Chris's Above Ground Recap
"Last time, on Total Drama Crios Cath…
"We immediately threw the contestants into the challenge. Way. Way. Wa-heh-ay in the early morning."
The camera zoomed in on Chris. "A lot happened last episode, so I'm gonna spare you some deets, kay?"
The shot changed to the contestants in the woods. "Contestants had to run around in the forest trying to murder, hide, or capture, depending on their goal. Alltud could not participate during this challenge due to not reaching a consensus with their wager.
"Cumhachtach failed once again, with Frag not being able to run away from the vicious Laura, Tiberius and Michael also being killed by Laura, after an embarrassing piggy-back ride on Tiberius' part. Nice for Michael though. He got a free ride and called the cuck-caller a cuck!
"Ffydd… did Ffydd th-things ag-gain. Morgana focused more on spirits than the challenge. Indigo got some advice on being king from Laura. We'll see how that affects his future decisions. Oh yeah, and advice on girlfriends from Bryan. Setsuna, with no surprise, was one of the first people captured. And King made some interesting deals with the devils.
"With Laura's, somewhat smaller bet, compared to the ratio of how much land she normally bet, allowed for Mateo's plan of throwing the challenge and eliminating the queen into full effect, roping the rest of the team, while Laura didn't heed counsel. And they were sooo close to succeeding a rather hard challenge to throw, but it was Rose who ended up WAKING ME UP IN THE MIDDLE OF MY EARLY MORNING NAP! Oh, and she called a special elimination too.
"At the elimination, it was the choice between morals and strategy and Roxanne was the 11th person sent to the Shameterranean. And now for Chef and the Underground Recap."
Chef's Below Ground Recap:
"Below Ground…
"Jeremy sent up a challenge block to Alltud!
Harald wanted to yeet Mathilda but Franchesca distracted him!
Franchesca sent up an immunity medal and gave the other to Harald!
Avi and Nathan found the DA!
Nathan got yeeted by Gazella and Ani, while Molly confronted Nathan, That's where we left off!"
"And that's one cliffhanger to end off on!" Chris butted in. "How will Avi escape the trio that surrounds him? Is it even possible? Where is the True Resting Place? And who is about to join the underground players at their eleventh hour? Find out right here! On Total! Drama! Crios Cath!"
*The Survivor Theme Ancient Voices Begins Playing As the Crios Cath Theme Song Starts*
As the beginning horns start blaring, various shots of Crios Cath from above are time-lapsed and shown through the screen, notably the highlands, the forest, the bog, the lower fields, the desert, and underground.
Cumhachtach
A red figure holding a red stag skull flag is shown, before the camera zooms in so only the image of the flag is on the left side of the screen. Meanwhile, the right side of the screen pans over the lands that Cumhoetach owns, before showing its remaining members in alphabetical order, doing various tasks.
Bryan is busy fixing up a shelter roof in one shot, and leading a charge, pulling a large package by a rope in a second shot.
Frag is putting in effort to freehand climb up a cliff in one shot, and drumming on a large rock while smiling in a second shot.
Michael is throwing an object as if it were a baseball in one shot, and crouching and peering through some bushes in a second shot.
Stan is side-stepping through water and rallying the rest of the team in one shot, and harvesting some wheat in a second shot.
Tiberius is swinging his greatsword in one shot, and is seen soaking wet and shouting angrily in a second shot.
Mealltach
A green figure holding a green dryad flag is shown, before the camera zooms in so only the image of the flag is on the left side of the screen. Meanwhile, the right side of the screen pans over the lands that Meanaltach owns, before showing its remaining members, in alphabetical order, doing various tasks.
Alice is seen twirling her hair suggestively as she looks at someone off-screen in one shot, and breaking out into a sprint through sand in a second shot.
Anemone is tying her curly black hair into a ponytail in one shot, and shouting from atop a tree in a second shot.
Jarri is seen picking fruit off of a tree and examining it in one shot, and tossing a spear in slow motion in a second shot.
