A/N: I'm back with another episode of Beyblade: Survivor Style! Quick note, I probably won't be adding a Last Time section on my chapters from here on out. Just FYI.

Episode 8: Stomach of Steel

Blue Team Camp – Day 25

"Oh man, oh man, oh man!" Mei-mei said. "Our main muscle and main brain are gone. Gone! Darn it Madoka, if I get my hands on you…"

"Calm it." Said Sophie. "We can handle it. Even though 'we' isn't going to be in play much longer." She said. This got inquisitive stares from her teammates. "Are you that dense? Look, it was a fake merge last time, and there's no one on Redemption Island but Hikaru." There were still blank stares. Sophie sighed. "The merge is today!" she screamed.Her teammates jumped, but they understood now.

"So? Even if the merge is today, we'll still be in an alliance, right?" Yuu asked. Mei-mei and Sophie looked at each other.

Mei-mei Confession: Why, oh why was I stuck on a team with the two kids? Why couldn't I have been on the other team, with all of the strong ones!

"I don't see why not, Yuu." Kenta said. Yuu smiled and laid back. Soon he was asleep. It was silence for a bit until Mei-mei spoke up.

"I'll go get the Tree Mail." She said. The Chinese woman stood up and walked into the forest, leaving Sophie and Kenta alone. There was an awkward silence between them until Yuu snorted like a pig and rolled over. This caught a giggle from Kenta. Mei-mei walked back into camp and sat down. She quickly looked over at Yuu. "It's not my turn. It is definitely not my turn." She said. Kenta threw his hands in the air, like saying, 'wasn't me', leaving Sophie. She sighed and crawled over to wake up Yuu. When the boy was awake, Mei-mei read the letter. "It says we ALL go to Redemption today. Guess you were right Sophie." She said. Sophie gave a triumphant nod.

"Well, let's go!" she said. She quickly stood up and ran off into the woods, followed shortly by the rest of her team.

Red Team Camp – Day 25

"So it says we all go to Redemption?" Kyouya said. Tsubasa nodded his head. "Well, I guess we better get going then." He said. He started to get up, but was pulled back down by Dashan. "No. We all need to talk first." He said. His words were met with stoicism, and he continued. "I'm pretty sure that this is going to be the merge, so this'll be our last chance to talk as a team. I suggest that we stay together, as an alliance, after the merge. It'll be easier to stick together and get to the final four then. Do we agree?" he said. His teammates nodded slowly, unsure.

Tsubasa Confession: I don't trust Dashan anymore. He's still trustworthy, but I tend generally NOT to trust leaders. He's just sort of took over as a leader, and, in truth, I think he's the first to go.

After they agreed on that, Dashan stood up. "Well, that's all I had to say. Now let's go get merged." They stood and walked off into the woods, towards the boat.

Redemption Island – Day 25

Hikaru was fairly nervous. She hadn't seen anyone pull in from the docks last night, and that was unusual. There was normally someone there every three days. She was packing up the remainders of her camp. She felt there was something going to happen, and that it wasn't going to be here. She set fire to her wood shelter and took off towards the Redemption Temple. She was greeted by the remaining… Eight contestants? She counted on her fingers, and came to the conclusion that there was one missing. "I see you're confused Hikaru." Blader DJ said. The girl nodded her head. "Well, it's okay to be. There were two people sent home last night, Gingka and Madoka, so now there are only eight." She nodded. "Now, if you would be so kind as to step into line with the other contestants, you can get back into the game." She stopped. Did that mean... She was back in the game? She glared at Ryuga, who gulped.

Ryuga Confession: The boy was sweating in the confessional. "Okay, I'm officially scared. That girl is out to get me, and she lasted, I don't know how many challenges to do it. She's stronger than me, faster than me, and actually smarter than me. Dude, she needs to GO!"

She stepped into line, and Blader DJ continued. "Okay, several things. First off, there is no more Redemption Island!" He said. "That means no more second chances!" Some of the contestants nodded, while others frowned. "Next, taking its place are hidden immunity idols."He held up a wooden idol the size of his hand with two blades facing each other. "There are four of them scattered throughout the main island, and if you find one, you may use it to guarantee immunity at anytime during the game, though I'd use it during an elimination ceremony." He chuckled at his own joke, but shortly after, he continued. "If you win a reward challenge, you will get the designated reward for that challenge, but you will also receive a clue to the whereabouts of a idol. That brings me to my second thing. There will no longer be one challenge together, but two challenges, a reward and an immunity challenge. Third, of course, Hikaru has won the right to come back to the main island and compete again. Fourth, if you are eliminated, you will go to a jury, which will decide your fate in the final Tribal Council. Fifth, and last of all, there are no longer two teams. You are now one, whole, team!" He said. With the last sentence, the nine contestants remaining bursted into cheers, high-fiving one another, hugging, the latter. Even Sophie and Tsubasa joined in. "Now, just one question." Blader DJ said. The contestants stopped and listened. "Which camp will you be going to? The Red Team or the Blue Team? Because, there is only Green Team now." He said. The contestants didn't think for long.

