(A/N: And here it is, the final chapter of Sunset Cruise part one. For those of you that didn't get the memo, after a lot of internal debate, I decided to split Sunset Cruise into two parts- what you're reading now is the first. The reason for this is that, while I went to give the series a proper ending, I was bored with the current formula- burnt out, perhaps, would be a better term. So, once this ends, I will focus my time on Reality Rush, as well as a few one-shots for other stories here and there. When the time is right, Sunset Cruise part two will debut, taking a different creative direction with less focus on the game show aspects and more on the characters and backstories. A lot of things are still very up in the air, although I have a loose idea of where things might go. On that note, I won't say much in case of potential changes down the road- I will say, however, for the first time in a while I'm genuinely excited for the future of this series. I will also get this out of the way now- as for a season after this, I simply don't know. It was something I was very excited for at one point, and still have ideas for now, but it depends on how well Part Two can wrap up the story. This series has gone on for near five years, and at this point, I feel obligated to give a satisfying finish to those who want it. We'll see. But, as for the immediate, I hope you enjoy the conclusion to Wicked Game, the first portion of Sunset Cruise. We've hit the merge, but who's sticking around long enough to make it to part two, and what events will be set into motion before then? Read and see!)
"What did you DO, Ella?!"
Ella looked on in worry as Justin paced back and forth in front of her, nearly ripping out a clump of his own hair. He had practically dragged her to her room after the elimination, fuming.
"You had the idol the whole time? And you didn't TELL me? What were you... what were you thinking?" He demanded.
"I'm sorry!" She squealed, hands fidgeting nervously, "I thought I was helping you!"
"Help? I don't think you know what you did! Margo is off my trail, but everyone is going to be going after you now!" He stopped pacing, turning to face her. "Unless by some miracle you win every challenge going into the finale, you're going to get voted off within the next two challenges."
"B...but you'll help me, right?" Ella asked, forcing a smile.
"And what, get MYSELF voted off too? You got yourself into this mess!" He scolded, "You can't expect me to just run in and bail you out!"
"But I did it for YOU! You have to-"
"Well, news flash!" He interrupted, "I don't know HOW to help you! Your ship is sinking Ella, are you going to accept it or just try to pull everyone else down with you?"
Ella sighed, wiping her eyes and looking down.
"You... have fun in here," Justin muttered, "I have someone I need to talk to."
"Okay," Ella murmured, not lookin up.
Justin stood there, as if to say something else, but he did not. Instead, he headed out the door, shutting it behind him. It didn't take him long to find the person he was looking for- Quinn, who was calmly sitting in her room, a smirk appearing on her face when she saw Justin.
"You. You lied to me," he spat, pointing a finger at her.
"Yeah, I do that a lot," she snickered, "sucks, huh?"
"For you, after I tell everyone what you made me do!" He threatened.
"What I made you do? I didn't MAKE you do anything. You did it on your own free will because you thought I'd help you eliminate Alejandro. That last part isn't going to sound so good in your big reveal, is it?" She sat back, crossing her arms. "You could try to spin it another way, claim that I threatened to eliminate you unless you did what I said- but given that Ella had the idol the whole time, you'd just look like a bigger idiot than normal."
Justin listened to her silently, fists clenched.
"Look," she continued, "I'll cut you some slack because you can still be of some use to my friend and I. Let Ella take the fall for this. Don't back her up, don't try to help her, don't do anything. Once she's eliminated- and she WILL be eliminated- my friend and I will vote off Alejandro anyway. Pretty good deal, all things considered."
Justin was quiet for a while, thinking, before simply saying, "yeah," and walking off. Quinn smiled as she watched him leave, getting up to close the door as Katie emerged from hiding.
"Not bad," Katie told her, "you handled that pretty well. You really want to eliminate Alejandro?"
"Why not? He'd be a threat anyway," Quinn nodded, "we get rid of him, then ax off Justin immediately after, and we're golden."
"I like the way you think," Katie grinned, "keep it up. This game is ours."
~o.0.o~
Tyler stood on the dining table, a dire expression on his face and a cup of orange juice in his hand. He marched back and forth across the table as his competitors looked on in confusion, not quite grasping what he meant by interrupting their breakfast in such a fashion. The jock came to an abrupt halt, taking a long pull of his juice as he stared forward, lifting his sleeve to wipe his lips intently before proceeding.
"The merge," he began, "what can I say that hasn't been said already?" he bent down, pointing a finger at each of the competitors around him. "Thirteen of our best and brightest! One boat! One prize! ONE MILLION DOLLARS!"
