Survivor Crossover 3 - Ice Cap Zone

by PunchDrunk123

The third season of Survivor Crossover! This season, 21 survivors (both new and old) will be competing for two-and-a-half million dollars in the mountainous, blisteringly cold region of the Ice Cap Zone! Which one of these unique characters will tough it out to the very end? And what new obstacles and twists await the survivors this time around?

19. Episode 9B: Necklace Necessity!

Ice Cap Zone (Lake): Day 18

Survivors: Dante - Scout - Knuckles - Kazuma Kiryu - Tails - Princess Daisy - Tracer - Miles Edgeworth - Goro Majima - Nero - Sniper - Joseph Joestar - Wii Fit Trainer.

Acogua gently treaded along the lake's icy surface, arriving at the north end, just in front of the vacant Mt. Denalo. It was there they saw Alexa, standing beside five yellow tables and eight red tables, forming a large ring. On each table was a group of thin, wooden poles, as well as a bulky wooden statue of a ring.

The tribe parked by Alexa, getting a better look at the tables and challenge equipment. It was then that they noticed an object next to Alexa himself, fully obscured by a large, rugged cloth.

Coming up from the east was Punjay, once again lacking one more member than before. Though they were initially far away, Acogua could immediately tell who had been voted out.

"I don't see Rodin," said Dante. "Damn... I certainly didn't expect to see him go."

"No way!" Daisy didn't believe him, squinting her eyes and looking over. After a few seconds, she was finally convinced. "He... really is gone!"

Alexa held up Rodin's dead torch, winking at Acogua. "Keen eyes you got there! Last night, Rodin was voted out by Punjay."

When Punjay eventually made it to Alexa, the two tribes stood side by side as Alexa greeted them. "Welcome to today's challenge, survivors!" He nodded to Acogua. "You guys weren't so shocked over the previous elimination, so to see you all surprised is more like it!"

He then looked to Dante, who seemed to be the most surprised over last night's outcome. "Dante, you just can't seem to wipe that look of shock off your face!"

"I didn't think they'd kick out the strongest on their tribe," the devil hunter said. "But hey, if they're willing to toss out one of their best players, then I guess it just shows how much they've grown attached to Tribal Council!"

Punjay wasn't fond of his teasing. Alexa, however, was very amused. "Well, if you think they've shot themselves in the foot, then I guess today's challenge will be testing that hypothesis!"

He then paused, his amiable face swiftly turning to one of mischief. "...Or not."

Immediately, he had the two tribes' attention. Knowing him by now, they felt as if tonight was going to change things up, and not for the better.

Alexa continued. "Though there will still be a challenge where both teams will compete. Neither tribe will be safe from Tribal Council tonight. That's right! Both Acogua and Punjay will each be voting one member off of their tribe!"

Both two tribes looked at one another, distraught. Anyone who had been hoping to secure a precious night off from Tribal Council had their dreams crushed in an instant.

The host walked over to the obscured object next to him, further adding to the twist. "In addition to this double Tribal Council twist, today's prize is very different. It may not match up to full tribe immunity, but..."

Alexa tugged the cloth from the object, revealing a large stand with four hooks. Two of the hooks each contained a large yellow necklace while the other two hooks each contained a large red necklace.

"Tonight, you will NOT be competing against the other tribe," he revealed. "Instead, you will be competing against your own! Allow me to explain today's challenge:"

*Today's challenge will require you to balance a wooden statue on a small, flat plate connected to a wooden pole. At regular intervals, you will extend the pole's length by adding another section of pole to the bottom. As more sections of pole are added, it'll get harder and harder to balance the statue. You must also have both hands on the bottom section of pole at all times. If your statue falls off your pole, then you're out of the challenge.

The last two members of each tribe to have their statue still balancing on their pole will win immunity, which is represented by these necklaces. With these special necklaces, they cannot be voted for at tonight's Tribal Council.*

Through all of the sudden twists, Scout was the most upset. "So you're tellin' me that we lose a member no matter what? This is a load of crap!"

"In case you forgot, this is Survivor Crossover you're playing! Things are never easy!" Alexa grinned smugly. "Anyway, let's not keep these poor necklaces waiting. Let's get things started!"

With both tribes showing great aversion, they reluctantly walked over to a table representing their tribe.

By the time each survivor was stationed, Alexa gave out his first order. "Survivors! Grab your starting pole. Attached to it is a flat plate where you will place your statue in a moment."

Following his commands, they grabbed their pole and held it upright in front of themselves. It was fairly light and wieldy, yet frigid to the touch.

After getting used to the ergonomics of their currently short pole, Alexa continued his orders.

"Alright! You'll now place your statues on the plate. Once you take your hand off of it, then you won't be allowed to touch it again!"

In sync, each survivor placed their statue atop their poles, trying their best to fit it as well to the centre of the plate as possible. After roughly twenty seconds of fiddling with their statues, every survivor had their hands firmly back on the pole. Slightly heavier, yet still hardly a challenge for any survivor.

"Okay!" He announced. "This challenge has officially begun! If your statue falls from this point, it's over!"

*0 MINUTES IN*

Each survivor silently looked at their poles, occasionally glancing to the left or right to see how those beside them were faring. As expected, nobody was close to struggling yet.

After a minute, Alexa went on to further clarify the proceedings of the challenge. "Every fifteen minutes, I'll ask you all to add another section to your pole. It will be a live transition, meaning that if your statue falls while adding another section, then you're eliminated from the challenge all the same!"

"How the crap are you even supposed to add another section?" Scout asked, visibly frustrated.

"From what I can tell, every pole seems to slot onto the bottom of each other," Kiryu assisted.

