Ice Cap Zone (South of Mt. Manjari): Day 8

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 - Glass Joe - Wii Fit Trainer.

"Come on in, survivors!"

Approaching today's challenge, the survivors feasted their eyes on three obstacle courses in front of them. The course on the left was green, representing Elbrass; the course on the right was purple, representing Denalo, and the course in the middle represented Manjari with orange.

"A race?" Scout wrung his hands with eagerness. "Guess we ain't goin' to Tribal Council after all, eh guys?"

Joseph shook his head. "I wouldn't get cocky so soon if I were you."

Despite his warning, Majima decided to enable Scout. "Nah, this is a cakewalk. I've seen city streets with more obstacles."

"See? This guy gets it," he smirked. "Don't get so grumpy so soon, old man."

Rolling his eyes, Joseph continued to walk up to where Alexa proudly stood.

The Manjari tribe, alongside their Elbrass and Denalo competitors, parked themselves adjacent to the obstacle courses.

Alexa then greeted them with a joyous smile. "Welcome to your next challenge! You probably can guess what the challenge may involve just by staring at the big set of obstacle courses behind me, but let's detour from that for a second. Polnareff, how are you getting on with your new tribemates?"

"Decently well," he said. "Some people have clearly needed more time to warm up than others, but this challenge should clear up what's left of that small issue."

The host rubbed his chin and nodded. "Adaptation is key. If people aren't fully warmed up by their first Tribal Council, then that may put them at a serious social disadvantage."

He then moved on from Denalo and shifted to Manjari, putting his attention on Joseph. "Joseph. Being apart of the tribe that experienced zero Tribal Councils before The Shuffling took place, are you worried that you now have to go up against some of your old colleagues?"

"Not at all," he said. "I think that the people I'm with still form a very strong tribe, both newcomers and old members alike."

Alexa applauded his good answer. "Well said."

Lastly, he turned to Rodin from Elbrass. "Rodin. Yesterday, you, alongside Nero and Scout, drew white rocks. Nero first chose Denalo, Scout then chose Manjari, and that left you to be automatically assigned to Elbrass. After spending some time with your new peers, do you have any clue as to why Nero and Scout chose the way they did?"

"Obviously, I only got guesses to spare," he confessed. "Scout prolly went with the people he trusted the most. As for Nero, his decision to go with Tails to the new Denalo instead of joinin' three members of his old tribe to form a majority makes me question his relationships with his old tribe."

Nero gritted his teeth. From the corner of the eye, he spotted Waluigi, eager to ruin his game further over losing an idol to him, evident by a menacing leer.

Despite this, Alexa continued to pick up on Rodin's brutal honesty. "You're making it sound like that a common strategy moving forward is to form alliances with members of your old tribes."

"Seems like the safest way to have some level of security," he responded.

"Well, considering no tribes have any majority or minority regarding old tribe alliances... things should be very interesting!" He announced. "Well, now that that's over with, let's get into the challenge-"

Waluigi stopped him. "Hang on a second!"

"...Uhh, yeah?" Alexa queried, the situation now awkward.

To the young devil hunter's dismay, Waluigi stuck his finger towards him. "I-a don't blame Nero for trying to-a run from his-a old tribe. After all, he's got an idol!"

And just like that, the frosty fields had gone mute. Those that already knew were shocked, those that didn't know were even more shocked, and Nero's body was static in motion.

"What's his god damn problem?!" - Nero.

"...Is doing what Waluigi just did even allowed?" - Tracer.

"His plan was to make Nero even more of a threat, and I guess he sort of succeeded. But, what Waluigi said had placed a massive target on his back also. He's playing too hard, too early, and that's going to cost him the rest of his reputation!" - Wii Fit Trainer.

Alexa shook his head. "Well... that's a first for Survivor Crossover. Whether the claim is true or not is up in the air, but this has definitely taken a turn for the worst for the likes of Nero. Despite all of this, there is still a challenge to be done."

"Yeah... that'll help me take my mind off what I just heard," Dante said, shuddering with fright.

"Nero and an idol is one scary duo. Thanks for alerting me of that, Waluigi, even if you did just dig your own grave by saying that." - Dante.

With all of this still up in the air, Alexa tried his best to shift the attention onto the challenge. "Alright! Let's get down to the rules of today's challenge:"

*Today's challenge involves a three-way race through an obstacle course. You will start by climbing up a structure using a steep ramp made from rope climbing mesh. You will then run along the top of this structure and descend using a rope. From there, you have to traverse over two wooden seesaws; if you fall off either seesaw, you will have to return to the start of the obstacle. After that, you will trek through a thick patch of snow before raising your tribe's flag by pulling on a rope attached to the pole.

However, this challenge contains multiple rounds. Each round will have one member from each tribe racing each other. The first one to raise their flag wins a point, leaving the other two tribes to win nothing for that round. The survivors competing against one another will be decided by the tribe at the start of each round. However, once a survivor has participated in a round, they are not allowed to participate again until every member of their tribe has participated.

The first tribe to reach four points wins the challenge, rewarding themselves with immunity and a prize! Once this happens, it becomes a two-way race for the remaining tribes. The second tribe to make it to four points will also win themselves immunity, but sadly they'll receive no prize. This leaves the tribe that receives the miserly third place to attend Tribal Council, where one of their own will be voted off.*

"Want to know what you're playing for?" Asked Alexa.

The survivors nodded, some of which frantically.

"Alright!" He agreed. "You will be playing for... a night at the Survivors' Shack!"

Though it sounded pleasant, none of the survivors were really sure what that meant.

"You'll be greeted with a warm, cozy lounge with central heating and insulation. There'll be comfortable chairs and sofas, a warm barbeque full of hearty foods to top you up, and comfortable beds for every person in the tribe," he explained, paying close attention to the forming looks of desperation and determination on the faces of many survivors. "You likely all took the privileges of a warm home and meal for granted before coming out here, which is why I can see that some of you are downright ravenous to have a taste of the good life. All you have to do is to outdo your two competitors."

"A BARBEQUE?! There's no way we can afford to lose!" Daisy cried, turning to her tribe. "We need to win this!"

Scout, suddenly feeling pangs of hunger beat against his stomach, agreed mindlessly. "Damn right we need to win this!"

"I can live without fishin' equipment. I can live without a pile of fruit. But, if I go a night knowing that one of those chump tribes ate a burger in a warm building, while I'm out here freezin' my balls off tryna shove half-cooked slop down my throat, then my insides are prolly gonna end up dyin' on me!" - Scout.

Similar to Manjari, Elbrass and Denalo found themselves enticed by the potential prize.

"No way am I missing out on a chance to sleep in a bed after shivering myself to sleep for so long," said Tracer. "Let's give this our all!"

