Survivor CH4: Days 23-25

(Tribal Council)

The remaining eleven players stood in silence, wondering if they had just heard the host right.

"We…We made the merge?!" Erica asked.

"Indeed you have. From here on out, you will all be living at the same camp and all of the challenges, unless stated otherwise, will be individual." SSBFreak explained. "However, first things first. I need all of you to hand in your buffs so I can give you new ones."

Everyone handed over their buffs, some eagerly. As soon as all eleven buffs had been given to him, SSBFreak passed out new buffs, these ones a bright green.

"From here on out, it's every man, woman or talking animal for themselves. You will be playing for individual immunity at the Immunity Challenges, where only one of you will win." SSBFreak explained. "Exile Island will still exist, and the winners of the Reward Challenges will send someone there. Now then, before I send you out into the wilderness again, I need you guys to decide which tribe to merge to."

The players looked at each other briefly, wondering which tribe to go to. Brock was the first to speak.

"I say we go to Ferren. Ventala may have the bigger lake, but Ferren has a waterfall." Brock explained.

Angela shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me. Ventala is still in pretty rough shape from Fran-CINE's sabotage." She explained.

Brock looked at the host. "We'll merge at the Ferren Tribe." He said.

"Okay, then. The Rewards won in previous challenges will be at the camp when you get there. In addition, I'll need you all to think up a name for your tribe by the next challenge. It can be whatever you want." SSBFreak said. "With that, you can all head back to your new camp."

(Ferren Tribe)

"Woohoo! I can't believe it, but I made the merge! I was thinking I'd be out of the game at this point! Making it here is a huge accomplishment in itself!" Danglars cheered. "But now that I'm here, my brother totally owes me fifty bucks. He thought I wouldn't make it this far."

"It's not much to look at, but we've gotten used to it." Gary said as he led everyone into the camp.

"The lake is bigger than I thought it would be." Amy noted. "When Brock said it was smaller than ours, I thought it would be a lot smaller."

"Golly! That's a pretty impressive waterfall y'all got!" Corey said with a grin when she followed the others into camp.

"We can use it tomorrow if you wanted." Brock noted.

"Making the merge is great, but I was so close to getting an extra ally in. Chloe would have been a help to us and could have given us an advantage." Brock said. "It's basically back to square one for me because I seriously doubt any of the other Ferren players would be willing to join forces."

Meanwhile, Kendall wasn't looking very pleased. As the Ferren players led the Ventala players around the camp to show them around, he motioned Samantha to come talk to him.

"What happened back there?!" Kendall demanded. "The plan was to vote for Brock!"

"No. That was YOUR plan. I had no intention of actually doing it." Samantha said. "For future notes, Kendall? You have no power over me, and that vote proves it. The others are more-likely to listen to me than you right now."

"You know what? I could ditch you right here for not doing what I said." Kendall said.

Samantha folded her arms and smirked. "Go ahead. You'd have no allies left. Since Brock's still around, he's sure to tell Angela and the others about your treachery." She explained.

"If there was one thing Brock was right about, it's that Kendall's up on a high horse and needs to be brought down from it." Samantha said. "He thought he could control me, but I don't take orders from a monkey."

"I'm the one holding the cards now, Kendall." Samantha said victoriously. "Try and backstab me if you want, but even if you succeed, it'll just make you a sitting duck for the others."

Kendall paused, looking extremely mad. He sighed. "Fine. We'll do things your way for now." He said. "I'd just watch your back, though."

"Likewise, shrimp." Samantha said casually as she walked over to the shelter.

"Samantha played a smart move and it seems I don't exactly have her on the leash I thought I did. I need to play a little smarter now." Kendall said. "Still, if she thinks I'm going to let her get away with this, she's still not as smart as she thinks. I'll lay low for now and take her out when the time comes for it."

The eleven remaining players decided to go to bed, spending their first night as a merged tribe.

(Ferren Tribe; Day 23)

"I managed to make the merge, which isn't all that surprising. I DID manage to get all of my allies to the merge, though. That should count for something." Angela shrugged. "That being said, I'm impressed that Brock managed to survive this long. Even on the other tribe, he managed to make the merge."

"So Kendall isn't to be trusted?" Angela asked.

"No. He backstabbed Kenal and was very blunt about not wanting to join me. He was probably confident that I was next to go." Brock replied. "Too bad, though. My ally on Ferren got eliminated and she could have helped us."

"The panda girl?" Amy asked.

"Yeah. Turns out Tempo was her ally." Brock replied. "You don't think we can align with him, do you?"

"Already done, actually." Angela replied casually.

"Still, that tells us a lot about Kendall." Amy noted. "But…Didn't you tell me he was the one to tell you that Fran-CINE was the one sabotaging us?"

"That was Fran-CINE?" Brock asked.

"Yeah, but Kendall also told me that Kenal was blackmailing her to keep him quiet when he found out." Angela folded her arms. "I still don't get why he would tell the truth and a lie at the same time."

"Now that the tribes are merged, Brock was able to tell us what's been going on, and now we know that Kendall isn't what we initially thought he was." Amy said. "While it's good to know this ahead of time, we've still got a lot of game to go."

"So where does that leave us? Tempo's with you, and is Corey still on board?" Brock asked.

"She is. That's five out of eleven." Angela nodded. "We just need one more for the majority."

"You think Danglars would join the others if need be?" Amy asked.

"Doubtful. After Mongo made me use the idol, he hid from me for a couple of days." Angela waved it off.

Meanwhile, Riddle was walking around camp and spotted Erica sitting on a stone by herself. He gave a smirk and walked over.

