(La'nooba Tribe)

"I knew this was going to happen, man. I just KNEW this was going to happen. First Nago loses Angie, now Barney. That just totally blew what lead we had." Kida sighed. "I totally told everyone that we needed to pick off a couple of people on Temlin first. Why didn't they listen to me back then and stuff?"

"This isn't good." D'looa sighed. "Now we're on an even playing field with the Temlin Tribe."

"I was really hoping that this wouldn't turn into a tribal war once we made the merge." Mel sighed. "But it looks like it's going to be us against them until the end."

"I TOLD you dudes that we needed to take out someone on the Temlin Tribe before focusing on Elias." Kida pointed out. "Now that we don't have any lead, we gotta team up with him to cement his vote."

Crane looked thoughtful, but remained silent as his three team-mates continued to talk.

"I know. Now that I think about it, we probably should have listened to you." Mel nodded. "Unfortunately, it's too late to change that now."

"So we'll need to join forces with Elias." D'looa sighed. "Great."

"I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this, but we don't really have a choice. Elias may have been responsible for voting off Barney, but we need his support to pull ahead again." Mel muttered. "Man. We should have voted for Jonathan a few days ago. That would have given us a better lead…"

Meanwhile, the five remaining members of Temlin were standing off to the side, talking about their recent success.

"I can't believe it, but we managed to get the playing field even." Reginald said with a smirk. "And we also got rid of their strongest player at the same time. Now it'll be easier for one of us to win Immunity."

"You actually think that you'd be able to win Immunity with scrawny muscles like this?" Sandy asked as she grabbed Reginald's thin arm and held it up, showing it to the others.

"My strength isn't in my arms, you twit." Reginald pointed out as he yanked his arm away from Sandy. "It's in my head."

"Our chances of success are getting a little better now that Nago lost two members in a row. If we can keep this up, maybe one of us will end up winning." Zoe shrugged. "I'm still not sure if we've decided on which of the remaining members is the biggest threat now that Barney is gone, though."

"…So now what?"Marty asked. "We haven't been on an even playing field with Nago since day 6."

"We wait. We need to determine which member of Nago is the biggest threat." Reginald replied. "Once that happens, we'll be able to further our plan."

Everyone ended up going to bed at almost the same time, preparing themselves for the following day.

(La'nooba Tribe, Day 23)

"Barney didn't end up playing the idol last night. That tells me that he didn't find it." Jonathan explained. "The idol would be a huge help to whoever found it, because I think that each of us is at least a small threat in the end. So I've decided to resume the search for the idol, but I've already run out of places to look."

"Barney must have turned this place inside out looking for the idol and he still didn't find it." Jonathan shook his head. "I have no idea where to look…"

"Looking for something?"

Jonathan turned and saw D'looa coming over. "Eh, just looking for the idol. Barney didn't play it last night." He replied.

"I know. The poor guy looked everywhere for it, so I was sure he had it." D'looa shrugged. "Uh…Jonathan, I hope you're not mad that I voted for you last night."

Jonathan gave a shrug. "I knew it would either be me or Sandy getting the votes and she had Immunity." He replied. "In fact, I should probably feel flattered that you guys consider me a threat."

"I just wanted to make sure that there weren't any hard feelings, because I really enjoyed talking to you." D'looa added.

"I honestly didn't want to vote for Jonathan, but he WAS the only real logical choice since Sandy had Immunity." D'looa sighed. "I'm just glad he wasn't angry at me. If he wasn't such a big threat, I'd make an alliance with him in a heartbeat."

Meanwhile, it just so happened that two members of Nago were actually considering such an alliance.

"You think we should go for it?" Mel asked. "I mean, a cross-tribe alliance could be risky."

"Not if we join forces with the right person." Crane noted. "Now that Barney is gone, we're going to need some extra help. And if we forge a strong enough alliance, we could end up with an extra jury vote if either of us make it to the end."

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Mel nodded. "But which one do we try to join with? I mean, Reginald seems like he would most-likely stab us in the back and the duo of Jonathan and Zoe look like they'd just flip back and forth to stay in the game."

"That leaves Sandy and Marty." Crane replied. "I'm up for joining up with Marty."

Mel paused in thought, then nodded again. "Sandy's definitely the bigger threat." She agreed.

"Marty's probably the best choice we've got for an ally on Temlin because he doesn't seem to have a real alliance yet and he's clearly no physical threat." Crane said with a smirk. "Mel and I need the numbers, so if we can get an ally that can slip under the radar like we can, we'll be in good shape."

"When do you think we should approach him about it?" Mel asked. "I don't know if we should ask him about an alliance in front of his tribe-mates."

"We'll play it out and see if we can get the chance." Crane replied casually. "We need to make sure that no one else on his tribe knows about it."

"Especially not Reginald." Mel shook her head. "If he found out, he'd probably get people to turn on us."

Speaking of Marty, he was currently wandering around the camp, looking for the idol. Actually, he was riding on top of Sandy's back as the dark-haired woman was crawling around on all fours, sniffing the ground like a dog.

"I don't know why you're even doing this, Sandy." Marty said. "I mean, you're not a dog or anything."

