Survivor - Mexico (Brain vs Brawn vs Beauty)
Chapter 22 - Day 20 & Day 21 Part 1
Hello, everyone! Time for another chapter of Survivor - Mexico (Brain vs Brawn vs Beauty). Last chapter the tribes ended up merging with 5 Brains, 4 Brawn, and 3 Beauty, and Ryu talked it out with Incineroar and they agreed that they needed to extend the Strong Guys Alliance containing those two and Specter Knight plus Golden, Espio, Panther, and Daisy, Daisy happening to be bonding with both Katt and Panther only to raise concerns from Espio the Chameleon being the ninja he is.
And also, this past Wednesday I announced the upcoming fourth season, "Survivor - Caribbean" with Ridley being the first confirmed character. And like I said, there will be no specific theme, no specific game twist, just twenty contestants battling it out for the win. Basically like how the first season was. (Tribe announcements will come later on.)
Anyway, back to season three. This chapter is most likely going to be longer than the last one. How much longer exactly is the main question.
~KF
Fuerza
Day 20
Specter Knight, Katt, Plague Knight, Golden, Isabelle, Ryu, Daisy, Chica, Incineroar, Panther, Funky Kong, Espio
-/-
It was the day after the first official day of the merge phase in Survivor - Mexico. Now with there being more people on one tribe more than ever, activity was set to be rather high for a while, specifically when it came to camp life and strategizing.
For the latter, right now it was currently between Funky Kong, Espio, Isabelle, and Golden, with them all standing in the middle of the forest somewhere close to the water well.
Golden Fredbear sighed. "About time we got together and talk like this. I wanted to include Plague Knight on this as well, but I didn't want to make it obvious that all of the Brains left to go strategize and talk like this..."
"Well now that I think about it, this group of four is fine." Espio actually found it to be a perfect group to converse with. "There is much to be discussed. Where should we start off first?"
"Well... I suppose we can start about this Strong Guys Alliance Ryu has been talking about."
...
Isabelle and Espio were rather confounded.
"What 'Strong Guys Alliance?'" Isabelle questioned. "Is there something I missed here?"
"He's a brief backstory." Golden explained. "Yesterday, Ryu came up to me telling me that he wanted to extend his Strong Guys Alliance to basically all the physical players remaining in the game. He already has Incineroar and Specter Knight, with Katt not being included. But now he wants to include myself, Funky Kong, Daisy, and Panther."
"Yeah..." Funky Kong confirmed scratching his face. "Incineroar even talked with me about it and he said that Tifa was supposed to be included but he said he needed to vote her out to get back at Ryu for helping vote out Jet so they can be even."
"Wait..." The anthropomorphic bear frowned. "We didn't talk about that when I spoke with you yesterday... How did he know that Ryu played a factor in voting Jet out of the game?"
"Um,..." He stared at the ground for a quick second. "I... kinda figured it out for him. It was amazing to me that Incineroar never figured it out himself knowing that he was the one that was on the old Brawn tribe in the first place. When he told me about what the dynamics were on the old Brawn tribe he said that he thought that Tifa was set to get blindsided had they went to Tribal Council, but I knew that it could not have been the truth. It was the majority alliance for that group and Jet and Katt were on the bottom. He and Jet were friends and they never wanted to work with Tifa so Ryu lied about having Jet in the majority alliance just so he wouldn't get suspicious."
"...Wow..." Isabelle blinked in surprise. "So that's why he was so motivated to vote Tifa out. Like, he was already going to send her home, but... apparently he wanted to vote her out for a while. I didn't know that! And you figured everything out for him? That is so smart. I would have never thought of that."
"Uh, well, it was nothing." He sort of blushed a bit nervously giggling.
"Back when me and Incineroar talked about Tifa, it was not necessarily for the sake of me trying to get close with him. I just wanted to find more information about the tribe dynamics with his group all because I asked one question. And now people are calling me a genius 'cause of that..." He literally laughed out loud. "I am actually well pleased and you know, kinda felt good about it. Kinda common sense, but I guess I was put on Brains for a reason. People may think that I probably should have been on the Brawn tribe, but this ape ain't stupid. He is not stupid. Maybe that's the one thing I need to prove out here. I dunno."