"I knew you'd be here." Riddle said. "Trying to get away from all the people?"

"Just when the tribe was getting down to a more-manageable number, we hit the merge and suddenly there're eleven people again." Erica sighed.

"May as well get used to it." Riddle shrugged. "That being said, I'm glad you were able to survive this long."

"Yeah. Thanks."

"I admit that I was worried when Erica was separated from us at the swap, but she managed to hold on and survive a few Tribal Councils." Riddle said. "This is good because now my alliance is back together again, but from what Erica's been telling me, there's a power alliance on the other tribe."

"Angela and Amy are in an alliance?" Riddle asked.

"Seems that way. Apparently, Brock is part of it as well." Erica nodded. "From the looks of things, Corey's also on their good side."

"That's an alliance of four. That could be a little too threatening this late in the game." Riddle noted. "As much as I know you'd like you go after Samantha, I think we should whittle the other alliance's numbers down first."

Erica sighed. "Fine."

"This power alliance is too big of a threat to leave alone, so we need to focus on taking out their numbers first, which I'm not exactly thrilled about." Erica said. "I hate having to spare Samantha again, but we need her vote…At least for now."

Meanwhile, Danglars was walking around camp when he saw Gary relaxing by the lake. He also saw that Corey was beside him, talking her mouth off as usual. Danglars hesitantly made his way over.

"…And then when mah dad drop-kicked the elf, mah family was asked ta leave the Santa meet-an-greet." Corey laughed. "Every time Christmas comes around at the mall, the elves run and hide when they see mah dad coming!"

"Very interesting." Gary chuckled. "But…If you and your siblings were already too old to get your picture with Santa, why was he there in the first place?"

Corey shrugged. "He always said it was on his bucket list ta drop-kick an elf." She replied.

"I actually find Corey's stories pretty funny, although if they're true, then she has quite the unusual family." Gary noted. "Her reunions must be one of a kind."

"Uh…She's not bothering you, is she, Gary?" Danglars asked as he came over.

"Not at all." Gary shrugged. "Why? Is she always this talkative?"

"You have NO idea."

"What can Ah say?" Corey shrugged. "It's just part a' what Ah am. There are times where Ah just talk and I never really know how much Ah'm doing it. In fact, Ah only realize that Ah'm talkin' too much when mah family lets me know Ah'm getting' annoying."

"Like now?" Danglars asked flatly.

"Yeah! Kinda like now!" Corey laughed.

Danglars sighed and sat down beside Gary, staring off into space as Corey continued to ramble. Gary couldn't help but chuckle.

"It sure is nice ta be on a big tribe again. Ah have ta say that Ah missed having a buncha people ta talk to." Corey said. "Now that Ah got some more people around here, Ah got more people ta talk to. Maybe some a' them'll have stories like mine!"

Eventually, Corey finished her talking and wandered off to find someone else to talk to. Danglars watched her walk off and sighed. "I don't know how you have patience like that, man." He admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"The last person to have that kind of patience with Corey was a freaking ROBOT."

Gary shrugged again. "I just have a lot of patience." He admitted. "So I hear that there's a bit of a power alliance on your tribe?"

"Who told you that?"

"Erica." Gary replied. "Just to let you know: She's in an alliance with me."

"Oh." Danglars sighed. "I guess that would do it. Yeah, there's a big alliance. Like I'd tell you who it consists of, though."

Gary gave a shrug. "Honestly, it doesn't matter to me." He admitted. "You'd probably want to watch what you say around Riddle, though."

"Riddle the one that's all about strategy. I just let things happen and go with the flow. It's not in me to be a real thinker, after all." Gary admitted. "That being said, I know for a fact that Riddle is going to want to take apart the other alliance first, but I was truthful when I said it didn't bother me."

Later on, several members of the merged tribe were gathered around the fire pit, as if wondering what to do next.

"I have to admit that you have the better fire pit." Angela noted. "We couldn't really get ours to look well enough before it got destroyed."

"It does the job." Gary replied simply.

Tempo looked around. "Hey, you guys have any ideas for the new tribe name yet?" He asked. "We're supposed to have one before the next challenge, which is likely going to be tomorrow."

"He's right. We'll need to choose something before we go to bed." Amy agreed.

"How about 'Hantz Sucks'?" Erica asked with a smirk.

"I like it." Danglars held up his hand in agreement.

"It's not unique enough." Riddle shook his head.

"Yeah. Sure, it's true, but it's not unique." Amy shrugged.

"After that, we started volleying ideas back and forth, but nothing came up that was good enough for the tribe name." Tempo said. "I mean, we all had some good ideas, but none that we all agreed on."

"…There's no WAY we're naming our tribe something that vulgar." Tempo said flatly.

"It's going to happen SOMETIME." Samantha shrugged. "Why not now?"

"Because there's no way the network will allow it!"

"Seriously. That was just a real crude suggestion." Amy said, not looking amused.

"You people have no sense of humour." Samantha folded her arms.

Everyone suddenly heard a whistling sound and turned to see Corey coming over. They also saw that the paint bucket they were provided to name the tribe was in her hand.

"Howdy, y'all!" Corey greeted.

"Corey, why do you have the paint there?" Danglars asked.

"Oh, Ah just named the tribe. Hope y'all don't mind." Corey shrugged.

"Wait. You named the tribe without telling any of us?!" Amy asked.

"Don't worry, Amy. It ain't like Ah named it somethin' stupid." Corey shrugged.

Brock came walking over, staring flatly. "Seriously, Corey. The Survivor Tribe?" He asked.

"What? It fits, don't it?"