"My parents always told me I was injected with dog DNA, but I've never been able to prove it wrong." Sandy replied before sitting down and scratching her head with her foot, knocking Marty off her back. "Personally, I think that I just have a naturally better sense of smell than normal and they were just joking around."

Marty sat there, unsure as to how to respond to the crazy woman, before deciding to go with it. "Well, can you…Uh…Smell the idol yet?" He asked.

Sandy paused, then continued to snoop around before striking a 'found-it' pose, pointing her nose straight at the ground.

Marty quickly scurried over to where Sandy was pointing and started digging. However, he came up with nothing. "It's not here, Sandy."

"Seriously?" Sandy asked as she sat down. "It must be around here somewhere, though. I could have sworn that I smelled something."

"I'm glad that I survived until the merge and am still in the competition, but there's only ten people left. I need to find a way to step up my game without being labeled as a threat." Marty explained, his arms folded. "The main problem is that I have no idea how to do that. Slipping under the radar is easy for someone like me, but it's not good enough to win."

"You think someone may have already found the idol, then?" Marty asked. "If it's not in the area you 'think' it's in, then would that mean that it's not there anymore?"

"I don't know. I'd better see if I can logically find out what the problem is…" Sandy said before looking thoughtful. A few seconds and her face snapped into a pained expression before she held her head. "Whoa, that hurt! Okay, we'll come back to that later."

Meanwhile, Elias was listening to a lecture from D'looa, whom had gone to talk to him after chatting with Jonathan.

"Okay, Elias. We don't like you, but thanks to you voting with the other team, we NEED your vote this time around." D'looa pointed out. "You've whittled us down enough that we're on the same playing field as the other tribe, so we admit it. You've won and we'll keep you around."

Elias gave a smirk. "That's all I wanted to hear, D'looa." He said. "It's nice to know that I'm needed in the tribe."

With that, Elias turned and walked off. D'looa's eye started twitching and she pulled her fist back to give Elias a sucker-punch, but Kida, whom was standing with her, promptly held her back.

"You know what? Maybe if we actually voted that creep off on day 6, we wouldn't be in the predicament right now." D'looa said, looking mad. "Elias acts so smug and thinks he's got the game in the bag. He's going to get what's coming to him if I have to give it to him myself."

"D'looa's starting to get kinda mad, dudes. I haven't seen her this mad since Bonnie was still around." Kida said nervously. "A bad attitude can get others to turn on you and stuff, so if she wants to win, she's gotta control her temper or else she could turn into something she doesn't like."

As he continued to watch Jonathan, Sandy and Marty search around for the hidden Immunity Idol, Reginald was doing a little bit of searching on his own. However, as he was inspecting a few trees and bushes, he was keeping a close eye on his competition, scanning them as if pondering his next move.

"We're in a good position right now, but not good enough." Reginald said as a smirk floated across his face. "Jonathan and Zoe can still be useful for a moment. But the question is…Which one is the biggest threat?"

"Just because we're on an even playing field with Nago doesn't mean I'm willing to vote out one of my own tribe members yet, but that day will come soon." Reginald promised. "I'm just torn as to which Nago members are the biggest threat. Crane and Mel are no physical problem and Elias isn't as big a threat as he thinks he is, so that leaves the choice between the stronger D'looa or the friendly Kida, who could turn into a bigger jury threat in the end."

"I'm going to need to dispose of Jonathan and Zoe eventually." Reginald mused to himself. "When we're in a good enough spot, whichever one of the two doesn't win Immunity I'll get the others to vote out."

However, as Reginald was plotting, he failed to notice a patch of black and white fur watching him from behind a tree. As Reginald turned to see what it was, the figure was gone.

"Oh, crap! This is going to end so badly!" Zoe said, holding her head in desperation. "Jonathan and I need to find that idol if we want to get the best of Reggie's plan!"

Zoe tried to talk to Jonathan about Reginald's plan, but couldn't manage to get alone with him without the rabbit seeing her. In the end, the search for the idol was just as fruitless as before and everyone ended up going to bed worried that someone else had already found it.

(La'nooba Tribe, Day 24)

"It's day 24 and I've managed to survive this long. It's hard to believe that I managed to come so far after being so close to elimination on day 6." Elias admitted. "My strategy now is to focus my attention on taking out the biggest threats and keep some of the weaker members, at least until my tribe realizes that they need to keep me around."

Elias looked around the campgrounds. Mel & Crane were once again talking together, as were the pairs of D'looa & Kida and Jonathan & Zoe. The fact that there were so many alliances made Elias a little unsettled.

"The only ones without any real alliances are all on the Temlin Tribe." Elias said. "And Reginald and Sandy are threats. Marty is the only one that doesn't strike me as a threat."

"Running, running, I love running! Running here and there!" Sandy sang, running past Elias and waving her arms. "Running, running, I love running! Running everywhere!"

Elias blinked a couple of times, then at the direction Sandy had gone. "Maybe Sandy isn't as big a threat as I thought…" He mused.

Meanwhile, D'looa and Kida were sitting at the fire pit, discussing strategy.

"Who do you think we should go for first, Kida?" D'looa asked.

"I'm thinking Jonathan still, man." Kida replied. "He's totally the strongest on the other team and stuff."

D'looa bit her lip. "Uh…How about we focus on Sandy first?" She asked. "I mean, she could become a real threat real fast."

