OK. Boat race, here we go! Thanks for your review, Ali6132 (I know, it's true!) and the guest reviewer (due to Amee not liking Courtney that much, it's a lost cause for this one, but I will be writing an All-Stars part of two other stories, which both give Courtney some redemption).

The teams merged the next day, which was nice. It may have been every camper for themselves, but it didn't matter. Way too much was going on, even with Sierra gone. Duncan was still freaked about becoming less villainous, especially when Zoey thought his spray-painted skull and crossbones was a bunny, and he meant to crash Chef's vehicle, but ended up fixing it.

Out of everyone who'd spent a night on Boney Island, Alejandro was the first to come back with nothing to show for a night in exile. Cameron said that he was impressed, and to be honest, I was too. Not surprised, though. If anyone could spend a night in exile and return intact, Alejandro could.

"It is all about attitude." he replied when Cameron asked how. "Survival was easy. Also, I have a special way with animals."

"Enough with the self-promotion, Al!" Chris yelled into the megaphone.

After Chris made the announcement about the teams, I looked at Alejandro. "I know that it's every camper for themselves. Would I be a liability if I suggested we allied until the finale?"

Alejandro looked thoughtful. Finally, he gave me one of his charming smiles. "A temporary alliance sounds good. Especially with Courtney and Gwen allying, and then there's also Zoey, Mike and Cameron doing the same. As long as you don't expect things to stay this way. There can only be one winner."

"If I didn't believe that, I wouldn't be dating you after last season." I answered. "Meanwhile, we take out everyone else."

I grinned. Not only had I managed to find a way to spend more time with Alejandro, but I also had one of the strongest players on my side. Of course, he wasn't that trustworthy, but I didn't care. I trusted him, just as I had the last time we were together.

The challenge was a boat race around the island. The first one back to the dock won immunity, and a night in the spa hotel to share with the person of their choice. Oh yeah, and there would be obstacles, and the boats were first come, first serve. Some boats were better than others.

Alejandro was first to the dock, and I had to zigzag around Courtney and Gwen to catch up, but we soon had the best boat, and zoomed off.

Unfortunately, the boat stopped halfway, and Mike/Mal (I couldn't tell from a distance) passed us, along with Courtney and Gwen.

Luckily, we got the engine started again before half the competitors (on the raft) passed us.

"Adios, non-amigos!" Alejandro called to them as we passed.

"See you at the finish line!" I added.

We passed Courtney and Gwen next, whose engine was busted.

"Ladies." Alejandro acknowledged as we sped past.

A few moments later, as we approached the leading boat, we heard a scream from the raft. "Mike! Help!" It was Zoey. I glanced back, and she was hanging for dear life onto a paddle just out of reach of snapping piranhas.

"What's happening?" I wondered. "Is Zoey okay?"

"She's got Cameron and Scott with her." Alejandro pointed out. "One of them will save her."

We passed the last boat which was...well, from the looks of it, it was Mike. The dark circles around his eyes had disappeared and he looked genuinely terrified for his girlfriend.

And then, just before we passed the finishing line buoy, the engine stalled. Oh, that was just perfect!

Chris and Chef had a good laugh at our expense.

"It's not a joke!" I snapped. "Why don't you find something else to laugh about?"

"Something more funny than this?" Chris burst out laughing again. "That's crossing into impossible territory!"

Alejandro still managed to win, just by standing on the edge of the boat and sticking himself as far out as possible, passing the finish line just before Gwen and Courtney. I was only fourth, since I ran up and copied, but hey, better than last!

Mike and Zoey (him having saved her) came in next, followed by Cameron and Scott.

"Wait!" I said. "Where's Duncan?"

Chris had the same question...but then we heard a loud explosion. He looked through his binoculars and screamed. "MY COTTAGE!"

Courtney looked through the binoculars. "You call that a cottage? It was a mansion!"

I grabbed the binoculars, and instantly agreed. But now it was just wreckage with half in smithereens, half on fire.

We could hear faint laughter. No, seriously, we could hear Duncan laughing from that far away. "Now who's gone soft?" he laughed manically.

Chris was at his most wooden. "As winner of today's challenge, Alejandro wins immunity and a night in the spa hotel, and you can bring one person along with you."

Alejandro didn't take his eyes off me for a second. "As much as I would love to bring you all and do not want to break all of your hearts by playing favourites, I have to take Amethyst with me."