Rose is seen playing with a large conifer branch as though it is a fan in one shot, and is running along, clapping and shouting in a second shot..
Ffydd
A blue figure holding a blue shaman flag is shown, before the camera zooms in so only the image of the flag is on the left side of the screen. Meanwhile, the right side of the screen pans over the lands that Ffeett owns, before showing its remaining members, in alphabetical order, doing various tasks.
Indigo is laughing as he sits cross-legged around a fire pit in one shot, and is using a mortar and pestle while looking at someone off-screen in a second shot.
King pulls an incredibly healthy looking carrot from the ground in one shot, and is raising both his arms up in a cheer in a second shot.
Morgana is gulping down water from a bucket in one shot, and solemnly holding what seems to be a spiritual communication ritual in a second shot.
Setsuna is shown curiously looking at a trap in the ground in one shot, and calmly firing an arrow from a bow in a second shot.
Cfrwys
A yellow figure holding a yellow king and queen flag is shown, before the camera zooms in so only the image of the flag is on the left side of the screen. Meanwhile, the right side of the screen pans over the lands that Cfrwuss owns, before showing its remaining members, in alphabetical order, doing various tasks.
Aria is quickly turning her head to look behind her, her twintails whipping around as she does so in one shot, and is cupping her hands while shouting so loud her face is going red in a second shot..
Kalyssa is waving semi-flirtatiously at the camera in one shot, and is swinging a club at something hidden in the grass in a second shot.
Laura is tasting a porridge she's cooking in one shot, and is seen measuring something in the distance using her thumb in a second shot.
Mateo is washing the clan's clothes in a makeshift washbin in one shot, and is beckoning someone off-screen to charge up a hill towards him in a second shot.
Alltud
A dull grey figure holding a dull grey broken chain flag is shown, before the camera zooms in so only the image of the flag is on the left side of the screen. Meanwhile, the right side of the screen pans over the lands Lalltud owns, before showing its remaining members, in alphabetical order, doing various tasks.
Angelo is hauling sandstone in one shot, and harmoniously playing a violin in a second shot.
Axel is crouched over and brooding by himself in one shot, and confusedly looking over a map in a second shot.
Carol is facing off against a giant scorpion while holding a makeshift spear in one shot, and is energetically cheering her team on as she sidesteps with them in a second shot.
Maggie is busy dusting off her stone slab bed in one shot, and organizing various makeshift tools in a second shot.
Ryuji is seen cracking open a cactus with a large rock in one shot, and covering his eyes as he laughs and points at something off-screen in a second shot.
Shameterranean
A white figure, holding a druidic artifact, is seen falling down into what appears to be some kind of underworld, before the camera zooms in so only the underworld image is on the top half of the screen. Meanwhile, the bottom half of the screen pans over the ShameTerran caverns, before showing the remaining players trapped there, in alphabetical order, at the moment of their elimination and doing various tasks.
Ani is seen getting his torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and is seen entering an alcove with Molly in a second shot.
Avi is seen getting his torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and seen hurriedly sprinting through a shameterranean tunnel in a second shot.
Franchesca is seen getting her torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and covertly handing someone else an object in a second shot.
Gazella is seen losing a footrace in one shot, and is tracking something underground in a second shot.
Harald is seen diving from a pull up bar and landing in water in one shot, and pushing Shelby-Lynn down a Pit of Peril in a second shot.
Jeremy is seen getting his torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and looking up through a hole in the ground in a second shot.
Mathilda is seen falling from a pull up bar and landing in water in one shot, and raising her bat threateningly in a second shot.
Molly is seen getting her torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and is seen entering an alcove with Ani in a second shot.
Roxanne is seen getting her torch snuffed by Chris in one shot, and running through the Shameterranean in a second shot.
The camera zooms out to reveal that all the figures and underworld were part of the same picture, the season logo connecting them like a belt.
Total Drama Crios Cath
Location: Shameterranean
Contestants: Ani, Avi, Gazella, Molly
"Just give us the DA, and this won't get painful, Avi." Molly explained as Ani and Gazella slowly began to advance. "You don't even know where the True Resting Place is."