"Julie know you're stealing her job?" Lucky asked, an amused glint in his eye. Tyler continued as if he didn't hear the comment.
"Thirteen challenges left! Unless... unless there aren't!" He lost no note of determination as he corrected himself. "The point is, we'll fight until there are two or three of us left, probably, and then we'll fight again, unless there's another jury appeal, in which case we'll talk about our feelings first!"
"Losing steam there?" Katie, who had just arrived with her food, asked smarmily, lifting a forkful of her eggs to her lips. This, Tyler did hearas he kicked the plate of eggs off the table, glaring at her. "I was eating that, jackass!" She snapped, getting to her feet.
"...was that too much? I was trying to be dramatic. Sorry dude," Tyler apologized, though his sorry demeanor lasted only a moment as he quickly got back into the swing of things. "We will fight, and we will talk about our feelings, and in the end, someone will walk away with the prize! But I just want to say this. I have competed in all five seasons of this show, and this is the first time I've made it this far since the original season. I won't go down without a fight, and neither should you guys! You are the best group of competitors I've ever competed alongside, and I want you all to know that-"
Tyler's speech came to a sudden end when Katie scooped up what remained of her eggs onto the plate, sending it flying into Tyler's face. He let out a surprised, not very masculine squeal, stumbling back and nearly falling on to Finn, who was able to swiftly move in time for Tyler to hit the floor instead.
"Oh god, there's egg in my hair!" Tyler groaned, trying to wipe it away, "Some got in my shirt- whyyyyyy?"
Katie casually sat back down at the table, taking a sip of juice.
"Talk about having egg on your face, right?" Miri joked, forcing a chuckle. She quickly realized how bad her joke was after the resulting deadpan, looking down as Veronica patted her back.
There was the sound of heels clacking as Julie ascended the stairs from below deck, sipping a cup of coffee. She paused, taking the scene in; Tyler writhing around on the ground as others looked on in concern or casually ate.
"Do I want to know what happened here?" she asked.
"Nope," Katie answered simply, taking a bite from the plate she swiped from Tyler in lieu of her own.
"...you're probably right. Anyway, your challenge today is in twenty minutes." Julie took another drink. "Once we stop, we'll take a quick walk to where the course is set up."
"Course? Are we doing some kind of American Gladiator thing?" Veronica asked.
"You're close, but no," Julie told her, "you'll have to see once we get there. In the meantime, get ready."
As usual, the contestants split off from each other as they awaited the challenge. Alejandro, however, stayed in the same seat, picking at his food silently. Luna, who had been eating nearby herself, took notice, and quickly piped up.
"Are you feeling okay, Alejandro?" She asked, concerned. The two hadn't spoken much since Bridgette's elimination; in fact Alejandro had remained consistently taciturn since then.
Alejandro drummed his fingers on the table, not making direct eye contact with Luna. "Yes, Luna," he answered, a touch of impatience in his voice, "I'm feeling okay."
"Are you sure? We just haven't really talked since-"
"Yes, Luna," he said a bit more forcefully, "I'm sure."
"Oh... I'm just trying to help, is all," she mumbled, moving to leave.
Alejandro sighed, stopping her.
"Wait... I apologize if I've been cross," he told her, "I just... wasn't expecting this level of betrayal from Bridgette. After everything..."
"I'm here if you want to talk about it," Luna offered.
He hesitated, before nodding.
"The two of us had prior history. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the third season, but... my methods then were less than noble. I used Bridgette... well, I thought I had. It turned out that she was using me the entire time. She never believed a word of what I told her, but she went along with it just to make it further in the game. Smart, no?"
"Smart, but I don't agree with it."
"No, you wouldn't, would you? Neither would I, anymore." He cleared his throat before continuing. "We both lost in the end, of course, but then the fourth season came. Although we both started with malicious intentions, or at least I did, it got us nowhere. We both had rather unremarkable runs, but more important is that we were set on a path of redemption. So I thought. I honestly thought we had both changed for the better, and that's what makes her leading me on all the more hurtful. If she preferred Justin over me, she should have said so."
"Well... maybe she didn't?" Luna suggested, still unsure what to think of the situation. She didn't truly think Bridgette capable of anything that malicious, but she didn't think Alejandro would lie either. "Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."
"I know what I saw," he said quietly, turning away from her once more, "I don't like to think of Bridgette in an ill light either, Luna. But sometimes people surprise you. Sometimes people are just... bad people."
Luna looked at him, shocked. Could he really be saying these things about Bridgette? The same Bridgette who had shown her nothing but kindness and respect?
