(Arkos Tribe)

"Well, that's that. Yori's gone. It feels good to get rid of her because she spent the majority of her time trying to corner me into an alliance." Molly said with a smirk. "I managed to convince everyone else to get rid of her, and now that Yori's gone I can start actually playing the game."

"I think that went over pretty well." Krash nodded.

Gary chuckled. "Yep. Haven't been too many unanimous votes before."

"So what now?" Krash asked. "We try to win more challenges?"

"Brilliant deduction, Krash." Reginald rolled his eyes. "However, we can't ignore the fact that we just voted out one of our strong players."

"I was a little hesitant to voting out Yori so quickly, even though I knew that, with her track record, it probably would have been harder to get rid of her later." Reginald said. "This early in the game, however, you need to keep your good players around and I'm still unsure about the decision to keep Mel over Yori."

"Eh, Yori was a Negative Nancy anyway and wouldn't have been any fun to mess with." Sandy shrugged. "I'd have way more fun messing with Reggie and Elias."

"Well, it's no big loss, right?" Sandy as brightly as she went over to Krash and squeezed one of his arm muscles. "Just look at this guy! He more than makes up for Yori!"

"Uh…" Krash said, a little uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, Tempo and Chloe were off talking, having separated from the group when they got back to camp.

"I'm glad we kept Mel, but d'ya think we made the right choice in voting out Yori?" Chloe asked.

"I think so. I watched season three a few times and I know that if we gave Yori half a chance, she'd walk all over us." Tempo replied with a nod. "Believe me, it's best that we take her out now."

"I didn't really like Yori a whole lot. She was mean. But…She was STRONG. I'm hoping that I don't get singled out for my weakness now that we voted out a strong person." Chloe folded her arms. "Tempo seems unfazed by this, but why would he? He's not the one that people will target for being weak!"

"Look, we'll need to roll with things for now, and we'll get the chance to make a move." Tempo pointed out. "From the looks of things, Sandy's getting friendly with Krash, so we could bring them both into an alliance and suddenly have four of us."

"Oh! Okay, that's a great idea!" Chloe nodded. "We have a chance to get the advantage!"

"Of course, but we need to lay low for a bit so we don't attract attention."

The tribe decided to go to sleep, feeling a little worn out after Tribal Council.

(Xon Tribe; Day 4)

"Where the heck did she go?" Barney asked, looking around the camp as he walked from one end to the other.

"What's up, Barney?" Edwina asked as she came over.

"Anita's vanished again. She wasn't in the shelter when we woke up and we haven't seen her all morning." Barney folded his arms. "You haven't seen her, have you?"

"No, I haven't." Edwina shook her head. "Boy, this is serious. Where did she go?"

"I'm more curious as to why she seems to be vanishing in the first place."

"Erica and Anita joined Inferno and I to form a big alliance, but we haven't been seeing Anita for a lot these past couple of days. It's a little unnerving, to be honest." Barney sighed. "I know Anita isn't one to try anything behind our backs, but the fact that she's not around worries me."

"Anita hasn't been screaming because of the nightmares like she did back in her season, so that means that she's getting better." Edwina pointed out. "However, there seems to be a new problem surfacing because she vanishes from camp…Man, what I wouldn't do to have Ruth around right now."

"I'll go and see if Renaldo's seen her." Edwina said. "He's been perched up on the higher ledge for a while."

"Sounds like a plan."

Meanwhile, Kendall was down by a group of trees, collecting some fruit with Jack. The white monkey appeared to be listening to Jack talking.

"Okay, for starters, we need to make sure that the others don't see us as threats." Jack explained.

"I know that. That's what I did back in my season and it got me to fifth." Kendall said. "The only thing that stopped me was that there was a big alliance that outnumbered me."

"Really?...Hmm…Maybe it's best that we focus on taking out alliances first, then."

"I'm having fun making up stuff about my season, such as how the reason I was eliminated was because there was a big alliance. Jack, the idiot he is, seems to be buying it." Kendall noted. "If I can lead him on and get him to do what I need him to do, at the very least he'd take the fall should something go wrong."

"You see any real alliances getting formed, yet?" Kendall asked.

"Well, Edwina and Renaldo appear to be the most-obvious." Jack pointed out. "Barney and Inferno seem to have aligned as well."

"Then why not focus on them for now?"

"That's probably a good idea, but it'd be stupid to vote for Barney or Inferno this early." Jack reminded. "We'd have more luck getting people to vote for Edwina and Renaldo."

"Kendall seems to have some good ideas, so I'll try implementing them. If the goal's to take attention off us, we need a motive to get rid of the others." Jack said. "I think the two of us could go far if we lay low and get the others to focus on each other, at which point, we'll already be at the merge and ready to take control of the game."

(Arkos Tribe; Day 4)

"I've noticed that there appears to be some small alliances getting formed, and I know that they may end up turning into one big one." Reginald explained. "I lost the game last time because I feel I wasn't playing the game aggressively enough, but if I can get into control, I think I can get the better of everyone else."

Gary, Elias, Mel and Molly were gathered around as Reginald started talking. "I suppose that it's no secret at this point that the others have formed some alliances." He explained. "Let's be honest: We need to combat it."

"So what? Form one big alliance?" Mel asked, arms folded. "Look around you, Reggie."

"Reginald! Stop imitating Sandy!"