"Dunno how anyone's gonna do that without droppin', but hey, if that puts an end to this dumb challenge sooner, then I ain't complainin'!" He bellowed.

Alexa continued, reminding the survivors what they were fighting for. "Don't forget that this immunity is individual! You will be vulnerable to elimination unless you manage to win one of the four necklaces next to me!"

"A challenge like this seems doable." Edgeworth thought to himself. "If I could win that immunity necklace, then maybe then I'll be able to finally enjoy a Tribal Council again."

The prosecutor glanced around him, at his competition. Between Joseph, Sniper, Tracer, and Wii Fit, he saw his biggest opponents being the latter two ladies. Tracer might have treated previous challenges with a devil-may-care attitude, but he knew that this challenge would be crucial to her future in the game. Not only that, but if she were to win immunity, then Edgeworth suspected that he would be guaranteed easy pickings.

Overall, the first few minutes went more or less comfortably for the survivors. However, time was moving uncomfortably slow for all of them, making the challenge even more of a mental chore.

*5 MINUTES IN*

Similarly to Edgeworth, Nero was picturing the possible outcomes. If Knuckles and Tails managed to both obtain immunity, then they would have a massive advantage in being able to push his and Dante's name onto the chopping block. The rivalry of the two duos was surely going to be settled tonight now that elimination is inevitable for the Acogua tribe, so in order to obtain the upper hand, he would have to push through and be one of the two people in his tribe to receive a necklace.

However, his train of thought was derailed by a fairly disruptive Majima. "This ain't a challenge!"

"Not yet," Alexa replied. "Soon you'll be wishing that this stage of the challenge was all there is to it. Things will get trickier!"

Out of boredom, Majima began tossing his pole from one hand to the other. This boredom-motivated risk had other survivors glancing in his direction, aggravated over his hubris.

For the next 10 minutes, nothing of note happened.

*15 MINUTES IN*

At long last, Alexa gathered the attention of the survivors by standing in the middle of the circle. The challenge was about to amp up in difficulty for the first time.

"Okay survivors! You have one full minute to add another section to your poles! Again, it is a live transition, so make sure that the statue stays on the plate! Once you've finished adding your pole, you're to keep your hands on the bottom section from that point onward!"

Nodding along, the survivors reached for their first section and began adding it. Most of them took a cautious approach, slowly bringing the section up with one hand to the starting pole held by the other before slowly slotting them together. Meanwhile, Majima shoved his extension into the starting pole in one clean motion.

A few survivors struggled with the task, such as Daisy. Though her pole wobbled slightly as she struggled to slot the new section in, she eventually found her footing and successfully completed the transition.

Before even thirty seconds had passed, every survivor had their new section installed.

"Alright! Things aren't too bad right now, but I'm sure you'll start to notice the difficulties that arise with a longer pole," said Alexa.

And his intuition was right. Each survivor found the pole to be slightly less wieldy, even if they still found themselves doing very well at the challenge.

"This is gonna be a pain in the ass later," Dante predicted. "I can just feel it."

*20 MINUTES IN*

"A lot of determined faces. Seeing them at such an easy stage of the challenge must mean that some people have plenty to lose if they don't nab this immunity!" Alexa explained, using Tracer as an example. "You're not one for a stern face, Tracer. Do you think you're in trouble if you don't get a necklace around you?"

Tracer's stern face suddenly broke into a playful grin. "Well, there's no harm in sayin' that my closest friend got booted out a couple of nights ago. I think I might need that necklace more than anyone here!"

She then glanced at the enemy tribe opposite her. "If anyone has any idols they'd like to give me, then let's swap!"

"Swap?" Joseph queried.

The Brit shrugged. "Well, I could trade one of my shoes for an idol! Just the one!"

While everyone assumed she was simply joking around, Tails had the necessary context to realise that she was secretly giving a message regarding the Ring of Punjay and Ring of Acogua. Though he already had high suspicions, this had all but confirmed that Tracer had what he was looking for.

Alexa then moved on to someone else who looked fairly serious, that person being the always stone-faced Kiryu. "What about you, Kiryu? Are you itching for immunity?"

"I wouldn't pass up the opportunity," he said vaguely.

"Good to know!" He nodded in response.

*25 MINUTES IN*

"Time's going so slow..." Knuckles complained. "It feels like an hour's passed!"

"Maybe it has, and Alexa's just forgotten!" Daisy hypothesised.

"Nope." Alexa shook his head assertively. "Twenty-five minutes have passed. No more; no less."

The princess pouted. "Oh..."

"A challenge all about focus isn't going to pass quickly," he said. "But I like to think that only adds to the difficulty!"

*30 MINUTES IN*

With half an hour finally passing, Alexa once again returned to the centre of the circle. "Alright! Another fifteen minutes have passed, meaning you yet again have one minute to add another section of pole. It's still a live transition, and remember to move your hands back to the lowest section of pole."

Compared with before, the survivors experienced a fair spike in difficulty. Having to both balance the pole and add another section now proved to be tougher than it was fifteen minutes prior. Still, no survivors found themselves struggling too hard, and most survivors were able to add the pole within thirty seconds.

The exception to this was a disgruntled Scout and a determined Edgeworth. Though the former simply struggled to coordinate the new section while paying so much attention to balancing the statue, Edgeworth gave himself as much time as possible. Eventually, the two of them had the poles added before forty-five seconds had passed.

"Okay! Nobody's out yet, and the pole is currently three sections long," Alexa described. "Every person here still has a shot at getting one of those trusty immunity necklaces, but as some of you are beginning to notice, this challenge is no pushover!"

