Ice Cap Zone (South of Lake): Day 6

Survivors: Dante - Scout - Knuckles - Jean Pierre Polnareff - Kazuma Kiryu - Tails - Mr. Krabs - Princess Daisy - Tracer - Rodin - Miles Edgeworth - Goro Majima - Waluigi - Nero - Sniper - Joseph Joestar - King Dedede - Glass Joe - Wii Fit Trainer.

On their way to the challenge area, each tribe had their fair share of worries and fears among the members:

Dante knew that losing this challenge would be the end of him, meaning that he would need to bring out his A-game.

Meanwhile, though he was oblivious to his tribe's intentions of eliminating him, Dedede still firmly believed that he would need immunity from an idol or this challenge to completely guarantee his safety.

Denalo, meanwhile, proved to be far more complicated. Not many survivors felt safe, and with the well-known fact of Nero wielding an idol in the heads of the tribe, things became tricky. To prevent having to deal with such a chaotic Tribal Council, everyone in Denalo were hoping to score their third win in a row.

As they made it to their destination, Alexa welcomed them in:

"Come on in, survivors!"

Entering from different angles, Alexa pointed to the Elbrass tribe in particular, the extinguished torch of Phoenix in his hand. "Manjari and Denalo, get a good look at Elbrass!"

The two previous winners gazed at Elbrass, only to see that Phoenix was nowhere to be found. Some were surprised, some forgot he was in the game, and Edgeworth was especially affected by his elimination.

"Last night, Elbrass came to the decision of eliminating Phoenix Wright, making him the second contestant of this season to be booted!" He explained.

"I'm not sure if his elimination makes things easier or harder. Oh well, it just proves that him getting far in that desert was a complete fluke. I'll show him what it takes to get that far, and I'll be doing far more than sitting around, waiting for victory to come to me." - Miles Edgeworth.

"Phoenix has been eliminated, leaving Denalo to be the only tribe that hasn't experienced the horror that is Tribal Council!" He announced. "You guys came first in the first challenge, and then you came second in the second challenge. Do you guys feel confident that you'll avoid coming third in the third challenge?"

Deciding to speak for his Tribe, Tails stood forward. "Yeah! We've shown that we can win no matter how far behind we are. I can't see us losing as long as we work together again."

"Well, I sure hope you're right," said Alexa. "Now, take your attention to the structure behind me as I explain today's challenge:"

*Each tribe will elect five members to participate in this challenge. Four of which will be placed into the role of "Offence" while the remaining member will be placed into the role of "Defence".

The challenge will last three rounds:

- In the first round, the offence in Elbrass will play against the defence in Manjari.

- In the second round, the offence in Denalo will play against the defence in Elbrass.

- In the third round, the offence in Manjari will play against the defence in Denalo.

The role of the offence is to take turns using a slingshot to fire rocks at a target. Their goal is to successfully hit this target four times. Once they do so, their round will end, and the number of rocks fired - both successfully and unsuccessfully in relation to the target - will be counted up.

For the role of defence, they will be tasked with hindering the enemy tribe's offence. The target that the offence is required to hit is attached to a pulley system, meaning it can be moved up or down via a rope. The single member on defence will use this system to make the target avoid as many rocks as possible. The more rocks that are used by the offence, the better.

As previously stated, the number of rocks fired will be counted at the end of a round. The two tribes that use the least amount of rocks to successfully hit their target will win immunity. Meanwhile, the tribe that uses the highest amount of rocks will be head back to their camp, where they will attempt to decide on a candidate for elimination. Unlike previous challenges, this one has no bonus prize. Just good old immunity.*

The survivors had varying degrees of confidence in this challenge. Though the offence had the extra responsibility of aim and form, both roles would have to play mind games in order to successfully achieve their goal.

Not long after laying out the explanation, Alexa had the three tribes perform their first step: choosing who does what. "Remember! Four people will be chosen to play offence; one person will be chosen to play defence, and anyone left out will have the role of spectating! Due to Denalo's advantage in numbers, they will have to choose two people to sit out."

Before the tribes could huddle together, one last piece of information was given.

"HOWEVER... survivors are not allowed to sit out back-to-back in challenges. This means that Kiryu, Majima and Tracer must be involved in the challenge."

"You're damn right I'm playin'!" Spat Majima.

With all of the information given, the tribes began their discussion.

For Elbrass, the eagerness of one survivor raised the attention of the whole tribe.

"Come on, pick me for defence! As long as I'm in control of that target, Manjari won't be able to land a single hit!" Daisy said, falling on her knees and begging.

Picking up on her mistake, Polnareff raised an eyebrow. "You're playing against Denalo's offence, not Manjari's."

"Oh... well it doesn't matter! Whether it's Denalo, Manjari, or even you guys, I'll do well!" She insisted.

"Hmm... your unpredictability will probably make you pretty good at the job, no offence," said Knuckles. "Unpredictability is what made Denalo beat us in the first challenge, so it'll be nice to see you give them a taste of their medicine."

Kiryu nodded. "I agree. As long as you're confident in going up against a tribe as strong as theirs, then I have no objections."

"Their whole "good at challenges" shtick is a frickin' sham!" Scout argued. "They ain't strong, they've just gotten lucky."

With the group more or less accepting Daisy's role, the next topic was choosing a member to sit out altogether. But thankfully, that was also quickly resolved.

Knuckles rose his hand, not confident in his ability. "This doesn't seem like my type of challenge; my bulky gloves will probably get in the way."

"Good, because I wasn't sittin' out for sure." Scout adjusted his hat and smirked, excited to participate.

"This challenge is just my style. I play baseball from time to time, and it's basically the same thing! As long as my team don't screw around when it's their turn, then kickin' those Denalo chumps out of their castle is gonna be easy." - Scout.

Meanwhile, Denalo were having a rougher time deciding on who should compete as defence, who should compete as the offence, and who shouldn't compete at all.

"I think it's pretty obvious that Waluigi should sit out," Edgeworth suggested. "And to spare the hassle of deciding on a second person, I'll opt to sit out as well. That leaves the rest of you to decide on someone for defence."

Though the majority of the tribe seemed to like the idea, Waluigi certainly didn't. "HEY! You can't just force me to-a sit out! I've not had my time to-a shine, and this challenge is just what I-a need to show you how important I am!"

The problem with his plea was the simple fact that the other members of Denalo also wanted to compete, and with Waluigi's reputation at rock bottom, nobody was willing to budge for him.

He turned to Sniper and fell onto his knees, dramatically clasping his hands together. "C'mon, just let me play!"

"Sorry mate, but when it comes to a challenge of precision, then I'm not giving my spot up, even if it was for the Queen," Sniper said.

"You and me both," added Joseph. "Sorry, but I'm not gonna sit out of this one."

Nero simply ignored Waluigi's pleas for a spot. With rejection facing him from nearly every angle, all hope was lost for Waluigi's ego.

However, a glimmer of hope came from Tails, who found the melodrama slightly pitiful. Deciding to take yet another chance with him, he sighed and stepped towards Edgeworth. "Well... if you really think that you will add a lot, then I'll sit out."