"Right behind you on that one," said Dante. "Stone cave floors don't make good mattresses, so I'm more than willing to take every opportunity to avoid sleeping in that cave."

Alexa eventually moved them onto the challenge. "Alright! Enough fantasising of what your night COULD be like. Let's see who actually gets to live that dream! Elbrass, Denalo, and Manjari: please approach the start of your obstacle courses!"

When the tribes shifted over, he quickly moved on to setting up the first round. "Alright. I need a nominee from Elbrass, Denalo, and Manjari for the first round. To repeat: the first one to raise the flag at the end of this obstacle course will win a point for their tribe, and you need five points to win the challenge."

The three teams then huddled together, quickly selecting one of their tribe members for the first round.


ROUND 1.

"Alright," said Alexa. "For round one, we have Dante from Elbrass tribe, Wii Fit Trainer from Denalo tribe, and Joseph from Manjari tribe. Get onto your starting mats and get into position!"

Following his orders, the three survivors walked to their respective mat before getting into a starting position. They were eyeing the first obstacle in front of them, keen to overcome it alongside the rest of the course, which would bring them and their tribe one step closer to a night of luxury.

"On my mark. Three..."

"Two..."

"ONE! GO!" He bellowed.

The three sprung from their mats, scurrying towards the ramp made from climbing mesh.

Approaching the ramp simultaneously, they scrambled upward. A few slips from Dante and Joseph allowed Wii Fit to take the lead, resulting in a stable climb to the top. Despite this, Joseph and Dante were still seconds behind.

Wii Fit, the lead in her hands, ran alongside the top of the structure before approaching the edge, featuring a dangling rope to descend with. Falling onto her knees, she slid to the ledge before grabbing the rope and climbing downward.

Next to descend down the structure were Dante and Joseph. The former chose to jump off the ledge, following it up by grabbing his rope midway through his fall. This allowed him to gain a massive lead over Wii Fit, and Alexa's oncoming commentary made her aware of this.

"Impressive move from Dante! He takes the lead from Wii Fit, leaving Joseph to catch up if he wants to stand a chance!"

With Dante the first to finish the descent, he began traversing over the seesaws just as Wii Fit reached ground level, Joseph a few seconds behind.

Though he was slow and cautious, Dante cleared the first seesaw without falling off. Meanwhile, Wii Fit's speed and determination allowed her to power through the first seesaw without slowing down too much. Unfortunately for Joseph, he was forced to take his seesaw slow, similar to Dante.

"Those seesaws are easy as long as you're slow. Too bad this is a race," he said, eyeing Dante. "You don't want to lose your place by being overly cautious, but you don't want to lose your place by being too reckless either."

As Wii Fit eventually overtook Dante by powering through the second seesaw, she got started on the next obstacle, taking the form of a large patch of thick, stiff snow. She took awkward, long steps, slowing her speed down to a halt as she attempted to traverse through such uneven terrain. Though Dante closed the gap between himself and the fitness guru, his pace took an impact when he entered the snow patch. Despite this, his speed was superior to Wii Fit's in this section, allowing him to rush through and past her position.

When Joseph finally got to the patch after overcoming the dreadful seesaws, he was able to power through the terrain at a speed superior to Wii Fit and Dante.

"Joseph's powering through! That might have been the realisation of being third place settling in!" Alexa assumed.

By the time Dante escaped the patch, Joseph was tied with Wii Fit, giving the devil hunter the edge.

As he made it to his flag, he used frequent, strong tugs at the rope to hoist the flag to the top of its pole. Though Wii Fit and Joseph made it to their flags, it was obvious that there was no saving them against Dante.

With his flag fully completed, Alexa announced the winner.

"DANTE WINS THE FIRST POINT FOR ELBRASS!"

Cheering from Elbrass was thrown his way, but as far as he was concerned, his tribe was only a quarter of the way through to receiving immunity and their reward.


ROUND 2.

"For the second round..." Paused Alexa. "...We have Waluigi from Elbrass, Knuckles from Denalo, and Kazuma Kiryu from Manjari."

Standing on their mats, they awaited the countdown.

"Three... two... ONE! GO!"

Immediately, Knuckles blazed to the ramp, scrambling up the climbing mesh in mere seconds, already gaining himself a lead by a few seconds.

While he was swift, Kiryu's speed and endurance alongside Waluigi's lanky limbs prevented Knuckles from making this round a flawless victory on his behalf.

The echidna ran across the structure at an impressive speed, continuing to outpace Kiryu and Waluigi.

"Knuckles is far ahead! Will he continue to lengthen his lead on his way down?" Alexa questioned, his mouth gaping from the excitement.

Nearing the ledge, Knuckles came to a complete stop before grabbing ahold of the rope, using it to quickly climb down from the structure.

Hearing Alexa praise the lead of Knuckles, Waluigi and Kiryu soon became aware that they needed to step up their game.

Coming to the edge of the structure, Kiryu vaulted over the edge, snatched the rope, and then immediately loosened his grip, resulting in him sliding down without harming his hands.

"Kiryu seems to be well aware of the dangers of friction burn," Alexa commented. "The last thing you need on those seesaws is a sharp pain in your hands distracting you from balancing across."

Not looking over and instead continuing to concentrate, Kiryu moved on to the seesaws, tuning out all of his surroundings as he spread his arms out for balance. He made his way across the first one quickly, though he slowed down towards the end as the seesaw tilted to the other side.

While traversing over his second seesaw, an announcement from Alexa's commentary suddenly filled him with surprise.

"Unlucky! Knuckles slips off right at the end of his second seesaw. That means he has to go back to the start of the first one," Alexa cringed with disappointment. "That's a huge time loss! Now it's between Kiryu and Waluigi!"

Realising that Waluigi was apparently close to his point in the race, Kiryu immediately regained his focus, finishing the seesaw with minimal loss of balance.

"Kiryu finishes the seesaws... Waluigi ALSO finishes the seesaws! Knuckles is almost done with his first!"

Serving as the underdog in this round, Waluigi's unexpected athleticism when it came to balancing had him competing against Kiryu for the win. Although, Knuckles still had a shot at taking over and winning.

With Kiryu and Waluigi getting to work on the snow patch, Kiryu's power versus Waluigi's lankiness had them equal in speed, though Kiryu's endurance gave him the upper hand in the long-term.

As Knuckles finally made it across both seesaws, Kiryu and Waluigi were almost complete with the patch, leaving him to catch up. Though he was capable of going far faster than both of them, the thick snow would hinder his ability to fully surpass them. Instead, he blitzed his way to the patch from where he stood, and tried his best to overcome the snow.

Kiryu broke out of the patch first, leaving an exhausted Waluigi following his lead.

He sprinted over, quickly arriving at the flag. Kiryu then grabbed ahold and began pulling. He tugged rhythmically on the rope, barely breaking a sweat. As he did this, Knuckles was next to break out of the patch.