*40 MINUTES IN*

Ten minutes after the addition of the third section of pole, every survivor was still coping well with the challenge's current difficulty. However, to their dismay, the challenge would continue to get tougher in more ways than one.

A few gusts of wind began blowing over the frozen lake, the needle-like breeze assaulting both the contestants as well as their poles and statues. They now had to account for occasional winds in their balancing, but none of them were willing to let the weather of all things to cause them and their statue's downfall.

Sniper began mildly fidgeting, attempting to find ways to heat up against the bitter cold. His attempts were limited, as any major movement could send his statue tumbling off his pole. Instead, his best option was to simply tough out the elements, as brutal as they were.

Not long after, Daisy began fidgeting while Edgeworth furrowed his brow and grimaced. Their signs of pain were as clear as the ice they stood upon, and Alexa was quick to notice. He simply grinned, knowing that the challenge was about to experience yet another rise in difficulty.

*45 MINUTES IN*

"It's time to add a fourth section to your poles!" Announced Alexa. "You know the drill. You have sixty seconds to extend your pole!"

Things were quickly heating up by this point. Survivors were once again forced to hold the main pole with one hand as they grabbed the next section with the other, though by now it became a task requiring absolute precision. Any lapse in concentration could easily spell doom, and though Alexa was shocked to see all thirteen survivors still participating, that was moments away from changing.

Daisy quivered as she brought the next section up to the bottom of her pole. However, she quickly found herself struggling to slot in the section, causing her to momentarily bring all of her attention to the bottom of the pole.

After successfully slotting in the pole, it was already too late for the princess. She felt the pole lean too far forward as the statue slid off its plate, crashing into the thick icy floor.

"What?!" She yelled, completely dazed.

Though she wasn't the only one to experience failure, as before Alexa could announce her elimination from the challenge...

"Aw, no NO!" Scout panicked, watching as his pole leaned back, sending the wooden statue off its plate. It fell towards him, and after instinctively crouching and covering his head, the statue landed a foot away from him.

With not one, but two people finally out of the challenge, Alexa was finally glad to see that the carnage had taken off. "Daisy and Scout lose their statues. They're out of the challenge!"

The two backed away from the circle of unsteady pillars begrudgingly.

By the end of the minute, each survivor had their fourth section installed, though once again, Edgeworth was one of the last to do so.

"As it stands, there are four sections to each pole! Six members of Acogua remain, while all five members of Punjay remain!"

*50 MINUTES*

Wii Fit looked over at Edgeworth before looking back at her pole. She was very determined to beat Edgeworth in the challenge, as he was the next in line for elimination in Punjay. However, a simple glance at his face told her that he knew how much he needed one of the necklaces.

Joseph thought similarly. Tracer was a decent contingency plan in the improbable event that Edgeworth wins immunity, but he wasn't too keen on voting her out. He was eager to, after weeks of waiting, send the cunning prosecutor packing. The most unexpected of twists may have delayed what he saw to be the inevitable outcome, but he knew that tonight was one of the last chances he'd get to take him out once and for all.

All while his tribe daydreamed over his demise, Edgeworth continued to tough out the weather and his growing fatigue, not taking his mind off balancing the pole even for a second.

Meanwhile, the remaining competitors on Acogua were still going strong. It was a showdown between Nero and Dante versus Tails and Knuckles. Kiryu and Majima meanwhile were extraneous to this showdown, but they were still forces to be reckoned with.

"This challenge may be physical in what it demands from you," Alexa commented. "But this challenge demands a lot from your mind too! There's a lot of unpleasant faces in the remaining survivors, and without the focus or ability to mentally push past the cold, you certainly wouldn't have made it this far."

*55 MINUTES*

Five minutes remained until the fifth section of pole was to be added. Fortunately for the survivors, the wind had gone quiet, and the sun momentarily poked from the sheet of clouds above to aid the chillier survivors with a few minutes of glorious golden sunshine.

Howbeit, with things getting better, trouble was beginning to ensue for Joseph. The stand user's pole began to veer once every few seconds, causing him to counter the movement by slightly adjusting his position. This went on for about a minute, Sniper and Wii Fit beside him noticing his pole's refusal to stay still.

Eventually, the pole veered towards him, causing Joseph to take a slight step back with his right foot. Though this was definitely the right move in order to keep the pole straight, Joseph had completely forgotten about the slipperiness of the ice he stood on.

Taking the step, his foot slid back. "OH NOOO!" He cried. His hands to jolted back and sent the pole even further off balance. Meanwhile, his foot continued to slide back until his knee hit the floor. He then instinctively grabbed the section of pole above as the statue came crashing down, landing in front of him.

Joseph then dropped the pole and covered his face with his hand in defeat.

Alexa noticed immediately. "Joseph loses balance and drops his statue! Punjay is now down to four!"

"Damn it..." The old man sighed.

As he went to turn around and join the spectators, Sniper turned his head to assure his ally. "Don't worry mate. I think I got the hang o' this."

*1 HOUR*

Though it certainly felt longer for most, one whole hour had finally come to pass. To celebrate lasting this long, the ten remaining contestants were treated to yet another increase in difficulty.

"Alright survivors! Congrats to most of you who made it to an hour, but unfortunately, it's time to add your next section of pole," he explained. "You know the drill! You have one minute!"

As each survivor reached out for the fifth section of pole, they noticed that the main pole itself was beginning to get incredibly tall. Each individual pole was approximately 0.6 metres in length, meaning that the total height after adding the next section would reach a towering three whole metres.

While the height itself was shortly going to become a major issue, adding the next section was challenging enough. Everyone used most of the minute to carefully manoeuvre the section and slot it into the bottom. Despite the caution, even the steadiest hands struggled to keep the main pole upright as they did this.