"WAHAHAHA! YES!" He cheered, springing into the air. "I never thought I'd be thanking one of the cheaters who voted me off back in-a that desert, but thank you!"

Unsure of whether to think of what he said as a compliment or insult, Tails decided to be optimistic. "You're welcome."

"So, who's gonna defend?" Sniper asked.

Nero raised his hand. "Leave that to me. Manjari won't be hitting that target as long as I'm in charge of moving it."

"Which leaves Majima, Waluigi, Sniper and myself as the offence," Joseph explained.

Finally, the Manjari tribe was left to decide. Luckily for them, the pieces fell into place immediately.

"No way am I gonna touch this challenge," Krabs shivered. "If my claws snap the rope or the slingshot, then that's an instant loss for us!"

Right after his suggestion, Wii Fit Trainer rose her hand. "And unless anyone else wants to, I'll defend."

"Be my guest," agreed Tracer. "This leaves the rest of us as the offence."

"Hopefully pipsqueak here is strong enough to lift up those small rocks," Dedede said, following his taunt with a mean laugh. "You up for that?"

Though it was obvious that his mockery was aimed at Glass Joe, he was completely unresponsive. Upon further inspection from the tribe, they noticed that his face was pale and blank.

"H-huh?" He said, snapping back into reality. "Did you say something?"

Showing plenty of concern for his wellbeing, Wii Fit studied his face closer. "Are you okay?"

"Chilly as always," he said sarcastically. "But other than that, I'm fine. Krabs is sitting out, right?"

"...Yeah, he is."

Joe nodded, attempting to look lively, but failing miserably.

"Though he's too proud to admit it, Joe's gotten pretty sick. He didn't look too great last night either, but he now looks really bad. If that illness of his gets any worse, then he might have to quit the game altogether. Hopefully, a little bit of food, water, and rest later tonight should fix him up." - Wii Fit Trainer.

Alexa called out among all of the whisperings after enough time had passed, expecting every tribe to have come to a decision. "Alright! Let's go one at a time, starting with Elbrass."

Dante stood forward and gave him the info. "Knuckles will sit out, Daisy will play defence, and Polnareff, Scout, Kiryu and myself will play offence."

"Alright. What about you, Denalo?"

This time, Nero stood forward. "I'm handling the defence, while Joseph, Waluigi, Majima and Sniper handle offence. Tails and Edgeworth are sitting out."

"...And Manjari?"

"Krabs will sit out," Rodin started. "Wii Fit Trainer will handle defence, leaving me, Tracer, Dedede and Joe to go on offence."

Alexa nodded as he wrote the information down. "Alright! I can see that you're all ready to start, so let's begin with our first round!"


ROUND 1: Elbrass Offence (Dante - Scout - Jean Pierre Polnareff - Kazuma Kiryu) VS Manjari Defence (Wii Fit Trainer).

The offence was led to a large red mat. On the right side of the mat contained a table full of rocks that were similar in size and shape. In the front of the mat was a large, wooden slingshot that they would be utilising to hit the target. Far from where they stood was Wii Fit Trainer, who held a long coarse rope in her hands. Beside her was a circular, traditional red and white target. Its size was generous, though Wii Fit was able to quickly shift it up and down by tugging or letting go of the rope.

The first in line for offence was Dante, followed by Scout, Polnareff, and finally Kiryu. Once Kiryu had his turn, then it would loop back around to Dante.

After everyone was in place, Alexa swiftly began the round. "Dante, take your shot."

He casually grabbed a rock from the table and placed it into the leather pad in the middle. From there, he pulled it back and observed Wii Fit Trainer. The target stood at the bottom, and because he predicted for her to move it upon firing, he would have to hit it towards the middle.

Everyone watched in silence, until...

Dante let go of the slingshot, watching as the rock flew exactly where he wanted.

Though Wii Fit could move her target, its weight made it a slow process. However, her strategy appeared to have worked judging from the rock's trajectory.

To the surprise of Dante, she didn't move the target at all, causing the rock to fly just over.

"Ouch! That's one rock down, and it was an unsuccessful hit!" Alexa announced.

"Clever," he said, walking to the back of the queue.

Scout, meanwhile, chuckled. "I see what she's playin' at."

He snatched a rock, placed it into the pad, spent little time adjusting, and let go of the slingshot.

His rock travelled much faster, almost in a straight line as it darted towards the target.

Wii Fit, however, predicted this, and had begun pulling the target up immediately. As a result, the rock flew just under the target, causing Scout to grit his teeth and walk behind Dante.

"Two close calls from Manjari's defence!" Said Alexa. "Polnareff is next!"

As he repeated the process of reloading the slingshot, he made eye contact with Wii Fit Trainer while adjusting his aim. "You seem sharp, but I doubt you'll see this one coming."

Expecting her to move the target again, he threw her off by launching his rock high into the air.

To his credit, Wii Fit was startled by this approach, unsure of whether she should move her target or not. Luckily, it seemed to be a poorly angled shot horizontally, causing the rock to fly past the target from the right.

With no comment from Alexa, Polnareff bitterly tagged in Kiryu as he returned to the back of the line.

Upon loading the slingshot, Kiryu aimed upwards, similarly to Polnareff. This naturally put Wii Fit on guard, expecting for him to go for the same approach but with a better aim.

However, right before letting go, he quickly lowered his aim, confusing Wii Fit.

The speed and precision of the rock were impressive, and though she rose the target to the best of her ability, the rock collided with the bottom half of the target.

"Four rocks in, and Kiryu scores the first hit for Elbrass!"

Slightly disheartened, Wii Fit readied herself again, watching as Dante re-entered.

"This is where we get our momentum," he bragged, loading his slingshot. "Aiming high seems to work."

Deciding to change her game up a bit, Wii Fit tugged on the rope, raising the target until it was halfway up. After that, she held her position, planning on either lowering or raising the target further depending on Dante's angle.

Upon aiming his rock up high, he hoped for the best and shot his rock towards the target. Its high angle once again had Wii Fit in a panic, but she kept her cool and rose the target all the way to the top.

Thankfully for her and the Manjari tribe, this shot in the dark prevented Elbrass from scoring a second point; Dante's rock was a few metres too low.

"Damn it," he cursed himself.

Now it was Scout's second turn. Out of the five rocks aimed and fired, only one managed to strike the target.

"I'm all warmed up," he said, pulling a smirk as he fired right after placing his rock on the slingshot. He spent little time aiming, but he mainly relied on his sudden movement in scoring the shot.

The rock flew past the target yet again, this time a few metres to the left.

"What?!"

"Those quick, fast shots only pay off if you have the precision to back them up," Alexa teased, angering Scout further.

Gritting his teeth, he let Polnareff take over.

Retrieving his rock and loading the slingshot, he held his position as he eyeballed Wii Fit, attempting to predict her next move from afar.

With nothing but silence, he ran through the logic in his head:

"She's holding the target halfway up, and judging from that pulley system, I imagine it's quicker for her to drop the target rather than pull it up...

If I can get her to drop that target with a shot that's just right, then I can score the second hit..."

Eventually, he aimed midway between high and straight, hoping for the best.

Upon letting go, his rock challenged Wii Fit's target, resulting in her quickly reacting by letting go of the rope holding up the target.