With a burst of speed blasting him to the flag, Knuckles joined Waluigi in attempting to catch up to Kiryu by tugging harder and faster on their rope, raising their flags.

Knuckles and his incredible strength managed to overtake Waluigi's progress and near Kiryu. But as it turns out, the time he had lost on the seesaws was simply too much for him to succeed. As Kiryu's flag rose to the peak of the pole, Alexa ended the round.

"KIRYU WINS THE FIRST POINT FOR MANJARI! That's Elbrass and Manjari leading at one, with Denalo at zero."

"Balancing sucks..." Huffed Knuckles, returning to his tribe with nothing but disappointment.


ROUND 3.

"For the third round... we have Rodin from Elbrass, Polnareff from Denalo, and Scout from Manjari."

They approached and stood on their mats, waiting for their round to start.

"On my mark!" Alexa announced. "Three... two... ONE! GO!"

Scout and Polnareff bolted from their mats, leaving Rodin to stomp towards the first obstacle: the ramp.

Scrambling up the net without any mistakes, Scout immediately had himself in the lead. Polnareff was just behind, leaving Rodin's brooding build and height to be slightly detrimental to clearing the ramp, leaving him last.

"Come on, Rodin!" Tracer cheered.

"Scout's blazing through! He's nearly at the part where he has to scale down the structure," commentated Alexa.

Scout grabbed ahold of his rope and jumped off the ledge, walking down along the wall of the structure, rope in hand. Polnareff did the same, but his superior strength and endurance had him scaling down at a much better pace, eventually matching Scout's progress as they both dropped back to the ground.

"Polnareff and Scout are neck-and-neck!"

Before either of them could get cocky, more commentary soon followed.

"Nevermind! It looks like Rodin managed to close the gap by sliding down that rope as if it were nothing! All three of them are now neck-and-neck!"

"How can he do that without burning his hands?" Polnareff asked himself, nearing the seesaws.

Both of them stepped onto the seesaws at once. It would come down to risk and balance to find out who was capable of stealing the lead next.

Rodin didn't look down at all while balancing, contrary to the caution that Scout and especially Polnareff held. His size once again proved cumbersome, however, forcing him to go slower.

"Rodin falling back once again. Scout seems to be taking the lead back!"

As Scout cleared the first seesaw, he moved on to the second, but a quick slip immediately forced him off.

"Scout falls back! He has to return to the first seesaw."

"Frickin' unbelievable," he whined, sprinting back to the start of the obstacle.

Meanwhile, Polnareff's slower pace and greater balance eventually had him on and over the second seesaw with little trouble, resulting in him taking the lead. Rodin, in spite of his personal issues, quickly followed.

Nearing the patch, the Stand User dived in with gusto, taking large steps forward as fast as possible.

"Polnareff's trying to power through that patch... but Rodin does it seemingly without any hassle!"

The remark had him turning his head to the course adjacent to him, witnessing Rodin simply stomping over the patch and eventually passing him.

"Everyone's had their turn carrying first place. Will any of them get it back, or will Rodin be the one to raise the flag?!"

Making it out of the patch, Rodin continued to march forward, making his way to the flag. Scout had now just finished both seesaws yet again, and Polnareff had lost the stamina needed to catch up from where he stood.

Eventually, Rodin grabbed ahold of the rope and gave a few powerful tugs. Before his competitors knew it, he had fully risen his flag.

"RODIN WINS THE SECOND POINT FOR ELBRASS!"

"Who gives a crap about balancing?!" Scout cried, kicking a mound of snow into the air. "It sucks!"


ROUND 4.

"For the fourth round... it's Glass Joe from Elbrass, Tails from Denalo, and Sniper from Manjari!"

They lined up on their respective mats as Alexa began the countdown.

"Three... two... ONE! GO!"

Though Sniper initially held the lead by climbing up the ramp, Tails and his immense speed eventually overtook him before he could scale down the structure via rope.

"Tails takes the lead from Sniper! Glass Joe is VERY far behind! He needs to step things up!"

Still feeling horrible, Joe's illness, weakness, and fatigue ultimately had him out of the stakes. He tried his best, but it was clear to Elbrass that his best was simply not going to cut it.

"He's deplorable in challenges. If he keeps up his sickness episode that he's had for quite some time now, then I have no doubts that people in my tribe will begin to discuss getting rid of him." - Miles Edgeworth.

The race soon became a two-man competition between Sniper and Tails, with the latter still leading ahead by a fair distance.

Tails quickly got to work on the first seesaw, leaving Sniper to climb the rest of his way down the rope. With balance, confidence, and speed, Tails managed to clear the first seesaw with ease.

From there, he repeated the same level of performance on the second seesaw, leaving Sniper even further behind.

However, as he came to the thick patch of snow, issues began to arise. Tails, much like Knuckles, was among the shortest in the whole cast of survivors. This led to him struggling terribly in the snow. Every step had him either losing balance or getting momentarily stuck.

"Looks like Tails is being swallowed whole by that snow! It's a lot harder to travel through than it looks, especially if you're short," mentioned Alexa.

Noticing the door of opportunity swinging wide open, Sniper picked up the speed. He made over both seesaws with little hassle, ignoring one or two minor slips, and eventually made it to the snow patch himself. Thanks to his superior height, he was able to take large steps over the snow, allowing him to power through.

Tails and his short lead soon came to an end. The fox was simply unable to go any faster than he was currently traveling, and this allowed Sniper to finally overtake the fox, pulling ahead.

After a short run, he made it to his flag and quickly began pulling it up. However, by then, Tails was blazing out of the patch and over to his own flag.

"Tails is trying to take his lead back! He makes it to the flag after Sniper does! It all comes down to strength! Can Denalo get their first point? Glass Joe has only JUST made it down the rope!"

The race to raise their flag to the very top was tense. Tails caught up slightly with each pull, but Sniper's rhythm was completely unphased.

It came down to the wire, but by just a few seconds, Sniper managed to fully raise his flag.

"SNIPER WINS THE SECOND POINT FOR MANJARI! Denalo is still yet to take home a single point. If they continue this losing streak, then this challenge doesn't have many rounds left!"


ROUND 5.

"For the fifth round... we have Edgeworth from Elbrass, Mr. Krabs from Denalo, and Daisy from Manjari!"

Though Edgeworth and Krabs approached the mat without a second thought, Daisy felt the need to give herself a short pep talk before Alexa started the round.

"You got this! All you need to do is raise that flag for the point," she assured herself. "That's easy!"

"Is she talkin' to herself?" Scout asked, watching her lips move. "Guess bein' up in the mountains finally went to her head..."

All speculation aside, Manjari, alongside the other tribes, watched as Alexa began the next round.

"Three... two... ONE! GO!"