"Dude, I know you liked talking to Jonathan, but you gotta admit that he's the strongest." Kida pointed out.

"Going into this, D'looa told me not to let my feelings get in the way of playing the game, and I went against it by keeping Elias a few days ago and stuff." Kida pointed out. "Now D'looa is starting to get the same problem and it's totally at a point where she needs to follow her own advice."

"But Jonathan's got alliance potential. I mean, he's nice enough and he needs a concrete alliance." D'looa reminded.

Kida pondered this. "A cross-tribal alliance? I dunno, man. That seems kinda risky." She said. "Especially since Jonathan's been playing the swing vote since we started."

"Maybe so, but you have to admit that it's a decent idea." D'looa replied. "If we had an ally on the other tribe, it would be an extra vote for us."

Meanwhile, Jonathan and Zoe were walking over to the treemail box to check and see if they had gotten anything yet. In fact, Zoe was relaying to Jonathan what she had heard from Reginald the day before.

"He's going to get rid of us when he gets the chance, Jonathan!" Zoe explained, looking back to make sure that Reginald wasn't watching them. "I overheard Reggie say that he'd get rid of us when we had a lead on the other team!"

"It makes sense. Reggie's had it in for us for a while now. I knew that he'd target us when he got the chance. I just wasn't expecting it this early." Jonathan said. "Zoe and I are needing that idol more than ever. After the upcoming challenge, we're going to need to resume our search for it and hope we can find it before someone like Reggie does."

Jonathan reached into the treemail box and pulled out a letter. "Looks like we've got treemail. You ready, Zoe?" He asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, I guess." Zoe shook her head. "We're going to have an uphill battle once Reggie targets us, anyway."

The two went back to the tribal grounds with the letter. "We've got treemail, everyone." Jonathan called out, getting the attention of everyone else.

"Reward or Immunity?" D'looa asked.

"It doesn't say, just like it usually never does." Jonathan shook his head. "It just asks 'How's your aim?'."

"Sounds pretty straightforward, from the looks of it." Reginald said. "It doesn't even look like it'll play on any of our physical strengths."

"Then we'd better head out and see what SSBFreak wants." Marty scratched his head.

(Reward Challenge)

The ten remaining contestants walked onto a clearing in the jungle and stepped over to the black mat sitting on the ground. The group of ten stepped onto the mat to await directions.

"Welcome to your first Reward Challenge as a merged tribe, La'nooba. This challenge, to be frank, is a test of accuracy." SSBFreak said, getting the group to focus their attention on a large target on the ground a fair ways away. "You will each take turns throwing a ball towards the target, and the closest one to the middle is the one that wins. However, remember that you each only have one throw each, so you need to make it count. The winner of this challenge wins Reward, which is a day trip to a villa, where you'll be spending the night."

Everyone looked excited at what was at stake, but remained silent as the host continued.

"I'll decide your order after we hand out the balls that you'll be throwing." SSBFreak explained. "Remember that you only have one shot."

Jonathan was first. He held a green ball in his hand and prepared to throw it at the large target.

"Okay, Jonathan. You can throw anytime."

Jonathan nodded and threw the ball underhanded. The ball flew through the air and straight at the target before coming to a rest in the third ring.

"Not a bad throw." SSBFreak said. "We'll see how it holds up."

"It's still possible that someone can beat it." Jonathan shook his head as he stepped aside.

Mel was next, holding a red ball. The tech geek looked at the target and prepared to throw. Mel hurled the ball with all of her might, but couldn't make it land closer to the middle than Jonathan had.

"Nice throw, but not good enough to win, I'm afraid." SSBFreak said. "Jonathan is still the current leader."

"Well, I tried." Mel shrugged. "It was close."

Sandy was up next, tossing a yellow ball to herself.

"Okay. The ball weighs about half a pound, so I gotta know how hard to throw it and at what angle to throw it at in order to make it land in the middle of the target." Sandy said in a fast and breathless rant. "Plus I gotta take into effect the wind speed velocity and the temperature and the direction of the wind because they would impede the progress of the ball and only then would I be able to throw the ball and-HYARGH!" Sandy shouted, hurling the ball into the air.

The ball plopped onto the ground three feet away. Sandy blinked at it a couple of times.

"Uh…Sandy…That was pathetic." SSBFreak pointed out.

Reginald came up next with a white ball. When told he could go, the rabbit threw the ball. Unfortunately, he didn't go as far as the target and the ball landed a few feet from the outermost ring.

"Not bad, but still not good enough." SSBFreak shook his head. "Jonathan is still leading."

Reginald muttered something under his breath as he stepped aside to let the next person through.

That person was D'looa, whom threw the blue ball she was holding at the target. However, unlike those before her, D'looa managed to get lucky and got her ball closer to the middle of the target than Jonathan did, even if it was only by a bit.

"D'looa managed to overtake Jonathan." SSBFreak announced. "She's now in the lead."

"Great. Now I just need to see if it holds out." D'looa nodded.

Kida was holding an orange ball as she stepped up to attempt. The Rilgarian threw her ball at the target, but only succeeded in throwing it a little further than Reginald did.

"Unfortunately it's not good enough." SSBFreak said. "D'looa is still leading."