"Blue Team!" Kenta said. "The Red Team camp sucks!" the boy said. This got some frowns from the former Red Team, but they grudgingly nodded.

"Alright then. To celebrate the merging of the tribes, you will now eat a feast!" he announced. He pulled back a curtain that was behind him to reveal an endless table of food. Almost every kind of food imaginable was on that table. Most of the players' mouths watered, especially the former Red Teams'. They dove into the food, and started to eat. They ate, and ate, and ate, and ate until they could eat no more. They waddled away from the table one by one, until there was no one left. "Now, we should head back to the boat. Red, blue, you are no longer two tribes. From this point in the game on, you shall be known as the Green Tribe. Good luck, and may the best player win." They walked back to the boat and sped back to the island.

Green Team Camp – Evening 25

"Boy, now I know what I've been missing." Dashan said as they walked back into camp. He looked around at his new clearing. He saw a spacey shelter, a large fire not far off, and a good supply of food. Blader DJ had supplied them with another bag of rice, as there were more mouths to feed now. Some of the bladers were already tired, and they retired into their place under the shelter. Kyouya, Sophie, and Mei-mei were left up. The three looked at each other awkwardly, before one spoke up.

"Look, we don't have anything against each other right?" Sophie asked. Kyouya shook his head, and Mei-mei looked cautiously at Kyouya before shaking hers too. "Well, I'm not suggesting an alliance, but how about we just don't shoot for each other right now. Okay?" she asked. The other two pretty willingly nodded their heads and they went off to sleep. What they didn't know was that they were short two members, and that they were both off in the woods.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Ryuga said. "I'll listen, I'll listen!" he said. Hikaru nodded, and let go of him. "Thank you. I don't think my foot was supposed to reach my back." He said, rubbing his back. Hikaru shook her head.

"Alright listen, I didn't call you back here to beat you up. I propose a secret alliance." She said. Ryuga's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

Ryuga Confession: WHAT THE –BLEEP- !

"I'm sorry, say what now?" Ryuga asked, cleaning his ears out.

"I said, I propose a secret alliance, me and you. I've had this whole game planned out from the moment I set foot in that recording studio. I planned to make the rest of the players think that I hate with all of my will, then get far enough in the game to where I make an alliance with you. We pick up players along the way, and we'll be in the top three or four. No one will suspect us, and being from different teams, we can sway the way they judge our alliance. We can win!" she explained. Ryuga nodded his head. She made sense, but still…

"What proof do I have that I can trust you?" he asked. Hikaru sighed.

"I have no grudge against you, even after what you did to me. You were under dark power. I can understand that. I forgive you." She said. Ryuga looked surprised.

Ryuga Confession: I didn't see this coming. At all. I mean seriously, she had that planned out? She is a force to be reckoned with.

"Fine. We'll see where this goes." He said. Hikaru sighed in happiness.

"Good." She said. She smiled at him, but then did something unexpected. She gave him a peck on the lips. "Good night." She said, and walked off, leaving Ryuga in a daze.

Ryuga Confession: Okay, either I'm completely, totally, insanely crazy, or Hikaru just kissed me. Yep, I'm crazy.

Ryuga soon followed her to the shelter, and took a spot as far away from Hikaru as possible. Soon, everyone was asleep, and the 25th day of camp ended.

Green Tribe Camp – Day 26

When Ryuga woke up, he looked over at where Hikaru was sleeping last night, but she was gone. He instantly panicked. Not knowing where she was means she could sneak up on him with another surprise kiss, not that he didn't want another one. He just wanted to be in control of the next one.

"What are you looking for?" Tsubasa asked from outside the shelter. Ryuga got up and went outside to talk with the teenager. He was met by not only Tsubasa, but Mei-mei too.

"Good morning to you too, Tsubasa." He said grumpily. "What do you want?"

"Only to talk, friend. I think us three would make a good alliance." He said.

They thought about it. Ryuga and Mei-mei exchanged looks, and nodded. "Sure" Mei-mei said.

"Good, now scatter. I don't want the others to know." He said. They scattered.

All of a sudden, a loud horn was heard in the distance. "Challenge time already?" Yuu said. "That's so stinky!"