The three rushed from their mats and scrambled up the rope ramp. Edgeworth and Daisy gave it their all, while Krabs was forced to monitor his claws while climbing. If he gripped too hard, then he'd damage the structure and make the obstacle far harder for himself. This extra caution had him fall behind instantly.

A close race between Daisy and Edgeworth continued up and across the structure, up until they came to the rope. Edgeworth, though not wasting time, took the safe option by grabbing ahold of the rope, jumping off the edge, and quickly climbing down. Meanwhile, Daisy threw herself over the ledge and slid down the rope, losing balance towards the end and falling onto her hands and knees. Scrambling up, she was tired, but in the lead.

"Daisy looks like she's running out of gas!" Alexa revealed.

"Good..." Said Edgeworth, finally making it to the bottom of the rope.

Alexa continued to commentate. "Krabs is sliding down the rope with minimal grip! He's back in this!"

As they approached the seesaw, Daisy knew that her fatigue would heavily affect her ability to balance. With that in mind, she incorporated her own strategy.

She readied herself, then sprinted across the first seesaw, almost falling off several times, but eventually falling over right after clearing the first seesaw.

"Daisy barely makes it across the first seesaw!"

"Krabs is struggling to find his balance on the seesaw. Edgeworth is taking things slow and steady, meanwhile."

Now pumped with even more adrenaline, Daisy took a deep breath before mindlessly sprinting across the second seesaw. Unfortunately, a sudden slip not even a few steps in betrayed her balance, resulting in her falling off.

"Right as Edgeworth clears the first seesaw, Daisy falls off the second! She has to go back!"

Desperate to contribute towards the tribe's victory, she wasted no time sprinting back to the start of the seesaws, this time taking it slower yet still erratic.

Krabs, meanwhile, found his groove, allowing him to slowly but surely make his way across the first seesaw. Nonetheless, Daisy was catching up, and his pace was even slower than Edgeworth's strictly cautious approach.

"Daisy and Krabs are almost over the first seesaw... Edgeworth is almost over his second!"

Mere moments later, all three had cleared their respective obstacle. Daisy and Krabs were left with the second seesaw to tackle, while Edgeworth was free to overcome the snow patch.

The prosecutor began his trek, lifting his legs high and storming through. As he anticipated, his legs were soon wrecked from the exercise, causing him to go slightly slower with each step.

Back at the seesaws, Daisy managed to clear it after a few close calls. As for Krabs, a slip towards the end had him fall off.

"Daisy clears the seesaws. Krabs doesn't, and has to go back!"

Reaching the snow patch, Daisy scrambled through, similarly experiencing pain in her legs from the thick snow. However, she was slowly closing the gap between Edgeworth.

By the time they both exited the patch, Edgeworth was only slightly behind Daisy, and the sprint to the flag allowed them to become neck and neck with one another.

It came down to strength, form, and rhythm as they used the last of their energy to pull the flag up. Edgeworth had more strength, while Daisy had more speed.

"The flags are halfway and are looking even..." Said Alexa. "But Daisy is more than determined!"

Following a few more tugs, Edgeworth's arms were too tired, resulting in him losing his rhythm, and allowing Daisy to surpass him. Moments after, she managed to fully raise her flag.

With Manjari cheering, Alexa announced their third victory. "DAISY SCORES THE THIRD POINT FOR MANJARI! Only one point left for Manjari before they win immunity and that prize!"

It took her a week, but Daisy had finally been responsible as an individual for pushing her tribe closer to victory. She was proud of her performance, yet she was still eager to have her final tribe score the last point for Manjari.


ROUND 6.

"For the sixth round: Tracer from Elbrass; Nero from Denalo, and Majima from Manjari!" Announced Alexa. "However... this round's going to be a little different!"

He stuck his hand out, holding two fingers up. "This time, the first two tribes to complete the challenge will win a point each, leaving third place with nothing as usual."

"Well ain't that a welcome twist," Majima cackled. "I was already confident that I'd be gettin' the win for us. Now I couldn't lose if I damn tried!

Tracer huffed. "We'll see about that."

Alexa then started the countdown:

"Ready? Three... two... ONE! GO!"

Nero ran from the mat and jumped into the air, clinging onto the rope before running up. Similarly, Majima hunched down and sprinted forward, dashing up the ramp like a bullet.

Tracer, meanwhile, decided that it was time to show off her abilities to her competitors. Having already teased Scout with it, she decided to tease the two enemy teams with it next.

She jumped into the air and turned into a blur, quickly jolting forward and instantly up the ramp as if she teleported.

"THERE!" Scout cried. "TOLD YOU. SHE'S A FRICKIN' WIZARD!"

The competition was left dumbfounded, unaware of this ability of hers. However, she was far from over with using it.

Once again, she blinked forwards a few metres, retaining her sprint. Then she did so once again, immediately forming a massive lead.

"Tracer... errm... teleports ahead!" Alexa announced, struggling to commentate.

"Gotta wait for it to recharge before I can blink ahead again... might save it for that patch," she muttered to herself, leaping off the edge of the structure and sliding down the rope with ease. Majima and Nero made a great effort to close the gap, but she was simply too far ahead.

While they continued to near the rope she had just cleared, Tracer took things down a notch and got to work on the seesaws. She spread her arms out and quickly marched forward, her solid balance preventing the seesaw from affecting her.

"Tracer just keeps showing off how much of a physical champion she is!" Stated Alexa, applauding her efforts. "Meanwhile, Majima and Nero are offering an intense match of their own. Remember that second place is also worth fighting for!"

With Majima and Nero mirroring one another's methods, they continued to keep each other's lead up until the seesaws. By then, Tracer was halfway through her second, allowing them both the opportunity to catch up.

For Nero, his method was to hold his hands out and quickly shuffle along the seesaws, similarly to Tracer. Meanwhile, Majima's method involved sprinting across without much caution. It sounded asinine, but his expertise proved it to be an effective method.

"Majima sprints across both seesaws in no time at all! He's now neck-and-neck with Tracer, leaving Nero not too far behind!"

"That guy's crazy..." Nero admitted between breaths, attempting to catch up with a sprint.

As Majima entered the snow patch, the Yakuza was forced to adopt the same method most people before him had used. He simply lifted his legs up high, stepped forward, and hoped for the best. As for Tracer, she had other ideas...

Like at the start of the challenge, she jumped up and blinked forward, then did it again... and again. All within the span of a few seconds, she had already cleared most of the patch.

"INCREDIBLE!" Alexa bellowed, his jaw gaping. "Tracer restores that beautiful lead she had at the start! All that's left for her is the flag!"

Nero and Majima were visibly annoyed, yet continued to push forward. Nero was able to recover lost time by powering through the patch faster than Majima, though not by much. The two men would soon be neck-and-neck again, though it seemed as if there was no preventing Tracer from securing first place.