"He did seem to be rather disappointed that Tifa was booted from the game." Espio recalled. "Who does Ryu plan on recruiting for the alliance exactly?"
"Myself, Funky, Incineroar, Specter, Daisy, and Panther." Golden answered.
"..."
"That really doesn't put the rest of us Brains in a good spot, here." Isabelle laughed out of sarcasm. "I'm going home because I'm not strong enough?"
"Vector would have loved to be part of this 'Strong Guy Alliance'..." Espio claimed glancing away for a bit.
"Don't worry." Golden held a hand out. "I don't want any of you going anywhere. I trust every last one of you standing here... Well, except for Plague knowing that he was on the bottom after Jimmy left, but he was still one of us when we started and we kind of have the upper hand right now since he's probably gonna be on the jury."
"Brains have the most numbers and I don't think for my game is good to let any of them go just yet for the sake of Ryu's alliance." The Five Nights at Freddy's character shook his head. "Sure, it makes sense for us to get rid of Plague, but when it comes to our tribe alliance, he's on the bottom and he knows it. But if I get to the end, for all I know, he could be the one vote I would need to become the Sole Survivor. Maybe to increase the chances of him giving me his jury vote the best thing to do is to not completely alienate him by sending him home immediately. But at the same time, Ryu's alliance actually makes sense, because I am a physical player, and so is Funky Kong who I consider to be my number one ally anyway. It's still kind of early in the game and I don't wanna leave early because I am strong in challenges."
"I mean, I am friends with Incineroar, but I don't wanna see anything happening to you guys either. Why throw away our advantage this early on?"
"The best thing to do is to play along with Ryu for now, while at the same time keeping us five together, including Plague Knight. Me and Funky will just..." Golden began scratching his head. "maybe figure out a way to tell Ryu and his alliance that we'll pretend that we're still working with the Brains, with the reality being that we're all in for the Strong Guys Alliance. But for the sake of us sticking together, I don't know who's gonna home, but we'll make sure you three aren't targeted."
Isabelle sighed. "Well, whatever you two have to do, then..."
"I'm trying to keep as many friends in the game as possible." The yellowish animal spoke again. "Funky, Espio, and Isabelle are my close allies, Plague's from the old Brain tribe, I have a strategic connection to Ryu to some degree, and now I have to help protect whoever Ryu wants to work with for the vote. Other words, anyone that might need my help. If I can prove to people that I'm their guy to rely on and be trusted, maybe that will be the way for me to reach the finals. In order to have longevity in the game, you're gonna have to work with someone."
"We appreciate you two wanting to keep us around." Espio spoke up again. "I'll do the same if I have to fight for any of you."
The group began to make their way back.
"There is one other thing I would like to bring up."
And they all stopped in their tracks.
"I've noticed that there is a rather strong connection between Panther, Katt, and Daisy."
-/-
About mid-morning, the tribe was scattered all around the camp, some retrieving water, some heading out for extra firewood, and a couple others fishing.
Ryu remained at the shelter with Katt and Specter Knight as he added another piece of wood to the fire. For Katt in particular, she was lying down on her back somewhat impatiently.
Eventually, she heaved a rushed exhale out of frustration. "Where's Incineroar?"
Both men turned in her direction.
"I've been trying to see if he would eventually coming on. Us three are here at the moment, so this would be the perfect opportunity for all four of us to talk. And besides," She finally sat up to eye her tribemates directly. "This would be the very first time all of the Brawn team spent some time alone together since the morning of day ten!"
"The Brawn team strategizing does make sense to a degree. However," Specter Knight spoke standing near her. "the downside to it is that if anyone else happens to be around, it would appear obvious to them that we are a strong group of four in alliance with one another. Us three strategizing alone would be the absolute limit."
Katt sighed again. "Fine... One of us can just tell Incineroar whatever... Well,... I think it's about time we finally work together again. But since four is nowhere near close to having a majority over here, we're gonna have to team up with a few friends."
"'A few friends?'" Ryu repeated, though his eyes still not shifting from the fire. "Who do you have in mind?"
"No, friends as in simply... possible alliance members." She giggled at Ryu's response. "But, seriously. We need to stick together and we need numbers. Don't you all notice that the Brains are leading right now? We need to get one of them out!"