Though this was hypothesised by Polnareff, his rock just barely flew over the top of where the target now stood.

"Come on!" Cheered Tracer. "Keep at it!"

With little words, Kiryu was left with the responsibility of making up for the mistakes of his tribemates.

He reloaded the slingshot, shot an intense stare towards the eager Wii Fit, and shot his rock high into the air.

Soaring in a high arc, it came crashing down towards the target, but sadly, all it took was a simple tug from the rope to evade it.

"Damn..." He uttered.

"Eight rocks in, and only one has scored. That's not too good from Elbrass," Alexa admitted. "At least one hit per four rocks is the bare minimum you'll need to have a good shot at outperforming at least one of your two competitors!"

Dante, now for the third time, stepped on the mat to have a shot at hitting the target.

"Screw it... new idea," he said, aiming his rock as usual.

Right before firing it, he chose to pull it back even further, quickly aiming downward as he did so. Upon letting go, it travelled in a small arc, fooling Wii Fit into believing that lowering the target would allow the rock to travel over once again.

Halfway through, she realised her mistake and attempted to pull it back up, but by then she was far too late.

Perfectly in the middle of the target, Dante managed to score the second hit for the Elbrass tribe.

"Two hits for Elbrass out of nine shots taken! They seem to be getting back on track," Alexa remarked.

With morale seeping back into the tribe, Scout cracked his knuckles and grabbed a rock. "If I wasn't warmed up before, now I definitely frickin' am."

He placed his rock, took slightly more care with aiming, but still spontaneously released it.

However, Wii Fit countered the attempt by raising the target as high as it could go, causing Scout's shot to miss by a few inches.

"How the hell are you supposed to hit that stupid thing?!" He bellowed, stomping off the mat and kicking a mound of snow into the air as he returned to the back of the line.

Polnareff placed his rock down and analysed the situation once again, this time attempting to perfect his aim in the process.

This time, he expected her to raise her target to the top from where it was. With this assumption in mind, he shot it high into the air, hoping that he got the angle right.

His trajectory was fine both horizontally and vertically; in terms of where he wanted to aim, he had succeeded. Albeit, Polnareff was distraught to learn that Wii Fit didn't raise her target as he had expected. In fact, she had dropped it yet again, causing his rock to fly straight over.

Cursing his terrible prediction under his breath, the Frenchman walked to the back of the line. It was now Kiryu's third turn, and he took it as seriously as usual.

Reeling the slingshot back with his rock, he gave a short pause and slightly lowered his aim. Right before it was released, he swiftly raised his aim and sent the rock hurdling in a straight line.

The rock travelled far, almost in a straight line. She decided to yet again release the rope, lowering the target, but her slight delay in reaction resulted in a collision.

"Kiryu scores the third hit!" Alexa announced. "All Elbrass needs is one more hit to finish their round. Will Dante be able to deliver?"

With a newfound pressure weighing down on him, Dante decided to do what he does best against an opponent: mess with them.

Stepping up to the mat, he plucked the rock from its place with his left hand, pointing to Wii Fit with his right hand. "You know. You've kind of screwed yourself over here."

"What makes you say that?" She replied.

Following her question, he raised his shoulders. "I dunno, I just think your pattern could do with some polish. Seriously, the fact it took me this long to catch on to it is pretty bad on my part."

"Most shots fired by your tribe I've reacted to," Wii Fit explained. "There's no way I could have left a pattern!"

Dante cracked a grin. "Maybe not on purpose..."

Though she couldn't bring herself to believe that Dante had worked her out, his immaculate confidence mixed in with his laidback tone was menacing.

"Anyway," he continued. "Just don't be surprised when I predict whether you lift that target up or lower it."

Annoyed by his arrogance, she sought to prevent him from hitting this last shot at all costs. Not only would it help her tribe in the long run, but it would put Dante in his place.

Placing his rock on the slingshot, he didn't even bother shooting her a glance, simply focusing on the target in front of him. This made her feel even more threatened, but she placed high hopes on her strategy working.

As Dante released his rock from the slingshot, every spectator in the challenge - including Alexa - watched in awe as his rock glided through the glacial air.

Knowing that he apparently expected her to either move the target up or down, Wii Fit played it smart; she didn't bother moving the target at all, keeping it in place...

...Though, to her utter dismay, that was what Dante had expected.

With a perfect, bullseye collision with the target, all the devil hunter could do in response to his victory was shoot a wink at Wii Fit.

"DANTE HITS THE FOURTH SHOT! With thirteen rocks used, Elbrass ends their round with a surprisingly witty play!" Alexa applauded, Denalo joining in. Manjari, meanwhile, immediately developed a grudge against Dante.

After being congratulated by his team, Wii Fit couldn't help but give credit to Dante. The level of mind games he had used to fool her into doing exactly what he wanted was on a whole other level.

With Elbrass sitting at a comfortable score, it soon became Denalo's turn to compete:


ROUND 2: Denalo Offence (Goro Majima - Waluigi - Sniper - Joseph Joestar) VS Elbrass Defence (Daisy).

Once again, the offence was led to a large red mat. Since the first round, all of the rocks fired had been counted and placed back onto the table.

At the front of the line was a crazed Majima, raring to get his hands on the catapult. Following him was Waluigi, Sniper, and Joseph. By the target was Daisy, who was more than ready to prove her competence to Elbrass.

"In order to guarantee their prize of immunity, Denalo needs to score four hits within twelve shots. That gives everyone on the offence three chances. If they fail to hit that quota, then Elbrass will win immunity, and the final round will decide whether Manjari or Denalo also receives immunity," described Alexa. "A lot is on the line here, so the offence and defence alike should give it all they got!"

Starting from the offence was Majima, who casually hummed to himself as he swiped a rock from the table. Without much thought, he place the rock in the pad of the slingshot and held back, his eye widening madly as he honed in on the target.

Before he fired, Daisy pulled hard on the rope, lifting the target from the bottom to the top.

"Eh?" Majima groaned.

Not too long after, and Majima fired his rock. Around the same time, Daisy dropped her rope and allowed the target to fall. Fortunately, Majima's rock wasn't fast enough to strike the target as it quickly lowered, resulting in his shot going over the top of the target.

"Shit."

He then spun around and patted Waluigi on the shoulder, giving him the OK to have his turn.

Expecting to hit it on his first try, he snagged a rock and loaded the slingshot. "This is-a too easy..." He said, aligning his shot.

Letting go of the slingshot, he smirked as it blissfully darted through the air...

...And over the target structure entirely.

In awe of his terrible miss, all Alexa could do was shake his head. "Waluigi overshoots it by a LONG shot!"

"W-WAAAAH?!" He cried. "B-BUT..."

Unable to come up with an excuse as to why he did as poorly as he did, he hunched over and strolled off the mat, allowing the calm and collected Sniper to take over.

Grabbing a rock, he turned it in his hand and nodded. "Seems like it can get the job done..."

Quietly, he walked over to the slingshot and loaded it.

Daisy reeled the target back up to the top once again, hoping her strategy would work for the second time.