By the time the both of them broke out of the patch themselves, she had already reached the flag and was almost done raising it to the top.

Though they both sprinted over, Majima's speed slightly outdoing Nero's, Tracer inevitably finished raising her flag.

"TRACER SCORES THE THIRD POINT FOR ELBRASS! Now it's down to Nero and Majima. Who can retrieve that bonus point?!"

With Elbrass satisfied with Tracer's victory, they were now hoping for Denalo to score the next point. Otherwise, Manjari would earn the reward first.

Majima reached the flag first, causing him to scramble it up with powerful, urgent tugs on the rope. Though his flag flew upwards, Nero was right behind him.

The devil hunter grabbed ahold of his rope and yanked it over and over, slowly catching up to Majima's flag.

"This is gonna be close!" Commented Alexa.

All three teams watched from afar, their eyes fixated on either flag. But soon enough, the first flag they saw reach the top of its pole was Manjari's.

"MAJIMA WINS THE FOURTH AND FINAL POINT FOR MANJARI! MANJARI WINS IMMUNITY AND REWARD!"

With Nero beyond aggravated at his team's lack of points, Majima began clapping with excitement, rushing back to his tribe to join in with their celebrations.

Though bitter, Elbrass was at least thankful to have such an impressive lead over Denalo.

As all of the participants in the round returned to their respective tribes, Alexa reminded the survivors of the stakes.

"Denalo... with not a single point on the board for you guys, you're gonna have to pull off one impressive comeback," explained Alexa. "Manjari is now out of the challenge. Plus, now that every survivor has had a turn, you're able to re-elect survivors that have already participated in past rounds. However, because Tracer and Nero just competed in this round, then you will not be able to re-elect them for the next round only."

"We're doomed either way..." Krabs sighed, riddled with pessimism.

"I didn't get placed on a tribe with complete strangers for this! I'd rather have my old tribe, even if it meant havin' Glass Joe!" - Mr. Krabs.

Alexa then continued. "Remember. You're playing for immunity from the next Tribal Council. You may have lost that reward, but it pails in comparison to the power of safety. So, without further ado, let's continue the challenge!"


ROUND 7.

"For the seventh round, we have Rodin from Elbrass competing against Tails from Denalo. One of the largest contestants going up against one of the smallest," Alexa noticed.

As the two walked up to their mats, they looked over at one another, noticing the massive size difference. There were plenty of pros and cons to being either end of the size spectrum, but this challenge would truly show which side would end up keeping Denalo in the game, or killing them flawlessly.

Readying up, Alexa began the countdown:

"The stakes here are high; on my mark. Three... two... ONE! GO!"

Tails jolted from the mat, speeding towards the ramp as Rodin got off to a much slower start.

With an intense round ahead, Alexa decided to up his commentary.

"Tails reaches the ramp first! He's speeding up it like there's no tomorrow!"

"Rodin also reaches it. His size is making it awkward, but he's trying his best to prevent that gap between him and Tails from widening!"

As the fox reached the top of the ramp, he then boosted forward, blitzing through the top of the structure before halting beside the rope. From there, he quickly began his descent.

"Much like his previous round, Tails begins his descent down the rope with an incredible lead!"

Rodin attempted to make up for lost time as he ran across the obstacle. His eyes were locked on the flag at the far end of the course, and though Alexa's commentary made him more than aware of his enemy's lead, he didn't as much as glance over.

Right before Rodin made it to the rope, Tails reached the bottom and immediately made his way to the first of two seesaws.

Again, like his previous round, his composure and speed allowed him to clear it with minimal effort. The first seesaw was soon cleared, and then the second one quickly followed suit.

With most obstacles down, and only one to go, Tails was faced with the patch of snow that proved to be his undoing in his last attempt.

"Tails was bullied by that thick snow in the last race he took part in. If he wants to prevent any form of a comeback from Rodin, who has just started his seesaws, then he'll have to power through!"

After analysing the patch, Tails thought of an idea that would potentially save his tribe from Tribal Council.

Standing back, he crouched down and curled into a ball. As if it didn't look bizarre enough to those spectating him, he then began spinning on the spot, building up more and more speed as time went on.

With Rodin slowly making his way across the second seesaw, Tails, still in ball formation, zoomed forwards. The idea was to use his ability to power through the whole patch in an instant. However, due to the awkwardly thick consistency of the snow, he was only able to make it halfway before all of his speed had been absorbed by the patch.

Meanwhile, Scout, who was barely able to see the stunt, was more than confused. "The hell?! Did any of you just see what that fox just frickin' did?!"

"...I dunno... but that was so cool!" Daisy said. "I wish I could do that!"

Back at the course, Tails quickly scrambled up from his curled-up position and began marching through the snow. Once again, he struggled immensely, but he was hoping his headstart would be enough to score him the win.

Little did he know, however, Rodin had finished traversing across his second seesaw without much struggle, and was now also approaching the snow.

"Though Tails has had a bad history with that snow, Rodin likes to walk through it like it isn't there!" Exclaimed Alexa. "This could easily be Denalo's undoing, but Tails might have made enough progress to prevent this comeback from happening."

After a short period of fumbling over the snow, making minimal progress, Tails knew that he'd have to repeat his ability if he wanted to clear the snow patch first. Yet again, he took a step back, curled into a ball, and began spinning on the spot. By then, Rodin had already made progress on the snow, stomping through as if it weren't even there.

However, just as Rodin went to surpass Tails, the fox zoomed forward after building up enough speed, clearing the rest of the patch.

"Incredible! Looks like Tails and his brain might have just bought his team their first point, but Rodin certainly doesn't look like the type to give up. This could still be anyone's game!" Alexa proclaimed.

Uncurling himself from the position once again, Tails quickly regained his focus and made a dash for the flag. Rodin was behind, but he still had the potential to overtake the fox, but given their speed, his only chance at winning the round and thus the challenge would be overtaking Tails at the flag itself.

Tails soon reached the flag. Then, grabbing ahold of the rope, he began pulling hard, slowly but surely raising the flag up. Rodin was a few seconds away from reaching it himself, adding further pressure to Tails.

Soon enough, both had ahold of the flag's rope, fighting to raise it to the top first. Tails was stronger than he looked, but as expected, Rodin was on a different league of strength.

Gluing his eyes to the performance of both contenders, Alexa's announcements soon became frequent and full of intensity.

"Rodin starts raising his flag! He's already making up for lost time!"

"Rodin's flag is catching up to Tails and his flag!"

Both gave their all, but soon enough, the announcements then became in favour of Rodin:

"Rodin is now neck-and-neck with Tails! And that's it, Rodin surpasses Tails! There's not much more progress to go on that flag!"

At long last, after a few more fierce tugs from Rodin, his flag was fully raised.