I couldn't help but smile. For a moment there, I hadn't been sure whether he really would.

As everyone else headed to the voting booth, Mike hung back to talk to the both of us. Was it Mike? I couldn't tell. He'd saved Zoey, but I could see the marks around his eyes had returned. "Hey, Alejandro, hey, Amee. I was kind of wondering, since there aren't any teams any more, maybe we could form an alliance or something, I mean, if you want to, maybe."

"Aren't you working with Zoey and Cameron?" I asked. "You know, friendship finale, like you guys planned last season before your secret was spilled?"

"Uh, well, you see..." Mike laughed nervously. "We're kind of...doing it for ourselves this season. So I'm on my own for now."

"Hmmm, intriguing and unexpected." Alejandro said thoughtfully. "Just the way I like to play. You're with me, aren't you, Amethyst?"

I nodded.

"Deal."

However, Mike even talking to us cemented my belief that Mal was in control. Mike wouldn't even think of allying with us over Zoey and Cameron.

Okay, so the campfire ceremony wasn't a big deal. No one was exiled tonight, which was nice. However, nor did anyone take the Flush of Shame. See, after Duncan blew up Chris' house (he called it a cottage, Courtney kept insisting it was a mansion), he had to face the consequences. Chris had called the police, and they arrested him. Worse, it wasn't just juvie. Duncan was used to that. No, Duncan was going to jail – real jail, with the hardcore prisoners!

Duncan looked terrified as he was led away. "Wait! It was an accident, come on, guys, have a heart! I didn't know you weren't supposed to put a toaster in the microwave!"

After that, we did vote. Even with the alliance, I voted for Mike. Well, I voted for Mal. If he was as much trouble as Duncan said, no one deserved to leave more than him.

And then Chris said the votes were unanimous. So I figured that Mal was going home, but...Chris showed that it was...Cameron?

"What?" Cameron cried. "How can it be unanimous? I didn't vote for myself!"

"I didn't vote for him, either!" Zoey added. I didn't really want to sound like a clone, so I didn't say anything. After all, the point was made – someone had tampered with the votes.

But hey, Duncan getting arrested meant that Cameron was safe from elimination, so he was staying. I looked over at Cameron, and mouthed "Someone rigged the votes." He nodded.

It was only later that evening when anything was found out. If you remember, I got a night in the spa hotel. Unfortunately, I didn't get the alone time with Alejandro I was hoping for. Since Chris' mansion was destroyed, he was staying in the hotel too.

The benefit of is was not something I discovered. I was lying on the bed I usually claimed for myself when I was in the hotel as a team player when there was a knock on the door. "Amethyst?"

I got up and answered Alejandro. "What's up?" I asked, opening the door.

"Come with me, I've discovered something that I'd like to share with you." he gently pulled me into a room full of cameras. On the biggest screen, there was an image of one of the loser cabins, which Mike, Zoey and Cameron were looking around in.

"What are they doing?" I whispered.

"Trying to find the evidence of who was tampered with the votes." Alejandro answered. He had a smirk on his face, as Mike looked around at one of the top bunks, and then, it happened.

Cameron gasped, finding a stack of votes with him crossed out, and he pointed at Mike. "You!"

Alejandro's smirk widened. "Anything you can do, I can do better...and look better doing it." He took a DVD out of the slot below the screen. "Hello, insurance policy."

I looked up at him, raising one eyebrow. "What exactly happened?" I asked. "You didn't..."

"Of course not." Alejandro said. "Why would I want to eliminate him? Besides, you know me better than that. Tampering with the votes is the last thing I would do. No, he tried to frame me for voting off Cameron by putting the votes under my pillow. So I decided to put the votes in the right place – under his mattress."

The DVD was marked "Mal's Greatest Hits".

I frowned. "Wait a second...does that DVD say Mal on it?" I asked. "Because if I'm right, that's one of Mike's personalities!"

"Oh?" Alejandro smirked even more than usual. "That makes a lot of sense."

"Duncan met him in juvie." I explained further. "From what I got, it sounds like it's not that easy to bring Mike back. With Mal here, we have to be very careful." I paused, and then got a smirk myself. "In fact, with the history of players on this show...I'd say you're possibly the only one that could match up to him."

Amee knows perfectly well that she can't just tell Mal she knows who he is and tell everyone else. He'd kick her off straight away. But with a DVD and an ally, things might be easier for her. Please review!