After spending roughly half a minute angling the trajectory that his rock would travel in, he stared at the target, then to Daisy. "You're makin' this too easy, lady."

Upon firing his rock, Daisy let go of the rope once more. This time, her strategy failed miserably.

Halfway through falling down to the bottom, Sniper's rock collided with the target perfectly, bouncing off and rewarding him with a round of applause from his team.

"Denalo has had one successful hit! Three more to go!" Alexa announced.

"Okay, focus..." Daisy said, deciding to give herself a pep talk. "Just change your method every shot... maybe if I tried what Wii Fit Trainer did and hold it at the middle..."

By the time she came back to reality, she noticed that Joseph was already loading his slingshot.

Deciding to follow the strategy of Manjari's defence, she pulled on her rope, holding the target in the middle.

Making more eye contact with Daisy than with his loaded slingshot, Joseph could read her like a book. From what he could see, her body language made it seem as if she were planning on using all of her strength to tug the target to the top.

Going with his hunch, he planned to aim high and shoot fast. The less time she had to react and change the target's position, the better.

Firing his shot with precision, his sharp intuition proved its use. As he expected, Daisy pulled up as hard as she could, sending the target to the very top.

From there, she watched with dread as her eye caught the rock gliding towards exactly where her target stood. With little time to correct her mistake, she let go of the rope and hoped for the best...

...Due to the angle and speed of the rock, however, her efforts were not enough.

With the sound of the rock smacking against the target echoing through the snowy plains, Elbrass and Manjari alike grew worried for their safety. Denalo already had two successful hits.

Alexa stepped forward and clapped. "Thanks to Joseph, two out of Denalo's rocks have bested the defence of Elbrass!"

For the second time, Majima stood on the mat and fetched his rock. Meanwhile, Daisy was shaking nervously. She was expecting a much easier game on her behalf, but Denalo were not easy opponents.

"This time, I ain't missin'," the Yakuza said, pulling the slingshot back as he stared at the target.

Once again, Daisy had gone for the same strategy of holding the target at the middle. This time, she would try her hardest to predict the shot's trajectory, moving the target in response. A last-second movement had saved her skin against Majima the first time, so she hoped that she would best him with it again.

After a few moments of anticipation, he fired his rock. It travelled in a completely straight line, barrelling towards the target at a speed that Daisy had unaccounted for. Regardless, she was still ready. She yanked the rope with all of her might, causing the target to fly upward.

Though it all happened in a flash, Daisy felt her soul shrink as she saw the rock bounce off the bottom of the target.

"That's the THIRD rock in a row to successfully hit the target! Denalo is on a roll!" Alexa praised. "Only one more hit left! Can Waluigi, the only one on Denalo to not manage a hit, succeed against Elbrass?"

"Pssh, he says it like there isn't a ton of room for error," Polnareff scoffed, turning to his tribe. "They're on their sixth rock, and we used thirteen."

With an obnoxious aura of arrogance and undeserved glee, Waluigi strutted to the mat and picked up a rock. "Let's-a finish this!" He proclaimed, sneering at Daisy.

Defeated, but still with a glimmer of determination, Daisy glared at Waluigi, readying herself as she grabbed the rope once more.

He loaded the slingshot, shifted his view to Daisy, and then shifted back to the target.

Having undying confidence in victory, Waluigi fired his rock with a confident warcry.

"TAKE-A THIS!"

The rock soared through the sky, Daisy quivering where she stood as it came crashing down towards her... literally.

As it turned out, Waluigi's poor aim had failed him once again. Instead of shooting his rock too far, it landed peacefully next to Daisy.

With deafening silence surrounding him, the lanky villain sighed and walked away as Sniper took the spotlight once again.

He chose a rock, pulled back the slingshot, and placed it in. He held it in place, analysed the target, and narrowed his eyes.

"Steady, steady..."

Eventually, right as he let go, Daisy gave one powerful tug on the rope before removing her grip on it, hoping that the movement would mess up Sniper's shot.

The target jumped up from the initial pull before quickly falling downward. Midway through its descent, Daisy watched helplessly as the rock made its way to the absolute centre of the target. Whether he had somehow read her like a book or simply got lucky with his shot, she was too focused on her horrible performance to care.

"SNIPER HITS THE FOURTH SHOT FOR DENALO! WITH SIX ROCKS LESS THAN ELBRASS, DENALO GUARANTEES THEMSELVES IMMUNITY!"

Daisy returned to her tribe with a mix of shock and sadness. She wanted and expected her tribe to put the others to shame, but the cutthroat performance given by Denalo's precise offence made her come off as incredibly weak.

With one round left to determine second and third place, the deciding factor was ironically going to come down to the performance of Denalo's defence: Nero.


ROUND 3: Manjari Offence (Tracer - Rodin - King Dedede - Glass Joe) VS Denalo Defence (Nero).

Nero stood up to the pulley system, clutching the rope tight with his robotic arm as he stared at the lined up members of Manjari.

"Y'know..." Dedede said. "You can give us the win by takin' your grubby hands off that rope."

Confused over the strange proposal, the young devil hunter folded his arms. "And what makes you think I'll do that?"

"You got no stakes in this! Your tribe's safe, and there ain't no special prize for first place either! Let us do better than those Elbrass chumps, and things will go smoothly for the both of us."

His argument caused Nero to shake his head. "Sounds like a terrible idea."

"There's nothin' terrible about it! You're just gonna be wastin' your energy!"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Wasting my energy and making you guys work for your win seems like a better option than handing you the win just because you told me to. Elbrass tried, and my tribe tried. Now it's your turn..."

Gritting his teeth with anger, Dedede pointed at him. "Fine! Draw out our victory for all I care," he scowled.

"We'll see about that," Nero taunted.

Alexa, amused by the incident, moved on by starting the round. "Manjari needs to hit the target four times using twelve rocks or less. If they get thirteen, then they'll tie with Elbrass, and if they get any more than that, then they'll be deemed the losers of this challenge!

Let the final round commence!"

Tracer started off Manjari's performance, grabbing a rock and carefully loading it into the slingshot. As she did so, she attempted to get a read on Nero. Aware that at least one person on offence would attempt to predict him, Nero held a deadpan face and position.

Deciding to go with her hunch and aim high, she pulled back on the slingshot and wasted no time with firing her projectile.

Around halfway through its journey to the target, Nero tugged on the rope very slightly, raising the target halfway up. Though this was close to Tracer's expectation, the rock still travelled over the target.

"That's a miss!" Exclaimed Alexa.

Tracer began moving to the back of the line, expressing her discontentment with nothing more than pursed lips.

As she passed Rodin, next in line to attempt to best the Denalo defence, she nudged him with her elbow. "You got this," she said.

Rodin approached the slingshot and placed his rock within the contraption. It was then that his large, tall build became apparent, as he was forced to crouch with one knee.

Aiming low, he fired his shot directly towards where Nero's target stood. The speed was staggering...

...Yet Nero saw it coming. He used all of his might to tug down on the rope, straining the contraption as the target made a narrow escape.

Alexa was impressed. "Impressive reaction from Nero! He's really giving Manjari a run for their immunity!"

Rodin walked off, leaving a pompous Dedede to take his place.