"RODIN RAISES HIS FLAG FIRST!" Yells Alexa. "ELBRASS WINS IMMUNITY!"

Though Rodin was at the other end of the course, the rest of Elbrass threw their arms around one another, celebrating their victory.

With tribes on either side of them celebrating their respective victories, Denalo was left with a strong feeling of misery. They couldn't manage to retrieve a single point before Manjari and Denalo secured four. In addition, this would be the first Tribal Council for Nero and Tails, leaving them especially nervous.

After a brief yet respectful handshake, Rodin and Tails returned back to their tribes. Alexa was satisfied with the levels of intensity that the challenge emitted, even if Denalo had a catastrophically poor loss.

"I've not seen a loss that hard since... well... Manjari's struggle back in the first challenge," the host admitted. "However, every single round was a close call, so I can't fault any of your efforts!"

He then pointed to Manjari. "Manjari! You guys won the most refreshing prize of the game yet. How much are you looking forward to it, Daisy?"

"If I had to put a number between one and ten... I'd give it a twenty!" She said, barely able to sit still.

"Well, I wouldn't want to keep you guys waiting much longer," Alexa smiled. "I hope you enjoy your night from battling the elements, and I hope you and Elbrass can enjoy a night without attending Tribal Council. As for Denalo, you guys are gonna do the honours of selecting the fourth person to be eliminated from this competition. You'll have until Tribal Council to discuss. See you then!"

Each tribe split off from today's grueling challenge. Elbrass and Denalo returned to the mountains, while Manjari was guided to a remote shack where they would spend the night in luxurious comfort...


Denalo Mk. II: Day 8

Survivors: Knuckles - Jean Pierre Polnareff - Miles "Tails" Prower - Mr. Krabs - Wii Fit Trainer - Nero.

Returning to tribe, morale was lower than it had ever been. Of course, they had lost the challenge and were soon to be attending Tribal Council, but to add salt to that wound, the loss wasn't even close. Not to mention the missed opportunity of staying overnight at the Survivors' Shack, which acted as the cherry on top of the despair-ridden day they had been through.

As Denalo currently stood, there were two core alliances: the duo of Mr. Krabs and Wii Fit Trainer, as well as the majority alliance of Polnareff, Tails, Knuckles, and Nero. The former wasn't aware of the latter's existence, leaving Wii Fit with especially high confidence that she wasn't at the bottom of the tribe's hierarchy. However, Krabs, who had acted paranoid since the Shuffling event from yesterday, only grew warier and warier of his potential demise.

For the larger alliance, they were left with the option of Krabs and Wii Fit. With both of them privately chatting within the camp's cave, this left the others to discuss beneath the small cloth shelter.

"So... Wii Fit, or Krabs," said Knuckles.

Polnareff smirked. "Is that a joke?"

"...Sorta. I'd be surprised if any of you guys wanted to take out Wii Fit before Krabs. That guy's been acting strange the second he grouped up with us," he explained. "That, and he's probably the physically weakest on the tribe."

"You got that right," the Stand user nodded. "The last thing we need after such a brutal loss is a big hit in tribe fitness."

With the alliance seemingly in a unanimous agreement, Tails was relieved. "I'm glad my first Tribal Council out here is an easy one."

"Same here," added Nero, changing the subject. "You think they'll both target me? After all, I'm the one with the idol."

"Probably," Polnareff said, casually leaning back in his seat. "Don't worry though. Four-to-two means that you won't have to play it."

As the alliance fell into a brief period of silence, Nero reflected on how not a single member of his alliance seemed to be bothered by how he had hidden his idol from them. Tails had known about his idol much sooner, so it didn't come off as much of a surprise to him, but Knuckles and Polnareff acted oddly nonchalant about the reveal, only seeing it as a positive for the tribe.

With the silence subsiding, Polnareff stood up and began his leave. "Well, if we stay like this, then the others are gonna get more suspicious than they probably already are. I'll go chat with them and pretend that I'm on their side."

"You sure that's necessary?" Tails asked, mildly skeptical. "We have the majority, so Mr. Krabs will be voted off no matter what."

Unable to give a good reason, he shrugged. "Better safe than sorry!"

As he walked off, Nero, Tails, and Knuckles thought little of it.

Polnareff battled against the harsh, snowy winds across the camp and into the cave, where he saw Krabs and Wii Fit against the wall.

"Hey guys," he said, taking a spot next to them. "Tough challenge, huh?"

Krabs, seeing through his demeanor, immediately shot it down with a cold glare. "Don't charm me with any of your cheap small-talk. I know you're here to talk elimination."

"Sheesh... you're not gonna get many votes on your side with that attitude," Polnareff said.

Ignoring the sass between Krabs and Polnareff, Wii Fit pointed to the exit of the cave. "I was just about to leave and talk to the others, hopefully individually. I feel bad for Nero for having his idol outed but... I think it's best if we vote for him discretely."

Krabs gave a frantic nod. "I can feel it. If that lad ain't blindsided, then it's gonna be me tastin' the boot!"

"Well, you're right," he sighed. "Your name has been thrown around, but I think voting you off would be a waste of an opportunity." Polnareff then formed a mischievous grin. "I got ties to Knuckles, so I can try and convince him to change from you to Nero. That gives us four, meaning that we won't have to try and convince Tails to do the same."

Lighting up with pure bliss, Krabs could barely contain his gratitude. "I knew they'd be on to me! If you can help save me from this vote, then you can bet that I'm gonna be loyal to ya till the end!"

Though Wii Fit didn't want to kill the optimism, her concerns were too strong to ignore. "Only problem is if Nero ends up playing that idol. None of us know what it does, but I suspect it'll keep him safe tonight."

"Don't worry," Polnareff reassured. "I'll make sure he feels as safe as possible."

"Tails, Nero, and Knuckles still think I'm voting Krabs tonight, but when I see an opportunity to get rid of someone with an idol, and one that tried to hide it from their alliance, then I'll make sure to take it the first chance I get. All I need to do is get Knuckles on my side, and then this blindside just might work." - Jean Pierre Polnareff.

"This is the miracle I've been waitin' for! Here I was, about to fight a battle I couldn't win, and then Polnareff arrives and tells me that Nero will be going home instead! I never trusted that delinquent much, and I especially don't trust whatever idol he has up his sleeve..." - Mr. Krabs.

Wii Fit decided to place her trust in Polnareff. "Well, if you're gonna try and convince Knuckles, then I'll see if Tails will budge."

"And I'll go up to Nero me'self and see what lies that boy has in store for me," Krabs snickered.

"Well, whatever you do, make sure he doesn't catch on. As far as he knows, I'm in his alliance," Polnareff warned.

As daylight continued its transformation into twilight, the survivors constantly moved around camp, talking to different people.

The first thing Krabs did was approach Nero, though their conversation was awkwardly short-winded.