"That sucks, man." Kida sighed.

Marty was next and was holding a purple ball. The koopa wound up his arm and threw it, but let go of the ball too late. The purple ball landed just a few feet further than Sandy's.

"Not that good of a throw, Marty." SSBFreak said. "D'looa is still leading."

"Way to rub it in, man." Marty muttered.

Zoe was next and was holding a black ball. The skunk girl kissed her ball for good luck before throwing it at the target. She managed to make it onto the target, but not far enough to catch D'looa or even Jonathan.

"Not bad, but not good enough." SSBFreak said. "D'looa is still leading."

"Man. I was hoping I'd get it." Zoe sighed.

Elias came up next and held a dark blue ball in his hand. The actor looked at the target and threw it, hoping for the best. Unfortunately, while Elias managed to beat Jonathan, he was unable to throw his ball as close to the middle as D'looa.

"So close, and yet so far." SSBFreak said. "D'looa is still leading."

Crane was the last one to throw. The rudie held his forest green ball in his hand as he looked at the target. The white-haired teenager threw the ball after a moment's hesitation. Everyone watched as Crane's ball came within inches of the middle, beating D'looa by a full ring.

"Crane is the closest to the middle!" SSBFreak announced. "Crane wins Reward!"

"Not bad. My first individual win." Crane said with a smirk.

(Later…)

"Congratulations, Crane. You've won Reward and are able to go to the villa for the rest of the day." SSBFreak told Crane before looking at the other nine contestants. "But going alone would be pretty lonely. Which two people would you like to bring with you?"

"Mel." Crane said without any hesitation. "And…Uh…" He said, looking in deep thought. "…Marty."

Marty's eyes widened. "Seriously?" He asked as he followed Mel out to join Crane off the mat.

"Okay. Crane, Mel and Marty can go to the helicopter that will take them to the villa. They will join the rest of you at the next challenge tomorrow." SSBFreak said. "Everyone else, you can head back to camp."

As Crane, Mel and Marty left in one direction to go to the helicopter, everyone else turned and went back to camp.

(La'nooba Tribe)

"Crane won Reward earlier, which isn't a bad thing. I mean, now he gets to spend some time with Mel." D'looa admitted. "But what I'm confused about is why he chose to take along Marty as well. I just don't know why he picked Marty over any of us on Nago."

"Why the heck did Crane choose to take Marty?" D'looa asked aloud as she walked into camp. "I mean, the two hardly even know each other, so Crane taking Marty along on that trip doesn't make any sense."

"Dude, I think I may know the reason." Kida explained. "Everyone else on our tribe was in alliances of two, and Crane didn't wanna take just one. Marty seems to be the only one on Temlin that isn't already in some sort of alliance."

"I guess that makes sense." D'looa scratched her head. "But Sandy isn't really on an alliance, either."

"Dude, do you realize who you're talking about?"

D'looa paused when she realized that Crane would probably keel over before taking Sandy on a reward trip. "Yeah. You're probably right there." She admitted.

"Crane, Mel and Marty gone on their reward trip is a good thing for Jonathan and I. That means it's three less people looking for the idol." Zoe pointed out. "Hopefully we'll be able to find it while they're gone, because we may not get another chance like this again."

"Where do you think we should look for the idol, Jonathan?" Zoe asked. "I mean, we've pretty much turned the camp inside out already."

"I don't know. It DOES seem like we've gone through the camp three times looking for that thing." Jonathan sighed. "I just don't know where it would be. We may as well start combing the campgrounds again."

Meanwhile, Sandy was sniffing around the camgrounds again, crawling around on all fours as she did. It was clear that she was going to try and find the idol using the bloodhound technique again, but like before wasn't having much luck.

"I don't know why this isn't working." Sandy mused as she sniffed around the shelter. "Usually, I'd have picked it up by now."

"My nose has never failed me before, and I still can't find that idol! Maybe all of the sand here is hiding the idol's scent and I can't pick it up." Sandy scratched her head. "I don't understand. I used the bloodhound method to find a whole lot of things back home, but then again, those things were all sitting out in the open and not potentially buried by a ton of sand."

Sandy sat down, looking in deep thought. "I can only think of three solutions here. The idol isn't buried in the sand, someone already found it…" She said before her eyes widened in horror. "OR THE SAND WEAVALS HAVE STOLEN IT AND ARE PLOTTING OUR ULTIMELY DEMISE!!!!"

"Shut up about the sand weavals, already!!" Reginald shouted from across the camp.

"Sorry, Reggie!"

"REGINALD!!!"

(Villa)

"Wow! This place is amazing!" Mel said in awe as she looked around the spacious villa she, Crane and Marty had been dropped off at. "This is so much better than the camp!"

"Is this sort of like the spa you guys were sent to that one time?" Crane asked Marty.

Marty looked around. "Uh…Kinda. I think the spa was a little nicer, but I think that goes without saying." He replied.

"Crane chose me to come with him and Mel when he won the reward. Not that I'm complaining, but I'm just curious as to why he chose me over the others on his tribe." Marty said. "It just makes me wonder what Crane was thinking when he decided to bring me along."

The three contestants were soon eating dinner, which was a definite change from what they had been eating for the past while.