"You're done for," he said cockily, awkwardly pulling on his slingshot. "After I learn how to use this stupid thing, that is..."

After an awkward ten seconds of adjusting, he eventually got the hang of adjusting its aim. With strength and determination, Dedede gave his all into the shot.

Though it had a speed an angle that would have caught Nero off guard, it was too far to the left to even interact with the target.

"T-the heck?!" He cried.

Nero shook his head. "Looks like you still have some learning to do."

With a huff, he nodded. "You're darn right! Next chance I get, I'm wipin' that smug look off your fugly mug!"

Stomping off the mat, Joe weakly entered. It was then that the other tribes noticed how different he looked. With a pale, tired face and an exhausted posture, even Alexa couldn't help but notice.

Hauling his rock onto the leather pad, he used what little strength he had - worsened by his supposed illness - to pull the slingshot back.

The simple task of focusing on the target became a chore for Joe. His struggle was so blatant and visible that Nero felt that he didn't even have to bother moving the target.

"If Manjari loses this, then Joe will be the one to go out. Observing him in the second challenge showed that he was barely capable of wielding a pickaxe, and now it seems that the harsh conditions of these mountains have made him sick." - Miles Edgeworth.

Eventually, the boxer felt he was using too much time, and prematurely let go of the slingshot.

It didn't take long before Nero could realise where the rock was landing. Barely making it halfway to the target, it burrowed into a mound of snow, far from where Joe had anticipated.

"S-sorry guys," he said. "My aim was off..."

"Four rocks in, and not a single successful hit," Alexa gulped. "Unless you want to spice up your night with a visit to Tribal Council, then I recommend you step it up!"

With more pressure on her and the others, Tracer strolled up to the slingshot. She did the usual routine of pulling it back with the rock in place, this time attempting to get a read on Nero that would actually land her a point.

"Last time he went halfway, maybe this time he'll go all the way to the top," the Briton thought. "Let's try going high, then..."

Pulling hard on the slingshot, she let go and sent the rock high into the air. She was hoping for Nero to move the target to the top, but sadly, Nero decided that he wouldn't budge at all.

The rock flew past the target, wasting Manjari's fifth rock.

"He didn't move it at all? He's pretty good," Tracer admitted, walking to the back of her line.

Rodin took the spotlight for the second time. Before firing, he stood still, thinking about the situation he was in.

He knew that he only had this attempt and the third attempt to attempt to hit the target: by the time he'd get to his fourth attempt, Manjari would be on their fourteenth rock, rendering them as losers. If he could use both of his attempts to the benefit of his tribe, then he would expect Tracer to use her remaining attempts wisely. As for Dedede and Glass Joe, he had little to no faith in either of them.

After thinking it through, he immediately snagged a rock, loaded it, and fired it before anyone could react.

Leaving Nero to react late, the rock collided with the target right as it began rising.

"At long last, Manjari scores their first hit of four! Out of the six remaining rocks, three of them have to be successful hits against the defence's target if they want to win without a tie! That seems feasible, but the closer you are to victory, the more likely the defence is to step up their game!" Explained Alexa.

"Maybe if Dedede didn't try to strike a deal with him, he wouldn't be going so hard on us," Tracer sighed, watching the penguin march up to the mat.

Dedede grabbed a rock and faced Nero again, this time not saying anything.

Nero fastened his grip on the rope harder, albeit he expected little from his opponent.

Pulling back on the slingshot, he released it having put extra care into its trajectory. And, while it didn't veer off to the left or right from where the target was, it flew over the top of the pulley system.

"You've almost got it!" Nero cheered sarcastically.

"Wait until we get onto the same team... I'm gonna strangle that cockiness outta ya!" He raged, almost forgetting to let Glass Joe have his turn.

Sadly, this second attempt wasn't much better than his first. He struggled to pull the slingshot back; he could hardly focus on the fuzzy image that was the target, and he couldn't aim even if his life depended on it.

When he finally fired, the rock made it a little further, but still was plenty of distance away from the actual target.

"Manjari only has four rocks left! Three of which have to be successful to avoid a tie!" Alexa reminded.

Tracer held the rock in her hands and gave a sigh from the tension. Though she doubted that she'd be able to get through the challenge without winning whatever tiebreaker Alexa has in mind, she preferred having to compete in that compared to losing. Even if the tribe seemingly had their eyes on voting off Dedede, the possibility of him having an idol threatened her chance of staying.

With all of that in mind, she hooked the rock up to the slingshot and pulled. She had no shot at fooling Nero like Rodin had, and his reaction time and strength was a force to be reckoned with. Therefore, she had to stick with attempting to guess where he'd move the target while confusing him with complicated angles.

As she clearly aimed high last time, she decided to aim in that same spot for the second time, hoping that Nero would change to that spot.

Upon aiming high, she released the rock from the slingshot.

Finally, at a time where she needed it, luck was finally on her side.

Nero, unsure of where the rock would land, pulled on the rope as hard as he could, lifting the target as high as he possibly could.

...And the rock collided straight into it.

Alexa instantly commented on the successful hit. "Tracer scores the second hit for Manjari! There's no room for error here, so Manjari better hope that Rodin carries on the momentu-"

Before he could finish, his attention was lured to Rodin, who had followed a similar strategy to his second attempt. He had grabbed a rock, placed it into the slingshot and fired, only this time it was even more unexpected for Nero.

Everyone watched, Nero managing to raise the target fairly high. But despite that, Rodin's rock still managed to barely graze the bottom.

"...Unexpectedly, Rodin interrupts with the THIRD hit out of four! With only two rocks left, one of them has to hit for Manjari to win!" Alexa continued.

"GAHA!" Dedede cackled. "That's our THIRD! You're finished! All I gotta do is end it early."

Nero tightened his lip. He watched as Dedede took a rock from the table, his eyes full of malice and pride.

Placing the rock on his slingshot, he cracked a grin. "Enough with the fluke shots. This one's for real!"

Putting all effort into adjusting the horizontal and vertical aim, he pulled back even further before letting go.

To the surprise of everyone, his shot was surprisingly good. It didn't veer off to the left or right, and it looked to initially be heading towards the lower half of the pulley system.

Instinctively, Nero tugged on the rope, raising the height of the target. As it reached the top, Nero was shocked to see that the rock still looked to be on route for hitting his target. With not enough time to lower it, Nero flinched.

...It seemed to be a miracle, but as the rock came close to the target, it dipped just in time, just barely passing under the target without colliding with it.

"I-I don't believe it!" Dedede gasped, horror in his eyes. "Maybe if those dumb rocks weren't so misshapen, I woulda hit it! This just ain't fair!"

Leaving him to whine over his third failure in a row, Nero looked to the next person in line. It was Glass Joe yet again, wanting to prove himself yet just not in the right state to do so. Pity was thrown his way by Denalo and Elbrass alike.

"Not to add pressure, Joe, but..." Alexa placed a hand on his shoulder. "If you don't hit this, then it's down to Tracer to try and get your tribe to tie with Elbrass."

"I'll try my hardest..." He said, strolling up to the table of rocks.

As the host retreated back away from the mat, he couldn't take his mind off Joe's rapid deterioration.