"And how are we exactly going to do that?" Specter Knight cocked his head to the side. "Work with Beauty?"
"Exactly. See? I knew you guys would catch on!"
"I thought that since we never had to go to Tribal Council before the swap happened, we would have had the most numbers here." It seemed that Katt's predictions never turned out the way she expected them to. "But... Things just didn't happen that way. But that doesn't mean that the Brawn tribe of all groups are gonna give up. And besides, I really like Daisy and Panther, and I've been wanting to work with Panther for a while. I think that the best thing to do for all of us is to have the Brawn and Beauty tribes come together as a group of seven and vote one of the Brains off."
"I just think that everything would be a lot easier if the seven of us make a big alliance and start picking the Brains off before they outsmart us or something. Let's vote... Golden off first."
"Golden, huh?"
"Yeah." She answered Ryu. "He's probably the biggest physical threat we have to worry about right now... Or Funky Kong... You know what, whoever of those two wins immunity or makes it further than the other, that's how we'll decide. Either cast all of our votes on Golden or Funky Kong."
"Sounds logical enough." Specter Knight nodded.
"Speaking of..."
Ryu's mumble was more than enough to give off a signal to Specter Knight and Katt, them all hearing the voices of the two targets Katt had in mind conversing with one another as they were approaching the shelter.
"Oooh, okay, I'm gonna sneak away. Espio and Isabelle are fishing, so maybe I'll check on them."
She quickly moved away soon before the two former Brain members came onto the scene.
"'Sup, guys? We're back." Funky announced. Perhaps if he and Golden were not distracted by the firewood they were carrying, they would have been more focused on the possibility of three of the Brawns strategizing with one another. Yet at that point, it never mattered that much due to Ryu telling them exactly what went on anyway.
"Guys..." He snickered. "You literally just missed out. Katt was just talking about the two of you."
Funky frowned. "Seriously? Oh bananas, she didn't threw my name out, did she? I was gone for like, ten minutes?"
"Do you know what can happen in one minute alone?" Golden commented.
"Yeah, she threw both of your names out and she wants to have all of Brawn and Beauty come together as a seven person alliance." The street fighter ratted out the cat. "To her, the Brains are on the outs, and you two are targeted for being the most physical of that group."
"..." Funky facepalmed using not one, but both of his hands. "Are you kidding me?"
"Don't worry, all four of us are already in an alliance. It doesn't matter whose name Katt throws out there." He assured the both of them. "While we are all here, we can just come up with our own target. Us seven stay together, Katt, Isabelle, Espio, Chica, and Plague Knight are on the outs."
"What do the two of you have in mind?" Specter Knight wondered.
"Alright, well, you see, we honestly would get rid of Plague Knight right now." Golden explained. "He was on the outs of the old Brain tribe due to the Jimmy blindside, and we think that if we keep him around too long, he'd be itching to get rid of one of us, which I know he would not have the numbers to do that, anyway. But the thing is, since the rest of the Brains don't know about this, in order for them to not get suspicious or anything, it's best to keep this alliance a secret for as long as possible."
Ryu lifted an eyebrow. "You're saying you don't want any of your guys leaving yet?"
"I mean, the only reason to why we actually don't wanna get rid of Plague for this vote is because is because what Golden is saying right now, he basically told Espio and Iz already." Funky Kong further elaborated. "The four of us would want to work with Plague for at least one vote, and if we get rid of him now, we would basically be going back on our world and they will start to get suspicious."
"That..." Specter Knight blinked. "actually sounds reasonable enough. We understand."
"But if we can't get rid of Plague or anyone from the Brains, who's gonna be our target?" Ryu asked again.
"Well, Espio pointed out yesterday that Panther, Daisy, and Katt were all bonding together quite a lot." Golden recalled. "He slept next to Katt last night, who slept right next to Panther and Daisy, and he caught Katt trying to flirt with Panther. It's kind of obvious, you know?"
"Yeah..." Ryu eyed away. "I see what you mean. You think those three need to be broken up? I kinda want Panther and Daisy to be involved in this as well."