"W-well, if I found this place before you guys, I th-think I can p-p-probably find the True Resting Place first t-t-t-too!" Avi began to back up towards the wall.
"Avi, don't make this difficult!" Ani pleaded as he stopped next to Molly. "We don't want to have to push you. Just hand off the DA to Molly and you can join our group!"
"You just pushed Nathan down a Pit of Peril!" Avi chirped. "I can't trust any of you!"
"We had no choice, man!" Ani defended himself. "He was huge and was doing his best to push me in there! If Gazella hadn't come to help out, I'd be toast!"
"I don't believe that even for a second!" Avi kept the DA even closer to his chest.
"Avi, we'd all like to keep our hands as clean of forced eliminations as possible." Molly tried to reason with him. "Just walk up to us, hand it over, and we can lead you straight to the True Resting Place. Gazella has a map, remember? We'll find it a lot faster than you likely would on your own, and if you're having this much trouble here, I don't think you'd want to walk into the ambush we'd be forced to set up if you don't cooperate."
"N…" Avi clutched the DA even tighter. "Not good enough. I need some sort of proof that you won't just shove me down a Pit of Peril right away like you did with Nathan!"
"Gah, he's not going to listen!" Gazella had had enough of waiting around and rushed up towards Avi. "I'm taking that thing from you whether you like it or not!"
"Gazella, wait!" Ani tried to stop her, but she'd already made clear progress, and wasn't about to turn back.
"Gahhh!" Avi screamed as he backed up into the wall, and instantly fell into a narrow tunnel. "What the-?!" He looked around as he got his bearings, but didn't have much time to think as he saw Gazella starting to squeeze her way into the tunnel as well.
There was no time to ask any questions.
He took off down the strange tunnel, hoping it would lead him to safety.
"Wow…" Ani mentioned as he and Molly turned to look at each other. "She really wanted that DA."
"Yeah. And was too impatient in trying to grab it too." Molly agreed. "If she's that impulsive…"
"She could be unreliable for us." Ani nodded. "I don't like it but we might need to...y'know…"
"Yeah." Molly sighed. "I don't like it either...but it seems like we might need to push her down a peg if that behavior comes up."
"Yo!" Gazella popped her head out of the tunnel towards Ani and Molly.
"Are you two followin' or what? Don't just stand in this useless alcove anymore!"
Confessional: Ani: Shameterranean
"She's got that map, which is extremely useful, but once we know where the True Resting Place is...or once she hands the map over to Molly or myself...I think it's probably safer for the two of us to part ways with her."
End Confessional
Confessional: Gazella: Shameterranean
"Molly and Ani both kind of want Avi to just willingly come with us, but that doesn't really make much sense in my mind. He's got the DA, that makes him Public Enemy #1 down here. Don't let him hold it! Anyone could easily yeet him down a Pit of Peril!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Molly: Shameterranean
"This isn't good. This isn't good at all. Gazella is acting on her own and Ani and I are considering pushing her, and this is all happening at exactly the worst possible time for it to happen. We better find a freaking miracle through this tunnel."
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
Avi stopped to catch his breath.
He seemed to have outrun the trio.
For now, at least.
He looked around the tunnel.
It was a rather thin opening, and small as well. Didn't even seem natural, now that he looked at the way the cavern walls were formed.
They almost looked like some sort of stone man punched the tunnels into existence.
Avi kept running once he'd caught his breath. He needed more distance, just in case.
As he ran, he tripped.
His eyes widened at what he tripped over.
If he didn't know any better, he'd say that looked an awful lot like…
He quickly got back up and moved down the tunnel again.
Confessional: Avi: Shameterranean
"Okay, I have everything I need. Now I just need to get to the place I need to be. I don't know where that place is or what it looks like, but considering this tunnel probably isn't supposed to be here, I think Gazella's map might be outdated, which gives me just a bit of an edge. And boy, I really fucking need it."