"Nero, who's on your mind for tonight?" Asked Krabs, awaiting his lie.

After a short pause, the devil hunter scratched his head. "From what I've heard, it's probably going to be Wii Fit. Mind voting her?"

Deciding to fire back with a lie of his own, he gave a fake grin. "Sounds good to me! As long as it ain't my name!"

Meanwhile, Wii Fit attempted to convince Tails to vote for Nero.

"If we can vote him without him knowing, then that means you can send him home with an idol in his pocket," she explained. "Does that not sound like the better option?"

"You have a good point," the fox said. "...I'm still undecided on who I really want to vote for, but I'll think about it."

"Looks like Nero's suspicions were right: his idol made Wii Fit and Krabs turn on him. If it weren't for the alliance he was in, then he'd be going home tonight. Luckily, we have the majority, and it'll still be Krabs going home... I just hate having to give people like Wii Fit false hope by lying to her." - Tails.

As they came to their "agreement", all that was left was for Polnareff to convince Knuckles. With Tails unwilling to put Nero's name down, the only shot they had at gaining the majority was by getting Knuckles on their side.

Coming together, Knuckles was the first to talk.

"Have you seen Krabs and Wii Fit? They're scrambling around camp. Looks like your attempt to "get on their side" didn't work out so well," he remarked, slightly frustrated. "But I guess we still have a majority as long as nobody flips."

His security made Polnareff more nervous when it came to explaining the situation, but he still knew that he had a shot at convincing his alliance partner.

"Well, about that..." He said. "I've talked with them, and they're up for a blindside against Nero."

"Wha-?!" The echidna cried. "We got a majority, and you're trying to flip on us?!"

Realising he rubbed him the wrong way, he was quick to clarify. "No, no, no. I want to continue to have an alliance with Tails and especially you. I still think Krabs is a liability, and I also think that Wii Fit seems to be quite the dangerous socialite... but Nero has an idol."

"He does..." Knuckles said, his guard slowly lowering.

"It'll open up a can of worms that will end up being detrimental to us, whether we're on his side or against it," Polnareff explained. "He didn't tell us he had one, so who's to say he'd be charitable enough to use it if anyone in the alliance needed it far more than he did?"

Through his silence, he could tell that Knuckles was beginning to think further about the situation. "What about Tails?" He asked.

"Tails is the reason why Nero was in our alliance. Any info we give Tails could be relayed back to Nero. Once he realises his alliance is after him, he'll play his idol and screw us over the next chance he gets," Polnareff explained.

Knuckles, struggling to see that possibility, shook his head. "I know Tails wouldn't do that to me."

"You sure?" Polnareff folded his arms. "You said you were best buds back on Elbrass, and you've surely shown that fact off from the day or so I've spent with you two, but there can only be one winner in this show. This blindside may hurt Tails, but I'm sure he'll understand."

After only a few extra moments of thought, the million-dollar question was thrown his way.

"So, are you voting Nero tonight?"

Knuckles looked at him, paused, then tilted his head. "...Tails is a great friend... but Nero's a massive threat, especially with that idol."

"It's not like you're voting Tails, right?" He shrugged. "Vote with your head; don't vote with your heart."

The echidna nodded.

"Right. I guess if I have to put emotions out of it, then it's gonna be Nero," he admitted.

With a satisfied smile from Polnareff, they discretely shook on it and walked off.

Not long after, Denalo were sent on their way to Tribal Fortress, where they would attend Tribal Council. For Tails and Nero, this would be their first time attending the ceremony... potentially their last.


Tribal Council: Night 8

Survivors: Knuckles - Jean Pierre Polnareff - Miles "Tails" Prower - Mr. Krabs - Wii Fit Trainer - Nero.

Making their way down the mountain and across several snowy plains brought them to the Tribal Fortress building. A feeling of dread enveloped the survivors as they drew closer and closer.

Upon arriving, they slipped through the entrance, down the stone hall, and into the large Tribal Council room. On the left was the voting booth, and on the right was the exit door that the eliminee would be leaving the fortress through.

The six sat down in stone seats placed in the middle of the room. It was frigid and miserable. The room was dim, save the torch-filled wall at the back of the room, which Nero and Tails quickly figured out to be representing every survivor in the season. The torches of Falco Lombardi, Phoenix Wright, and King Dedede had been snuffed out, leaving them lifeless.

Finally, in front of them was Alexa at his desk, welcoming them with his usual grin.

"How's the scenery for you two?" He asked, pointing at Nero and Tails. "This is your first crack at Tribal Council, after all!"

"I've been in much worse," Nero shrugged. "Still... would rather be at camp than here."

Alexa gave a thumbs up. "That's the spirit! Anyhow... welcome to Tribal Council, Denalo. Not only is this your first Tribal Council, but that challenge wasn't exactly a close shave. None of you did too poorly at those rounds, but when it came to getting first in any of them, you all fell flat. What do you think cost you the challenge, Tails?"

"We were all really good," he said. "But I think we were all placed with a really good member from either Elbrass or Manjari. That and, that snow patch obstacle cost us plenty of points."

He nodded. "I could see plenty of you struggling. You even tried your own unique technique to try and overcome it, yet Rodin still had you defeated! What was that ability about?"

"A spindash," Tails replied. "I can curl up into a ball and spin in place, then I can use all of that built-up momentum to get a burst of speed. I'm good with estimates, but I seemed to underestimate just how much that patch of snow sucked every time."

"I see," said Alexa, moving on. "Anyway. From your loss, you went back to Tribal Council in defeat. Nero, you're late to experiencing the whole practice before Tribal Council; what was camp like after the challenge?"

Nero huffed. "People were running around and trying to get people on their side. A few names came up, including mine, and-"

"Whoa whoa!" He said, raising his hands. "So your name's been thrown around?"

He nodded. "Yeah... I can tell that one or two people don't trust me anymore since the news of my idol."

"Of course," said Alexa. "Who could forget about that event! Waluigi outed Nero's idol before the challenge started. What went through your mind when that accusation came out, Knuckles?"

The echidna folded his arms. "You'd probably have a better clue. It was so unexpected, my mind just went empty!"

"Same here," he chuckled. "Way to steal the challenge's thunder. Anyway, Wii Fit, who else is on the chopping block?"

She folded her arms. "...Well, it could be any of us. But I've only heard Nero and Krabs be thrown around, thankfully not mine. But, depending on who we choose, that could definitely alter the first time I'll be hearing my name around camp before a Tribal Council."

"There are always consequences in this game," Alexa warned. "And the same goes for challenges. Tonight, your consequence for losing is having to vote one of your own off of the tribe. So, let's quit beating around the bush, and let's get to the voting! The first one to vote will be Knuckles. Please grab this box, write a vote onto the slip over at the booth, and slide it in."