"Look, we have you, me, Elias and Molly. None of us trusts each other." Mel explained. "How much good do you actually expect to come from this?"

"Yeah. The three of us weren't exactly on the best of terms and we all know how trustworthy Molly is." Elias agreed.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that." Molly said flatly.

"Mel, none of us will have a chance if we don't join forces." Reginald said sternly. "At least if the five of us join up, we outnumber the other four."

"I don't like joining up with sourpusses like Reginald and Elias, but it looks like I really don't have a choice at the moment." Mel sighed. "Why did I get separated from Barney? At least THEN I could align with someone I know wouldn't be liable to stab me in the back later on."

"I'm trying to sit back and let others make the moves this time since that appears to be what killed my chances last time." Elias explained. "If Reginald is taking the lead here, I won't be blamed for his mistakes, and if he tries to pass the buck to me, I'll simply say I had nothing to do with him."

"Am I seriously the only one here that people trust, then?" Gary asked, looking around.

"Pretty much. Why? You having second thoughts?" Reginald asked.

"Meh, not really. I'd probably just let you guys do the planning, anyway." Gary shrugged.

"Okay, it sounds like a plan." Molly nodded. "At least for now, we'll join up."

"Good to see that you're on board." Reginald said with a smirk.

"Anyone else probably would use my situation to their advantage, because if they trust me, then that would give me an easier time out here." Gary reminded. "But…That's not who I am. I'm having a good time and I'm certainly not going to backstab the others unless they try to do the same to me first."

While the five were talking, two distinct figures watched from the bushes, one in determination and the other in confusion.

"…Why are we watching them again?" Krash asked.

"They're in league with the sand weavals." Sandy hissed. "Come, young ward. We must fall back and regroup or else we could wake up without our spleens."

"Man…I like my spleen…"

(Xon Tribe)

"So no sign of Anita?" Edwina asked as she and Renaldo sat on a ledge.

"No. Believe me, I've been looking." Renaldo said.

"That's weird. Notice anything else, though?" Edwina asked.

Renaldo appeared to blush, but managed to hide it. "Um…I've seen Jack and Kendall hanging around each other." He said.

"Didn't Erica say that Kendall was no good, though?"

"That's what I was thinking."

"Hmm…This could have me worried. If Kendall's as good at the game as Erica says he is, this could be a real problem." Edwina noted. "And since Jack is so incompetent, it could very well be likely that Kendall is trying to lead him on…"

"So what do we do?" Renaldo said. "If we don't do anything, we're screwed."

"You're still haven't changed, Renaldo." Edwina laughed. "But don't worry about it. We should be able to get in good with another alliance."

"I wish I had some of your optimism…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. That's why I befriended you last season anyway." Edwina assured.

Renaldo nervously fidgeted for a few seconds before sighing. "Okay, FINE. I've got a bit of a crush on Edwina, okay? That's part of the reason I sacrificed myself back in our season." He admitted. "But I know I've got no chance. Look at me; I'm pessimistic, a gun-for-hire and I'm likely just holding her back from her potential."

"Any sign of Anita yet, you two?" Erica said as she climbed up the path leading to the ledge the Opti-Pessi Alliance was sitting on.

"No. I've been up here for a while and I haven't seen any sign of her." Renaldo shook his head.

"Where the heck is she? This is the second time she's up and vanished on us…" Erica sighed. "Well, let me know if you see her, okay?"

"Of course." Edwina nodded.

"Barney and Inferno are getting a little antsy that one of their alliance members isn't around to talk to. It's making me worried as well." Erica said. "I obviously trust her more than the guys do, though. It's too bad because I was really hoping to get along with a lot of the people here…"

Unknown to everyone else, there was another flash of light at the base of the ledge the trio were on. Once the light vanished, Anita had materialized again, looking terrified and splattered with what looked like blood.

"I…I don't understand…I'm shifting…WHY AM I SHIFTING?!" Anita cried, still looking terrified. "This…This island doesn't have anything to DO with Cabadath or John Dafoe or the Order of Blessed Agonies!..." Anita trailed off as she looked at the camera with wide eyes. "…Does it?"

(Arkos Tribe)

"Huh?! An alliance of five?!" Chloe asked in shock.

Krash scratched his head. "That's what it sounded like." He said.

"Sandy dragged me over to listen in on the others talking and we overheard them getting into an alliance. I may not be good with numbers, but that's gotta be more than half the tribe." Krash shook his head. "Sandy mentioned Tempo and Chloe coming to her for an alliance, so we decided to see if we could do anything about it."

"Ugh! Why does this happen?! Are they unaffected by my cuteness or something? Every time I look, I'm always at some kind of disadvantage." Chloe said. "I'm hoping we can work our way around it this time, because I really don't want to spend the game fighting for my life out here."

"Hmm…This isn't good." Tempo sighed. "Our only chance at outsmarting them is to find that Immunity Idol."

"Oh! I can sniff it out!" Sandy said, shooting her arm into the air.

"I wasn't able to sniff out the idol back on my first season because by that point it had already been found." Sandy explained. "Now that we know that there's an idol here, I can try again and snoop around to see what I can find out. Just like Scooby Doo!...Jinkies!"

"And I found the idol on my first trip to Exile back in my season!" Chloe said happily. "I'm sure I can find it again!"

Sandy tilted her head and looked down at Chloe. "Are you SURE you're not a sand weaval?"

"Sandy…What exactly IS a 'sand weaval'?" Tempo asked.