End Confessional
Location: Ionad Desert (Clan Alltud Campsite)
Contestants: Angelo, Axel, Carol, Maggie, Ryuji
"One, two, three, four, five!" Axel coached a heavily sweating Carol and Maggie through reps of push-ups with not a single strain in his voice. "And one, two, three, four, five! And one, two, three, four, five!"
"Give, us, wa-, -ter, please!" Carol prayed to the island gods as she did her push-ups. "Give, us, wa-, -ter, please!"
"Can, we, please, have, shade?" Maggie asked as she did her own push-ups. "Can, we, please, have, shade!"
"Nice attitude, girls! Keep pushing! Getting stronger! Feel the burn! Appreciate the burn! Let the burn fuel you! One, two, three, four, five! And one, two, three, four, five!"
"Hey, wait, what, is, that?" Maggie noticed a scroll near a small sinkhole in the sand.
"I, have, no, i-, -dea." Carol responded.
"Can, I, check, it, out?" Maggie asked Axel through her reps.
Axel gave a quick nod and motioned for Carol to stop momentarily.
Maggie grabbed the scroll and looked down the sinkhole.
Some strange altar was underground.
Nervous, but curious, she opened up her scroll. "A challenge block." She stated.
Carol nodded. "Yeah, that might come in handy! Good find, Maggie!"
"Bah, we don't need that!" Axel ran back towards the campsite. "I'll let you hold onto it though."
Confessional: Maggie: Clan Alltud
"It says here that I can play this on someone and it excludes them from participating in the challenge, but keeps them safe if their team loses. I could use it to protect someone maybe? But no matter what, it sounds like something I should definitely keep around for when I really need it."
End Confessional
Confessional: Carol: Clan Alltud
"The good news is that without having to head to elimination last challenge, we were able to sort of rally with each other a bit, but I'm still doing my best to bring everyone positive energy. I can't let us get marred down emotionally like we were last time. That means keeping everyone civil and making sure we agree on our bets."
End Confessional
The trio continued their workout.
Angelo boiled some water over the fire and tossed a log in.
Ryuji tossed a pear in the basket. "Good going, Angelo!"
"No problem. Water is the most important thing to survive." Angelo attempted to wipe the sand off of his bare torso.
"No, not that. You saved all our asses from Tine Naofa!"
Axel, Maggie, and Carol stopped in plank.
"I did no such thing. The Mealltach ruler called the elimination."
Carol continued her push-ups. "The, rule-, -er, you, play, goo-, g-, -ly, eyes, with!"
Ryuji slapped a hand on Angelo's back. "Let's face it, man. It was you!"
"Good job, Angelo!" Axel called. "We don't need any less members to take down the villains."
Confessional: Axel: Clan Alltud
"And to be frank, I don't quite trust Angelo or Ryuji to not be villains themselves. I'll keep my eye on them."
End Confessional
"Oh, but that wasn't my intention." Angelo stepped back.
"What was your intention, then?" Axel asked.
"It's not important."
"We, des-, -erve, to, know." Maggie huffed through her own push ups.
"I just happened to run into her and give her a comforting shoulder and heart to heart." Angelo cut the truth short. "We're all lucky things just sort of worked out the way they did."
"Sure." Ryuji snickered. "Lucky."
Confessional: Ryuji: Clan Alltud
"I think it's pretty clear based on how often he heads over in Mealltach's general direction that those two have some sort of fling going on. I bet that would have caused quite the scandal in ancient Crios Cath if a real Mealltach queen were romantically involved with an exile."
End Confessional
"You can snicker all you want, Ryuji." Angelo shrugged. "I haven't said anything false."
"Whatever, I'm parched, when's the water going to boil already?"
"Be patient."
"And one, two, thee, four, five!" Axel led Carol and Maggie through their last rep of five push-ups for the morning.
"Can we make the fire hotter?" Ryuji asked, impatiently.
"That isn't possible!" Angelo laughed.
"May-, -be, we, should, get, Rose, here!" Ryuji mimicked Axel, Carol, and Maggie.
Everyone laughed.