Most people managed to barely pass this transition, but for two survivors on opposite sides of the circle of contestants, their dreams came crashing down as they were both unable to keep their poles stable.

The two in question were Knuckles and Sniper. Bringing Acogua down to five and Punjay down to three respectively.

"Knuckles and Sniper both lose their statues! They are out!" Exclaimed Alexa.

"Bugger!" Sniper cursed, instinctively dropping his pole to massage his sore hands.

"So much for having the hang of it." Tracer smirked cheekily.

Meanwhile, Knuckles took the loss far better. "...Well, I was surprised to even make it this far!"

"You did good, Knux," Tails nodded. More pressure was now put on the fox to outperform the others, especially his rivals: Dante and Nero.

As the remaining eight survivors managed to completely add their fifth section of pole, Alexa addressed the stakes. "Only three members of Punjay remain: Wii Fit Trainer, Miles Edgeworth, and Tracer. However, only two will win immunity."

Joseph and Sniper observed Edgeworth closely from afar. His face had a look of pained concentration as he continued to silently balance the pole.

*1 HOUR 5 MINUTES*

Each pole gently swayed from side to side up in the air, with the remaining eight contestants unable to keep their poles completely still. They were constantly busy keeping their balance in check, and from what Alexa and the growing group of spectators could tell, any of the remaining statues could fall off their poles at any given moment.

Though Dante certainly had the strength and endurance needed to keep ahold of the pole, his ability to focus had begun to heavily wear down. He assumed his pole was mostly upright, but for the past minute, it had been slightly leaning further and further away from the devil hunter.

As he slightly adjusted his grip on the pole, it leaned forward just a fraction more. Unfortunately for him, that was just enough to cause the statue to slowly begin sliding off the plate. To further detriment, the pole began tilting further forward as the statue approached the edge, and just when he caught on to what was happening, it was too late.

"...No no-"

The statue tumbled off the top of the pole and slammed into the icy floor.

"Dante loses his statue! He's out!" Proclaimed Alexa. "Only seven remain! Four on Acogua, and three on Punjay!"

"Well Nero, it's all up to you," thought Dante. He turned away from the circle and joined the others.

Nero gripped his pole harder. A challenge like this wasn't particularly up his alley, but his powerful resolve had him utterly focused. All he could think about was the opportunity to arrive at Tribal Council fully immune, still able to cast a vote towards the person that blindsided him.

*1 HOUR 10 MINUTES*

"Look at Kiryu!" Daisy pointed. "He's as still as a rock! Wii Fit's not moved an inch, too!" She added. "Do you think... they might have frozen!?"

Scout nodded his head. "Maybe... I'm more lookin' at Mr. Fancy Pants over there in the red! What's his name... er... Edward?"

"Edgeworth?" Sniper queried, surprised at Scout's interest in the prosecutor.

"Yeah! He's had about a million close calls in the past ten minutes," He said, focusing his gaze on him. "I'm just hopin' he and Miss Fitness over there manage to beat that stinkin' wizard! A cheater like her can't teleport her way outta this one!"

With their hopes and predictions put aside, the spectating survivors watched intensely at the remaining seven.

*1 HOUR 15 MINUTES*

Alexa returned to the circle's centre and grabbed their attention. "Alright! It's now time to add a sixth section to your pole. You have one minute to complete this transition."

Every survivor articulately moved their hands to the adjacent table, grabbing a section of pole and lifting it towards themselves.

Though Kiryu, Majima, and Wii Fit managed to do this with little issue, the other four used up most of their minute as they rose the section up to the main pole.

"Ten seconds left to complete the transition!"

Eventually, Tails was able to slot in his section. Shortly after, so was Nero, and then Tracer.

Edgeworth struggled as he aligned his section with the pole. His arms and legs were aching tremendously, his fingers had fully stiffened, and he was completely out of fuel. He pushed himself further and further to simply raise the section to the body, but his right hand was hesitant to budge a further inch.

"Three..." Alexa began counting down.

As he heard the countdown, he made one final mental push to raise his arm. He had pushed himself to his limit, and was now demanding his body to push beyond it.

"Two..."

His arm shakily moved upwards, the section made contact with the pole before gently slotting in.

"One..."

He drew his hands down to the bottom of the pole. Though they were cramped, numb, and in excruciating pain, they were still holding the tower of a pole up straight. His face grimaced with terror as he ignored his body's begging to drop the pole then and there.

"Incredible! Six sections of pole and seven of you still remain!" Alexa clapped. "I wonder how many more hours this challenge is gonna go on for!" He joked.

In spite of his immaculate willpower, Edgeworth knew he wasn't going to be able to keep holding the pole for more than a minute, but little did he know, somebody else was equally struggling.

Tracer's hands were shaking from a mixture of cramps, nerves, and the hostile cold. Though she didn't have to push herself as much as Edgeworth did to add the sixth section, she was in similar discomfort. She visibly grimaced as she continued to bear the pole, though it slowly began to tilt away from her.

"Wow! Tracer and Edgeworth are really digging deep!" Alexa watched, awe-inspired. "Both of them really want that immunity!"

Though, after a few seconds of being in the limelight, Tracer shook her head and muttered to herself. "Screw it."

Without a second thought, she dropped the pole. Her statue hit the ground as she sighed heavily.

"THAT DOES IT FOR PUNJAY!" Alexa bellowed. "WII FIT AND EDGEWORTH WIN IMMUNITY!"