"That's the way it is." Hikaru said. The people who were still sleeping were now up, and they all walked to the Challenge Grounds.

Immunity Challenge

"Welcome, Survivors." Blader DJ said. "Today's challenge is, you guessed it, a food challenge!" he said. Some of the contestants whooped in celebration, while others groaned.

Kyouya Confession: They could've told us there was a food challenge BEFORE we ate all that food yesterday. Sheesh.

"Today you will be eating some of the grossest things you have ever eaten. You will each get food from my mystery vat over here," he gestured to a vat that reeked of unspeakable things, not to mention it was bubbling. "You may either choose to step out right now, or at any time during the challenge. If you do not finish your round, you are out. If you barf, you are out. Last person standing wins. Understand?" he finished. He got nods all around. "Good. Now take a spot on the table, unless you would like to step out now." Everyone took a spot except for Mei-mei.

Mei-mei Confession: I'm not going to take that chance. I wouldn't last that long anyway.

"Okay, your first round will be, mystery mush!" he said. He put on a gas mask and grabbed the vat, pouring some of it on every plate. "Good luck." Kenta and Yuu dug right in, being the curious lads that they are. Kenta, however, didn't have the stomach to eat that fast, and quickly ran behind the bushes. "One down." Blader DJ said. The tough males, Kyouya, Ryuga, and Tsubasa, dug through and finished. Hikaru and Sophie were a bit slower, looking at what was in front of them for a bit, before slowly digging in. "Next course, donuts deep fried with worms!" He set down three donuts on every plate. Most were happy about this, until they got a little deeper in, and discovered worms. Kyouya and Ryuga took one look at this, before shrugging and eating as though they weren't there. Yuu never even noticed the worms, and dug in.

"These are some weird tasting donuts." He observed, getting some weird looks from the others.

Sophie Confession: That kid must have a stomach of steel. He didn't even notice the worms, and all he has to say is it tastes weird? Boy.

Sophie was unable to finish, as she had a particular dislike for worms, and Tsubasa refused to eat anything that was once living and innocent. "You know we cooked the mystery mush with purely animal right?" Blader DJ said. Tsubasa turned pale and green, and ran back to where Kenta was.

"That's three down." The host observed. "Anyone else?" he asked. Everyone else grudgingly accepted the worms and wolfed it down. "Third course, grilled donkey tongue!" he threw down five once-donkey tongues on the plates. Yuu just blazed through it, not even listening to the host anymore, because he was getting free food. Kyouya, having traveled with a donkey before, and actually growing attached to it, threw up at the sight of donkey tongues. That was enough to unnerve Ryuga, and he threw up as well. Hikaru smiled, knowing she had outlasted her… What did she consider him as? Acquaintance? That's it. She had outlasted her acquaintance. It was now just Yuu and Hikaru left, and the fourth course… "How about fried chicken gizzards with a side of whale blubber?" Some of the contestants looked at Blader DJ like he was insane. "The whales were already dead when we got to them, don't worry. We didn't harm the great creatures in any way." Most of them settled down after that. Yuu had already finished his meal, no surprise there. Hikaru was moving slower than before, her belly filling. She only had gotten through a quarter of her meal, before she stopped altogether.

"I'm through." She said. Yuu quickly took her plate and gobbled up the rest of her food, before sitting back with content.

Yuu Confession: That was the best challenge ever! I can't believe I won! Wait, what did I just eat?

"Well, Yuu, that means you have invincibility. The rest of you, you are in jeopardy. Tomorrow night is the elimination ceremony. Choose wisely." He walked off at that, leaving the contestants to walk back to camp.

Green Tribe Camp – Night 27

Most of the players walked back into camp miserable, either from eating too much, or from barfing their brains out. The original blue alliance, however, had broken off and was in the woods talking. "So, who do we vote for tonight?" Sophie asked.

"How about Kyouya?" Hikaru said, walking up. "He did fairly well in the challenge today, so you could vote him off." Most of the alliance was unnerved at Hikaru showing up in the middle of a meeting.

"What do you want?" Mei-mei asked. Hikaru shrugged.

"Just a chance to join up with you all. The more players you have, the stronger you are right?" all but Yuu looked a little untrusting at that suggestion.

"Ooh! Please Sophie! Can she join, can she join, can she join!" he asked. Sophie sighed, unable to resist Yuu's cute face.

"Fine. But we shouldn't vote for Kyouya right now. I don't want to give her that much power yet." She said, glaring at her.

"Okay then, how about Dashan?" Kenta said. "After that poor performance, I wouldn't be surprised if some of his old teammates voted for him." Most of the others had no objection to that, so that was what they went with. They all went back to camp separately, so as not to arouse suspicion from the others. Most were asleep anyway, and soon, everyone was snoring peacefully.