Confessional: Angelo: Clan Alltud
"I would, at present, prefer to keep my fledgling romance with Rose to a minimum. I have no doubt that she's made enemies since she called that special elimination ceremony, and I would prefer to not get wrapped up in another clan's drama while the peace within my own is fragile. Look out for yourself before you try looking out for others, as they say."
End Confessional
Location: Upper Ceol Fields (Cumhachtach Territory)
Contestants: Bryan, Frag, Michael, Stan, Tiberius
"Is he asleep?" Bryan asked Frag as he entered the cabin.
"He isn't even here, thank the island gods." Frag responded. "He went hunting and took Michael and Stan with him."
"So it's just the two of us then, good." Bryan sighed, relieved. "We need to get rid of him, like, as soon as we lose."
"I'm not sure…" Frag rubbed the back of his neck. "He's a dick, yeah, but he's still helpful in the challenges themselves for the most part."
"Well...what if I told you that I had a vote block?" Bryan held up the vote block advantage that had been sent up to him.
Frag eyed the paper.
"That helps a bit." He admitted. "But it doesn't help enough. It's useless right now, since Tiberius wins ties and there's only the two of us, and the three of him, Stan, and Michael. We need someone to flip, and if we have someone to flip, we won't need the vote block in the first place. It's better used in helping us keep power when there's only four of us."
"So you've finally decided the time has come?" Bryan asked, hopefully.
"Sure." Frag sighed. "Beats being on the bottom anyways."
Confessional: Bryan: Clan Cumhachtach
"Finally, Frag's managed to come to his senses and help out team good guys here! It's high time we sent the armored baby home anyways. The next order of business is to figure out which player between Stan and Michael is more likely to flip on the big T."
End Confessional
Confessional: Frag: Clan Cumhachtach
"If we can get rid of Tiberius the Tyrant before he gets rid of me, great. But first we need a flipper, and then we need that flipper to stay flipped, because if they become the king...that's a lot of power they'll have gotten for a betrayal, and we don't want to put any thoughts of correlation meaning causation in their head."
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
"Alright, men, huddle up." Tiberius called Michael and Stan over to him, as they began to head back with stone bowls full of trimmed meat to cook back at camp.
"We've got a good haul." Stan looked over the food. "It'll keep us in good condition at the very least."
"And that's more than can be said for Alltud in the desert." Michael nodded.
"Yes, but we'd have an even better haul if we had more land. We've been lucky so far in that our cabin is built somewhere with no shade, so Cfrwys hasn't taken that particular acre yet, but we're dwindling. We can't keep betting big acres of land."
"Well, technically, only you are betting land, so-" Michael mentioned before stopping himself when he noticed Tiberius's glare.
"So, what do we do about it?" Stan asked. "If the bet is too small we won't ever return our lands to their former glory."
"We get rid of the man who keeps arguing for high bets." Tiberius growled. "And any cuck who agrees with him."
"Well, isn't that also technically you since you do bet his suggestions?" Michael asked again.
Tiberius gave him another glare.
"What matters the most right now is that the three of us vote as a unit. Any betrayals will be dealt with...severely." He gave a loud sniff as he adjusted his greatsword. "Now, back to camp."
"You think next elimination is the time to make our move?" Stan asked.
"Mm…" Michael thought to himself. "Nah. We make our move at four left."
Confessional: Michael: Clan Cumhachtach
"And now while Stan does nothing, I'll go play double agent and see what Bryan or Frag is thinking up, and I can totally run this freaking clan! Woo!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Stan: Clan Cumhachtach
"Now, Michael says to wait until four left, but actually, that's pretty good for me. If I can get rid of either Bryan, who's done better than me in physical challenges, or Frag, who's been Tiberius's helper for most of the time, then I'll be that much closer to being crowned the new king when we do get rid of Tiberius at four people left. Now all that's left is to decide who is a bigger threat to my specific game."
End Confessional
Confessional: Tiberius: Clan Cumhachtach
"All these dumbcucks don't realize that they mean nothing next to me. Each and every one of them is entirely disposable. The only thing I need to do is get myself to the merge, and then…then I smite any cucks that get in my way! DEUS VULT!"