Joe picked the closest rock to him and gave a deep breath. He walked up to the slingshot and carefully loaded it in. His whole body was aching, he felt that he was freezing and burning up, but the last thing he wanted was his tribe to do was return to Tribal Council. The looks he had been given were enough indication that he was next on the chopping block, despite the agreement to vote out Dedede. Even if tribes were to be swapped around, nobody would want to risk having pure deadweight on their tribe, which was why he felt the need to prove himself.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled back as hard as he could, keeping a fairly strong grip on the rock in the process.

After holding the position, he let go and fell back into the mat, launching the rock in a perfect arc.

It shot high up before cascading down towards the target. Surprise swarmed the crowd as they watched it approach, Nero questioning if he should even intervene.

But, unfortunately... Nero didn't have to make that decision after all.

Joe's shot, for the third time in the row, had landed short of the target. Landing half a metre in front of the target.

"That's gotta sting!" Alexa hissed. "Joe just barely misses the target! Manjari may not be able to win the challenge as easily as before, but if Tracer can manage this final shot, then the tiebreaker will be the decider of who wins that second placement of immunity!"

"You tried your best," Tracer said, patting Joe on the shoulder. "I'll get us to that tiebreaker. Don't worry."

She walked up to the mat and faced Nero. She grabbed the thirteenth rock and loaded it. "Alright... I've done it once, and I can do it again. I think he'll raise the target halfway, so I'll just aim the rock around there..."

Praying for one last bit of luck to grant her tribe a fighting chance, she pulled back and unleashed the rock. The rock zoomed forward, right to where the middle was. Not much longer after firing it, Nero decided to pull on the rope, raising the target. So far, things were in the favour of Manjari. But Nero, immediately realising that the rock was due to crash halfway, gave an extra tug, raising it to the top.

Although Tracer's rock was a little higher than she aimed, it was still too low to reach the target when it arrived. All of this happened in a few seconds, and the instant Elbrass saw the rock fly under, they began cheering.

"THE THIRTEENTH ROCK MISSES! ELBRASS WINS IMMUNITY!" Roared Alexa.

"For someone hardly involved, that Nero guy sure put up a fight," Tracer sighed. "Sorry, guys."

"Something tells me it was something Dedede said that set him off," replied Rodin.

Dedede scoffed. "Don't go blamin' me! I was formin' relations with that tribe, and it was that cocky fool's fault that we lost! That, and the shoddy design of that slingshot!"

Meanwhile, with Manjari bitter over Nero giving his all, Elbrass couldn't be more relieved.

"I ain't ever votin' that guy in a million years!" Scout said. "If it weren't for him, we'd be screwed!"

"You got that right," Knuckles nodded. "Manjari probably hate him, though."

"Thought that guy had it out for me," added Dante. "Nero could have helped Manjari win and got me out, but for some reason, he didn't. Though if I were him, I wouldn't bend over backwards for a guy like Dedede either."

After discussing their thoughts on the tense challenge, Alexa got their attention. "Elbrass and Denalo, you guys are free to go back to your tribes! Feel free to celebrate your victory, but remember that tomorrow will be a very game-changing day. Manjari, you'll head back to tribe to send off your second member. You guys have done it before, so I'm sure you get the gist."

The three teams turned away and returned to their respective tribe...


Manjari Tribe: Day 5

Survivors: Mr. Krabs - Tracer - Rodin - King Dedede - Glass Joe - Wii Fit Trainer.

As the survivors re-entered their tribe, Tracer swiftly took Wii Fit and Rodin to one side, leaving the other three to discuss their thoughts within the cave.

"Okay, so..." She paused. "You guys are alright with Dedede, right?"

"That's been the plan for a while now," Rodin agreed. "Not to mention his stunt in that challenge proved that he needs to go now rather than later."

"I agree," Tracer said. Though it seems they reached a conclusion, she couldn't help but notice Wii Fit's lack of input. "You alright with that, Miss Fit?"

She turned to them and shook her head. "Sorry, but... I can't go through with Dedede."

"Why not?"

"I know he's trouble for everyone, but Joe is a bigger priority," Wii Fit said firmly. "That illness has made him just too weak to carry on. He tried his hardest in that challenge, and his hardest couldn't even reach that target."

"The second I saw that Joey had gotten ill, I knew the plan to vote out Dedede would start going out the window. Nobody wants to keep someone that's struggling, but at the same time, they can quit whenever they want." - Tracer.

Rodin folded his arms. "So you want us to switch to Joe? He may be damn frail, but he's someone that can work with us. An extra vote like that would be useful."

Surprisingly, she stood by his point. "He is more willing to work with any of us, but you need to remember that he's gonna be the target of elimination as long as he keeps dragging teams down. Not to mention that if his condition gets any worse, then he might be forced to quit the game."

"...Well, I ain't one for pity," he confessed. "I imagine Dedede will be votin' Joe tonight because of his performance, and with you n' Joe goin' for Dedede, that leaves Krabs and Tracer to settle this."

"Speaking of which, where is Krabs?" Wii Fit asked. "Did you not think of grabbing him, Tracer? I'm surprised you didn't bring Joe with you, either."

She responded by shrugging. "Remember that Dedede could have an idol. What would he think if all of this decided to have a talk without him? Besides, Joe and Krabs were already talking with him."

"You should let him know that the tribe's now torn between Joe or Dedede."

"Was planning on it the second I heard you voice your concerns. As for myself, you've made me question my choice to go for Dedede a little bit. This is a game and all, but Joe's definitely not in the right place to do himself or anyone else good," Tracer said. "I'll think about it a little more, but in any case, us splitting the votes between Joe and Dedede will be handy in case any idols are used."

With one half of Manjari thrown into a dilemma between whether they want to work with the strong yet disloyal Dedede or the weak yet genuine Glass Joe, the other half felt as if they had no choice.

Sitting in the far back of the cave was Joe, Krabs, and an oddly cocky Dedede. He was usually above the concept of being targeted despite recent events, but tonight especially had him feeling invincible.

"It's gonna be solid entertainment watchin' you folk quiver with fear at this Tribal Council!" Dedede cackled.

Krabs rolled his eyes and scoffed. "What makes you think that yer so safe?"

"C'mon, ain't it obvious?" He asked. "You really gonna make me spell it out?"

"Just get on with it already!"

"Aight... y'all may be plannin' to vote for me and whatnot, but I got an idol!"

The cave suddenly fell quiet, with both of them impulsively believing him.

Dedede smirked. "Found it in those igloos just before I decided to leave. All votes cast towards me will be useless once I use it! Oh, and don't get the wrong idea, I'm gonna use it tonight! If there's one thing you gotta believe, it's that."

He became filled with amusement, watching Krabs and Joe struggle for words.

"GAHA! Those idiots totally fell for it! I don't have a clue where any idol is, but as long as I keep the act up that I got one in my clutches, then they're bound to do whatever I say! Krabs is too dense and Joe is too desperate to distrust me unlike the other chumps, and that's just what I need to get the heat off my back." - King Dedede.

Eventually, Krabs eyed him. "So where's this so-called idol, then?"

"You don't believe me? Eh?"