Angela rolled her eyes. "Well, it's not the worst thing that she could have named the tribe." She admitted.

Night eventually rolled in. The new tribe decided to go to bed to prepare for the challenge the following day.

(Survivor Tribe; Day 24)

"All of us think that we're going to have our first challenge as a merged tribe today. We don't know what it'll be, but we know we're having one." Brock shrugged. "If it's an Immunity Challenge, then I need to be on my guard. If people forget that I'm stronger than I look, I won't be a target."

"I thought we put out the fire last night." Brock said as he walked over to the still-burning fire.

Tempo shrugged. "It was cold when I woke up and no one had any objections." He replied. "Although I should probably put it out now."

"Where is everybody?" Brock asked as he looked around. "I think I'm the last one up."

"I don't know, myself. I haven't seen many people come this way lately." Tempo replied. "But I think I saw Erica going to go check on treemail."

"I need to keep my eyes on everyone from now on. Now that we're all playing for ourselves, there are going to be a LOT of disagreements." Tempo said. "If I can hang back and analyze everyone's weaknesses, I should be good. Take Brock. His big weakness appears to be his willingness to follow Angela. I don't see him coming up with his own alliance."

"We have our first merged treemail." Erica announced as she walked over to the fire pit, only to see that only Tempo and Brock were there. "Uh…Where's everyone else?"

"Yee-haw!!"

Erica looked up in time to see Corey leaping off the waterfall, landing in the water in a cannonball. Water splashed up on shore, drenched all three of the players by the fire pit and put out the fire at the same time.

"…You know what? Screw the others." Erica said as she ripped open the envelope. "Apparently, we have to have good throwing skills for this challenge."

"What's this about a challenge?" Kendall asked as he came over with Samantha.

"Where the heck were you?" Tempo asked.

"I feel that I'm a target since Brock was able to tell the others about me. This means I really need to win Immunities." Kendall admitted. "If Samantha wanted to screw me over by keeping Brock, she's doing a pretty good job."

"A challenge like this is something I don't think I'd do well in, so I just need to hope it's a Reward." Erica said. "Still, if it IS Immunity, I've got no choice but to try my hardest. That being said, because I'm not a challenge threat, maybe I won't be targeted."

(Reward Challenge)

The eleven remaining players walked out onto a clearing and saw their mat, now a bright green, on the ground. Everyone walked over and stepped on.

"Welcome to your first individual challenge, everyone. Before we continue, I have to ask if you guys picked a name for the tribe." SSBFreak said.

"We're the Survivor Tribe." Corey said with a smile.

SSBFreak stood in silence. "Seriously?"

"Yep."

"…Okay then. Survivor Tribe, welcome to your first Reward Challenge, here we will see how well you can throw weights." SSBFreak explained. Everyone saw that there was a large target on the ground a good ways away. "You will take turns throwing weighted stones at the target, trying to get it closest to the bullseye. You only get one throw, so make sure you make it count. Whoever gets their stone closest to the middle of the target will win Reward, which is a day-long trip to a resort location."

The contestants glanced at each other. It was clear that some looked more excited about the reward than others.

"You will be going in random order, so if you'll all step this way and pick up a stone, we can begin."

Brock was up first. He tossed the stone to himself as gears turned in his head.

"Brock is up. You can go whenever."

Brock nodded and threw the stone. However, it hit the ground before it even reached the target.

"Not the best throw, but we'll see how it stacks up." SSBFreak said.

Erica was next. Holding the stone in her hands, all she did was lift an eyebrow at the host.

"Uh…You can go whenever, Erica."

"Um…No." Erica said as she simply dropped the stone to the ground. "I don't have a shot."

"Okay, fine. Brock still has the lead." SSBFreak shrugged.

Tempo was next. Needless to say, he was looking fairly confident.

"Tempo is up. You can throw whenever."

Tempo nodded, took a deep breath and hurled the stone at the target. It hit the target, but on one of the outer rings.

"An okay shot, but Tempo overtakes the lead from Brock."

Samantha was next. Like Tempo, she was looking relatively confident.

"You can throw whenever, Samantha."

Samantha threw the stone at the target as hard as she could. The stone managed to overtake Brock's but didn't go far enough to catch Tempo.

"Not good enough, I'm afraid. Tempo still leads."

"Those things are heavier than they look." Samantha shook her head as she walked off.

Corey was whistling as she walked up to the throwing point with a stone in hand. She gave a smirk.

"Corey is next. You can go whenever."

Corey threw her stone at the target, easily passing Brock's and Samantha's. Corey's projectile hit the target two rings closer to the middle than Tempo's.

"Corey manages to overtake Tempo and now has the lead."

"Aw, yeah! That's great!" Corey cheered.

Amy approached the throwing line. She looked confident, but not as relaxed as Corey.

"Amy is now up. You can throw whenever."

Amy nodded and hurled the stone at the target. Amy's stone managed to make it onto the target, but not enough to pass Corey.

"No good. Corey's still in the lead."

"She's stronger than I thought." Amy shook her head.

Kendall was next. He looked about as comfortable with his chances as Erica, as he simply looked between his stone and the host a few times. "Seriously?"

"Yes. You can go whenever."

"Fine, then I'm not going to bother." Kendall shook his head as he walked off, leaving the stone on the ground. SSBFreak sighed.

Danglars was up next. Seeing how close Corey was to the middle, he wasn't sure about his chances.

"Danglars, you can go whenever."

Danglars took a deep breath and threw the stone towards the target, only for it to come down around where Samantha's landed.

"Nice try, but it's not enough. Corey maintains the lead."