"This stuff is so good." Mel said as she continued to eat. "I like playing the game and all, but I can't wait to get back to civilization so I can eat normally again."

"I know. This food is certainly a welcome taste." Crane nodded.

Marty bit his lip, then decided to speak up. "Hey, Crane?" He asked.

"Yeah?"

"I was just wondering why you decided to bring me along." Marty replied. "I mean, you picked me over everyone else in your tribe aside from Mel."

"I knew right away that I was going to choose you, Marty. I just made it look like I had to think about it." Crane replied. "Look, Mel and I have been talking and we think we'd like to join an alliance with you."

Marty tilted his head. "Seriously? Why me over the others in my tribe?" He asked.

"Jonathan & Zoe haven't had a concrete alliance since the start and Reginald & Sandy are too big of threats."Crane pointed out. "We knew that if we wanted to join forces with someone from Temlin, it would have to be someone that wasn't a threat…Uh…No offense, of course."

"None taken."

"So are you in, Marty?" Mel asked. "We'd have to keep this a secret from everyone else, though."

Marty smiled. "Sure. I think it'd be a good idea to get the drop on some of the others when they're not expecting it." He admitted.

"Bringing Marty onto the alliance was a good idea in my opinion. He's definitely not a big threat, so the others will probably keep him around." Mel shrugged. "And if he's not a threat, he'll stick with Crane and I to the end. Heck, if Marty DOES get voted off, he'll probably end up voting for either Crane or I in the end as well, so that works out even better."

(La'nooba Tribe)

Reginald was at the fire pit, trying to get a fire started. Unfortunately, he wasn't having much luck and couldn't get a good fire going. He knew that this wasn't good, because Jonathan was fishing and they would need a fire to cook the fish he caught.

The tall rabbit took a break from trying to build a fire and sighed in frustration. Turning his head, Reginald saw Elias coming over. Putting up his mental defenses, Reginald got up.

"Yes, Elias? What is it?" Reginald asked.

"Look, pal. I'm here to propose some sort of an alliance." Elias suggested. "I know we haven't seen eye to eye, but I realize how hard it must be to be the smartest one on a team of people with sub-par intelligence."

Reginald lifted an eyebrow. "And why do you think I would want to team up with you in the first place?" He asked.

"Just think about it. We're the smartest people on the island. With our combined intelligence, we can turn the game inside out on the others." Elias replied, giving a smirk. "No one would be able to stop us if we join our minds."

"Tell you what. I'll think about it." Reginald said.

Elias nodded. "Put some thought into it, because I really think this could help the both of us." He said as he turned and walked away.

"If I had a rival here, I think it would definitely be Reginald. I mean, he's clearly the schemer of his team and he needs to team up with someone of equal intelligence to go far." Elias shrugged. "I think that Reginald wouldn't pass up an opportunity like this. I'm sure that he'd agree that I'm cleary the brains of my team."

"Elias is a complete idiot. He actually believes that he's the smartest person on his tribe? That's a laugh." Reginald said with a smirk. "I realized long ago that Mel was the smartest person on Nago. She unfortunately just doesn't realize it yet. However, maybe I CAN benefit from an alliance with Elias. I should be able to manipulate him while he assumes he's in control."

Meanwhile, Jonathan was fishing down at the beach. While he was indeed trying to catch something for supper, his mind was more focused on one thing and one thing alone.

"I just don't get where the idol would be. Zoe and I looked everywhere." Jonathan shook his head. "The only thing I can think of is that someone else found it already."

"This isn't good. We need that idol more than anyone now that I know Reggie's going to be after us soon. The only problem is that we can't find a trace of it anywhere." Jonathan sighed. "I just don't get it. We've been searching through the entire camp ever since we made the merge. How are we not finding it?"

"It's almost like that the idol isn't even hidden on the campgrounds at all." Jonathan shook his head. "But if it isn't there, then…"

That's when Jonathan noticed something sticking out of the sand just underneath the surface of the water. On closer inspection, it looked like a gem. Jonathan's eyes widened before he frantically looked around the campgrounds to make sure no one was watching him.

Once he was sure that no one was watching, Jonathan shoved his hand into the water and grabbed hold of the gem sticking out of the sand. Pulling his hand out of the water, Jonathan saw that he was now holding a necklace made up of several multicoloured gems.

A wide and excited smile appeared on Jonathan's face. Looking around one more time, Jonathan quickly shoved the necklace into his shirt so he could hide it later.

"I found it! I actually found the hidden immunity idol!"Jonathan said, showing the necklace to the camera. "This is amazing! I can't believe it was hidden in the shallow water all along! No wonder none of us could find this thing!"

Eventually, night came around. Everyone went to sleep, although Jonathan managed to get to sleep a little more soundly due to his recent discovery.

(La'nooba Tribe, Day 25)

"We searched for that idol ever since we got back from the Reward Challenge and we still haven't found it." D'looa sighed. "We thought that it would be easier with three of the others enjoying a trip, but no dice. Everyone here is suspicious that the idol's already been found, and are just waiting for someone to stab someone else in the back…"

"Any luck finding the idol yesterday?" D'looa asked Zoe, whom was fishing at the beach.