"Same here, but at the same time, for all we know, that could be a possible final three. If we can't trust them, then we have no choice but to separate 'em. The good news is even without those three, if we have us four plus Incineroar and the rest of the Brains with us, that's already eight votes, so we would have a majority no matter what."
"We have to have somebody from the old Beauty tribe to be part of the Strong Guys Alliance." Specter Knight brought up. "I've been with Panther for a few days, so I will see where his mind is. If he is willing to vote for either Daisy or Katt, then that would be our decision."
"I can not say that I have actually..." Specter Knight cleared his throat. "bonded with Panther that much on CoatÃ, but we have spent nine days together, so I feel that he would naturally have some sort of chance of trusting me if I inform that the others assume that he has some sort of connection with Katt and Daisy. I never cared too much for Katt, and I have only known Daisy for one day. Chica does not seem to have any allies in this game, so I feel like Panther would be the most likely individual I would strategize with when it comes to the Beauty tribe. Due to Tifa's unfortunate elimination, I would need some sort of replacement..."
-/-
Luckily, no one actually checked the tree mail at the time, so the Shovel Knight character found it to be a perfect opportunity. With him deciding to go along with Panther, no one ever thought too much of it other than the three tribe members he already discussed plans with.
"...Nnnope. Nothing for right now." Panther hunched his shoulders, placing the top of the basket back on.
"So while we are both here, mind if I... warn you about something?"
He immediately lowered his head "A warning? About what? Do people think I have an idol?"
"...Do you?"
"I don't..." He almost instantly shook in reply, though the viewers that were paying attention to the season knew that was a lie. "Why?"
"I was talking with others from the Strong Guys Alliance. And from what I heard, there is apparently some suspicion that you are rather close with Katt and Daisy."
"...What?"
"You three could possibly be in trouble, even though we want to recruit two of you in the Strong Guys Alliance. Though since they are growing worried of you getting along so well,... or a little too well, they are afraid that it would result in a liability for the alliance. It was my decision to approach you about it just so I can hear your side of it. I sort of need you to be involved in the alliance for the sake of my own game, so consider this to be an opportunity to make yourself clear to the others." His eyes stared off for a bit. "I don't know if you've told her about the Strong Guys alliance..."
"I-I have not..."
Liar.
"Good." Though Specter never really had the ability to read minds.
Panther Caroso could not have believed it. It was none other than deja vu all over again. Though this time it was certainly appearing to be much worse, especially since Katt appeared to be much more flirtatious than Rosalina.
"...What do you think I should tell them...?"
"I do not know exactly where you stand with both of them." He shook his head. "Perhaps it was rather good for them to point that out. However, if you wish to save yourself, perhaps you should make yourself clear if you wish to be a part of the alliance."
"Don't we need Daisy, though?"
"Daisy will not be necessary for my game." Specter Knight denied. "But only because from what I heard, the Brains will be voting with us due to Golden and Funky Kong still wanting to be on good terms with them... temporarily, I hope. Though since we need at least one member from the Beauty alliance, I recommend you defend yourself. I'd talk to either Funky or Golden if I were you, since they claim they got word of you three being together from Espio."
"..."
"...Me, Daisy, and Katt...?" He still could not believed it. "Dang... I don't even see Katt like that, but Daisy? ...Okay, we all know what happened the last time someone tried to point on that me and Daisy are basically a power couple, but... at this point, it's starting to get ridiculous. This is the second time me and her are being called out for getting along with each other... You know... Like normal people do. But I guess any apparent friendship is a problem, and I guess we're the most obvious... Maybe that's where people are going with it. ...But I'm still downright sick of it at this point..."
"However, I still have to adapt and play this game the best I could. I've been blessed with the opportunity to apparently be apart of this 'Strong Guys Alliance' thing, which is right up my ally because I was leading the old Beauty tribe in challenges. Daisy's all over it because she was the strongest female. Though since me and Daisy now have targets on my back, then it could blow both of our chances to win this thing..." He was silent for a long while. "I suppose... I have no other choice. Lemme go find her..."
-/-
"I'm surprised the both of us managed to get anywhere by ourselves."
Panther was lucky enough to be able to sneak Daisy away from everybody else and brought her over to the tree mail in order for it to be used as a hiding spot. Though she found the whole thing to be slightly humorous, Panther on the other hand never found anything that was worth laughing about.