"Man. That sucks." Danglars sighed.

Angela was next, looking more determined than anything. Her vision narrowed as she focused on where she was going to throw.

"Angela is next. You can-" SSBFreak said before Angela threw her stone, cutting him off.

Angela's stone easily made it onto the target, passing everyone's up to Tempo's. When Angela's stone hit the target, people saw that it was a ring closer to the middle than Corey's.

"Just enough to take the lead from Corey. Angela now leads."

Angela simply smirked in satisfaction, nodded and walked off.

As Angela walked off, Riddle approached. Needless to say, he wasn't liking his chances.

"Riddle is next. You can go whenever."

Riddle ended up trying and threw the stone towards the target. Unfortunately, he didn't do very well, his stone hitting the ground just behind Samantha's and Danglars'.

"Not enough, I'm afraid. Angela still leads."

"I wasn't about to simply forfeit." Riddle shrugged.

Gary was the last to go, holding the weighted stone under his arm. He, like always, looked laid-back.

"Gary is the last to go. You can go whenever."

"Thanks." Gary said as he threw his stone, sending it towards the target.

Nobody was surprised to see Gary's stone make the target, but people were just wondering if he could overshoot Angela and Corey. The stone hit the target and everyone saw that his was one ring off the middle of the target, easily beating both Angela and Corey.

"That's it! The challenge is over!" SSBFreak announced. "Gary wins Reward!"

Gary nodded with a smile. "That's great! Thanks!"

(Later…)

"Congratulations on winning Reward, Gary. For winning the challenge, you can go to the resort location for the day. However, it would be lonely to go there alone, so you can choose one of the others to go with you."

"Only one?" Gary asked. He scanned everyone else as he started thinking before making his decision. "How about…Angela."

Angela's eyes widened. "Really?" She asked. Nevertheless, she walked over to Gary.

"Now you have to choose to send someone to Exile Island." SSBFreak said.

"Um…Corey."

Corey gave a shrug. "Sure. Ah'll go." She said.

"Okay. You three will go your respective ways and meet up with everyone else at the Immunity Challenge tomorrow." SSBFreak said before turning to everyone else. "To the rest of you, all I can say is that you need to prepare for the challenge tomorrow, since that's the challenge that matters. You can all head back to camp."

(Survivor Tribe)

"That was…Unexpected. I was counting on Gary to send Erica or myself to Exile so we could find the idol. Instead, he sent Corey." Riddle scratched his head. "I seriously hope he doesn't have that much faith that the idol I already have is the real one, because even I'm not sure about that."

"What was Gary thinking? Did he forget about us or something?" Erica asked.

"I don't know." Riddle sighed. "Perhaps he saw the idol Chloe played a while ago and he knows I have the real one."

"Isn't that still taking a big gamble, and even then, do you think he's one to come up with something like that?" Erica quizzed.

Riddle sighed again. "Probably not."

"Gary sent one of the opposition to Exile Island to see if she could find the idol. I'm trying to come up with an answer, but I'm not getting anything." Erica noted. "Riddle thinks that Gary's confident that he has the right idol, but I think Riddle's giving him too much credit."

"Let me see that idol again." Erica said.

"I thought you said that you didn't see the one Angela played." Riddle noted, but showed her the idol anyway.

"I honestly can't remember. I thought seeing this would jog my memory." Erica said, although she shook her head. "Nope. I got nothing."

Meanwhile, Kendall was trying to get some extra votes. He was currently trying to sway Danglars.

"Look, Angela's in a power alliance. They need to be taken apart before they get too powerful." Kendall said.

"You're a fine one to talk." Danglars folded his arms. "Look, I spent a day hiding from Angela when the vote didn't go the way Mongo wanted. Why would I want to get on her bad side again right after I got on her good side?"

"Because you'll have to do it eventually. Why not do it when there's more people?"

"I wasn't counting on pitching myself to others, especially not the people who I shared a tribe with, but the recent circumstances have left me with no choice." Kendall sighed. "Since Danglars is obviously on the outs of the Ventala power alliance, my first instinct was to try and recruit him."

"Uh…Yeah. After everything I went through back when Mongo left, do you think I'd want to turn against Angela's alliance again?" Danglars folded his arms. "Hey, I DO have some common sense, you know."

"Look, you're better off trying to get through to someone else." Danglars said as he walked off. "I don't want to turn against them."

Kendall muttered a few choice words as he turned and stalked off, passing Samantha as he did.

"So how'd it go?" Samantha asked with a smirk.

"Shut up!"

"I love seeing that twerp struggling here." Samantha said, still smirking.

(Resort Location)

"I'm actually a little surprised here. Gary won the challenge, and yet he decided to bring me along instead of someone from his alliance." Angela lifted an eyebrow. "That just has me confused, because if I was in his shoes, I'd be taking one of my allies."

"This place seems pretty nice." Gary said as he looked out at the view from a balcony. He looked over at Angela. "You've been pretty quiet on the way here, Angela. What's on your mind?"

"What do you mean? Why on Earth did you choose to bring me along instead of one of your alliance members?" Angela asked.

"Oh. Is THAT what's bugging you?" Gary asked. "Well, you did real well in the challenge, so I thought that it be only fair to let you come on a trip that you could have won if I didn't beat you."

"That's seriously it? You didn't want to discuss strategy or anything?"

"That's Riddle's department. Not mine."

"I like to think of myself as a nice guy, and if I think someone did well enough in a challenge to deserve the prize, I'll bring them along." Gary shrugged. "I mean, it's only fair, right?"

"And…What about sending Corey to Exile?" Angela asked.