"No. It sucks, because Jonathan and I need that stupid thing more than ever now." Zoe shook her head.

"I just think that we're either all missing something at the same time or there's someone here that's planning to use it while we've all got out backs turned." The Twi'lek girl replied, folding her arms.

Sandy suddenly appeared beside D'looa and grabbed her by the shoulders. "IT'S THE SAND WEAVALS, I TELL YOU!!!" She screamed, shaking D'looa violently. "THEY'RE GOING TO KILL US ALL!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!"

Letting go of D'looa, Sandy ran screaming into the water, diving headfirst once she was in deep enough.

"…How has that woman lasted this long?!" D'looa demanded.

"Sandy's a really weird one. I mean, her craziness doesn't technically make her a threat, and that's good on her part." Zoe shrugged. "The only problem is that her craziness is weirding everyone else out so they may just want to get rid of her. Not that I'm complaining. If they decide to kick Sandy off, then I'm safe for another few days."

Kida came over soon after Sandy had jumped into the ocean. "What'cha up to, dudes?" She asked.

"Trying to catch fish." Zoe replied.

"Nothing up until now. Apparently, I'm trying to see how long Sandy can hold her breath underwater." D'looa replied, looking out at the area Sandy had gone under.

"So what's the plan, D'looa?" Kida asked. "We still sticking with the plan?"

D'looa looked at Zoe, whom seemed preoccupied with her fishing. "I don't want to, but yeah. We are." She replied.

"Good to hear, bro." Kida said with a smile.

However, Zoe made a suspicious face at the two, but neither of the aliens noticed it.

"I'm not stupid. They didn't even need to mention any names and I knew what they were talking about." Zoe shook her head. "Man. It looks like Jonathan and I need to find that idol as soon as we can or else we'll be getting kicked off the island before either of us know it."

Sandy suddenly burst out from underneath the waves, holding a large, thrashing fish. "I've got grub, everyone!" She called out, cheerful once again and seemingly forgetting the fact that she had been terrified in the first place.

The mouths of D'looa and Kida fell open at the sight of the huge fish. "But…HOW?!?!" D'looa demanded.

Zoe shrugged with a smirk. "You get used to it." She replied.

After lunch, Jonathan had gone to get treemail, and had come back with something in his hand.

"We've got treemail, guys!"

Everyone in the camp turned and saw Jonathan coming over with the new treemail. Zoe couldn't help but notice that Jonathan also looked somewhat refreshed, as if he had a good sleep.

"What's it say the challenge is?" Reginald asked.

"All it says is 'Get ready for an upper-body workout'." Jonathan shrugged.

"I guess it's a good thing we got rid of Barney, then." Zoe said.

"Indeed. This gives us all a good chance." Reginald said with a smirk.

(Immunity Challenge)

The La'nooba Tribe walked onto the beach and over to the black mat on the shoreline. The seven contestants waited for SSBFreak to start and get the challenge going.

"Before we start, let's bring in Crane, Mel and Marty, whom just returned from their trip to the villa." SSBFreak said. Everyone watched as the three other contestants came out into the open and walked onto the mat.

"Hey, guys!" Mel greeted.

"This will be the Immunity Challenge and we're going to play it a little differently. See that bar out there in the water?" SSBFreak asked, pointing towards a bar hanging several feet above the surface of the water. "You will all hang from that bar in a test of upper body strength to see who can outlast the others. But here's the interesting part. The game will end when the first five people drop from the bar. These five people will be the only ones going to Tribal Council, and no one will be safe out of those five."

Everyone's eyes widened as they realized that their fate could potentially rely on how strong their arms were.

"Okay, if you'll all go out to those platforms by the bar, we'll get you guys started." SSBFreak said.

(Later…)

The ten contestants were lined up just underneath the pole on a long platform, holding onto the bar above them as they waited for the game to start.

"Okay, for Immunity, Survivors ready…" SSBFreak said. "Go!"

With that, the platform everyone was standing on dropped, forcing everyone to start usng their arms to keep them holding onto the bar. Everyone quickly realized that holding onto the bar was a lot harder than simply just standing on top of a platform and everyone felt the muscles in their arms being stretched.

Even still, everyone knew that only the first five to drop would be going to Tribal Council, and that place was the last place any of them wanted to be. It was this fact alone that kept the ten contestants going.

SSBFreak looked out amongst the contestants and saw that they were struggling. "Crane, what's going on in-"

"Don't talk to me." Crane cut the host off, trying not to break his concentration.

SSBFreak blinked a few times before going onto the next person. "Sandy, what's going on in your mind right now?" He asked.

"Right now I'm wondering how they get the caramel inside a Caramilk bar." Sandy replied casually.

Once again, SSBFreak blinked a few times. He decided to move to the next person. "Uh…D'looa, what's going on in your mind right now?" He asked, hoping for a real answer.

"The only thing I'm thinking of is how much I want to avoid Tribal Council." D'looa replied. "And I'm sure everyone's thinking the same thing."

"Jonathan, what's your strategy coming into this?"

"There's no strategy, pal. I'm just trying to outlast five of the others." Jonathan shook his head.

"Elias, do you think that you can do well in a challenge like this?"

"Only if there are people with worse arms than me." Elias replied. "I just need to hold out until they drop."