Sandy was silent. "I dunno. I've never seen them before." She admitted before getting right in Tempo's face. "But that doesn't mean they don't exist! I KNOW they do!"

"I…Uh…Didn't say they didn't." Tempo insisted.

Sandy instantly pulled away from Tempo. "Okay!"

"Sandy stills weirds me out. I'm still confused as to how she lasted so long back in season one, but at this point, I pretty much need to align with her." Tempo folded his arms. "Still, if we can get the idol before the others do, we've got a chance."

"You think Mel or Gary would jump ship and join us if we asked?" Krash asked.

Tempo shook his head. "Gary's more-likely to stick with the people he aligns with at the start. He's too nice of a guy to turn on an alliance." He explained.

"Mel might be a good choice, though!" Chloe piped up.

"Yeah. Depends on what her opinions are of the others." Tempo nodded.

"Then let's get cracking!" Sandy said, grabbing Krash by the arm. "Come, my muscled terrapin friend! To the Batcave!"

With that, Sandy bounded off, pulling the taller Krash along like a ragdoll. Tempo and Chloe looked at each other, wondering what they had just gotten themselves into.

"…Terrapins are turtles." Chloe pointed out.

"I know."

The two tribes decided to go to bed, expecting that there would be a challenge the following day.

(Xon Tribe; Day 5)

"It was really weird yesterday. Anita suddenly reappears again and the first thing we see her doing is scrubbing herself down at the water." Barney said. "I could see blood on her, and I REALLY hope she isn't doing anything to herself when she isn't around. I'd hate to think that those scars of hers are self-inflicted…"

"You sure you're okay, Anita?" Barney asked.

"Y-Yeah. I swear that blood wasn't mine." Anita shook her head.

Inferno lifted his shades slightly. "…That does little to make me feel better." He commented.

"You're not helping any." Erica scolded.

"The four of us are calling ourselves the Cross Alliance because there's one person from each season in it." Inferno said. "Still, Anita isn't really helping us any, even if she's not meaning any harm. The fact that she isn't around a lot sorta defeats the purpose of strategizing with her."

Meanwhile, Charlotte was watching the scene from afar. Grace saw this and came over. "Something tells me that I know what you're thinking." Grace said.

"Comrade, are you not suspicious of how Anita keeps vanishing without warning?" Charlotte asked. "Even her friends don't know where she goes."

Grace folded her arms. "I wonder about it, sure." She said suspiciously. "Why? What's on your mind?"

"Do you know how easy it would be to convince the others that she's planning something behind our backs?" Charlotte asked with a smirk.

"No! That's a terrible idea and I'm not having any part of it!" Grace insisted.

"I got in serious trouble last time because of my lack of social skills. If I try to accuse someone like Anita of doing something behind everyone's backs, there's no way in heck anyone would believe me." Grace said firmly. "Doing that would just isolate me from everyone else and this early in the competition that's the LAST thing I want."

"I see this as an opportunity that might pay off to take. Anita's a well-liked person, which makes her a threat in the long run." Charlotte said. "If we can come up with a logical reason to get rid of her early on, we'll have an easier time with the game later."

"Charlotte, I swear that if you try this then it'll come back to haunt you." Grace said. "Take it from me!"

"I feel you worry too much, comrade." Charlotte assured.

(Arkos Tribe; Day 5)

Reginald watched as he saw Sandy walking around camp on all fours, sniffing the ground as she went. Although he had a feeling why she was doing it, Reginald decided to ask anyway. "What are you doing NOW?" He asked.

"I'm trying to look for that hidden idol, Reggie." Sandy replied. "I know I'm close."

"Yes, because we ALL know you're secretly half-bloodhound." Reginald rolled his eyes. "And stop calling me Reggie!"

"Only when you stop being such a putz about it." Sandy said with a smirk.

"Sandy's a complete lunatic, but I can't ignore the fact that she's looking for the idol, or at least trying to distract everyone else while one of her friends looks for it." Reginald folded his arms. "I need to start searching for it myself since we were told we're not getting any hints as to where it is."

"My nose has never failed me before!...Well, except for when I'm sick with a head cold, but that doesn't count!" Sandy insisted. "I can find that idol this time and I WILL…Unless someone decides to bribe me with a bologna sandwich, that is."

Gary came wandering over and saw Reginald searching around some trees. "I take it you're looking for the idol?" He asked.

"Of course I am. I just saw Sandy looking for it, so that means she and her friends are all trying to find it." Reginald said. "Why aren't you looking for it, anyway?"

Gary gave a shrug. "Don't really need it yet." He replied. "I mean, if I stumble upon it, then I'll take it."

"You need to learn to take things more-seriously, my friend." Reginald said, eyes narrowed.

"Reginald reminds me a lot of Erica from back in my season, and by that I mean he reminds her of how she USED to be instead of that fangirl she's become." Gary pointed out. "He's kinda grouchy, but I know his heart's in the right place…Or at least, I THINK so…"

In the meantime, Chloe was walking around, also looking for the idol. It was clear that she wasn't having much luck.

"Man. It's a lot harder when you don't have any clues to help you." Chloe said to herself as she looked in a bush. "Finding the idol on Exile was way easier than this…"

Sandy suddenly poked her head up from behind the bush, startling Chloe. "Welcome to my world, punk!" She said brightly before vanishing again.