"I'd say we have a few minutes here, so let's just make this quick. I've got something that I kinda wanna tell you..."
"What, about the Strong Guys Alliance?" She cocked her head to the side. "Is somebody not on board with it or something?"
"No, no, it's not that." He turned his head side to side. "Just... Okay... I'm gonna ask you something."
"Uh-huh..." She nodded patiently.
"...You know I like you,... right?" He gave a brief moment of silence before nimbly making himself clear. "Well,... not exactly in a way you might be thinking-"
"Oh, no, no, not at all." She almost instantly caught on to where Wolf's friend was getting at. "We both have been over this multiple times after Chica happened. You're more like a brother to me."
He finally smirked with a snicker. "And you're more like the little sister that I have to protect from all harm."
"What? No!" She stamped her foot playfully turning away, resulting in the older Fuerza member to finally release a laugh. "One little compliment and you just had to ruin it, didn't you? You're lucky that I don't even have an older brother back at home..."
"Oh, you know I love you." Panther could have easily elaborated on that topic a bit more, yet due to his time being rather limited, he needed to get to the point. "But anyway, um... Oh, geez, how am I gonna put this?"
"Please don't tell me the alliance is called off." She was already shaking her head. "I swear if it is, like, that is our one chance of getting far into this game at this point. We don't even need Chica for crying out loud!"
"Look, it is not called off. It has nothing to do with... You know what, it does, but for a different reason..." He went on to say. "Look, I don't know how you're gonna take this, but... according to Specter Knight, Espio apparently noticed that the two of us plus Katt have been... spending too much time together as of late."
"...What?" She had pretty much the exact same reaction Panther had.
"Yeah..."
She facepalmed greatly. "Not this again... And now Katt is in it? All we ever did was talk about how much we have in common and you just happened to be right at the shelter when we showed up!"
"Doesn't explain last night, though. That was what probably did it." He thought out loud. "But it was Specter that gave me a warning about it. I don't even know if he was supposed to tell me that or not, but I'll thank him later. But anyway, I don't know how you're gonna feel about this, but... for the best interests of both of us,... we're gonna have to start distancing ourselves from each other."
"..." In a rare moment for Daisy, she was completely speechless.
"..."
Even if it was only for about five seconds. "Distance ourselves from... W-What are you saying?"
"Look, I'm only doing this to protect your game and to protect my game. If everyone thinks that we're that close with each other, to decrease the targets that we may have on our backs, the best thing to do for the both of us is to simply... separate... and that unfortunately... includes us not being in the same alliance..."
"..."
"B-But,... what does that mean for me?" She blinked.
"Specter admitted that he only cared for working with me, I guess since he's known me the longest. Since you were on Toro, he's less likely to trust you. Thus, it leaves you with Katt and Chica. Golden and Funky Kong are the only two from the Brains in the Strong Guys Alliance, but they're pretending that they're still good with the Brains the whole way, so that puts you three on the outs... except that you will be the only one of those three that knows what's really going on... However," Although he remained calm and composed with his words, inside, his heart had already sank even before his explanation. "you might have to pretend that you don't know what's going on..."
"Panther..." Her mind was attempting to process a million thoughts at once. "A-Are... Are you gonna v-vote me out...?"
"No, no, no, I'm not doing that!" He quickly held a hand out. "That's the last thing I wanna do. Though since the two of us are basically in an alliance together at this point, let alone genuine friends, we have to keep it under wraps due to those rumors spreading all around. You have to pretend that you don't know what's going on, while... I hate to say this, being on the bottom... Daisy, I'm not voting you out. If I have to fight for you, then I must. But... us separating ourselves from each other is the only way I can prove to these guys that there's nothing going on between us... We can not risk either of our games to openly stick together. It will only makes things worse and we're both not making it to the end... I-I'm sorry..."
"...A-Alright..."
"..."
"I-I'm gonna head back to the shelter..." She immediately began to step away.