Alejandro looked away, watching as the ship slowly approached their destination.
"Well, I've said enough for now," he sighed, getting to his feet, "we best prepare. Good luck, Luna."
CONFESSIONAL: Luna
Bridgette's not a bad person! She's one of the closest friends I have here... right?
END CONFESSIONAL
After the boat docked, the contestants were quickly lead off and to the challenge area, surprised to see a colorful course laid out for them.
"Today's challenge, as some of you might have guessed," Julie began, "is based off of the popular game show, wipeout! There will be four courses on which you will compete today, and on each course, the three competitors who perform the worst will be eliminated while everyone moves on to the next round. On the final course, the remaining four competitors will compete for immunity as well as a prize that will help over the course of the game."
CONFESSIONAL: Quinn
Prize? I bet its another revenge idol or something- has to be. And I'M winning it.
CONFESSIONAL: Veronica
Wipeout? Awesome! I've seen that show like a million times, I've got this in the bag!
END CONFESSIONALS
"So, once each of you gets a helmet from Priscylla, we'll begin the challenge," Julie concluded, "for the first round, we'll be going one at a time- and the contestants who finish with the WORST times will be eliminated, as stated before. So, get to it!"
Julie gestured to Priscylla, who stood, a smile on her face, next to a large box.
"You seem uncharacteristically happy," Lucky remarked as he selected a helmet from the box, beginning to strap it on."
"I'm going to watch all of you get flung off of high objects again and again and again," she purred, "what isn't there to be happy about?"
CONFESSIONAL: Lucky
Sometimes I wish I hadn't signed up for this show. Sometimes I'm just grateful that Priscylla hasn't murdered me in my sleep.
END CONFESSIONAL
While everyone got their helmets on, Luna stood, scanning over the course. Standing over a pool of water, as all the courses did, it consisted of three portions- the first, what looked to be just a regular, if a bit slippery walkway with a wall attached to the side, the second being four large, bouncy green balls you'd have to jump across to get from one platform to another. Once on that platform, you'd have to jump to the final portion, a rotating staircase.
"Nervous?" Finn asked, coming from directly behind her.
Luna jumped, not hearing him approach, causing Finn to snicker.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. But I'll take that as a yes."
"Um..." Luna looked at the course, then to him. "Well, maybe a little. It's our first post-merge challenge. I don't want to mess it up."
"Oh-ho, dear girl. Trust me, messing up this challenge should be the least of your worries."
"Really? Why's that?"
"Because there's much worse in store for this game," he told her, turning away, "trust me."
CONFESSIONAL: Finn
Now that the merge is here, if have so much more freedom. Johnny is still next on my hit list, but Luna... I still want to take my time with her. I'm not going to allow her to be eliminated medically, or voted off. She's going to quit. That's right, walk out, all on her own will. How am I going to accomplish this? As they say in the movies, well, I have ways.
CONFESSIONAL: Luna
Everyone is saying the most worrisome things, today!
END CONFESSIONALS
Meanwhile, Deborah watched as Johnny hesitantly put his hat aside, replacing it with one of the helmets- raising her brow when she was able to see both of his eyes.
"No eyepatch?" she asked, "I thought-"
"Yep," he grunted, clicking the helmet straps, "turns out that medical intern had no idea what he was on about. I took it off today and I can see fine."
"Well, that's good to hear," she smiled, 'I'm glad there was no permanent damage done."
"You'n me both," he chuckled, "you ready for the challenge?"
"You mean to fall a bunch of times? I think I am."
"See?" Veronica, who was nearby with Miri, smirked, "That's the attitude you have to have!"
"The 'ready to fall' kind?" Miri asked.
"Exactly! You fall, you get back up, you do it over again!"
"Well, I hope to use my knowledge of probability and physics to do it without falling once," Miri smiled.
"Pfft, where's the fun in that?" Veronica huffed.
Deborah glanced over at Johnny, brow raised.
"...they grow on you," he told her, shrugging.
"Alright guys!" Julie called, "Bring it in! Let's get started- we're going to go in alphabetical order, so Alejandro, you're up first!"
"Very well," he sighed, "let's get this overwith."
Soon enough, everyone was in position. Alejandro was waiting at the start of the course, while Priscylla led the other competitors away so they couldn't see the surprises the course held for them.
"Ready?" Julie called, "Go!"