(Xon Tribe)

"If I'm to lobby to get Anita voted out before she becomes a threat, I need to go to the people she hasn't been talking with." Charlotte explained. "That basically means I need to pitch my case to Jack, Kendall, Edwina and Renaldo."

"Wait. Why the heck would you want to vote out Anita?" Edwina asked.

"Think about it, comrade." Charlotte explained. "The way she's been vanishing from camp doesn't seem suspicious?"

"I think it's weird. I don't suspect anything." Renaldo insisted.

"I'm in." Kendall said simply.

Jack did a double-take. "Wait! When did I agree to that?!" He demanded.

"Think about it. It's probably for the best, anyway." Kendall shrugged.

Jack paused, then sighed. "Yeah. You're probably right." He admitted.

"Good." Charlotte said with a smirk. "Believe me, this is for the best of the tribe."

"Heck, any chance I get to screw over someone, I'll take it. Anita's basically dead weight to the team anyway." Kendall said. "And then, after she goes, I can rub it in the faces of her alliance. So much for their numbers advantage, eh?"

Later on, Edwina and Renaldo walked over to Anita, who was down by the beach, to tell her what was happening.

"Just so you know, Anita? Charlotte's lobbying to get you voted out." Edwina said.

"Huh?! But why?!" Anita asked.

"She's a little suspicious as to why you're been vanishing from camp." Renaldo rubbed his head. "None of us know where you're going."

"I…I can't say…"

"We're not asking you where you're going, Anita." Edwina supplied. "We just wanted to give you the heads-up."

"Sure, the disappearances may seem a little weird, but I really don't think there's much to it. Anita's got her reasons, I guess." Renaldo shrugged. "Besides, if it's something serious, I don't really wanna get involved. I deal with enough crap back home…"

"It's not my fault that I vanish from camp! I literally have no say in the matter!...Man, I wish I could get…" Anita trailed off when she started breathing a little heavier. "Oh, no…It's happening again!" She looked at the cameraman frantically. "Quick! Give me the camera!" Anita lunged at the cameraman and grabbed at it just as everything went white…

(Arkos Tribe)

"I need to form a concrete alliance since I feel that I'm on borrowed time if I don't do something. Because I don't like Elias and Reginald, and Gary's way too nice for my tastes, that leaves me with Mel." Molly said. "Maybe I can sway her with some words, because I know that she's not the timid girl she was before."

"Wait. Why would you want to form an alliance with me, of all people?" Mel asked.

"Mel, I don't think you can deny it; We're both targets and threats." Molly explained. "We may have an alliance with the others, but I want something more-concrete before we both get the boot."

Mel appeared to be in thought. "I really don't know if I can trust you, though." She said.

"You're going to have to, because there's no way Elias and Reginald will let you near the merge."

Mel sighed. "Yeah. You're right about that."

"If there's one bad thing that's come from me gaining self-confidence, it's that it makes me a big threat out here. This will be sure to make me a target early on like I was a couple of days ago." Mel said. "I may not like Molly, and I'm sure she doesn't like me either, but at the moment it looks like neither of us really have a choice."

"Okay. You want an alliance?" Mel asked. "For now, it's a deal."

"That's fine. It's good to see that you're open to possibilities." Molly said.

Krash was swimming around in the water to see if the idol was buried in the sand underneath the waves. So far, he hadn't been having much luck.

"I think I'm out on a wild goose chase out here." Krash said to himself as he swam around.

"That makes two of us."

Krash looked to his side and saw Elias swimming with him, also trying to find the idol in the water.

"What's YOUR excuse?" Krash asked.

"It was either this or search near the fire pit, and with Sandy scouring the place, I feel this is the safest place to search." Elias said simply.

"I was with her for an entire season. I, of all people, should know better than to get in Sandy's way when she's looking for something." A soaking-wet Elias shrugged.

(Unknown Location)

Anita walked along the beach, alone and with the stolen camera in hand. The place she was at looked exactly like her tribe's camp, except that it looked like it had come out of a horror movie.

Dead, decaying bodies were strewn about, complete with some dismembered body parts laying on the ground. The sky was a dark shade or orange, with no clouds or even sun in the sky. A wind was heard blowing, but not a breeze was felt. Blood was splattered and smeared everywhere, along the ground, on the rocks and across the trees. There was even a small shelter set up like the one her tribe had built, but the stench coming from it kept Anita too scared to go near it.

After looking around with the camera, Anita turned the camera on herself. "This…This is what happens when I shift. There are t-two worlds here, identical in looks but completely-different otherwise." She explained, looking scared. "Trilby s-said that he went through a nightmare like this once, but now that I'm experiencing it myself…I'm scared…"

"But why is this happening?!" Anita demanded out loud, despite that there was no one (alive) to hear her. "The only time someone from my world shifts between worlds is when we're at a place where there was some demonic activity involving beings like Cabadath!"

Anita used the camera to scan around. "I r-really hope this camera is seeing this. If I'm the only one that can see the world like this, they'll think I'm c-crazy!" She said.

After a little bit, Anita put down the camera, satisfied, and reached into her pocket, pulling out a bottle of pills.

"This…This is my luxury item: A bottle of tranquilizer pills. The only way for me to get back to the real world is to slow down my heart rate." Anita explained. "Trilby gave me the suggestion to bring them even though I said I wouldn't need them. Now, I'm really thankful I listened to him."