"I mean, I for some reason never thought of this before, maybe it is because that I generally get along with Daisy and she knows it, but game wise, we're probably each other's number one ally. And what I told her, she..." He facepalmed and covered his eyes. "I hate to do it to the girl, but we have no other choice just for the sake of our strategic relationship to have limited conversations, and mostly in front of others, and we might have to vote differently if we're both gonna stay in this. I think she really does know that now that I've talked to her about it, but she of course was gonna be upset... I feel sorry for the girl... But in order to make things a bit easier for her, with me being basically the only Beauty member in the... 'SG Alliance' at this point is to have a say in who is not going home. And I will do anything within my power to make sure the votes don't fall onto her."
Ignoring Plague Knight, Espio, Incineroar, Ryu, Isabelle, and Chica, Daisy sat on the end of the shelter staring at the fire in complete silence, no one even noticing how quiet she was at the time. She had a fist beneath her chin, and she looked rather saddened, even though due to her being around several other people, she had to attempt at her best to hide it.
"I just don't know anymore. I've been on a losing streak on Quetzal, another losing streak on Toro, and now I'm at the merge where I already have limited numbers to work with. When I first heard from Panther that I was going to be a part of this big Strong Guys Alliance featuring exclusively physical players, I could not have been any more excited. I was getting ready to call it the absolute best moment for me in this game so far, and I thought that I even had Panther with me since we were both considered to be brought right into it. But now, apparently me and Panther sticking together for some reason is just too much for people to look at... and... now we have to pretend that we're not working together anymore..." She remained quiet for a bit. "Am I ever gonna get a real break out here?"
Though eventually, she was finally noticed by Isabelle. "...You alright?"
"I'm fine. I'm just waiting to see if Funky Kong and Katt caught anything from the lake." One knew that it was more than obvious that it was an outright lie. Daisy knew all too well she only said it so that Isabelle would leave her alone.
"I just don't know what else to do. It seems that every time I turn around I always gotta fight for something. And it's pretty usual in Survivor, especially since we're all literally fighting for the same thing. The problem is... so am I... I just didn't expect my adventure to turn out like this. Now I can't even spend time with the one guy that I like the most out here? ...On purpose? Just so that I can win money?" In order to prevent tears from falling, she wiped them from her eyes the moment she felt them coming. "I mean, I'm not trying to hurt his game as much as he doesn't wanna hurt mine, but... all of a sudden I don't know if this somehow feels worse than losing all those challenges back to back... But, you know what? ...I think that's alright. I'll get through this. I don't know exactly what's gonna happen to me anymore, but if I have to distance myself from Panther just to survive, then... It's just what I have to do."
Day 21
Following a series of pre-merge tribal immunity challenges, it was now time to begin a new series of individual immunity challenges. As usual, it was every person's dream of wearing the famous individual immunity necklace.
"Come on in, guys!"
Specter Knight, Daisy, Isabelle, Katt, Chica, Golden, Plague Knight, Ryu, Incineroar, Espio, Panther, and Funky Kong all made it to the grassy field where the challenge was set to take place.
"Alright, you guys ready to get to your first individual immunity challenge?"
They cheered like they have never cheered before, emotions running quite high knowing that somebody's dream of earning that necklace was just about to come true, the simple question being: who was going to prove themselves to be victorious?
"First things first, I will take back tribal immunity." Master Hand announced, Chica and Espio handing both the second and first place idols over to him, the hand setting them down on the ground as a way to show that they were no longer something of value for the season. "Tribal immunity is no more, individual immunity is what you seek. I will now show you the individual immunity necklace."
Hearts raced as they prepared for the moment of truth. Master Hand took off a giant cloth to reveal of something one might have expected, based off the Aztec Empire in Mexico. Since the country's flag consisted of three colors, being red, white, and green, they were the dominant colors of the necklace as each color took over a third of the necklace, a picture of a small pyramid directly in the middle. Minor details included the symbol for the Aztec calendar, which had one for each side at the end.
There were some 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd, yet Incineroar was definitely the most vocal.
"With individual immunity, you are safe at Tribal Council with a one in eleven shot at winning this game. Without it, you, are, not."
"Awww, man. I feel like I'm in the boxing ring all over again!" He beamed, eyeing it as if it was his next trophy he was set to win back at home. "I'll do anything to win that thing!"