"She did well in the challenge as well." Gary shrugged.

Angela paused in thought, but decided not to press the matter any further and walked over to the balcony. "How did someone so strong get to be such a softy?" She asked, more to herself.

"It's just who I am, I guess." Gary answered. "Why? Is there a problem?"

Angela paused, arms folded. "I'm not going to sugarcoat it." She warned. "I think you're too friendly for your own good. Even with your strength, your easy-going personality would get you killed pretty quickly."

Gary couldn't help but chuckle. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but having a sour attitude isn't the best way to live life, either." He said. "So I guess we're even, aren't we?"

Angela sighed. "Fine."

"Great…Oh, it looks like the dinner's ready." Gary said as he looked inside the resort and saw an array of food. "You coming?"

"Sure." Angela nodded as she followed Gary into the building.

"I meant what I said. Gary is FAR too nice. If he wasn't so strong, I probably wouldn't even give him a second glance." Angela said. "The fact that he's strong and has a personality like this is even more confusing, but I still say it wouldn't do him any good on the battlefield."

"I'm sure Angela means well, but her lack of social skills really shows in this game. Even from the little I've seen of her, I can tell that she's not exactly popular where she comes from." Gary noted. "I don't want to pressure her to change herself, but I just wish that she'd lighten up once in a while."

(Exile Island)

Corey gave a whistle as she looked around. "Golly, it's bigger than Ah thought." She noted. "How am Ah gonna find an idol in a place like this?"

Corey walked over to the treemail box by the shelter and pulled out the clue. She read it over a few times and looked around again. "Time ta start lookin'…"

"Ah was surprised that Gary sent me ta Exile, but Ah ain't complainin'. Ah get ta search fer the idol." Corey reasoned. "Well, Ah just grabbed the clue from the clue box and started lookin' around fer the idol, hopin' Ah could find it."

"Ah think it's gotta be under a tree, but which one?" Corey said as she studied the clue.

Indeed, there were many trees around, and even if Corey was on the right track, it would take her forever to find the right one.

"Ah guess Ah gotta start lookin'." The cowgirl sighed as she got up and walked off.

Corey looked high and low, trying to follow the clue as best as she could, spending a good portion of the day searching. In the end, she came up with nothing.

"That's strange. Ah'm sure Ah'm searchin' the right spot." Corey scratched her head.

"Well, Ah couldn't find the idol, which is a bit of a waste since Ah probably wouldn't have been sent here if it weren't Gary that won the challenge." Corey reasoned. "Ah wish Ah could've taken advantage of the free opportunity, but Ah guess Ah just couldn't find it."

Later on, Corey yawned. "Well, Ah guess Ah'd better turn in. It's getting' kinda late and Ah gotta be ready fer the challenge." She mused.

Soon, everyone decided to go to bed, preparing for the all-important first individual immunity…

(Survivor Tribe; Day 25)

"Now that we've merged, I need to keep my options open. I don't want to join a big alliance because that would just make me a target." Tempo folded his arms. "This may be the best time to slip by under everyone's radars, but that means that I need to avoid making any strategic moves."

"So what are you guys thinking of doing?" Tempo asked.

"If Gary doesn't win Immunity, we'll target him." Brock explained. "He's way too much of a physical threat to keep around."

"Yeah. Plus, it would take apart Riddle's alliance." Amy agreed.

"Every vote helps, and we know you're pretty much on your own." Brock shrugged. "If it helps, I was aligned with Chloe while we were out here."

"Okay. I guess we'll just have to see what happens." Tempo shrugged.

Amy said nothing further, but sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Amy and I want to make sure we get as many votes as we can. Right now, the biggest threat is Riddle's alliance of three." Brock noted. "Since Tempo appears to be on the outs, Amy and I agreed to at least give him the option to join us."

"I really hate it when a choice is left with an outside source. It makes me feel less-comfortable with my position in the game." Amy sighed. "Still, this is as good as we're going to get at the moment, so we'll have to go with it and hope that Tempo comes through for us in the end."

"We got treemail, guys! Time for the first Immunity as a merged tribe!" Danglars announced.

Everyone saw that Danglars was carrying a letter, so they approached him from different sides as he opened the treemail.

"It's wondering how our balance is." Danglars said.

"A balancing task. I think it's safe to say that it's anyone's game in that territory." Erica shook her head. No one appeared to disagree with her.

"Kinda makes you wonder how we'll be balancing, though." Tempo noted. "Like, are we holding something in the air or are we balancing ourselves?"

"I'd say you're thinking too hard." Samantha said before smirking. "You may want to stop before you hurt yourself."

"I think I can do well in a balancing challenge if it's the right type. I just need to see what exactly the challenge will be." Samantha explained. "Outlasting ten other people is likely easier than it sounds, anyway."

(Immunity Challenge)

The eight players from camp emerged from the jungle and walked out onto the beach. They saw their tribe's mat on the ground and walked over to it, stepping on.

"Before we begin, let's bring back Gary and Angela, who are returning from their trip, and Corey, who is back from Exile." SSBFreak said.

The three players in question approached the tribe from both sides, stepping onto the mat and joining the group, forming the full eleven players.

"Welcome to your first individual Immunity Challenge, Survivor Tribe. Here, we will be testing your balance and endurance." SSBFreak said. Everyone saw that there was a long bar out in the water. "All of you will be standing on that long beam out in the water, forming a line. Basically, the goal is to stay standing on that beam for as long as you can. If you fall into the water, you're out, and if you forcibly push anyone into the water, you will automatically be disqualified. Whoever lasts the longest out on the beam will win Immunity and be safe from elimination at tonight's Tribal Council."