Anita popped a couple of tranquilizer pills into her mouth and waited, grabbing the camera. After a few moments, a flash of light occurred, and when it did, Anita was back in the real world, standing in the same place she was in the other world. Seeing that she was back, Anita took several deep breaths to calm her nerves.

"I'm…I'm never going to get used to that." Anita breathed.

"Oh! Anita, you're back again!"

Anita turned to see Erica come running over, looking relieved. "Where the heck did you go this time?!" She demanded.

Anita sighed as she held the camera she had taken. "You wouldn't believe me unless I showed you…" She said. "…And I don't think you're ready for it…"

The two teams decided to go to bed after Anita delivered the camera back to the still-stunned cameraman that had seen her vanish in front of him. Since they didn't have a challenge this day, they knew there would be one the next…

(Arkos Tribe; Day 6)

"Well, we didn't have a challenge yesterday, which confirms that there's going to be one today. The lack of challenge time has given us more time to search for the idol, though." Reginald shrugged. "Still, I'm going to need some help out here, and I feel I know just who to go to first…"

"The three of us need to form an alliance." Reginald said to Mel and Gary. "Gary's a physical threat while Mel and I are mental threats."

"So we'd basically be targeted early then?" Gary asked.

"I don't doubt it." Reginald shook his head. "Everyone's familiar with how we play the game and we booted Yori because she was too much of a threat."

"Yeah. What's stopping the others from ganging up on us?" Mel asked.

"Absolutely nothing. That's the problem."

"I know Reginald and he's a big sneak underneath that fuzzy white fur coat of his, so I know to take what he says with a grain of salt." Mel folded her arms with a smirk. "That being said, I'm already aligned with Molly. Now I'm faced with choosing which alliance to stick with or if I should try to play both sides…"

"How far did your alliance get in your season, Gary?" Mel asked.

"All three of us made the merge." Gary shrugged. "Erica finished third and I finished second."

"Then we just need to copy what your alliance managed to pull off and we'd be off to a good start." Reginald smirked.

"I feel pretty good about joining Mel and Reginald. If they need my help, I'll gladly give it to them." Gary supplied. "Sure, there's just the three of us, but if we can find that idol before the others, we've got a chance at staying around and evening the odds."

"We can has treemail!" Sandy announced as she came into camp with a letter.

"Took long enough." Elias noted.

"Yeah. What're we up against this time, Sandy?" Tempo asked.

"It's asking us if we can throw boomerangs! Awesome!" Sandy cheered.

"An accuracy challenge with BOOMERANGS?!" Chloe asked. "Aw, man! Those things are impossible to throw!"

"I'm sure that's what they want." Elias folded his arms. "At least we'd be on equal ground for the most part."

"But the other tribe can sit someone out." Tempo sighed. "We may be at a disadvantage here."

"I'm a parody of a JAPANESE cartoon; Not Australian! Do I LOOK like I know how to throw a boomerang?" Chloe asked flatly.

(Xon Tribe; Day 6)

"Charlotte's trying to get Anita out, and while I agree that she'll be a huge threat later in the game, I can't give myself a big target right off the bat." Grace shook her head. "Charlotte is probably saying that I'm in on her idea, and I want to make sure that's not the case. Luckily, I have a friend here that trusts me."

"So why does Charlotte want to get rid of Anita, man?" Inferno asked.

"Because she insists that Anita will become a huge threat later on." Grace said. "Look, I'm not saying that I don't agree with her, but I'm not dumb enough to make myself a target this early."

"Yeah. Booting her this early is asking for retribution." Inferno noted.

"I like Anita, man. There's no way I'd get rid of her this early…What? No, I…I don't like her like that, man! I-I'm, like, SEVEN YEARS OLDER than her, for crying out loud!" Inferno insisted. "…Crap. My sister's NEVER going to let me live that one down. The last time I ran my mouth, she constantly reminded me about it for a year…"

"How is Anita, anyway?" Grace asked.

"She's been getting more and more distant with each day." Inferno shrugged. "Erica's probably the most-worried about her. I kinda think it's because Anita's one of her favourite past players."

"Looks like we've got some treemail." Barney said as he walked into camp.

"Sweet. It's about time." Jack said with a smirk. "What's the challenge?"

"Looks like it involves boomerangs…" Barney lifted an eyebrow. "Are…They expecting us to throw a boomerang properly?"

Edwina sighed. "Can ANYONE throw a boomerang properly?" She asked.

Most of the tribe looked uneasy, but Renaldo silently held up a disembodied hand. "Um…I can." He said.

"Oh! Great!" Edwina said. "Maybe we've got a shot at this, then!"

"And we can sit someone else out at the same time!" Erica added. "So…Who's not so good with a boomerang?"

"I think I've got a bit of an advantage in the challenge because I'm skilled with all sorts of means to kill someone. This gives me near-perfect accuracy with thrown objects." Renaldo said, prodding his fingers together. "Um…This is probably going to sound a little weird, but I've…Uh…DISMEMBERED people by throwing a boomerang before…"

"I still don't get how such a worrywart is a killing machine…" Barney shrugged.

(Immunity Challenge)

The Xon Tribe stood on their mat in the middle of a clearing, waiting for the challenge to start. The Arkos Tribe's mat was currently empty.

"Before we begin, let's bring out the Arkos Tribe." SSBFreak explained as the pink tribe emerged from the jungle and walked over to their mat. People saw that a familiar cyborg wasn't with them. "Yori was voted out at Tribal Council."