"Alright, so here's how the challenge is gonna work. Time for a classic endurance test. For today's challenge, you are gonna stand on a narrow beam while balancing a statue with a long pole over your head. At regular intervals, you will move farther down the beam making it more difficult. If at any point you fall, or your statue drops, you are out of the challenge. Last person remaining wins individual immunity, safe from the vote. Losers, Tribal Council where someone will be the seventh person voted out of this game. We'll draw for spots, we'll get started."
-/-
"Alright, everybody's in position."
Each player took his or her position, Golden, Specter Knight, Funky Kong, Isabelle, Ryu, Espio, Daisy, Plague Knight, Incineroar, Katt, Panther, and Chica all standing side by side in that order from left to right.
"Raise your poles above your head."
Slowly, but eventually the dozen survivors remaining in the competition managed to get their poles in position. Sure, it would have been much easier if they simply held it in place while balancing the statue. Though for Master Hand, balancing a pole on one's head, while balancing a statue at the end of the pole at the same time proved to be much more entertaining to watch, yet challenging for the players at the same time.
"...And this challenge is on..."
...
It was as if a cricket could have been sounded from somewhere, explaining how mute the scene was. Yet since Master Hand had to narrate, he had no choice but to ruin the silence.
"Kind of an awkward, yet interesting situation right out of the gate. You have to balance yourself on a beam, while balancing a statue on a pole, which is already balancing on your head, all at the same time. There is no question that fatigue will set in. Though the one question you have to ask yourself is how much you can possibly take just to win this challenge, all over a million dollars that is always on the line..."
For a certain anthropomorphic dog from Animal Crossing, her question happened to be answer rather soon.
"Isabelle within ten seconds drops her statue, she's now out of the challenge."
"Aww, come on..." She complained. "Not even for a whole minute?"
"Isabelle, you can take a spot on the sit out bench." He pointed. "We are now down to eleven... This first round is gonna last for five minutes before we move farther down the beam..."
Espio, Specter Knight, and Ryu had their eyes closed to remain focused, Incineroar and Katt all remained facing forward as they stood sideways on the beam, and everyone else made sure their were kept on the small statue at all times.
Nearly a minute later, Plague Knight began wobbling.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh,... no!" He whispered loudly. "Aw..."
"Plague Knight falls off the beam. He's out. Go sit next to Isabelle."
Elapsed Time: 5 Minutes
"Alright... Now for the ten of you, it is time to transfer into that section on the pole. If you can not successfully transition when the time is up, you are out. You have fifteen seconds..."
It was a matter of moving as carefully as possible, the survivors inching their way into the second section, making sure their hands held their grip on the poles at all times.
"...Oh, oops..."
"Daisy moved a bit too quickly and her statue drops."
"W-Wait,... aw..."
"Chica drops right behind her!" Master Hand called. "The rest of you have five seconds left... Four... Three... Two... One..."
Funky Kong blew out his own breath out of relief.
"...Alright... Everybody else is looking good... We will remain in this second section for fifteen minutes, and this challenge continues. Now the beam is more narrow under your feet, giving them less room to work with."
Nonetheless, the group of eight that were still in the running remained as still as they possibly could have. Within the next twenty, though a few wobbles and statues unexpectedly moving at times, they were all able to keep them under control.
Elapsed Time: 20 Minutes
"Alright... Now it is time to start to transition to the most narrow section of the balance beam. At least part of one foot has to be on that red tip at the very end. I'm gonna give you forty-five seconds. Start transferring over..."
Master Hand floated to the remaining competitors left.
"...Specter Knight, you're good... Espio, you're good to go."
Unfortunately for Incineroar, he was not. He was not the best when it came to balancing.
"Incineroar can't make the transfer, he is not."
Snapping his fingers in frustration, he began his way over to the bench. No gold medal for the Pokemon this time.
Funky Kong had somewhat of an easier time balancing, yet his issue was that his statue collapsed to the ground.
"Funky Kong can't make the transfer. He's out of the challenge... Panther's good..."
"Oh no, oh... Whew..."
"Nice save from Katt, but you have to move. You, Golden, and Ryu all have ten seconds..."
Ryu managed to make it, yet when Golden was almost finished transferring, his statue called it quits.
"Golden drops, he's out... Five... Four... Three... Two... One..."