While Wii Fit gently lowered her pole with glee, Edgeworth immediately dropped his pole and fell to the floor. His wave of relief was quickly intermitted by a surge of aches from the strain, cramps, and cold that had harassed him over the course of seventy-five minutes. Though slowly, he began to recover, and after being helped back up to his feet by Wii Fit, he stumbled over to the spectators. After all, the challenge may have been over for Punjay, but for Acogua, it was still going.

"It all comes down to the Acogua tribe!" Exclaimed Alexa. "Between Kiryu, Majima, Nero, and Tails, only two of them will be joining Wii Fit and Edgeworth in the privilege of immunity!"

And just like that, the challenge resumed.

*1 HOUR 25 MINUTES*

"How're ya holdin', Kiryu-chan?" Asked Majima, gawking at his pole.

Kiryu paused, not taking his eyes off his pole. "Not too bad."

"Do ya have any hand cramps yet?"

"Not really."

The Yakuza scoffed. "Well, I do! How much longer are you gonna make me hold this stick?! It's not like ya need immunity!"

"...So what you're saying is that you need it more than I do?" Inferred Kiryu.

"Of course I friggin' do!" He cried. "I may be attendin' Tribal Council for the first time tonight, but I wanna keep up the streak of immunity at least 'till our teams merge!"

"Right... well, whether you want it or not, I'm not budging."

Majima grinned wildly. "That's my Kiryu-chan! I knew ya wouldn't fall for my guilt trip!"

"It wasn't very effective to begin with," Kiryu thought to himself.

*1 HOUR 30 MINUTES*

"We are an hour and a half into this challenge!" Alexa said. "And now, it's time to add the seventh section of pole! You have one minute to complete this transition!"

With a deep sigh from Nero and Tails, neither of which was faring too well at this point, they slowly began to drift their hand away from the main pole and over to the seventh section. Kiryu and Majima swiftly joined them, grabbing ahold of their poles and slowly lifting it over to the bottom of the main pole.

In near-synchronisation, the four remaining members of Acogua held their sections just below the slot. With only twenty seconds remaining, they had reasonably enough time to attach the seventh section.

"Come on..." Nero muttered.

Pressing the sections against the pole...

*SMASH*

*SMASH*

*SMASH*

Within five seconds, three statues fell from their pole. Each one smashed into the ice violently, drawing the attention of the spectators.

Looking up at the poles, it was revealed that the only one who hadn't lost their statue was Kiryu.

In addition, by only a couple of seconds, both Tails and Nero missed out on the second spot of immunity.

"TAILS AND NERO'S STATUES FALL FIRST!" Screamed Alexa. "AFTER NINETY MINUTES, MAJIMA AND KIRYU WIN IMMUNITY!"

As Majima began loudly cheering for his close victory, the spectators began travelling back to the main challenge area to congratulate the winners. During this, Knuckles nudged Tracer on her arm and subtly pulled himself to the back of the group, beckoning her to do the same.

Once they were at the back, he leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Do you have the idol?"

"...Yes!" She swiftly responded, suddenly brimming with excitement.

The echidna nodded. "Good. Tails has the other."

"Alright. Thanks a million."

Confirming what Knuckles had said to be true, Tails locked eyes with Tracer as she made it over. The fox walked between her and Knuckles, and amidst the chaos and bustle of cheering and discussion from the other survivors, they began their transaction.

Tracer pulled out her Ring of Acogua and placed it behind her back, Tails proceeding to do the same with his Ring of Punjay. After this, they cautiously grabbed the other person's idol and hid it on their person. At long last, and in one simple movement, Tails and Tracer finally obtained idols with true power.

Though the idol swap was very well-disguised, one person keenly witnessed the swap while observing the crowd of survivors. Though they never managed to get a look at the idols themselves, they were more than confident that a swap had taken place between the two. With this powerful knowledge, they withdrew their gaze.

After the bout of cheering came to a close, Alexa addressed the survivors, who had now split back into their tribes.

"What a challenge!" Alexa clapped with glee. "Seeing you push yourselves to your physical and mental limit was a joy to witness. And luckily, for four of you, all of that digging has paid off!"

He first called up the Punjay winners: Edgeworth and Wii Fit Trainer. He fitted the immunity necklace around Edgeworth's neck, and then Wii Fit's. Alexa then called up the Acogua winners and carried out the same ritual, placing the necklace around the necks of Kiryu and Majima.

"With these necklaces, you cannot have any votes cast towards you tonight," he explained. "Hence, no matter what goes down in these next two Tribal Councils... you four will be guaranteed a place in the Merge!"

The announcement came as sudden as it was expected. Survivors knew it was around the corner, and for it to proceed a double elimination made sense in retrospect.

"So this is it," said Joseph, turning to his tribe. "The final hurdle before the game really takes things up a notch."

"Bloody hell..." Sniper folded his arms. "Wish I was one of the blokes with a necklace around my neck."

Alexa continued. "As for the remaining nine of you, two of you will be voted out at tonight's Tribal Council! Both tribes will witness the other's vote and result."

He then nodded to both tribes. "That is all! You may return back to your tribes. If you want to make it to the Merge, then you better get to work!"

Obeying his commands, Acogua and Punjay parted in opposite directions. Two Tribal Councils; two votes; two victims of elimination. Whoever those two would be all came down to the strategy, votes, and beliefs of each individual survivor remaining in the Ice Cap Zone...

Acogua: Day 18

Survivors: Dante - Nero - Knuckles - Miles "Tails" Prower - Kazuma Kiryu - Goro Majima - Scout - Princess Daisy.

Returning to camp, the eight immediately split off into groups. Things were going to get hectic very quickly, and several alliances wanted to quickly discuss plans before that happened.