Alejandro ran forward, quickly making his way up the walkway. He easily kept his footing, and looked to be in the clear until halfway, a panel launched out of the wall, slamming into Alejandro and knocking him into the water below. He quickly surfaced, muttering to himself in Spanish, and swam back to the start of the platform. This time, after a more careful scouting of the platform, he was easily able to make it across. Next up, he tried to make it across the balls, failing initially, but being able to make it across on his second attempt, the rotating stairs being no trouble after that.
"Alright, Alejandro- you managed to clear the course with a total time of six and a half minutes!" Julie announced, "Not a bad start- let's see how the other contestants respond!"
One by one, the contestants took their turns. Deborah managed a score of eight minutes, while Ella was hit off of the walkway once and, seeming to accept her fate, let out a sigh and just floated in the water as the other contestants took their turns. Finn managed a time a little lower than Alejandro, while Johnny managed a time of six minutes and twelve seconds, narrowly taking the lead. Justin, unfocused, clocked in at just over eight minutes, while Katie bombed the second part of the obstacle course, eventually giving up and storming off after fifteen minutes. Lucky and Luna both put on decent showings, but what came as the biggest surprise was Miri coming in at five minutes and thirty seconds, setting the record. After waiting out the traps in the first part of the course, she was able to bounce across the globes with seemingly little issue, and as arguably the easiest portion of the course was last, there was little issue there.
"And... Miri takes the record for the best time!" Julie announced, shocked.
"Physics, you're my new favorite branch of science," she smiled, shaking out her hair and taking her place with the contestants who had finished.
"How did you DO that?" Luna asked.
"Easy. Just a bit of timing and momentum!" she smiled.
And finally, to close things out, Quinn and Veronica had respectable showings- Tyler, like Katie, couldn't get a handle on the second portion of the challenge. and after failed attempt after failed attempt, Julie had to call it off.
"Okay, Tyler! It's over!" she called, "you're on your tenth try, just give it up!"
"No no, I GOT it this time!" he insisted, giving one more jump- missing completely and falling into the water. He emerged shortly after, groaning. "Alright, alright! I give up!"
"I know just how you feel," Ella agreed, slowly drifting past him.
After everyone had finished, Julie turned to the competitors.
"there we go- round one has come to a close!" Julie announced, "I'd like to say it was close, but, well... you guys did your best, right? Tyler, Katie, and Ella, I'm sorry, but you will not be advancing to the next round of the challenge."
"Aw, darn it!" Tyler grumbled, walking off.
'Win whatever that prize is for us," Katie whispered to Quinn before slinking away.
Ella... continued to drift in the pool of water silently.
"Everyone still in the challenge, on me," Julie instructed, beginning to walk off.
The next course was much more intimidating than the last, though it was just as simple in design. Set again in a pool of water, as all the courses were, the contestants stared at a massive rock climbing wall; only the rocks were constantly moving, extending out for a moment only to retreat into the wall. Overhead were several large buckets of water that were periodically spilt out over the wall.
"Once again, the challenge here is simple," Julie said, "you have to climb to the top of the wall as water, and maybe a few other surprises are dumped over you. Unlike the first round, you won't be under a timer here- rather, since the wall can fit all of you, the last three people to reach the top will be eliminated. So, go take your places, and we'll get this challenge going!"
Once everyone was in their places, the second round began. While several people struggled to get a foothold initially, Alejandro and Quinn managed to get an early lead, scaling up the wall at least until the first bucket of water tipped over, dousing them. Quinn managed to hold on, wiping her face- Alejandro, however, lost grip and splashed into the water below. In that time, Veronica pulled herself up, passing Quinn.
"Later!" she smirked, sticking her tongue out. Quinn growled, reaching out and grabbing for Veronica's leg. she grabbed it, giving a tug. "Woah!" Veronica quickly lost her balance, plummeting down into the pool. Quinn snickered, and resumed her climb. Soon enough, she pulled herself over the top of the wall, smirking triumphantly.
"Quinn is the first one up!" Julie announced, "Followed by... looks like Justin!"
Justin pulled himself up, panting, giving Quinn a glare- though she didn't seem to mind, or notice. Next up was Finn and Johnny, the former going over to the edge of the wall, and 'tripping' into a bucket of water. "Whoops!"
The water spilt out directly into Luna's face, disorientating enough for her to lose balance and fall. Considering how close she had been to this finish, well, it didn't bode well.
"Heh. Funny," Priscylla remarked, appearing next to Finn, a large sack in hand.
"Where did you come from?" he asked, surprised.
"Ladder on the other side," she shrugged, reaching into her sack and pulling out a large lobster.
"what the- Priscylla, what are you doing?!" Julie snapped, "I told you no more creepy bugs or arachnids or-"
"You never said no crustaceans," Priscylla shrugged, leaning over and holding the lobster over the edge.