With a nod, Knuckles stood up and walked forward, grabbing the voting box before seeking the voting booth to cast his vote.


Knuckles: Sounded like a tough dilemma. Turns out, all I had to do was think about who I've chosen to align with... now it's not so tough. (?)

"Polnareff, you're up."

Polnareff: Not even twenty-four hours in, and you blew your shot at me trusting you. Breaking up the alliance is worth getting you out with that idol in your pocket. (Nero)

"Tails, you're up."

Tails: I really didn't want to vote anyone out of the tribe, but you didn't make a good first impression yesterday. (Mr. Krabs)

"Mr. Krabs, you're up."

Mr. Krabs votes, but doesn't leave a comment.

"Wii Fit Trainer, you're up."

Wii Fit votes, but also doesn't leave a comment.

"Nero, you're up."

Nero votes, but doesn't leave a comment.

After retrieving the voting box from Nero, Alexa placed it on the desk and watched as the devil hunter sat back down. "Survivors..."

He eyed them cautiously, before revealing a twist.

"Tonight will be slightly different."

Having frozen half the tribe with shock, he elaborated.

"Tonight was supposed to be a simple Tribal Council with an elimination... but, due to recent circumstances, we've decided to shake things up."

Suddenly, Alexa grabbed an ice cube from his desk and passed the many torches along the back wall.

Eventually, he came to a stop at Glass Joe's.

"Not long after the challenge, Glass Joe's illness hit him like a truck. He's fine, and I gave him the option to continue playing despite his abysmal condition... but he ultimately chose to leave the show."

"What?!" Said Wii Fit. "I thought he looked better in the challenge..."

Alexa frowned, hovering the ice cube over Joe's torch. "If you get ill out here... your chances of recovery are slim. He had the choice, but he definitely made the right one if you ask me.

He opened up his hand, dropping the ice cube into his torch. Soon enough, a faint fizzle signaled the death of the torch, symbolising his unforeseen elimination.

"So Tribal Council's over?" Krabs asked, grinning. "So we can go back to our tribe as a six?!"

His excitement was immediately shut down. "Not at all. Tonight, you will be voting somebody off of Denalo... and over to the Elbrass tribe, where they will take Glass Joe's place in the tribe. I can't let Elbrass suffer from a loss while you guys get off scot-free. That's just unfair!"

The survivors slumped in their seats. Though they were happy to know that elimination wasn't an option, being randomly placed into a tribe was something none of them wanted to do.

"With all of that in mind. Let's see who'll be rejected from Denalo, and embraced by Elbrass," he smirked. "But before I read out the votes. Does anyone have an idol that they would like to play?"

And just like that, the moment of truth arrived. If anyone had told Nero about Polnareff's plan, then the idol would be played. Otherwise, it would seemingly be a victory for Polnareff's blindside.

Nero clutched at his idol in his pocket, slowly moving his hand out... and leaving the idol alone.

A few more silent moments passed, and Alexa nodded to himself. "Alright then. Survivors! I shall now read out the votes!"


*VOTING TIME*

The first vote goes to... Mr. Krabs.

The second vote goes to... Nero. One vote Nero; one vote Mr. Krabs. (Nero shrugs to himself.)

The third vote goes to... Mr. Krabs. Two votes Mr. Krabs, and one vote Nero. (Mr. Krabs begins to feel his teeth chatter.)

The fourth vote goes to... Nero. Two votes Nero; two votes Mr. Krabs.

The fifth vote goes to... Nero. That's three votes Nero, and two votes Mr. Krabs. (Nero is left in shock, turning to his alliance)

Alexa grabbed the final vote and removed it from the voting box. He unfolded it, read the contents, and then spun it around.

"Sixth vote goes to... Mr. Krabs. That's a tie," he revealed.

With Krabs, Nero, and - discretely - Polnareff in a state of panic, Alexa explained the rules of the revote:

"We're going to do a revote. This time, neither Krabs nor Nero will be able to vote. Idols cannot be played during the revote," Alexa explained. "If we hit another tie, then rocks will be drawn to decide who departs from this tribe to the Elbrass tribe... if everyone's clear, then it's time to vote."

Starting with Knuckles once again, each member barring the two tied individuals returned to the booth. They proceeded to cast their votes for the second time before returning back to their seats.

As Alexa collected the votes, he gazed back to the tribe. "Remember... idols cannot be played in a revote. Whoever receives the most votes will be removed from this tribe."

With this in mind, he read out the votes aloud:


*VOTING TIME*

The first vote goes to... Mr. Krabs.

The second vote goes to... Nero.

The third vote goes to... Nero. (Krabs felt relief, knowing he would be safe whether it was forced into rocks or not.)

Just like before, Alexa grabbed the final vote from the box. Without wasting any time, he spun it around.

"The member removed from the Denalo tribe is... Nero."

With an eerie silence enveloping the tribe, Polnareff smirked as Nero stood up with defeat.

"So much for a damn alliance," he spat.

Tails looked to Knuckles, surprised and upset that he ended up flipping.

As Nero approached Alexa, the host sighed. "Sorry, Nero. Your torch may not be snuffed, but consider your time with these people done... for now. You'll be sent to Exile Island, which you may recognise as the finishing area in the first challenge. All that's there for you is a small portion of rice and beans, and a tent for you to get cozy with. You'll be joining Elbrass early in the morning, so you're free to go."

Without looking back at his tribe, Nero opened up the exit and walked out, leaving a divided group of five.

"Nero definitely didn't look pleased with the results," said Alexa. "But you're now, hopefully, a stronger group of five than you were before. Whether you have a threat off your shoulders or believe that he was the weakest link, that's up to you. Either way, Nero might just come back to haunt you later on. If you want someone to blame for that, then blame the illness that plagued Glass Joe. I'll see you guys in the next challenge. Get some rest."

Beyond happy to oblige, the survivors stood up from their seats and swiftly exited Tribal Council, one man down...


VOTES (Initial Vote)

Nero (3): Jean Pierre Polnareff - Mr. Krabs - Wii Fit Trainer.

Mr. Krabs (3): Knuckles - Tails - Nero.


VOTES (Revote)

Mr. Krabs (1): Tails.

Nero (3): Jean Pierre Polnareff - Wii Fit Trainer - Knuckles.


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 Mk. II Tribe (Green)

- Dante

- Miles Edgeworth

- Waluigi

- Tracer

- Nero

- Rodin

Denalo Mk. II Tribe (Purple)

- Knuckles

- Jean Pierre Polnareff

- Miles "Tails" Prower

- Mr. Krabs

- Wii Fit Trainer

Manjari Mk. II Tribe (Orange)

- Kazuma Kiryu

- Princess Daisy

- Goro Majima

- Sniper

- Joseph Joestar

- Scout


Days until the next Shuffling: 5.