This seemed to be a pleasant surprise to the rest of the season three representatives. "She was probably asking for it." Inferno shrugged as the Arkos Tribe stepped onto their mat.

"Welcome to your next Immunity Challenge, everyone. Here, we will be testing your throwing skills with something that's meant to return to you." SSBFreak explained. People noticed that there was a line of distance markers behind the host. "You will be pitted against each other in one-on-one matchups, and the goal is to simply throw your boomerang farther than your opponent. Keep in mind that the goal is to get the most distance and not to get the boomerang to come back to you. Whoever throws their boomerang the farthest of the two will score a point for their team, and the first team to win five of nine rounds will win Immunity and be safe from elimination at tonight's Tribal Council."

The tribes looked at each other. This challenge seemed straightforward, but simply throwing a boomerang was going to be a chore in itself.

"Xon Tribe, you have one extra person." SSBFreak said. "Who's sitting out?"

"I will." Kendall said with a light smirk.

"Okay. If you're all ready, we can begin. We just need you to choose your team's orders…" SSBFreak explained.

(Later…)

The first matchup was Reginald vs. Edwina. The two looked at each other, sizing their opponent up despite the fact that Reginald was almost twice as tall as Edwina was.

"The first matchup is Reginald vs. Edwina." SSBFreak said. "You can both go whenever, and you can throw at the same time."

The two quickly threw their boomerangs, but it was clear who the better thrower was. Reginald's boomerang glided through the air for several yards while Edwina's flopped down uselessly a few feet in front of her.

"That one wasn't even close. Reginald gets the first point for the Arkos Tribe." SSBFreak explained.

"I've never gotten used to throwing those things." Edwina shook her head.

Next up were Mel and Charlotte. The two glanced at each other, but not for longer than a second.

"The next matchup is Mel vs. Charlotte." SSBFreak said. "You can go whenever."

The two women threw their boomerangs out, showing the others that this would be a closer match as the two boomerangs flew through the air. However, Mel's boomerang hit the ground just a few feet back from where Charlotte's eventually landed.

"Charlotte scores Xon's first point and evens the score." SSBFreak explained.

"All too easy." Charlotte said with a smirk.

Krash scratched his head as he examined the boomerang in his hand. Erica was beside him, looking a little more-confident.

"Next is Krash vs. Erica." SSBFreak said.

The two contestants hurled their boomerangs out. Krash's boomerang quickly banked to the side and his tribe had to comically duck to avoid getting hit (although Sandy caught it with her teeth). Erica's boomerang, while definitely not going very far, still landed further than where Krash's had ended up going.

"Erica gives Xon a 2-1 lead." SSBFreak said.

"That's a load off my shoulders." Erica sighed in relief.

"Watch where you're throwing that thing, Krash!" Tempo said.

"How the heck am I supposed to THROW that thing?!" Krash asked aloud.

Gary and Barney were up next. Gary was whistling a tune as he examined the boomerang while Barney lifted an eyebrow at the laid-back older man.

"Next is Gary vs. Barney." SSBFreak explained.

The two strongmen hurled their boomerangs out, hoping to outlast the other. Gary's calm demeanor conveyed to his boomerang, as it flew several yards through the air and landed gracefully while Barney's crashed about ten feet from where he had thrown it.

"Again, not a very close one. Gary ties it up for Arkos at 2-2." SSBFreak said.

"How'd you do that?" Barney asked.

"Do what?" Gary asked back.

Next was Tempo and Jack. Jack seemed a little confident, but Tempo didn't look intimidated by the koopa's look (mainly because he couldn't see Jack's eyes through his shades).

"Next is Tempo vs. Jack."

Again, the two contestants lashed out and threw their boomerangs. It appeared to be a close match, as the boomerangs seemed to be flying forward easily. However, everyone was caught by surprise when the two boomerangs hit each other in midair and crashed to the ground. Closer inspection showed that Tempo's had hit the ground just inches farther than Jack's.

"Looks like Tempo edged it out. He gives Arkos a 3-2 lead."

"Hey! No fair!" Jack said. "Our boomerangs hit each other in midair!"

"That's the risk of the challenge." SSBFreak shrugged. Jack sighed.

Sandy and Renaldo were next. Sandy was, like usual, grinning in anticipation and she still held Krash's boomerang in her teeth. Renaldo appeared to be confused at this, although it was hard to tell because of his lack of a face.

"Next is Sandy vs. Renaldo."

Sandy quickly threw her boomerang out, which crashed just a few feet away. By the time it did, Renaldo had already thrown his boomerang, which surprised everyone by traveling the farthest of anyone's throws thus far. The boomerang traveled most of the distance of the marker lane and touched down.

"That was a complete blowout. Renaldo ties it at 3."

"Where'd you learn to throw like that?" Barney asked as Renaldo came over.

"Don't ask." Renaldo said flatly.

Elias looked over at Inferno, his opponent. The actor gave a sigh. "This isn't going to end well." He said.

"Next is Elias vs. Inferno."

The two threw their boomerangs out. Elias was expecting Inferno to blow him out of the water, but he looked surprised when he saw the two boomerangs relatively close. Inferno lifted his shades in surprise when he saw his boomerang hit the ground first. Elias' had traveled a few feet further before doing the same.

"Elias brings the Arkos Tribe to a 4-3 lead."