"I shouldn't HAVE to say that! They fall under the same category of creepiness!" she scolded.
"...meh." Priscylla dropped the lobster, which fell directly on to Deborah's face. She gave a startled yelp, letting go of the wall and falling into the water, splashing around.
"Hey, can I have one of those?" Quinn asked, extending a hand.
"Sure, knock yourself out," Priscylla shrugged, giving her one. Quinn smiled, turned, and dropping it on Veronica, who had just resumed her climb. Veronica gasped, trying to swat it away, and effectively falling once more.
"Heh. That's awesome," Quinn smirked.
Lucky pulled himself up next, followed by Miri, and finally, Alejandro, who had managed to recover for lost time.
"That's it! Alejandro is last!" Julie called, "That means Luna, Deborah and Veronica, you're eliminated!"
"Aw, damn it!" Veronica huffed, splashing the water in annoyance.
As the eliminated contestants pulled themselves out of the water, Julie led the remaining ones to their third challenge. seven small platforms were set up in a circle inside of a pool, and in the center, a rotating bar.
"Shouldn't have to explain this one," Julie commented, "each of you takes a spot on one of the platforms. The bar in the center will spin around to knock you off- your job is to avoid that. We'll keep going until three of you are knocked off your platforms and into the water, while the remaining four will move on to the final round."
Each of the competitors got on to a platform- Lucky frowning when Quinn took the one nearest him.
"You're a little close for comfort there, sweetheart."
"Aw, what's the matter? Scared of me?" she taunted.
"Maybe the smell's gettin' to him," Johnny said casually, stretching his arm.
"Heheh. Not bad, but leave the wisecracks to me," Lucky snickered, Quinn glaring at the two.
A moment later, the bar slowly came to life, beginning to make it's rotations. Everyone was able to jump the first and second time, but with each rotation, it began to move just a little faster- and it wasn't long before Miri couldn't jump in time, getting swept right off the platform.
CONFESSIONAL: Miri
Oh, come on! I was doing so good, too!
END CONFESSIONAL
As she pulled herself out of the pool, Finn took a breath, before allowing the bar to sweep his legs, knocking him into the water.
CONFESSIONAL: Finn
Don't want to draw too much attention to myself just yet.
END CONFESSIONAL
The remaining five competitors has no time to even check who fell, the bar spinning like a whirlwind. Lucky was about ready to collapse from exhaustion when he missed the jump, and was pushed off the platform.
"Yes! Finally!" Quinn cheered as the bar slowed down- but not before knocking her into the pool of water as well. "What the- HEY!"
"Whoops," Julie shrugged, "Guess I couldn't stop it in time. Miri, Finn, Lucky- sorry to say the three of you are eliminated. Priscylla will take you to where everyone else is waiting. As for you four, on me."
As Julie took the winners away, Priscylla approached Miri, Finn and Lucky.
"This way," she instructed, moving forward.
Soon enough, the three were reunited with the other eliminated competitors outside of the boat.
"Didn't make it, huh?" Deborah asked as she saw them approach.
"Nope," Lucky shrugged, "but hey, Johnny made it to the final round, so there's that."
"Yeah, but so did Quinn," Veronica pointed out, "could you imagine if she did win and the prize WAS a revenge idol? If she loses the challenge tonight, we need to vote her out immediately."
"Okay- I'm not normally one to take part in this sort of talk," Deborah interjected, "but remember what happened last elimination? We can't ignore what Ella did."
"Look, I know you and Margo were friends, but we can always eliminate Ella later," Veronica countered, "Quinn is MUCH more dangerous, trust me!"
"Convincing argument, but, if I may," Finn offered, stepping in, "perhaps Ella is more of a threat than you think? If Margo's accusations were true, Ella did manage to orchestrate two eliminations already. Perhaps she should be dealt with."
Finn didn't truly believe Ella was a threat- but that was all the more reason to get rid of her now. Quinn was much more volatile, much more... interesting. Who knows what kind of damage she could cause if left in the game?
"Exactly," Deborah agreed, "I mean, we know what she's already done... I say do it for Margo."
"Ella hasn't dropped people off of cliffs!' Veronica scoffed, "You know who has?"
"...Qui-"
"Yes, Quinn! She's friggin' crazy! All Ella has done today is float in that pool of water!" Veronica exclaimed, gesturing to the first course.
"Look... we have time to think about it," Deborah sighed, "I was just... throwing that out there, is all."