"Mel, how-"

That was as far as SSBFreak got before everyone heard a splash. They all turned their heads and saw Zoe treading water below.

"Zoe is the first one out! Four more to go!" SSBFreak called out.

"That sucks." Zoe sighed as she paddled to shore.

Jonathan watched as Zoe swam to shore and realized that she was going to Tribal Council. He decided to wait it out and see who else would be going as well before contemplating giving Zoe the Immunity Idol he had found just in case.

"I'm impressed that you've managed to hold on this long, everyone." SSBFreak said. "However, you'll all be hanging there until four more people drop."

Deciding to ask some more questions, SSBFreak looked at another contestant. "Kida, how are you holding up?" He asked.

"My arms feel like they're on fire, bro." Kida moaned. "I dunno how long I can hold on like this…"

"How about you, Reginald?"

"Not that bad, but I don't weigh that much to begin with." Reginald supplied. "My guess is that that has some sort of impact on how well I'm feeling right now."

"Crane, do you-"

"I thought I told you not to talk to me!" Crane snapped. "It's hard enough to concentrate without talking!"

"…Okay. Sandy, what's-" SSBFreak stopped short when he saw what Sandy was doing.

"You spin me right round, baby! Right round!" Sandy sang as she spun around the bar like a trapeze artist.

Hanging on beside the crazy woman, Elias' eye twitched from behind his shades. "That's it. I can't take it anymore." He said as he let go and dropped into the water.

"Elias is out! Only three more people need to drop!"

Marty struggled to hold onto the bar, but his scrawny arms finally gave out and he fell headlong into the water. Kida, hanging beside him, fell right after he did.

"Oh! Make that one! Marty and Kida are both out!" SSBFreak said as the three dropouts paddled to shore. "Okay, everyone. You six are the last ones left, but we need one more person to drop out before we finish the game."

Mel felt her arms giving out. Gritting her teeth, the tech geek looked up and saw that she couldn't hold on any longer. She sighed in defeat and let go.

However, Crane noticed her struggling and quickly let go of the bar just before she did. The two teens hit the water, but Crane hit it first.

"Both Mel and Crane dropped, but since Crane hit the water first, he's the last one going to Tribal Council!" SSBFreak said. "The challenge is over!"

Hearing this, everyone else quickly let go of the bar and dropped into the water, most of their faces having looks of relief on them.

(Later…)

"Okay, here's how things are going to happen. Reginald, D'looa, Mel, Sandy and Jonathan are all safe tonight and don't have to go to Tribal Council. However, Zoe, Elias, Marty, Kida and Crane will be going to Tribal Council right after you all get back to camp." SSBFreak explained. "There will be no regrouping and no time for strategizing. You five will head out for Tribal Council as soon as you all get back and one of you will be eliminated from the game."

Stepping backwards a couple of steps, SSBFreak placed his arms behind his back. "You can all head back to camp." He explained.

(La'nooba Tribe)

The five safe players watched as Zoe, Elias, Marty, Kida and Crane left camp to head off to Tribal Council. Needless to say, three of them were looking pretty worried.

"I didn't have the time to get the Immunity Idol from its hiding place to give to Zoe because she had to leave right after we got back." Jonathan explained. "This is bad because I think she may be in danger at Tribal Council."

"So how do you think the voting will go?" Reginald asked curiously. He honestly didn't care how the vote went, but was wondering what the others thought.

"Zoe is so dead. She and Marty are the only members of Temlin going and she's the bigger threat of the two." Jonathan shook his head with a sigh. "Unless a miracle happens, she's getting eliminated."

"You seem to forget that Elias is also going to Tribal Council and he seems to like flipping between tribes." D'looa said, her eyes narrowed at the entrance to the camp. "Kida may not be a physical threat, but I think she's in danger as well."

"I'm worried for Crane. I think the others may think that he threw the challenge to keep me in the game." Mel explained. "They may vote him out because of that."

"Hmm…They're all definitely possibilities." Reginald nodded. "I don't think anyone's exactly safe tonight."

"I guess the only thing we can do is hope that our alliance members survive the council." D'looa sighed.

"Both of my alliance members are going to Tribal Council, so I can at least take some comfort in knowing that they're not going to vote for each other." Mel shrugged. "The only problem is that the others may vote one of them off. Man, we just get a third person onto our alliance and it looks like we may be back down to two members again…"

"I suppose only time will tell." Reginald shrugged. "What do you think, Sandy?"

Sandy was preoccupied at the moment, snooping around the camp, lifting logs and rocks off the ground to look under them.

"I must find the sand weavals. They're somewhere in the camp. I just know it." Sandy muttered to herself (but loud enough for everyone else to hear). "The survival of humanity is depending on me to find the sand weavals."

The other four contestants stood in silence, watching the crazy girl snoop around the camp.

"Why do you even ask her, man?" Jonathan asked Reginald.

"You know what? I wonder that myself." Reginald sighed.

(Tribal Council)

The five losers of the Immunity Challenge walked into Tribal Council, carrying their torches. The five sat down and waited for SSBFreak to start.

"Welcome to Tribal Council. There are only five of you here, but I can bet that it'll still be as interesting as ever." SSBFreak said. "But before we start, let's bring out the members of the jury: Angie and Barney, voted out at the last Tribal Council."