"…How the heck?" Inferno asked aloud.

"Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are." Elias said flatly.

The next duo was Molly and Grace. Grace felt a little bit pressured considering that it was now down to her to keep her tribe in the game.

"Next is Molly vs. Grace, and Grace needs to win this to keep her tribe alive. Otherwise, the Arkos Tribe wins." SSBFreak explained.

This seemed to give Molly a little more confidence, and when the two boomerangs were thrown, they stayed pretty much align with each other. The two quickly started going down though, and in the end, Grace's purple boomerang touched the ground first while Molly's pink one hit the ground and skipped once for a bit of added distance.

"It's not enough! Molly's has gone farther! The challenge is over!" SSBFreak said. "Arkos wins Immunity!"

"That was a little closer than I would have liked." Molly sighed in relief as her tribe cheered in victory.

(Later…)

"Congratulations on winning Immunity, Arkos Tribe. You are all safe from elimination and will be around at least a few more days." SSBFreak said before turning to the losing tribe. "Xon Tribe, I'll be seeing you all tonight at Tribal Council, where you will vote out one of your own. It's up to you to decide which among you should be cut first and have their second chance at the game end prematurely. I'll give you the rest of the day to make your decision, but for now, you can all head back to camp."

(Xon Tribe)

"Well, that didn't go very well." Erica sighed.

"It got pretty close, though." Barney noted. "Now we need to decide who to vote out."

"Um…If Charlotte's gunning for me, how about we go after her?" Anita piped up.

"I'm almost relieved that I didn't get to throw in the challenge, because that would have meant that the others would be relying on me and I probably would have blown it." Anita sighed. "That being said, Charlotte's intent on getting rid of me, so we need to cut her off before she can do it."

"We'd just need to people for the majority, man." Inferno said. "You think we can get Edwina and Renaldo to vote with us?"

"I'd say it's pretty likely since they were the ones to come to us about Charlotte wanting Anita out in the first place." Barney smirked.

"I'm glad I'm not a target this early, but I'd like to help out my alliance members and Anita is no exception. I'd be willing to eliminate Charlotte if it gives us the edge." Barney shrugged. "When I watched season two, Charlotte kinda made me a little uneasy anyway, so it's not like I'd feel especially bad about voting her out."

"I hope we can get through this." Erica said. "I don't want to be faced with a minority over some stupid rumours of Anita vanishing."

Anita looked down. "Yeah. Rumours..."

Meanwhile, Charlotte was doing a little pitching of her own, this time to Grace, Jack and Kendall. The others seemed to be letting her do the talking.

"So we're all in agreement that Anita needs to go, right?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm all for it." Kendall said. "Best to take her out before she becomes a threat, after all."

"I still feel bad about it, though." Jack pointed out.

"And I think this is a stupid idea." Grace folded her arms.

"Jack, we may not get another chance like this." Charlotte said.

"Losing the challenge has given us a chance to eliminate Anita before she becomes a threat. The last thing I want is her coasting through the game because people feel sorry for her." Charlotte folded her arms. "She could dominate at the end if she is let that far, so I need to take her out now while I've got the chance."

"Honestly, I'm having a ball. These idiots are choosing to either vote off a physical threat or someone everyone likes, completely ignoring me altogether." Kendall said with a smirk. "If I can get the others to vote like this more-often, I've got an easy ride to the merge at the very least. I don't know which side I'm voting for tonight, but I'm leaning more towards voting for Anita just to keep things interesting."

"Keep in mind, Charlotte, that I'm only voting with you because I think you're right." Grace reminded. "I want nothing to do with taking credit for this idea."

"That's fine with me." Charlotte shrugged.

Meanwhile, Edwina and Renaldo were perched up on one of the ledges in camp, looking down at the two groups discussing things.

"Looks like it's up to us to decide the vote." Renaldo noted.

"Yep, and I'm loving the feeling." Edwina said with a chuckle.

(Tribal Council)

The ten members of the Xon Tribe entered Tribal Council, carrying lit torches. Like the previous council, there were ten seats available, which the tribe sat down on as they waited for council to commence.

"Welcome to your first Tribal Council, Xon Tribe. It was only a matter of time before everyone came to Tribal Council, and here you are. In a moment, you will be voting one of your own out of the game as the first casualty for your tribe." SSBFreak explained before he decided to start asking questions. "Erica, how are things at camp so far?"

"They're going real well and I'm excited to be playing the game with the rest of the All Stars!" Erica said. "I seem to be getting along with most of the people, which is a good thing, but there are a few bad apples that I think we could do without."

"Such as?"

"Kendall."

Kendall looked offended. "You sure know how to make a good impression, Erica. Why are you casting blame like that?" He asked.

"You can't play innocent, Kendall. As long as I'm here, I'm determined to expose you for the snake you are."

"Jack, what has the tribe been like so far?" SSBFreak asked.

"There's a bit of hostility, for sure." Jack shrugged. "I'm personally trying to avoid it as much as I can and kinda just let stuff happen."

"We all know you, Jack. You're really planning otherwise." Charlotte said with a smirk.

"Hey! This isn't your question, Charlotte!" Jack snapped. "But for the most part, it's good. I can't really complain about the team I'm on."

"Grace, do you think you're at a disadvantage when it comes to the season four players?" SSBFreak asked.

"The only disadvantage we have is that we don't know how the new players have been playing." Grace replied simply. "While I'd like to believe Erica with her accusations against Kendall, we just don't know until we get a good ways into the contest."