"...Everybody else remaining has successfully made the transition. We are now down to five. Specter Knight, Ryu, Espio, Katt, and Panther..." Master Hand kept record of who was still in the running. "Someone from this group of five will win immunity and will have a one in eleven shot at a million dollars. We will remain in this section until we have a winner."
"..." Katt widened her eyes, her statue out of nowhere falling to the ground.
"Katt out of nowhere drops, we are down to four..."
"I could have sworn I was steady enough..." She mumbled under her breath, making her way towards everyone else.]
"Tribal Council tonight. Who knows where... anybody stands?" asked Master Hand, feeling a bit of a breeze. "A little wind is coming into play..."
...
"...!"
"Panther's statue drops... Mother nature played a factor and he is out."
Not wanting to believe it, he shook his head and cursed under his breath. He simply could not have processed being eliminated from the challenge simply because of a little wind.
"We now have only Specter Knight, Espio, and Ryu left in this challenge... Two Brawn, one Brain..."
Elapsed Time: 36 Minutes
"You three have now been balancing for thirty-six minutes..." Master Hand announced.
"How embarrassing..." Isabelle complained for obvious reasons.
"How come they can do it, but I can't?" Plague Knight wondered.
"Here comes the wind once again..."
Yet another obstacle that the remaining competitors had to overcome.
"Ryu with a little bit of movement... Get it under control..."
His statue was inching away from the small brown circle that was meant to support it, yet he was attempting at his hardest to make it stand still.
"...!"
"Specter Knight out of nowhere drops. He is out..."
With no words, he simply hung his head down in disappointment, pacing his way to the bench.
"...Ryu with a nice recovery..."
Nearly seven more minutes passed by. Chica took a glance at the sun, yet only a camera stared at it directly. By the time Chica brought her eyes back down, she wiped sweat from her forehead.
"Whew..."
"...? ...!"
"Espio drops outta nowhere!"
Ryu immediately widened his eyes.
"RYU WINS FIRST INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY!"
With a round of applause, he finally stepped off his balance beam beaming more than ever.
"Whew... Felt like I was on there forever... All that training paid off..."
"Ryu, come on over. You are going to be the very first person this season to win this necklace."
"Feels like I've won my first tournament..."
The rest of the cast applauded once again, with Ryu turning around for Master Hand to wrap the necklace around his neck.
"Ryu is officially safe from being voted out at Tribal Council and he has no chance of going home tonight." Master Hand placed a hand on his shoulder. "As for the rest of you, I know you all have just merged a little while ago, but someone's gotta go. Tribal Council tonight where someone will be the seventh person voted out of this game. Ryu, it will not be you. You all can head back to camp."
"Thanks, master."
"I gave Master Hand my thanks, but that was not only towards him, but to my actual master back at home who's made me who I am today. First time actually talking about him, but never late than never. If it weren't for Master Gouken, I would have had no idea what my life would have been. This one's for you. Thank you for helping grow as strong as I can." His left fist lightly punched the palm of his right hand, bowing right at the camera as a gong sound effect was heard in his confessional.
Well, one individual immunity challenge down, eight more to go.
A very satisfying victory for Ryu. Katt surprisingly lasted long in the challenge even though she's not the strongest, but not long enough to win the necklace. But overall, sort of an interesting chapter. The Brains want to stick together, but Golden and Funky Kong have said that they will be playing both sides basically.
Yet the standout moment in this chapter is the rather emotional scene with Panther and Daisy... I've actually really felt for the both of them. I'd say that Panther informing Daisy of what he's gonna do to avoid them being targeted again is not a bad move at all. Maybe a bit smart, even. Nonetheless, both of them are well aware of what they have to sacrifice just for the sake of both of their games.
Sad things aside, Rodin from Bayonetta is going to be the second confirmed character for Survivor - Caribbean. Yet another franchise that has yet to poop out another character for this series. This time I've actually played both Bayonetta games so this will be good.
Though one thing to note here is that I've decided to not post questions here anymore. After doing it for so long, I've found it to be rather tedious and a bit annoying to do at this point. So for now on I'll just talk about the major details that occurred each chapter.
Anyways, we'll see who gets voted off soon...