"Like you said, we have time to think about it," Finn shrugged, "let's just... wait and see."
~o.0.o~
Justin, Alejandro, Johnny and Quinn were led to the finale course. Or so they thought- when they stopped moving, they found themselves back where they started that day.
"...this is just the first course," Alejandro frowned, "you've brought us back to the start, Julie."
"Yup- this is the moment where in wipeout, the winner would be decided by a bigger, badder, final course," Julie explained, before sighing and shaking her head. 'Unfortunately, the guys in accounting decided to cut corners, so instead, we're having you do the first course over, but with a twist. Several twists."
"Here we go," Quinn muttered, rolling her eyes.
"In addition to competing on the course at the same time, you'll be doing so while-" Julie paused as she listened to something one of the crewmen whispered in her ear. "What? No, we aren't doing that! That could KILL someone- ugh. Wait, what? Alright, fine." she turned back to the contestants. "Alright guys, you wait here while I go take care of something- nobody electrify anything, understood?"
"Wait, what?" Alejandro blinked as Julie headed off.
Once the hostess was a good distance away, she was handed a cellphone by one of the cameramen.
"Julie," Milton's voice sighed, "what's this I hear about you not wanting to electrify the pool? I came up with that myself, you know."
"Sir, its too dangerous," Julie told him, "as the hostess of this show I can't allow it to happen."
"And why, pray tell, is that?"
"Do I really have to answer that for you? With all of the injuries this season?" She scoffed, "People are getting hurt. This challenge was supposed to be harmless fun, not-"
'Julie, listen. People like seeing other people get injuries. People like television. People LOVE watching people get hurt on TV. I love when people WATCH TV. You know why? That means profit," he scolded, as if she were a child, "profit is what companies thrive on. it's what makes sure we all get paid. It's what makes sure YOU get paid. You seeing where I'm going with this?"
"Be that as it may, I can't advocate something so reckless," she said, not budging, and thoroughly disgusted by her bosses' logic, "If nothing else, imagine the loss of profit if someone were to sue."
"That is where these wonderful things called 'contracts' come in- you may have heard of them, I happen to have yours here." He paused to let his thinly-veiled threat sink in. "If they ARE seriously injured, we can't personally be held accountable. No one reads these days, do they? You have nothing to worry about. So go ahead and do the right thing."
The line went dead just as Julie opened her mouth to respond. She clenched her jaw, mind racing as she handed the phone back She had known Milton could be ruthless, but she had never seen just how far he was willing to go.
"Ma'am?' a crewman asked, "Should we-"
"No," Julie interrupted, "there's been a change of plan. Don't do anything. They'll compete on the course at the same time, nothing else."
With that, she walked off.
"...boss ain't gonna be happy about this," the crewman muttered, shaking his head.
~o.0.o~
Once Julie returned, the challenge began. The four contestants took their places at the start, and Julie quickly gave the signal.
"Go!"
The four took off, heading once more up to the walkway. Alejandro took an immediate lead, but this came back to bite him when the wall trap flew out, throwing him off the platform. Quinn grinned, waiting for the trap to get back into place, before running past and assuming the lead, though Justin and Johnny were not far behind. Soon enough,, she reached the edge of the walkway. She took a minute, gauging the jump, before leaping off and just barely holding on to one of the globes. She managed to pull herself upright as well as she could, before bouncing to the next. Behind her, Johnny took a leap and hit his target, but bounced off and fell to the water below. Quinn turned as she heard the splash, smirking as she saw who was eliminated, but that quickly faded when she saw Justin complete the jump successfully. She turned, jumping to the next one, but she could hear Justin slowly closing the gap. She managed to reach the final globe, the rotating staircase being the only obstacle left between her and immunity. She waited until it was in position, before jumping... and narrowly missing her target. As she plummeted down, Justin got into position on the final globe, got into position, and jumped, taking hold of the staircase. He pulled himself up, taking a seat at the top and pausing to catch his breath.
"Justin wins the challenge!" Julie announced, "Justin wins immunity, as well as our prize today- come down to claim it!"
Below, Quinn let out a frustrated growl, slamming her fist into the dirt.
CONFESSIONAL: Quinn
Damn it! I NEEDED that idol!
END CONFESSIONAL
Once Justin made his way down, he headed over to Julie. The hostess extended her hand, revealing a small, blue totem with a friendly face carved into it.
"Is this..." Justin trailed off as he took the idol, examining it.
"A revenge idol? No," Julie told him, "in fact, it's about the exact opposite. The tranquility idol- you can use it to save anyone from elimination at any time, be it yourself or a friend."