The eleven players, knowing that is was anyone's game, looked determined to win.

"If you'll all go out into the water and get onto the beam, we can start." SSBFreak explained.

(Later…)

The eleven remaining players stood out on the beam in a line, determined to outlast the others. Because they had just started, everyone was standing straight and not wavering.

"The challenge has officially started and everyone appears to be doing fine." SSBFreak said. "Gary, how do you think you'd fare in challenges like this since strength isn't involved?"

Gary gave a shrug. "I think I've still got a shot. I think I can do well in a challenge like this." He responded. "Although I guess I won't know until the challenge is done."

"So you're not feeling unbalanced?"

"The challenge just started. I don't see how any of us would be." Gary replied.

"Samantha, what's your strategy?"

"I'm trying to apply the same strategy as I'm sure most people are." Samantha replied. "I don't see it as winning. It's just outlasting ten other people."

"That strategy is as old as time." Amy lifted an eyebrow.

"It's also effective."

"Corey, what's going through your mind?" SSBFreak asked.

"Not much. Just that Ah finally remembered where Ah left mah baseball glove at home, and that mah friends owe me money…And that mah dad's driver's license expires next month…" Corey said as she trailed off. "…And that Ah was supposed ta drive mah brother to a date before Ah came here…"

"I GET IT." SSBFreak said flatly. "Okay. You guys seem to be doing well enough, so I'll leave you guys alone for a while and come back later to check up on you."

(Later…)

"It's been twenty minutes and no one's budged yet. I'm sure that some of you are starting to feel a little fatigued." SSBFreak said. "Angela, is the challenge getting to you?"

"Of course not. It's only been twenty minutes." Angela replied. "I'm just getting started."

"Kendall, what about you?"

"What ABOUT me?" Kendall asked. "I'm a monkey. Monkeys are known for their balancing."

"Fair enough." SSBFreak shrugged. "Brock, what's going through your mind now?"

"Not a whole lot. Most of us are just focused on outlasting the others." Brock replied.

"Most of you?"

"I'm sure Corey's mind's elsewhere." Brock said.

"Ah heard mah name." Corey piped up.

"Well, none of you have dropped out yet, and I think it's time I gave you a little motivation to do so." SSBFreak said. "If three people drop out, I will give them each a large plate of fresh pasta made however they like."

Erica jumped pretty quickly, while Amy followed her into the water. The remaining nine players looked at each other uneasily, as if daring the others to go first.

Finally, Tempo sighed. "Fine. If no one else is going for it, I will." He said as he jumped into the water.

"Erica, Amy and Tempo are out of the challenge. You guys can come to shore and get your reward." SSBFreak said as the three contestants swam to shore.

This obviously left eight people still on the beam. It was clear that no one else was dropping, at least not yet.

"Okay, if no one else is going to drop, I'll get back to you guys in a little bit." SSBFreak said.

"Take your time." Angela said with a smirk.

(Later…)

It was clear that none of the remaining players were going to give up easily, as they still remained standing and showed no signs of fatigue, or at least none that the others could see.

"You eight have been up there for an hour now. I'm sure your legs are starting to tire out by now." SSBFreak said. "Danglars, how do you feel?"

"I don't know. My legs fell asleep." Danglars replied. "Hopefully, that means that I won't be able to feel the fatigue."

"It still hasn't been that long." Angela noted.

"I'll…Cross that bridge when we get there."

"Riddle, do you see yourself at an advantage in a challenge like this?" SSBFreak asked.

"I'd like to say yes, but something's telling me otherwise." Riddle explained. "I have no idea how everyone's legs are, but I think I'm still in pretty good shape. After an hour, I'd say that most people would begin to feel it."

"Are you?"

"A little bit, but like I said, I'm still okay."

"Okay…Um…Samantha, how's your strategy of trying to outlast everyone else working?" SSBFreak asked.

"I'm still good. As long as my legs don't buckle, I'm going to stay that way." Samantha said, button eyes narrowed.

"We all have that strategy, though." Gary supplied.

"I wasn't talking to you, GARY." Samantha sighed.

"Well, I think it's time to offer some more incentives." SSBFreak said. "If three more people drop now, they will each receive a pizza made however they want with whatever toppings they want."

"That's what I was waiting for." Brock said with a grin as he jumped into the water.

"That sounds pretty good right now." Gary nodded as he jumped into the water after Brock.

"Wait fer me!" Corey called out as she jumped off the beam.

"With that, Brock, Gary and Corey are all out." SSBFreak said. "You guys can come to shore and order your pizzas."

This left Kendall, Angela, Samantha, Danglars and Riddle. The remaining players looked amongst each other, again seeing that no one else was going to drop.

"If no one else is going to drop out, I'll get back to the rest of you in a little bit." SSBFreak said. "See you in an hour."

"An HOUR?!" Danglars asked.

(Later…)

SSBFreak wasn't kidding. It was indeed another hour before the host decided to check on the remaining players. They were all still standing.

"It's been two hours. I'm sure that everyone is feeling some sort of pain by this point." SSBFreak said. "Angela, what are you thinking about?"

"At the moment, I'm trying to block out the numbing in my legs." Angela said. "I obviously don't want to move, because then I'd just lose my balance."

"Kendall, how are you managing to hold out?"

"Still in it, and I hate to admit it, but I'm starting to feel a little fatigued." Kendall noted. "I just hope the others fall before I give out."

"Danglars, I'm surprised that you're still in. What's your secret?"

"Truth be told, I can't move anymore." Danglars said. "I just need to hope I don't get blown over."