End Confessional
Location: Cailleach Bog (Clan Ffydd Territory)
Contestants: Indigo, King, Morgana, Setsuna
"Setsuna, where are the berries?" Indigo asked Setsuna as she returned to camp empty handed.
"Gone." Setsuna shrugged.
"Impossible!" Indigo gasped. "You always collect the berries."
"And then I always pick them up and collect new ones…" King mumbled under his breath as he tended the fire.
"The acre is gone." Setsuna yawned.
"Well, go find one with more berries than that one and bring us food!" Indigo ordered.
"Okay." Setsuna shrugged once more before heading out.
She gave King a sorrowful look as she left.
Confessional: Setsuna: Clan Ffydd
"Indigo is a butt of a king."
End Confessional
"Morgana!" Indigo called.
"Yeah?" Morgana's voice replied.
"How many fish have you reeled in?"
"Still none, since this fishing rod is just a stick and a vine!"
"Well, remember to catch nine fish! Two for each of you, and three for me as the ruler!"
"I knoooowww!" Morgana called back.
Confessional: Morgana: Clan Ffydd
"This man is a fool. The spirits work against him."
End Confessional
"Tell me, King…" Indigo sat down next to King near the fire.
"Tell you what?" King was wary about where this conversation was going to go.
"Morgana and Setsuna, which one would make a finer queen for me?"
"Are you serious?" King's eyes widened. "Our lands are halved and our best acres are gone thanks to those large Cfrwys bets, and you are worried about two women who clearly are getting less into you with every day?"
"We shouldn't stress ourselves out over the competition, King." Indigo shook his head. "Not while we have the ability to enjoy what the competition has to offer!"
"Usch." King shuddered. "Indigo, if either of them like you, they'd be sure to let you know."
"I wonder if I can order them to like me?" Indigo pondered.
"Herregud!" King threw his arms up into the air. "You will never get far if you keep acting like this, Indigo!"
"Well, Laura told me to be more confident in my abilities as the king of Ffydd! I think maybe you're just jealous!"
"I'm not jealous. I would simply make a better king than you."
"Just calling yourself by the nickname King doesn't actually make you one, Joshua!"
"I am painfully aware," King responded. "But I will not waste my words on a skurk. I'm off."
"I do not wear skirts!" Indigo called back. "And if you won't help me choose my queen, then I have no need of you as a knight!"
Confessional: Indigo: Clan Ffydd
"Perhaps I'll just flip a coin." Indigo flipped a coin and caught it. He smiled at the camera. "I feel like I'm a real king now! Hee-Hee-Hee-Ha-Hah-Hah-Hah!"
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
"He got to you too." Setsuna realized as King approached her.
"I figured I'd help you find berries since you might just get caught in a trap again if I didn't." King sighed. "But yes."
Confessional: King: Clan Ffydd
"And I could really use any sort of ally at this moment. Indigo is a lost cause, and both Setsuna and Morgana are… well… Ja… "
End Confessional
"So, um, King?" Setsuna turned her towards him as she put her hands behind her back.
"Ja."
"I, um, found a thing…" She held out an advantage scroll. It was still bound, unopened.
"And?"
"Do you, um, want to take it?"
"Wouldn't it make more sense for you to hold onto it, since you found it?" King asked.
"I… um… I really think you should take it though…" Setsuna's feet shifted a bit as she looked at the ground.
King hesitantly reached a hand out, grabbing one end of the scroll. "Are you absolutely sure you don't want this? You are positive you want to give this to me?" He reconfirmed.
Setsuna gulped as her face turned red.
She nodded.
"Okej then." King took the scroll from her.
"Oh, hey, look! Berries!" Setsuna quickly announced and ran off.
Confessional: King: Clan Ffydd
"I really do not understand that girl. So different from Tina back home."