Justin listened quietly, before slipping the idol into his pocket.
"I hope you use it wisely," she told him, a hint of knowing in her voice, "but, until that time comes... let's head back, everyone."
~o.0.o~
As always, the time came for everyone to pack up and head back on board, and to prepare for elimination. The debate as to who to send home continued even among friends, as many agreed Ella should be voted off for what she had done to Margo, and what they thought she had done to Point. On the reverse, Quinn's display had earned her a bit of heat. While she hadn't done anything too drastic during the challenge, it reminded everyone just how far she was willing to go for a victory. Yet, when Katie stormed into her room to tell her this, she was not the least bit worried.
"Heads up," Katie said, shutting the door behind her, "the word is a few people are pissed at what you did today. They're going to try to vote you off."
"Who is? Lucky and his galpals? Or is Veronica pushing the hardest?" Quinn yawned, shaking her head. "Doesn't matter. I'm not going anywhere."
"Sure of that, are you?" Katie asked.
"Yeah oh yeah. Ella is taking the fall, mark my words," Quinn told her, "We're voting for her, chances are coffee girl will, Justin, and I'm willing to bet a few others. The odds are in my favor."
"Oh yeah? Even now that Justin has the immunity idol?" Katie reminded her.
"Even then." Quinn slowly sat up, cracking her neck. "Relax. I'm getting us that idol one way or another. Justin's not bailing Ella out. After tonight, we just need to wait for a moment when he lets his guard down, and then we swoop in and steal it for ourselves."
"If you say so." Katie shook her head, heading for the door. "You get voted off, I'll send you a post card or something."
Elsewhere, Justin was sitting in his own room when there was a feeble knock on the door.
"Who is it?" he called.
The door slowly pushed open, and Ella peered inside.
"Um... hi," she whispered.
"Ella, what are you- get out of here!" he scowled, waving her away.
"I'll just be a minute, please!" she squeaked, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her, "I... I heard about the idol, and how t can save anyone... I don't want to go home, Justin..."
"No one really does, no," he shrugged, pretending not to know where she was going with this.
"Well... I mean, I was thinking... since I used my idol for you... maybe you could use yours for me?" She suggested.
The two stared at each other silently. After a while, she added a desperate, "please?"
"...no. Goodbye, Ella," he said, turning away.
Ella sniffed, eyes watering up, as she turned and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her. Justin looked at the tranquility idol, now placed on his shelf.
He couldn't help her out now. Could he?
~o.0.o~
The time came for elimination, and the contestants gathered, as they always did, on the deck. Julie gave the wheel a quick spin- a regular elimination that night. One person going home.
"Well, it's been a while since voting has been so intense," Julie commented, "but it is the merge after all. You guys know how this goes. I call your name, you get a bag of chocolate coins, you're safe. So, Justin, since you have immunity anyway, you're first."
She tossed Justin his bag, which he unenthusiastically caught.
"Now, as for the rest of you. Deborah, safe. Johnny, safe."
the two caught their bags, smiling.
"Luna, you're good. Tyler, you live to fight another day."
"AWESOME, BABY!" Tyler stood up as his bag flew past, "MERGE! MERGE! MER..." He slowly sat back down as he noticed the stares from the other contestants.
"...okay, ignoring that outburst, Finn, here you go, and it looks like it's someone else's lucky day!...Lucky is safe, is what I'm saying."
Lucky shook his head as the two received their prize.
"Miri and Veronica, safe!"
"Yes!" Veronica exclaimed, the two high-fiving.
"And finally... Katie."
Katie caught her bag, glancing at Ella and Quinn, the former looking a lot more bothered than the latter.
"Only one baggie left," Julie told them, "one of you is going home tonight. Quinn, you're vicious, and you waged an aggressive campaign to get to the finals last time. Could you pull it off again? And Ella. You came in late to the game, finding success just like a fairy tale. But some would condemn your recent actions. Will you make it through to earn their forgiveness, or is this story over? The last bag goes to...
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"Quinn!"
"Told you so," Quinn whispered to Katie, grinning as she waited for her prize to be thrown.
Ella sat there, speechless.
"But... I..." she looked around, heartbroken.
"That is, of course," Julie continued, "someone has something to say about it first."
Although Julie kept her eyes on Ella, it was clear who she meant. Ella immediately turned to Justin, her eyes hopeful and pleading. She was silent for a while, before simply asking, "please?"
Justin locked gazes with her, unsure of what to do. He felt a million eyes on him as his hand crept into his pocket, grasping the immunity idol. Eventually, he could bear it no longer, and stood up.