Green Tribe Camp – Morning 27

Most of the tribe woke up peacefully, and some went to the river to wash up. Ryuga and Hikaru were among those, and the other backed away from those two. "We're voting for Dashan. Try and get some on your team to vote, in case some of mine gets any funny ideas." She said. He nodded, and they went back to business, Hikaru throwing in a slap to make it look real.

Back in the camp, the original red was deciding who to vote. "I say Hikaru. She's too big of a threat to keep in this game." Kyouya said.

"I agree." Dashan said. "Tsubasa?" the elder boy shrugged.

Tsubasa Confession: I have no intention of following Dashan. I'm thinking of even voting for him, instead of whom I have in mind.

"Okay, we'll vote for Hikaru." Dashan said, while Ryuga was walking in.

Ryuga Confession: Why do they have to target the person I'm in a secret alliance with? The second I get back into camp I hear this. Boy.

Tribal Council

"Welcome, Survivors, to the first Tribal after Redemption is gone. Any thoughts Tsubasa? Or words at all?" he asked. Tsubasa shook his head no, and Blader DJ sighed. "I didn't think so. How about you Hikaru? You were the first one voted off before you were sent to Redemption, and I think you proved you belong here over there. Thoughts?" he asked. Hikaru nodded her head.

"I'm actually surprised I got back. There were some close calls, like the time with Chao Xin, and Julian. Then there were some I just wiped the floor with, for example, Argo. It had its ups and downs."

"Thanks for that insight Hikaru. Now Yuu, any ideas on who you're voting for tonight?" Yuu nodded.

"I do, but I'm not telling you." Yuu said, giving Kenta a high five. Blader DJ rolled his eyes.

"So, before I get humiliated any more, let's vote. Sophie, you're up." He said. Sophie walked up and put her slip in the box, followed by Kenta and Mei-mei. Yuu walked up and put his vote in the box, followed by Tsubasa, who took his time before voting. Kyouya voted, followed by Hikaru and Ryuga, Hikaru giving Ryuga a wink that no one else caught.

Blader DJ took the box and shook the votes around. "I will now tally the votes. Whoever receives the most votes becomes a jury member until the game ends, and are sent away to a resort on Redemption Island." Hikaru eyes widened, not realizing they could build a resort that fast.

"First vote…

Dashan.

Second vote…

Sophie.

Third vote…

Hikaru." The three that were voted looked surprised, and Hikaru sent an angry stare Ryuga's way. The boy looked genuinely scared, so she knew he tried to stop them.

"Fourth vote…

Dashan.

Fifth vote…

Sophie." Sophie looked surprised at hearing her name a second time, not realizing they'd be after her.

"Sixth vote…

Hikaru.

Seventh vote…

Dashan. Two votes Hikaru, two votes Sophie, three votes Dashan. One more vote sends the boy home" Blader DJ added dramatically.

"Eight vote…" Blader DJ said, seeing beads of sweat fall from Dashan's hairline.

"Eight person off the island…" The host announced.

"Is…" Mei-mei held a smirk as she realized who was going home.

"Dashan." He finished. Dashan looked dumbstruck, and mumbled something about 'backstabbers' and 'betrayers' as he walked up to the host, torch in hand.

"Dashan Wang, you played an admiral game, made it to the top nine, but I'm afraid your game ends here. You must now leave the Tribal Temple, take the Walk of Shame and ride the Boat of Loserdom to Redemption Island, where you will relax until called upon again. Have fun." The host said as he extinguished Dashan's flame, and the boy left the temple.

Dashan's Last Words: Well, I wasn't expecting this, that's for sure. Hikaru should've been gone! But two people on my own team betrayed me and voted for Sophie! What's up with that? Oh well. If I had to pick one person to win, it would be Hikaru. She deserves that million, no matter how much her anger blinds her. Good luck Hikaru. Now I get Zurafa back, right?

"Remaining Survivors, you are the final eight. You have made it to the halfway point in the game, and the game only gets tougher. Good luck. I'll see you tomorrow for our first Reward Challenge.

Tsubasa Confession: Yes, I voted for Sophie. She is a threat, whether anyone else believes it or not. I got Ryuga to vote with me, but Mei-mei wouldn't vote for her fellow female. She will be next to go.

"Now head back to camp." Blader DJ finished, and the contestants did as they were told. They fell asleep back at camp, and ended the day with a nice rest.

A/N: That's the chapter. The tribes are merged, and Dashan's game is done. Don't think anyone saw it coming, but this story shapes itself. See you next time.