"Never said that pal, I'm just itchin' for some proof."

"It's buried somewhere hidden. I ain't gonna risk showin' it, because if any of them catch wind of my idol, then it'll be one of you two goin' out," Dedede explained. "Those three are prolly in some form of alliance, so if they find out that I have an idol, then they'll be switchin' to either one of you fellas. Go ahead and snitch, and it'll be your torches gettin' snuffed."

Joe stared down at the floor and shook his head. "An alliance?"

"Yeah, and I'm a generous fella, believe it or not," he grinned. "Trust me or not, but I'm your ticket to safety. Vote with me, and I'll play my idol, and we can get out Rodin."

Already bewildered by the apparent existence of an alliance, the French boxer looked to Dedede with further confusion. "Why him over the other two?"

"If I had to bet which one of them is responsible for makin' that alliance, it'd be that Rodin sucker. The sooner he's out, the safer we all are." Said Dedede.

Joe sighed. "I see... I guess voting him makes sense. Not like I'd want to vote out Wii Fit or Tracer anyway."

"I thought we had it in the bag for tonight... now there's an idol that'll be played, an alliance excluding Krabs and I, and now I don't have much choice but to vote for Rodin... all of this, on top of the headache I've had all day, probably makes this the worst night so far." - Glass Joe.

"BWAHAHAHAHA! Those idiots eat up ANYTHIN' I tell 'em! There probably ain't even an alliance, but they decide to go with what I say without askin' questions! Never thought it'd be so fun playin' the mastermind!" - King Dedede.

Krabs folded his arms, only one question remaining. "There's just one thing that doesn't make sense."

"Lay it on me, crusty."

"What made you think that we were gonna gun for ya? If you didn't think that, then ya wouldn't have brought up this idol of yours," he interrogated.

He snarled, rolling his eyes. "I knew me havin' all that fruit would get y'all in a hissy fit, but I thought it'd give me enough energy to have me carry your sorry butts through the challenge. Too bad that tacky slingshot ruined that plan, but I was lucky enough to find an idol. Y'all were gonna vote for me, but now you're gonna have to do things my way if ya want to stick around."

His gloating was obnoxious, worsening Joe's headache as Krabs glared at the stone ground. From what they gathered, Dedede would use an idol, and they would all vote for Rodin to knock him out. They weren't going to receive physical proof of the idol, but his pompous attitude and overwhelming confidence in his safety had them both fairly convinced.

"Right, you win," Krabs said, his voice riddled with sarcasm. "I'll go see what the others are plannin', but chances are, they'll be goin' straight for you."

"Without success..." The penguin snarkily added.

With an eye roll, the sea creature left the cave. As he spotted the others, they immediately approached him.

"What's the situation on Dedede? Is he aware that he's a target?" Asked Rodin.

Krabs gave a shrug and shook his head. "Too busy fixin' on how shoddy that slingshot was," he lied. "That slob ate all of our fruit, so you better all be votin' for him."

"...Well," Tracer winced. "Sorry to be a pain, but things aren't looking as straightforward as they were. You see, we're now torn between Dedede and Joe."

His eyes suddenly perked up. "Wait. The weakling?!"

"Wii Fit wants to vote Joe out because of his condition, and Rodin wants to stick with Dedede. I'm not fully sure myself, so it's up to me and you to decide."

"Great, now I'm caught in a trickier situation. I can either call Dedede's bluff and vote for him, dismantle an alliance by gettin' out Rodin, or take the easy way out with Joe. If no idol's played, then goin' for Rodin will end up in a tie, and I know what horrors lie ahead for me if we get two ties in a row..." - Mr. Krabs.

Krabs placed his claws on his side, shaking his head. "Well, I'd be happy with either gettin' kicked off. I'll have my mind made up before I have to vote."

"Fair enough." Tracer gave him a nod.

From there, Glass Joe was later told to vote for Dedede by Tracer. As for Dedede, he told the others that he would be voting for Joe, saying nothing else of note beyond that. With the tribe in a very disorganised state, they eventually ran out of time to discuss, forcing them to make their way down to the Tribal Fortress...


Tribal Council: Night 6

Survivors: Mr. Krabs - Tracer - Rodin - King Dedede - Glass Joe - Wii Fit Trainer.

"Come on in, guys and gals," said Alexa. "Make yourselves at home, if possible..."

The survivors entered the freezing cold interior of the Tribal Fortress, once again taking in the gloomy environment that they were forced to attend. With the six of them sitting in a semi-circle around Alexa, he folded his arms.

"Well then, that last challenge was rough," he said. "So close to victory, unlike your last loss. You've definitely proved yourselves to be a competent tribe, but Elbrass and Denalo are still forces to be reckoned with. You should know, Dedede."

He locked eyes with him, Alexa proceeding to elaborate:

"At the beginning of the final round, you attempted to bargain with Denalo's offence. Knowing they had no genuine stakes in the round, you attempted to lay him off of his role as defence. Sadly, it turned out that he was more than uninterested. What went through your head as he denied your request?"

Dedede growled. "Don't get me started on that scrawny punk. A guy like him coulda made friends out of everyone on this tribe, but he ended up makin' enemies with all of us instead. If ya ask me, he lost this whole Survivor game the second he ruined our chances of gettin' first place!"

Before Alexa could respond, Wii Fit chimed in.

"I think he made the best decision for himself."

The penguin stared at her if she were a madman. Alexa, intrigued by the response, decided to press her further. "Care to elaborate on what you just said?"

"Think about it," she said. "If he chose us over Elbrass, then Elbrass would be against him. Him choosing to prevent us from winning so easily was a far more neutral approach, and that's why he did what he did. I would've done the same."

"Agreed." Tracer turned to her. "I'm not gonna hold it against him."

Dedede was dumbfounded, and after a long enough pause, Alexa moved on. "Well let's shift away from your enemies, and more onto yourself. Let's start with Joe."

He replied in an instant. "Y-yeah?"

"I think everyone's noticed by now, but you've not been looking so good lately."

"It's just a small cold. That, and I've had barely any sleep since I got here."

"Regardless of what it is, people couldn't help but notice how lacking your performance was in that challenge," Alexa said, clearly striking a nerve in Joe as he fell anxious. Despite this, he applied further pressure. "All of the tribes will be shuffled tomorrow, but people may not want to take the chance of being placed with someone ill. Does that fact worry you?"

"W-well..." He bit his lip. "People can get eliminated for anything. Someone could lose trust in someone by looking at them wrong. If things are that strict, then I guess my mere sniffle can get me in trouble. But, I have plenty of faith that my tribe sees through that."

Picking up on his choice of words, Alexa pressed his hands together with curiosity. "You have faith in your tribe not voting you out? Fair enough; I'm sure we all have that to some degree, but what makes you especially confident that you'll be chosen to stay over others? What makes you stand out?"

Joe paused for a bit before giving his answer. "...Erm, I don't want to come across as arrogant or anything, but I have plenty to bring to the table! I'm loyal to my tribe, I'm social, and no matter how tough things get, I'm never giving up."

"I see. Here's hoping those traits have been displayed enough to your peers." Alexa then turned to Rodin. "What about you, Rodin? You seem to be the calmest out of everyone here, and the same went for Manjari's first Tribal Council. What makes you worthy of staying tonight?"

