really me. That's not who I really am. Out here, I just get caught up in playing a game. I get caught up in it because I think it's fun." He turned and looked at Kathy. "In real life, I think you'd probably like me."

Rob looked over at Gretchen, but her response was unreadable.

So he tried Alicia. Same response.

But he didn't care. All Rob cared about right now was clearing the air, and clearing his name. And explaining his side. All they had to know was that he had always had the best of intentions with Colleen, he was a good guy deep down, and that he had just been playing a part.

"Do you have anything else you want to add?" Jeff now probed, curiously.

"Nah," Rob sighed. "I'm done. Let's vote. Let's just get it over with."

He put his chin down in his palm and looked deflated.

And for the first time in three days, the stunned producers finally realized they might have actually missed something.

^^

Alicia Calaway was the first person to step up to the ballot box. And she wasted no time in writing "BOSTON ROB" down in big, bold letters. After all, this vote had been coming for a while now. And she wanted Rob to know just how much the rest of them were going to enjoy it.

"A fitting end," was all she said, as she shook her head, amusedly.

Next up was Kathy. And though Kathy was just as thrilled to be getting rid of the Robfather as the rest of them were, deep down she still wasn't all that certain that this was going to work.

"Cross your fingers," she said, wincing exaggeratedly as she held up Rob's name to the camera. Because Kathy knew better than anyone that if Tina decided to back out on them, this was the end of the line.

Next up was Gretchen.

"I believe you are a good guy," she said, as she held Rob's name up to the camera. "But at the same time, if we're ever going to get back in this game, then it has to be you. Better luck on the outside. Hope I get to meet you someday."

With three Rob votes in the bag, the next person to step to the ballot box was Vecepia. And, sure enough, Rob's partner in crime wasted no time in selling her Survivor twin right up the river. She didn't even hesitate for a second. And why would she? She was Vecepia. This wasn't personal, this was business.

"It was fun while it lasted," she shrugged.

One by one the Manakais all walked up to the podium and wrote down Rob Mariano's name. Well, except for Colleen. Because, of course, she had deliberately kept herself far out of the loop when it came to tonight's big overthrow. Colleen hadn't particularly wanted to take Gretchen's side. Nor had she particularly wanted to take Rob's side. All she had wanted to do tonight was keep her head down, her hands clean, and her name free of any sort of controversy.

So she simply scribbled down a meaningless vote for Kathy.

It wasn't going to matter. After all, Rob was probably going home tonight, and everyone knew it. All Colleen wanted to do tonight was to escape this little bloodbath with the slightest bit of integrity. She was not going to vote for Rob tonight. Why? Well because she had promised that she would never vote for Rob. Colleen had promised that she wouldn't, and she wanted to stick by her word.

In other words, if Tina and the Kekos wanted to remove Rob from the game tonight, fine. They could do whatever they wanted. But they would have to do it without Colleen's help. She simply wasn't their bitch.

And then, of course, came the final player to step up to the voting podium.

Rob Mariano.

He looked resigned.

He was a gunslinger staring down an impossible opponent across the battlefield, and he had finally accepted it.

"Tina," he said, as he held up his ballot for the person he despised more than any other player in All-Star Survivor. Because even though Rob had already accepted his fate, and even though he had already made peace with the fact that he was about to go home, deep down he was still quite furious about the way it had gone down.

Losing to Tina?

Losing to a prim little bible beater hypocrite who weighed 95 pounds?

Losing to an Ahi?

Rob didn't accept that shit at all.

And he knew that he wasn't likely to forget it.

"You know, Tina, there's somethin' we say back in Boston," he started, as he tried to control his obvious anger. "We say once a rat, always a rat. Because I hope you know that's what you are tonight. You aren't nothin' but a backstabbing, lying, little rat. And right now I'm tellin' you... this is gonna come back and cost you. It's gonna cost you big. I just want you to know that."

With that, he shoved his ballot into the box.

Then he turned back to glare at the camera one last time, as if sending a warning.

"Tina, you screwed up..." he said, trailing off, as he shook his head, sadly. "You screwed up."

Then he gave one last hard stare at the camera.

One last ominous warning.

And then he was done.




^^





"The person voted out tonight will be asked to leave the tribal council immediately," said Jeff, as he stood with the urn in front of him.

The eight Manakais nodded. They knew the drill.

And with that, Jeff pulled out the first vote.

"Rob."

That was Gretchen's vote. The Manakais looked over at Rob, curiously, to see how he would react. But for the most part he just sat there, a small smile on his face. Surprisingly, Rob didn't appear to be all that upset. Or even all that shocked. It looked like he had been expecting this.

"Rob," said the second vote. That was Tina's.

Again, no reaction.

"Tina," said the third vote.

That was Rob's. And as it came out, he shot a little glance over at Tina, just to see if he'd get a reaction. He didn't get one from her, of course, but he did manage to make eye contact with her for a couple of seconds. And it would have been impossible for her to misread the sad little scolding headshake that he gave her.

Rob was telling her, in no uncertain terms, that Tina had officially made an enemy on the jury now, and she better be careful.

"Kathy," said the fourth vote. That was Colleen's.

And then came the final two ballots that finished off the Robfather.

One from John.

And one from Alicia.

The one in big block letters officially sealed his fate.

"I'm sorry, Rob, that's four votes, that's enough," explained Jeff. "Please bring me your torch."

Rob just sat there for a moment, smiling, looking down at the ground. The rest of the players expected some sort of an outburst from him, or at the very least some sort of a comical wisecrack, but Rob had already decided he wasn't going to give them one. Because the show was now over. They weren't going to get any more of him. It was time to retire The Robfather. It was time to move on.

"Good luck guys," he said, simply, as he retrieved his torch and brought it up to Jeff.

Rob said nothing else.

He just stood there, and stared straight ahead with dignity as Jeff snuffed out his flame.

"The tribe has spoken."

And with that, Rob was done. He looked back, gave a simple wave to the people he considered his friends-- well, all of them except Tina, anyway-- and exited the stage. The Robfather's reign of terror was officially over. The torch had been passed.

And Rob was amused to think that there was a 95-pound little idiot out there who thought she could actually hold it.

"Wow," said Jeff, shocked, as he turned back to face the final seven castaways. He hadn't seen this vote coming for a second. He had been completely caught off guard, and he didn't know how to react.

"Wow, indeed," repeated Vecepia, smiling.

"We're gonna miss him," deadpanned John.

There were a few titters from the castaways.

"Well all I know tonight," Jeff said, as he struggled to get his bearings straight, "is that from what I just saw, maybe there's a lot more going on here that I gave you guys credit for. Because I have to tell you. I didn't see that coming. In fact, I don't think any of us did."

In the back row, Tina just smiled, proudly.

Over the jury box, Frank did the same.

After all, he knew just what sort of a tiger the other players had managed to wake up, now that they'd pushed her too far.

And that as a juror, he was going to enjoy watching this.

- Read Rob Mariano's final words

- Read Mario's Episode 9 commentary notes

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