"How can you not move?" Angela asked.

"I've been standing in one position for two hours. It feels like all of my muscles have seized up."

Samantha smirked. "You've got none to begin with."

"If I could move my arm, I would smack you."

"Riddle, how would you gauge the rest of your competition at this point?" SSBFreak asked.

"I'm surprised we're the ones still up here. That confirms that it's anyone's game." Riddle said. "I'm sore, but we'll just have to see where we end up."

"Samantha, how do you think your chances are now?"

"I'm still in it, aren't I?" Samantha asked. "We all need the win whether we think so or not."

"You think you can outlast then others?"

"It's worked this well for me so far."

"Well, let's speed things along. I need three people to drop out, and if they do, they'll receive a chocolate cake to divide between them." SSBFreak announced.

Kendall paused, then sighed. "May as well." He said as he jumped from the beam.

"I doubt I would have lasted much longer, anyway." Riddle agreed as he jumped into the water.

Samantha stood in silence for a few seconds before relenting. "I don't want to do this, but I think I'm safe." She said as she jumped into the water.

"Kendall, Riddle and Samantha are all out. We're now down to two people." SSBFreak said.

This left Angela and Danglars. The two looked at each other, Angela much-more determined than Danglars.

"I'll come back to you guys in a little while."

"Wait."

"Yes, Danglars?" SSBFreak asked.

"Angela, if I drop out now, will you promise not to target me?" Danglars asked.

"Honestly, you've got nothing to worry about for the time being." Angela shook her head. "Sounds like a deal to me."

"Okay. I'll drop, then."

The two stood in silence for several seconds, neither of them making a move.

"Well?" Angela asked.

"…I can't move. My muscles actually seized up." Danglars said. He slowly tipped his body backwards before he fell into the water, landing on his back.

"That's it! The challenge is over!" SSBFreak announced. "Angela wins Immunity!"

Angela cheered as she jumped into the water, thankful that the win went to her.

(Later…)

"Congratulations on winning Immunity, Angela. You have a one-in-ten chance at winning the game." SSBFreak said as he gave a fancy-looking necklace to Angela.

"Off to a good start, so we'll see where this goes." Angela nodded.

SSBFreak turned to the other contestants. "Angela is safe tonight, but I'll be seeing you all at Tribal Council, where you will vote someone out, just after making the merge." He explained. "It's time to start thinking strategically and decide which people are bigger threats, because at this point, they're the ones that will become targets. You can all head back to camp."

(Survivor Tribe)

"Angela won the challenge, which is great because it gives us an advantage. Ah couldn't git the idol at Exile, but maybe we can still git the numbers." Corey supplied. "It seems that we got a swing vote, and the vote is split. All Ah can say is that it's gunna be close."

"Sorry Ah couldn't find the idol on Exile." Corey scratched her head.

"It's fine. We still have a chance." Angela said.

"Angela, I know you value strength, but we need to take Gary out while we still have the chance." Amy explained. "He's the biggest threat physically and if we take him out, then we'll dominate the rest of the strength challenges."

Angela paused, then nodded. "Okay. I suppose that seems like the best course of action."

"I respect Gary because of his strength, but like I've said, he's way too positive for my tastes. Perhaps it's best that he goes before too long." Angela said. "Maybe him going would be the best thing for him. It would get him to realize that you can't be positive your entire life."

"Ya think Tempo will vote with us?" Corey asked.

"Is that who the swing vote is tonight?" Amy asked. "I thought Danglars was."

"I'm…Pretty sure Danglars is on board." Brock said.

Meanwhile, the opposing alliance appeared to be having a similar conversation, and were relaying messages to Kendall and Samantha.

"Since Angela has Immunity, we figured it would be best to go after the next-strongest person on their alliance." Riddle said. "Just so you know, we're voting for Corey."

"So you going to leave us be?" Samantha asked, eyebrow lifted.

"For now, yes. Just so long as you vote with us and not against us." Riddle warned.

"Do that once and we'd gladly join the other alliance in taking the both of you out." Erica folded her arms.

"I'll keep that in mind." Samantha said flatly.

"It makes me sick that I'm still going to be keeping Samantha around, but I have to admit that such a big opposing alliance is serious trouble." Erica said. "We need to whittle away at their numbers while we have the chance, and once we get a comfortable majority, we'll be free to take down the freeloaders that should have been gone ages ago."

"Do you have the numbers?" Samantha asked. "From what I can tell, there's only one possible swing vote."

"I think we can get Tempo to vote with us." Gary shrugged.

"You seem pretty calm when you consider that they're likely gunning for you." Erica said, eyebrow lifted.

"If it happens, it happens." Gary replied. "I won't let it bother me."

"I sure hope that cheerfulness isn't contagious." Samantha said flatly.

"Frankly, I'd feel a little honoured that they would consider a guy my age a threat. I know I'm strong, but my age still factors into it." Gary pointed out. "We're hoping that Tempo will vote with us, but if he doesn't I probably won't be surprised…"

(Tribal Council)

The eleven remaining players walked into Tribal Council, carrying their torches. Finding a spot, everyone sat down and waited for the council to commence.

"Welcome to your first post-merge Tribal Council, Survivor Tribe. In a moment, one of you eleven will be voted out of the game, just after making the merge." SSBFreak said before starting to ask questions. "Brock, how is life at camp now that everyone's merged?"

"It's good to see my old tribe-mates again. I'm just glad I made it this far while I was targeted for elimination." Brock explained. "That being said, the merged tribe appears to be divided at this point."

"What do you mean?"