End Confessional
Location: Glas Woods (Mealltach Territory)
Contestants: Alice, Anemone, Frag, Indigo, Jarri, Rose
Confessional: Alice: Clan Mealltach
"It has been quite a dreadfully long time since Mealltach's power has been used, hasn't it?"
Postpone Confessional
"Oh, Indigo~!" Alice cheered. Chef dropped off Indigo in his off-road jeep. He left just as quickly as he came.
"Hi, Alice!" Indigo smiled.
Resume Confessional
"It makes sense that the royalty of the teams have the most secrets!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Indigo: Clan Ffydd
"Ah man, this is so sweet! I get to spend all morning with pretty girls! Maybe one of them will be my girlfriend!"
End Confessional
Alice led Indigo over to a large boulder in front of the campfire. They both sat down on it as if it was a couch. Indigo looked around while Alice tended to the campfire.
Meanwhile, Anemone brought some water to boil over the fire, and Rose was fixing up some of the damaged conifer huts from last challenge. Once she finished, she sat on the hammock that she made herself.
Indigo examined the area. "Wow, you guys got a nice campsite going!"
"Yes," Alice tossed a log into the fire, "Everyone has their own task to do. Without it, we wouldn't be surviving as well."
Confessional: Indigo: Clan Ffydd
"Wow! Mealltach works so well together! I wish my team was more like them… I'm starving most of the time." Indigo placed his hands on his stomach as it growled loudly enough for the microphone to pick up.
End Confessional
"But enough about us," said Alice, "tell me how your clan is doing."
"Well, our clan camp isn't as functional. All of us kinda avoid each other. Well, except for King and Setsuna. I wish one of them would just ask the other one out already so I could have an easier time figuring out who I could make my Queen. It's pretty clear they're in love!"
"Ooh." Alice's eyes lit up. She leaned into Indigo. "Tell me more~."
Indigo blushed. "There isn't really much else to talk about …"
"There must be, with you being king and all."
"Eh, I'm not the best king on the planet, that's for sure." He giggled.
"How did someone like you even become king?"
"Well, I was with Franchesca, our beautiful first ruler, and as much as she wanted to be my girlfriend, she has to sell her soul to Gamata."
"Wow, that is, um, very unfortunate. Super heartbreaking." Alice nodded. "I assume she was eliminated?"
"Yeah, she was, and I became king that way."
Alice fake sighed. "What a romantic gesture!"
Indigo snickered a little. "I feel a little bad for you. There are no guys on this team. How are you supposed to get a boyfriend?"
"Well," Alice put a finger to her lip. "That isn't as much of a worry to me. Now that you're here."
Indigo's eyes widened. "Mmhmm?"
"I can help you! I know loads of things about girls. What kind of men they like, what to do to make them blush, all sorts of things."
"What is it that you like in a man?" Indigo quirked a brow.
"Someone confident, strong, doesn't care about the rules, does whatever he wants to do …"
"So all I have to do is act like that and Morgana might come to me?"
Alice stood up and stepped behind Indigo. "Or maybe even mee~!" She giggled and left towards the river.
Confessional: Alice: Clan Mealltach
"And hopefully, with this information, he will send his team down the drain!"
End Confessional
Alice found Anemone collecting more water for her clan.
"Hello Anemone~"
"Alice, did you get it?"
"Yes! I have tons of information about Ffydd."
"Tell me!" Anemone held her notebook and pen ready.
"Well, Ffydd is in a sort of double date alliance, you could say." Alice lied. "King and Setsuna are in a relationship, and Indigo is trying to win Morgana over. The problem is: he doesn't know how to do it!"
"Hmm, how fascinating. So what did you tell him?"
"I told him to be a stereotypical 'bad-boy'! I'm sure his clan member would love it when he starts trying harder to impress the ladies!"
Anemone pinched the bridge of her nose. "We won't have to worry about this behavior, will we?"
Alice shrugged. "Only until the challenge begins. After that, he's no longer ours."
"Anything else you got out of him?"
"They have a failing campsite. I assume they aren't living properly."
Anemone stood. "Well then, we'll have to feed him some berries, won't we?"