"I..." he looked around, "I need to use the bathroom. I'm not feeling good."
Ella watched as he turned, heading below deck. Her prince had the chance to save her- and he simply chose not to. The world suddenly seemed a little less colorful to Ella as her knees wobbled.
"Ella, I'm sorry sweetie," Julie sighed, "you made it to the merge, right? More than a lot of people can say." The hostess tossed Quinn her bag.
"B...but..." Ella stammered.
"I'm sorry, honey. It's over," Julie told her, sounding somewhat disappointed, "you know what to do."
Ella nodded, slowly hanging her head. She wiped her eyes, giving a feeble nod, as she headed to the lifeboat.
CONFESSIONAL: Finn
Ah.. I just love that feeling. You know, the one where someone has their dreams brutally crushed before their eyes? Yeah, that one. Ah, glorious.
CONFESSIONAL: Deborah
I know what she did to Margo and Point was really, really bad but... I still feel a little bad for her.
CONFESSIONAL: Katie
Wow... I guess Quinn WAS right. Alright. I'm game. Justin has to slip up eventually, and when he does, that idol is ours. After that? We'll be in direct control of the game.
END CONFESSIONAL
Ella moved to life herself over the edge and into the lifeboat, but paused momentarily, turning to face everyone.
"Goodbye, guys," she said, waving, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused..."
With that, she disappeared over the edge.
"Well, that's that, guys," Julie frowned, "Get some rest. You earned it."
As the contestants began to disperse, Tyler looked around, a frown on his face.
"Man," he sighed, "I thought the merge was supposed to be more fun than this..."
~o.0.o~
Below deck, Priscylla hummed to herself as she watched two rats she kept locked in a cage. She reached inside the cage to leave them some food, pulling her hand away just in time as they both leapt at her, attempting to sink their teeth into her hand.
"No, very bad girls," she scolded, "I told you, only with Julie. Do that again and I'll feed you to a snake."
Her phone began vibrating on her desk, which only barely took her attention away from her pets, which were now frothing at the mouth. She scooped up the phone, answering it absently as she dropped the pellets into the cage and watched the two fight over them.
"You may speak," she said, sitting down and examining a nearby notepad. She began to doodle a picture of Ella's face on it- whenever a contestant was eliminated, she drew them as a corpse. It amused her. Of course, she didn't have to wait long for the response.
"Priscylla," Milton's gruff, annoyed voice answered, "I wouldn't advise talking to me like that again. Understood?"
"Sure. What do you want?" she asked, clearly not caring the least about what Milton advised.
"Simple. Julie ignored an order of mine today. I don't like it when people do that," he growled, "she doesn't have what Chris did. She's not willing to go out of her way to make the show dangerous. So it seems I have to call on you to do that for her."
"Oh?" a faint smile reached her lips, as she placed the pencil down. "Wasn't that my job before?"
"Unofficially before. Now it is official. Ratings are starting to slip, and I have a lot banking on this show, understood? If it goes down, you all go down with it. I don't care what you do, or how you do it. But you do what needs to be done, understood?" he demanded, "If you do this for me, I'll reward you handsomely. I have a little something of my own coming along that you might like."
Priscylla's eyes wandered over to the canisters of gas in the corner, and the cages filled with various insects and rodents she kept lining the walls.
"Oh... I think I'll be fine with what I have," she mused.
"No, trust me. You'll want to see this," Milton insisted.
"If you say so, Mr. Milton."
"I do. Oh, and Prisyclla? Show Julie what happens to people who disobey me."
The line went dead. Priscylla smiled, reaching into the cage and scooping up the rats.
"Hear that, girls?" she giggled, "Looks like we'll have to pay Julie a visit soon."
~o.0.o~
Milton slid his phone into his pocket, turning to the man in the white coat that stood next to him.
"You've got it working?" he asked.
"Yes," the man in the coat nodded, "it's been operational as of this morning. I still can't understand how you found this technology, it's absolutely fascinating-"
"Yes, I'm sure," Milton said, rolling his eyes, "the point is that I spent a small fortune hauling it off that damn island. I need a guarantee that it's working."
"And you have it," the man responded, "it's fully operational. You have my word."
"Hmph, Good." Milton stepped out on to the warehouse floor, eyeing the machine, and the inscription on the side, 'Property of Specter and Associates'.
"Something on your mind, sir?" the man asked.
"Yes. Get that inscription changed." Milton straightened his suit, heading for the door. He stepped out into the street, donning a hat, and smiling proudly.
"It belongs to me, now."
END