"It's still basically Ventala against Ferren, with Tempo as a swing vote and Kendall siding with Ferren." Brock explained.

"Tempo, you lost an ally the last Tribal Council. How did that feel?" SSBFreak asked.

"It was rough. I had an alliance with Chloe and Anke when we started, and now I'm the only one left." Tempo sighed.

"You aligned with two physical liabilities. You honestly should have seen it coming." Samantha pointed out.

"Hey, the votes were still close."

"Angela, why do you think Kendall is siding with the other tribe?" SSBFreak asked.

"Because he doesn't like any of us and has been planning to backstab the lot of us since the start." Angela folded her arms.

"That's a little blunt, don't you think?" Kendall asked.

"You know it's true. You told me a lie that Kenal was blackmailing Fran-CINE to keep her secret of being the tribe saboteur a secret." Angela said. "Why would you lie to me about that, and yet tell me the truth about Fran-CINE?"

"I don't have to answer that." Kendall shook his head.

"Maybe not, but I'm just warning you now." Angela said. "I don't take very kindly to liars."

"Corey, how was Exile Island?" SSBFreak asked.

"Meh. It was okay, but Ah couldn't find the idol." Corey replied. "Ah musta' searched that place in every logical location the clue was tellin' me ta go and Ah still didn't find it."

"So what does that mean?"

"Ah think that someone here already has the idol and ain't tellin' us." Corey replied. "Fer the life of me, Ah can't remember who's been there since the last time the idol were used."

Angela appeared to be looking around suspiciously, but no one seemed to notice.

"Danglars, how do you think the vote will go tonight?" SSBFreak asked.

"It's between Corey and Gary since they're some of the strongest here." Danglars replied. "From what I can assume, the vote's going to be close."

"How close?"

"Like, down to one vote close."

"Gary, do you feel in danger?" SSBFreak asked.

"I guess. I mean, I can see that people may see me as a threat, and I won't be surprised if I end up going." Gary shrugged. "We may have the votes, but at the same time, we may not."

"Okay. I think that's enough questions. Before we continue, I have to ask: Angela, you have Immunity. Are you keeping it?" SSBFreak asked.

"Definitely."

"With that, Angela is safe and cannot be voted out. It's now time to vote." SSBFreak said. "Erica, you're up."

Erica got up and walked out of the hut to go vote. Reaching the voting table, the goth girl wrote a name down, voted and left to go back.

Samantha wrote a name down silently. "Let's hope this works." She said as she voted and left the table again.

Corey approached the table and wrote a name down. "Ah gotta vote you out now, pardner. It ain't personal." She said, having voted for Gary.

Brock wrote a name down without a second thought. "There isn't any way I'm going back on the intended target." He said as he put the ballot into the urn and walked off.

Danglars walked up to the table and scribbled a name down. He quickly folded the ballot and shoved it into the urn before briskly going back to the hut.

Riddle wrote a name down, also without thinking twice. He casually put his vote into the jar and made his way back.

Gary casually wrote a name down and showed Corey's name. "Believe me when I say it's not personal. Good luck." He said as he voted and walked away.

Kendall gave a smirk as he wrote a name down. The monkey placed his ballot into the urn and left to return to the hut.

Tempo still looked unsure about his vote as he approached the table. He nevertheless wrote a name down, voted and walked away without second-guessing.

Angela looked determined. She approached the table, wrote a name down and placed her ballot into the urn before heading back.

Amy was the last to vote. She walked up to the table, wrote a name down and put it into the urn. Nodding once, Amy left to go back to the hut.

Once all eleven players had voted, SSBFreak left to fetch the urn of votes 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." SSBFreak said. Riddle remained silent, still unsure if he had the real idol. "It's time to read the votes…"

"…First vote; Gary." Gary shrugged.

"Gary." Gary still looked unfazed.

"…Corey." Corey remained silent.

"Gary. It's 3-1." Gary also remained silent.

"Corey." The cowgirl bit her lip.

"…Corey. It's 3-3." The two exchanged glances.

"Corey." Everyone knew it would come down to one vote.

"Corey. She leads 5-3." Everyone was silent.

"…Gary." Gary took a deep breath.

"Gary. We're tied at 5-5." The next vote would decide it, and the tension was thick. "Final vote, first member of the jury and tenth person voted out of Survivor: Central Hub…"

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

Corey sighed and stood up. "Well, Ah had fun. Ah can't complain." She admitted as she picked up her torch and walked over to the host.

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

"Do yer best, guys! Win it fer me!" Corey said to her teammates as she walked out of the hut and vanished from sight.

Once Corey was gone, SSBFreak turned to the remaining players. "So ends the first post-merge Tribal Council and Corey has taken the fall. It was a close vote, which tells me that the tribe is indeed divided." SSBFreak said. "However, only time will tell how long that will last. There are ten of you left and most of you will follow in Corey's footsteps, so I think it's safe to say that you're all going to be picking up your game. You can all head back to camp."

The ten remaining players stood up, gathered their torches and left Tribal Council. Brock brought up the rear, looking a little down. He was hoping he and Corey would go further together, and now that she was gone, he'd need to make another plan…

"Ah made the merge and Ah surprised mahself out here. Ah made friends and Ah showed that Ah got what it takes ta survive." Corey admitted. "Ah got no regrets with how Ah played. Now Ah gotta think about who's getting' mah vote…Ah guess Ah'd better wait and see who gets voted out next, though…"

Voting History:
Corey – Erica, Gary, Kendall, Riddle, Samantha and Tempo
Gary – Amy, Angela, Brock, Corey and Danglars