Tails and Knuckles hung around by the entrance. The two of them had forced themselves to hold in their excitement over the idol swap ever since they successfully pulled it off. Now that they were alone, they could finally celebrate.

"I can't believe we managed to get it at the last second!" Tails cheered.

Knuckles grinned smugly. "And now we finally have just what we need to take out Nero and Dante! After all, it's pretty obvious that they're gonna be throwing my name out there."

He nodded, albeit not with full confidence. "Well... you never know. If anyone saw us swap idols, then that could throw this idol plan into jeopardy. In fact, all they have to do is put three votes on you, and three votes on me."

"They can do that?!" He asked, stunned. "...-Err, I mean... do you think they would think to do that?"

Tails shrugged. "Well, they would definitely come up with something similar if they knew I have an idol."

"Well, that's just your nerves!" Knuckles reassured. "Trust me, the only person who saw you and Tracer swap those rings around was me!" He pointed to his chest.

Though he felt a little more relieved over his friend's confidence, he still didn't want to rely too much on the idol. "Well, just in case, I want to try and get enough votes to take Dante and Nero out anyway. Getting people on our side now will be useful for when we make it to the Merge."

"You have a point," he nodded. "...But where do we start?"

"Right now, the only person we can convince to not vote against us is Daisy. Remember the conversation we had with her last night?" Tails reminded.

"Oh yeah!" Knuckles scratched his head. "And then we hope she can help us to rally up most of the tribe to take out Nero!"

"Priority number one is kicking off Nero once and for all. His grudge towards me isn't doing him any favours, and given that he and Dante spilled the beans about him playing his idol, I think it's time we get the numbers to vote him off!" - Knuckles.

On the opposite end of the tribe, Nero and Dante stood by the fenced cliffside.

"Alright... guess the time's finally come," said Dante. "We're gonna have to boot off one of our fuzzy friends, correct?"

"Tails," Nero specified. "We won't have the chance to take them both out before the Merge now that tonight's our last Tribal Council, so we'll have to settle for taking just one of them out. That's still good for us."

"I originally wanted to vote Knuckles out. In fact, I still would prefer if he went over Tails, but Majima made it clear to us that the smarter decision would be voting out Tails. I don't know if I trust him, but he had a point. Besides, in case either of them somehow finds an idol, they'd probably think to play it for Knuckles, so Tails is a safer option anyway." - Nero.

The devil hunter smiled as he stared off into the distance over the cliff. He leaned against the fence and sighed. "You know, I really thought we'd be at each other's throats. We're not too shabby as a duo."

"Well, it's best to rely on people you know than a bunch of strangers. I think we both learned that the hard way," Nero admitted. "I'm not gonna carry you to the end, though."

Dante snapped his head to him and chuckled. "You? Carrying me? I don't think that's quite right..."

"Well, either way, we're gonna have to turn on each other eventually. We both want to use that money on different things."

"Different selfish things... like rent."

"Yeah." Nero nodded. "Anyway, we should probably speak with Majima and a few others. The last thing we want is him turning on us at the last second."

"Agreed. He's not very predictable, and that snake eyepatch of his seems a little TOO symbolic, if you ask me," Dante added.

The two turned around from the fence. Conveniently enough, as they spun around, they met face-to-face with Majima, who was already staring them down intently.

"What's the friggin' point in stabbin' ya in the back?!" Majima cried angrily. "I could've just told ya we were bootin' you off, and there would be nothing ya could do about it! After all, look at this necklace around my neck!"

He shoved it in their faces and waved it around. Ever since the necklace had been placed around his neck, all of its power had gone straight to his head.

Ignoring the fact he had been eavesdropping on their conversation, Dante decided to ask him about tonight's plans. "Well, if you're not messing with us, then there's no problem voting out Tails, right?"

"I said it before... people on this tribe are just waitin' to be told what to do," he claimed. "Gettin' the numbers for tonight ain't a hassle. I know Scout's itchin' to vote off Knuckles, and the others ain't gonna take much convincin'. Don't worry about Kiryu-chan, I got him covered!"

"Sounds good." Said Nero.

"...And that concludes our briefing!" Majima clapped, turning around to leave. "See ya at Tribal Council!"

"Of course neither of them trust me, but once I help 'em take out Tails, I'm gonna go into the Merge with a friggin' army on my side! I won't even need a necklace to feel immune!" - Goro Majima.

As he left, Dante looked at Nero and shook his head. "Well... that's our guardian angel, believe it or not."

"Well, he won't be doing all of the work," the young devil hunter promised, glaring at the crazed Yakuza as he strutted away.

The oncoming night sky continued to loom over the camp. It acted as an omnipresent clock, reminding the survivors how close they were to the final Tribal Council of the pre-Merge phase. Its slate colouring soon progressed into a murky grey as the survivors began scrambling to ensure that their plans were to stay concrete.

In the middle of camp, Knuckles and Tails ran into Daisy, who was pacing around camp in distress.

"What's up, Daisy?" Greeted Knuckles.

"Oh! Uhh..." She fumbled about before shrugging. "Well... can I be blunt?!"

"...Go ahead."

"I DON'T KNOW WHO TO VOTE!" She wailed. "I was gonna vote against you guys, but after what you said a couple of nights ago, I wanna vote out Nero or Dante!"

Knuckles folded his arms sarcastically. "So you DO know who to vote?"

"Well... yeah... but..." Daisy didn't want to mention her alliance, which appeared to be skewed on who to vote for as well. "...But I don't want to make the wrong decision! This is an important trial!"

It was time for them to make a pitch. If they could fully convince Daisy, then she would be a very important asset in the oncoming trial.