"When it comes to feelin' nervous, I'm not one for showing it," he said. "Not that I have any concerns over my chances tonight, and as long as I keep provin' to people that I'm strong and level-headed enough to make a good asset, then I shouldn't have to worry until the Merge."

"You seem like you have it all figured out," he admired. "Well, I think this discussion has shown a lot about Manjari's members. This will be the last Tribal Council before the tribes are changed up, so let's see which one of you six will miss out on experiencing it.

Survivors, you may cast your votes! Krabs will start."

Krabs stood up from his seat, strolling over to the voting booth in the corner.


Mr. Krabs: "I came in expectin' one option, and now I gotta choose between three! It's like we're beggin' for a tie to happen..." (?)

Rodin: "I'm not budgin' from this decision. Joe's potential loyalty is easily more beneficial to my game than Dedede's. I suspect he doesn't trust me at all, but it's not like he trusts anyone else." (King Dedede)

King Dedede: "A guy like you prolly has it out for me, and judgin' by the two girls orbitin' around ya, you're probably the reason why I'm gonna get some votes towards me. Tsk... if only I actually did have an idol..." (Rodin)

Wii Fit Trainer: "Sorry, but you're in no shape to continue..." (Glass Joe)

Tracer and Glass Joe had no comments regarding their vote.


Alexa brought over the box containing all six votes. He opened it up, and then glanced to the survivors. "If anyone has an idol which they would like to play, please do so now."

Joe and Krabs turned to Dedede, who sat there with another smug look on his face. It was then they realised... they had been tricked. Dedede either didn't have an idol, or was bluffing on actually using it.

"No? Alright then. I'll get on to the votes," said Alexa. "Prepare yourselves!"


*VOTING TIME*

The first vote goes to... King Dedede. (Dedede passes a gaze of venom to Rodin.)

The second vote goes to... Glass Joe. One vote Joe, one vote Dedede. (Joe raises his eyebrow, struck with fear. Dedede's confidence increases.)

The third vote goes to... Glass Joe. That's two votes Joe, one vote Dedede.

The fourth vote goes to... Rodin. One vote Rodin and Dedede, two votes Joe.

The fifth vote goes to... Rodin. That's two votes Rodin and Joe, leaving Dedede with one vote. (The two of them are shocked as Dedede's confidence continues to skyrocket.)

Silence then strikes. Alexa plucked the final vote from the box and made eye contact with Joe and Rodin. "The third contestant to be eliminated from Survivor Crossover: Ice Cap Zone is..."

Joe quivered with fear as Dedede watched his panic with amusement.

"...Undecided!"

Shocking the tribe, he spun around the slip and revealed that the sixth vote had gone to King Dedede. "With a three-way tie between Dedede, Rodin, and Joe, Tribal Council will host a revote."

Arrogance was washed off Dedede's face in a flash. He had relied on Wii Fit, Tracer or Rodin to give at least one vote to either Krabs or Joe, and though that was clearly the case, a tie had occurred anyway.

"Dedede, Joe, and Rodin will not be able to vote due to their tied status, but they are the only ones that can be voted for. In addition, idols cannot be played by anyone in this vote. If the vote results in another tie, then rocks will be drawn, and that's something I assure none of the voters want," explained Alexa.

Upon hearing the reveal that idols cannot be played, the pompous grin that Dedede once had was now plastered all over Krabs. He knew the two girls were not going to vote Rodin, so as far as he knew, a three-way tie was impossible to repeat.

"With that in mind. You may proceed with the revote!" Exclaimed Alexa, grabbing the box. "Krabs will start the vote once again. Please take this box back to the voting booth with you."

Krabs stood up and retrieved the box, carrying it to the corner of Tribal Council before casting his vote once again.

Following him was Tracer, then Wii Fit Trainer. The process was quick, but for those involved in the tie, it felt a lot longer.

Upon retrieving the voting box for the second time, Alexa repeated the rules of the second vote. "As I said, idols cannot be played in a revote. Whoever receives the most votes here will be eliminated, but if it's another tie, then we'll move on to the rock draw."

Alexa reached into the box and began the vote.


*VOTING TIME*

The first vote goes to... Glass Joe.

The second vote goes to... King Dedede. That's one vote Joe and Dedede. (They both gaze at one another, equally as terrified.)

Removing the third vote from the box, Alexa smirked. "The third contestant to be eliminated from Survivor Crossover: Ice Cap Zone, for real this time, is...

...King Dedede! With a 2-1 vote, your time here has come to an abrupt end."

Standing up with an equal mixture of disappointment and rage, Dedede stood up from his seat. "I didn't wanna waste my time with a bunch of weakling chumps anyway. Y'all couldn't win challenges even if your lives depended on it! That's why none of you will be gettin' close to winnin'."

"Yeah yeah we get it," Krabs yawned. "Just take yer loss and leave already!"

Clenching his teeth from anger, Alexa diverted his attention to him. He was standing next to his torch at the back of the room.

"Fire represents your life in this show," he said, placing an ice cube into his torch. "And when it gets extinguished, so do your chances of getting that money. Please leave through the exit to your right."

Dedede turned around and stomped off. "Don't worry, I was plannin' on it before you interrupted me with that dumb fire talk!"

As he slammed the door behind him on his way out, Alexa turned to the remaining tribe. "Five of you remain. Though this was obviously a tough vote to make judging by the results of the first vote, just know that you're now safe. You'll soon be placed into a new tribe with new people on it. As for Dedede, his recklessness and inability to form relationships had him thrown out of the first season. This time, it seemed as if people had far less patience with him, and that's what had him voted off so prematurely. You may head back to your tribe. Goodnight survivors."


King Dedede's Last Words: "There ain't much I can say other than I got placed with the wrong people! None of them had any clue in the challenges, and they were too thin-skinned to realise that me takin' all of their fruit was for the good of the tribe. If I were with Elbrass or Denalo, then I would have ended up winnin' this whole show, but instead, I had to put up with the fools!"


VOTES (Initial Vote)

Rodin (2): King Dedede - Glass Joe.

King Dedede (2): Tracer - Rodin.

Glass Joe (2): Mr. Krabs - Wii Fit Trainer.


VOTES (Second Vote)

King Dedede (2): Mr. Krabs - Wii Fit Trainer.

Glass Joe (1): Tracer.


IDOLS

Ring of Reflection: Found in Ring of Igloos by Nero. Upon activating this ring in Tribal Council, every vote cast towards that person will be reflected onto a random contestant with no immunity.


REMAINING SURVIVORS

Elbrass Tribe (Green)

- Dante

- Scout

- Knuckles

- Jean Pierre Polnareff

- Kazuma Kiryu

- Princess Daisy

Denalo Tribe (Purple)

- Nero

- Sniper

- Miles "Tails" Prower

- Miles Edgeworth

- Joseph Joestar

- Goro Majima

- Waluigi

Manjari Tribe (Orange)

- Mr. Krabs

- Tracer

- Rodin

- Glass Joe

- Wii Fit Trainer

Days Until The Shuffling: 1