The five contestants looked towards the exit of Tribal Council and watched as Angie walked in again. However, Barney was following her this time, towering over the cat. Barney was wearing an open, blue shirt, exposing his chest, and was no longer wearing his bandana, showing that he had a full head of hair. The two walked over to the jury bench and sat down together.

"They will not address you and you will not address them. They're just here to watch the outcome." SSBFreak explained before starting the questions. "Crane, it looked like you were doing fine, but you just dropped out at the last moment and spared Mel from coming here. Why was that?"

"My arms gave out. Simple as that." Crane shrugged. "That challenge was exhausting for everyone and I just ended up dropping out at the wrong time."

"He SO dropped out to save Mel from coming." Barney whispered to Angie.

"You got that right, bub." Angie chuckled.

"Zoe, are you in danger tonight?" SSBFreak asked.

"In all honesty, I really don't know. I mean, looking at Marty and I, people would probably see me as the bigger threat." Zoe replied. "On the other hand, I'm still not the biggest threat here. So I don't know how the vote will go."

"Marty, who's going home?"

"That's the problem. We have no idea." Marty explained. "I mean, Zoe and I will probably vote for one person, while Kida and Crane will vote for another, but Elias is the vote here that no one can guess on."

"Kida, what's your strategy going into the vote?"

"Dude, my tribe needs the numbers right now, especially since we're already tied with Temlin for team members again." Kida sighed. "I know that and so does everyone else on my tribe. The only one that doesn't seem to grasp that concept and stuff is Elias."

"Elias, what are your thoughts about that comment?"

"I'm a little surprised. I mean, I know that we need the numbers, but when you get to the merge, it's all about taking out the biggest threat." Elias replied.

"Not everyone sees it that way, you know." Crane replied. "Others would just pick off the losing tribe until they're the only ones left."

"Well, I think that's enough questions. It's time to vote." SSBFreak explained. "Crane, you're up."

Crane nodded and stood up, leaving the hut and walking down the pathway to the voting box. He quickly scribbled a name down and placed it into the urn.

Marty approached the table and showed his vote to the camera. "You're the biggest jury threat here." He apologized, having voted for Kida.

Elias walked up to the counter. He pondered his choice for a few seconds before writing a name down and voting.

Kida wrote a name down and showed it. "Out of you and Marty, you're definitely the bigger threat, man." She said, having voted for Zoe.

Zoe nervously wrote a name down and placed it in the urn. The skunk girl rushed back to Tribal Council once she was done.

Once everyone had voted, SSBFreak left the hut and returned with the voting urn. "Once I read the names, the person with the most votes will be asked to bring forward their torch and leave Tribal Council immediately. If anyone has the Hidden Immunity Idol, now is the time to play it." He said. He was greeted with silence. "It's time to read the votes."

"…First vote; Zoe." The skunk girl bit her lip.

"Zoe." Zoe was starting to feel even more nervous now.

"…Kida." Kida and Zoe exchanged nervous glances.

"Kida. That's two votes for Zoe and two for Kida." The two girls were on the edge of their seats, wondering how the voting had gone. "Final vote, third member of our jury and ninth person voted out of Survivor: Central Hub…"

"…Kida. You need to bring me your torch." SSBFreak explained.

"I can't believe Elias just did that." Angie said, her eyes wide.

Barney growled. "Maybe he's not so smart after all."

Kida sat there in disbelief before glaring at Elias. The actor just shrugged. "You were the biggest threat, dear." He explained.

Kida stood up and stared down at Elias. "Dude, you just doomed the whole tribe." She said.

"Whatever you say." Elias replied. "You should have-"

That was all Elias got out before Kida gave him a hard backhand across the face. As Elias fell off his seat and the others (including Angie and Barney) stared in shock, Kida silently grabbed her torch and approached SSBFreak.

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

"Hang loose, dudes." Kida said as she made a 'rock-on' sign with her hand as she walked out of sight.

Once Kida was gone, SSBFreak looked at the others. "Kida wasn't expecting that, but it just goes to show you how unexpectedly the voting can go at times." He said. "Only nine remain. Now is the time to start playing rough, but I'm sure that all of you are aware of that. You can all head back to camp."

Zoe, Marty and Crane grabbed their torches and walked off without Elias, whom took a second to get to his feet first. Grabbing his torch, Elias followed the others, contemplating his choice. Yes, he had just put the Nago Tribe in an extremely tight spot, but in doing so, he had taken out someone that everyone else liked; in other words, the biggest jury threat imaginable.

"I guess I was asking for it after trusting Elias a few days back, man. I just thought that he'd be smart enough to know we needed the numbers. Not that I'm upset with my performance or anything, man. I just wish I didn't get cut the way I did." Kida sighed. "Well, now that he's totally put our tribe at a disadvantage, it's only a matter of time before we all get picked off. My only hope is that it starts with Elias."

Voting History:

Kida – Marty, Zoe and Elias

Zoe – Kida and Crane

Author's Note: Kida was originally planned to get kicked off where Angie was, but when I decided I wanted a Tribal Council like this, I swapped the two around (Angie would have gone out the same way, by the way) and kicked Kida off here.