"I stand by what I said that night. Polnareff broke my trust and I voted him off for it," Knuckles explained. "Nero wants you to believe that I'm a snake because he wants me out. I voted him to a different tribe to avoid a rock draw. He's not gonna stop until I'm out."

"...Well, I'd want you out if I was him," she admitted.

Knuckles groaned under his breath as Daisy rubbed her chin over and over again.

"I'm not a snake," he affirmed. "I promise you, Dante and Nero are two people you don't want to go into the Merge with."

"They are kind of... shady," she admitted. "Okay! You know what! I'll give a good think about it."

"You were already giving a pretty good think about it," Tails thought to himself.

Daisy placed her hand on her chest and nodded. "I'll go and ask the others and see what they think. I'm sure if I told Scout about the whole Polnareff thing, he might be willing to look at this fairly! Kiryu too! Majima as well!"

It sounded promising for the two, though the lack of certainty didn't have them too happy. But, with the promise combined with their new Idol of Acogua, things were looking to be in their favour.

The princess spun around and began walking off. "See you around!"

Meanwhile, Majima and Kiryu encountered one another within the cave, with Scout close by.

"So, Kiryu-chan," Majima paused. "What are ya thoughts?"

"On who the vote?" He asked. "...I'm... still not sure."

"Pretty reckless to not have a target by now, Kiryu-chan," he pouted. "If ya want a push in the right direction... I'm votin' Tails."

"...Tails?" He was obviously confused. "I was expecting you to say Dante or Nero, or at least Knuckles."

He leaned against the wall. "Think about it. He's played before, and he's a smart kid. He and Knuckles are both challenge beasts, and his brains place him ahead of everyone else. Would ya really wanna keep him at the Merge?"

Kiryu fell quiet as he pondered heavily.

But while he was lost in thought, Scout piped up as he came walking over. "Of course! It's friggin' obvious," he yelled in revelation. "Back when we were all on Knuckles' case for votin' our Polnareff, that fox was speakin' for him! Why vote off Knuckles when ya can aim higher?"

Kiryu continued to stay quiet as the mercenary carried on with his argument. "Look. I'd vote off everyone not in our Manjari Clan alliance tonight if I could. But we only get to pick one, and I'm now all for gettin' rid of Tails! That's two-to-one, even if ya wanna argue otherwise. We got a democracy thing goin'!"

"Eh?" Majima turned to him. "What about Daisy?"

"She ain't here; her loss!" He shook his head.

"Ahem!" Daisy said, her disgruntled remark echoing throughout the cave. She appeared through the entrance, having heard nothing else of the conversation.

Scout's face went blank as she entered the cave, joining the rest of her alliance. "What's going on?"

"We're talkin' about the vote," Majima explained. "Me n' Scout are sold on votin' Tails."

"...Wait..." The princess's jaw dropped. "T-TAILS?! I thought it was Knuckles?!"

"Change of plan," said Scout. "He's a bigger threat!"

Assuming that Kiryu's vote was still up for grabs and that Scout and Majima were open to persuasion, Daisy began to argue against their decision. "But he hasn't done anything wrong! And besides, Polnareff getting voted out wasn't because Knuckles backstabbed him. It's because-"

Instantly, she was shut down by the stubborn Scout. "No way! There's no other reason. Polnareff ain't the type to be a snake, because he got you and I sittin' comfortably at the top."

"Well-"

"Gah! Who cares about that vote?!" Majima rolled his eyes. "All this talk about some vote none of us saw ain't important! What's important is that Tails ain't someone you wanna compete against in the Merge. Dante n' Nero are easier to keep in check, so bootin' them off isn't a priority."

Daisy shrunk. Their points were both valid. In a game about lying and deception, Knuckles and Tails could both be lying to her about what really happened on that vote. In addition, Tails and Knuckles are well-rounded competitors with few weaknesses. She respected the two of them a lot, but if it came between them and her alliance, then she would have no other choice but to side with her allies.

After a short bout of awkward silence, Scout exhaled with frustration. "Okay. You two finally with us?" He glared at Kiryu and Daisy.

Kiryu folded his arms. "As it stands, I trust Tails and Knuckles more than Dante and Nero."

"Wha-"

"But..." He paused. "I think those two won't be as much of a problem in the Merge. It's a pretty tough choice."

Majima scoffed. "Well, remember. No matter how much ya trust someone out here, you're gonna go against 'em eventually."

The debate ended there, and eventually, the four parted ways.

Night soon rolled by, the sky becoming a rich black as final conversations were held. Dante and Nero went around pitching to Kiryu, Scout, and Daisy, while Tails and Knuckles went around pitching to Majima, Kiryu, and Scout.

After the last-minute scramble, the Acogua tribe, for the first and last time, grouped up and set off to Tribal Council...

Punjay: Day 18

Survivors: Miles Edgeworth - Tracer - Wii Fit Trainer - Sniper - Joseph Joestar.

In the Acogua tribe, six of the eight members were potential candidates for elimination. However, for the much smaller Punjay tribe, only three of the five members had the chance to be eliminated from the competition.

With a much smaller group, conversations were more integral than ever, but for one person, they knew that bothering to chat with others was beyond futile.

Tracer sat beneath the shelter, looking as overly glum as humanly possible. Though she truly was annoyed to be at the bottom of the camp, she had an ace card up her sleeve that would allow her to turn the tables on the new majority that dissolved her old alliance. In actuality, she was the most excited in the tribe, even more than those who wielded the immunity necklaces. However, in order to throw people off, she decided to put on a face of misery for her fellow tribemates.

Not long into her fake sulk, Joseph walked over and sat by her.