"Anita, we've noticed that you've been vanishing a lot." SSBFreak said. "Heck, you spooked our cameraman by vanishing in the middle of your confessional. Any particular reason why?"

"…I can't control it. If I could, I would, and I really don't know why this is happening." Anita sighed. "But…Have you looked at the footage on the camera I borrowed?"

"I haven't personally, but our editors have and they've been looking pretty mortified lately."

Anita gave a sigh in relief. "Then I'm not crazy." She said. The others looked at each other in slight surprise.

"Edwina, how do you think the vote will go tonight? The tribe looks pretty split." SSBFreak said.

"It appears to be between Anita and Charlotte." Edwina replied, arms folded. "Charlotte wants Anita out and Anita's fighting to stay in."

Charlotte looked a bit surprised at this. "Something you want to add, Charlotte?" SSBFreak asked.

"I'm surprised I'm a target, to be honest." Charlotte replied. "I suppose my targeting Anita would get me some votes, but I assure you, it's because Anita will become a huge threat later on."

"Barney, what's your take on all this?"

"It has me a little concerned, especially seeing that the other tribe got rid of Yori first." Barney explained. "I realize now that I've got to play as hard as I can even to make it to the merge if physical strength isn't valued as much now."

"Well, I think that's enough questions. It's now time to vote." SSBFreak said. "Inferno, you're up."

Inferno got up and left the hut to go vote. The blue-haired man approached the table, wrote a name down and voted. "I hope we get the votes." He said as he left.

Renaldo approached the table and scribbled a name down. "Not as hard of a choice as I first thought." He shrugged as he voted and walked away.

Jack walked up to the table, looking a little down. He nevertheless wrote a name down and walked away as silently as he had come.

Erica was looking determined as she wrote a name down. "There's no WAY I'm voting for Anita." She said, having voted for Charlotte.

Charlotte wrote a name down and turned it, revealing Anita's name. "Consider this a compliment, Anita." She said as she voted and walked away.

Edwina was smirking as she wrote a name down. "I know exactly how the vote's going, now." She said as she wrote a name down and left for the hut again.

Anita walked up to the table and wrote a name down. "It's either you or me, and I'm not leaving because of something out of my control." She said, having voted for Charlotte.

Grace was looking a little guilty, like Jack, but she still wrote a name down. Placing the ballot into the urn, Grace turned and walked away again.

Kendall gave a smirk as he voted and turned his ballot around. "Either way, it'll be interesting." He shrugged, showing that he had voted for Anita.

Barney was the last to vote. The strongman approached the table and wrote a name down before shoving it into the jar and walking back to the hut.

Once all ten players had voted, SSBFreak left to fetch the urn and returned with it moments later. "When I read the names, the person with the most votes will be asked to bring forward their torch and leave Tribal Council immediately." He explained. If anyone had the idol, they decided not to play it. "It's time to read the votes…"

"…First vote; Anita." Anita bit her lip.

"Anita. She leads with 2." Anita remained silent, but looked a little edgy.

"…Charlotte." Charlotte looked neutral.

"…Anita. It's 3-1." Anita took a deep breath.

"Charlotte." Charlotte glanced around.

"Charlotte. It's tied at 3." Now Charlotte was starting to look nervous.

"Anita. It's 4-3." Anita fidgeted visibly.

"Charlotte. It's tied at 4." The two in question exchanged glances.

"…Charlotte." Charlotte's eyes widened in surprise. "Last vote and second person voted out of Survivor: Central Hub…"

"…Charlotte. You need to bring me your torch." SSBFreak said.

Charlotte looked mad, but stood up and grabbed her torch. "Congratulations. You've kept the major threat and will doom yourselves if she lasts any longer." She warned as she approached the host.

"Charlotte, the tribe has spoken." SSBFreak said as he extinguished Charlotte's torch. "It's time for you to go."

"Mark my words. You'll regret it." Charlotte said as she marched out of Tribal Council and vanished.

Once Charlotte was gone, SSBFreak turned to the remaining nine players. "And so ends your first Tribal Council and Charlotte is the first from your team to take the fall. It's unknown if she saw that coming, but it's too late for her now." He explained. "Eighteen remain, and you're now one step closer to the million dollar prize that you missed out of last time. Only time will tell who the next person to go is, but I'm sure that this season is going to start picking up pretty soon. You can all head back to camp."

The Xon Tribe stood up, collected their torches and left Tribal Council. Anita walked behind the others, looking somewhat relieved. Her tribe had decided to keep her, and now that she had more time on her hands, she could at least have the chance to look into what was going on, but she needed to act fast...

"As far as I'm concerned, this was a completely-wasted opportunity. I felt I had the ability to go all the way, but my tribe decided to vote emotionally and not with their brains." Charlotte sighed. "I did absolutely no damage and those people made a mistake back there. There's no telling what's going to happen now…"

Voting History:

Charlotte – Anita, Barney, Edwina, Erica, Inferno and Renaldo

Anita – Charlotte, Grace, Jack and Kendall

Author's Note: And there goes Charlotte. I'll be honest: Even though I knew Charlotte was a lock for All Stars, I had no idea what kind of story I could give her and she always seemed to come off as a strategy-bot with a bit of personality. That made Charlotte expendable pretty quickly and I decided to boot her here to keep the interesting characters around longer.