"Hey..." He said. "Guess it's between me, you, and Sniper."

"...Yep," she moaned. "And I know how you and Sniper are the best of friends out here... just say it... I'm next."

Her dramatic performance paid off, as Joseph couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. "Well... remember that Edgeworth and Wii Fit have voting power too. If they end up siding with you, then that leaves Sniper and me vulnerable."

"...Don't humour me," Tracer said grumpily. "Edgeworth isn't going to vote out either of the two that saved him. Plus, Wii Fit already jumped ship, so I don't see her jumping back."

Joseph was thrown into an awkward state, not knowing what to say or how to say it. For Tracer, however, she continued to mask her joy by rigidly lowering her head.

"Maybe I should've taken up a career in acting. Joseph's really falling for it! Not that it matters if either of them know that I have this secret Idol of Punjay at my disposal, but there's no better way to get revenge than to carry out a blindside! Joseph's the lucky one, though, because my plan is to make sure Sniper goes before I make it to the Merge!" - Tracer.

Eventually, things grew too awkward that Joseph decided to leave. "...Well, good luck."

"I didn't think Tracer was one for giving up. She's shown a lot of fight, especially after Rodin's elimination. To see her like she is now is pretty pitiful." - Joseph Joestar.

As the Stand User left, he passed Edgeworth and turned to him. "Have you seen how Tracer's been acting?"

"Pathetically?" He responded. "I didn't know we were capable of hanging our heads so low."

With his sarcastic comment aside, Joseph filled him in on his plan. "I'm gonna go talk to Sniper about tonight. Your vote's on Tracer, right?"

"I do have a debt to pay," confessed the prosecutor. "Now is not the time for anyone to pull a meaningless blindside."

"Glad we're in agreement," he nodded, walking away from him.

Edgeworth turned his attention from Joseph to the distant Tracer. His face fell serious, seeing right through her miserly act of misery.

"Tracer's out-of-tune performance tonight can only reaffirm what I saw earlier today. At the end of the challenge, I saw her swapping an object with Tails. There's only one reason why there would be a trade between two people on opposite tribes, let alone two people who have never been on the same tribe since the beginning. That reason is an idol, which I can now say confidently that Tracer has stashed in her pocket." - Miles Edgeworth.

Eventually, his gaze broke away from Tracer, and he continued his stroll. Assuming that Tracer wielded an idol of revolutionary power, that would render her safe. As a consequence, the two people vulnerable at Tribal Council tonight would be Sniper and Joseph. He had no idea which one she was planning to take out, but right now, he felt like keeping this information to himself.

His walk continued until he reached the entrance of the camp, where he found Wii Fit finishing a very quick session of exercise.

"Hello Edgeworth," she smiled. "How's the necklace?"

"Oh... it... feels quite good actually," he revealed. "After two Tribal Councils where I was at the mercy of everyone around me, leaving the limelight is a relief."

Wii Fit nodded. "And on the final night before the Merge!"

"I've played this game twice, and now I've more or less made it to the Merge twice! It's gonna be a whole new game once everyone is on the same tribe. Plus, it's gonna feel very crowded; I've only been used to teams of seven." - Wii Fit Tracer.

Edgeworth smirked. "That's certainly a bonus."

The fitness trainer's face then fell sullen as she gazed over the camp. "There's just something that's been bothering me."

"What's that?"

"Once we eliminate Tracer, which is gonna hurt, I don't know if we're gonna be in a good place at the Merge," she confessed. "Sniper said he knows people on the other side."

"As do I," he added. "But I assume you're more concerned over where they'd still be willing to work with us. I'm also fearing the scenario that the Merge becomes old Acogua members picking off old Punjay members."

Wii Fit frantically nodded, completely agreeing. "Exactly! They've not had a Tribal Council for almost a week, so I imagine they've really grown strong as a team."

"Well, tonight's the chance for whatever they've built to be broken into pieces..." Edgeworth explained.

"...And then we take those pieces, and form a majority ourselves!" She continued. "Right?"

The prosecutor liked the sound of her plan. "That should get us quite close to the end."

"I know I have a record to beat... fourth place doesn't suit me."

Joining in on their conversation, Joseph and Sniper both walked over to the camp's entrance.

"Well then, tonight should be simple," the mercenary predicted. "Four votes on Tracer, while she votes either myself or Joseph."

"I think we all know that a simple vote doesn't end up turning out that way," Wii Fit joked. "But I really can't see how this can go wrong. Does she have an idol?"

Joseph shook her head. "Judging by how she's acting, she doesn't have anything else up her sleeve."

"It's a shame," sighed Wii Fit. "I really thought she'd fight more to stay. I know there's not much room for any of us to change our votes, but it's always worth a shot. I know if I was at the bottom, I'd still be running around, trying to convince people to vote with me."

Sniper shrugged. "Oh well... it's on her."

And as far as everyone knew, that was the end of things. Tonight's discussion was short and sweet, with a simple plan to vote out a seemingly defenseless target that has lost all hope. But, as for Edgeworth, he knew that a bloodbath was coming, and with such important information, he had a faint idea of what to do with it. Though he had spent the last couple of Tribal Councils with zero control, it was time to play a strategic game.

Soon enough, the five survivors left camp, soon to attend their third Tribal Council in a row...

Tonight would be the final night of the team-based game of Survivor that the thirteen remaining contestants had gotten to know over nearly twenty days. Following the next Tribal Council, the game would, at long last, shift into the independent Merge phase. Things were to become tougher on the spirit, and people were to become more cutthroat. However, before this halfway point could be reached, one last test of social skills, alliances and strategy awaited both tribes...

*TO BE CONTINUED*