"Or we could just let him go hungry and have them lose the next challenge!"
"Eh, I'm sure Jarri will feed him after two minutes of talking to him. Besides, once the game ramps up, we'd want him on our side, won't we?"
"Hmm." Alice thought.
Anemone interrupted her thoughts with a kiss.
Alice eagerly kissed back.
Shift in Camera Focus: Mealltach Campsite
Jarri hauled some food over her shoulder. She and Rose made eye contact. Jarri dropped her bag and sorted through. Rose was trying to make blankets out of reeds, taking her mind off things. She glanced at Jarri every now and then.
She frowned.
Confessional: Rose: Clan Mealltach
"I feel so bad about what I did. I wish I could just change it and freaking win! The hell was I thinking… Roxanne was so cool too …"
End Confessional
Rose got up from the hammock. She scurried over to Jarri, her thumbs twiddling back and forth. "Hey, um, Jarri?"
Jarri kept her eyes on the food. "What is it now?"
"I'm, um, sorry about Roxanne being gone."
That was enough to make Jarri snap. "How could you? We were so close to finally gaining land! Think of all the resources we could have gotten out of Cfrwys. We could've been the team to end all of Laura's ridiculous gains. Everyone could've gotten land. Even Alltud! 1800 acres Rose. 1800 acres. We could've gotten some wheatfields from Cumhachtach, some of Ffydd's berry bushes or even the garden paddy they have, and, it may be a stretch, but we also would have gotten some Alltud cactus juice! All we're stuck with are berries, fish, and fruit. We have very few open areas that we could use for bigger and more comfortable campsites. Think of all that. We lost it because of you!"
"I know Jarri, but-"
"And Roxanne! She did so well in challenges too! It could've been literally anyone else, and I wouldn't be as livid. It could even have been me, for all I care! I'd still be mad, but not as mad as I am right now. You have proven to be a leader that crumbles at the first sign of pressure!" Jarri turned around and stepped away a little.
Rose sighed. "Jarri. I wanted to give you my power."
Jarri turned back around.
"To call people over at camp. It seems like you need a friend right now. Think of it as an act of atonement for eliminating Roxanne." Rose gave a small bow and walked back to the hammock.
Confessional: Jarri: Clan Mealltach
"I'll use it, but it might be a little too late, Rose. You messed up."
End Confessional
Chef pulled up in his jeep once more. "Dang teenagers, makin' me drive all over the island." Chef held a hand to his chest. "The only one here who understands me is Bryan. And he's forty!" Chef wiped away a tear. "That guy is a true gem to this show. Uhm." Chef smacked his fist against his chest. He drove off.
Frag smiled. "What a strange man."
Jarri sighed. "Fraaaagggg, I need some help."
Confessional: Jarri: Clan Mealltach
"And so does Chef."
End Confessional
"Yeah, I heard about what happened. It was all Bryan could talk about last night." Frag placed a hand on Jarri's shoulder. "And just so you know, the public opinion from Cumhachtach is that you're in the right here. Bryan voted for Roxanne to stay."
"I was sure she would stay, too. Her jury speech was far more convincing than Rose's, that's for sure." Jarri looked up into the clouds. Her hand rubbed the side of her face. "How am I supposed to stay safe now? We're probably gonna lose now that we lost two physical powerhouses!"
"Well, Alice and Anemone are still voting for you, right? I can't imagine them voting for Rose after she helped them."
Jarri nodded.
"Then you should probably get Rose on your side-"
"Because that worked so well last time."
Frag looked off at Rose reed-working in the corner. "Well, at the very least she's remorseful for what she has done. If you can't forgive her, at least let her help you. At least in this point of time, she has more of a reason to help you than to help the other two, and you need all the help you can get right now."
"And I could probably beat Alice or Anemone in a tiebreaker." Jarri sighed. "Thanks Frag."
Frag smiled. "I wouldn't recommend talking to her now though. At least wait until you lose."
"And if the other two get to her first?"
"Her moral compass will choose the right decision. She, at least, seems to have one."
Confessional: Frag: Clan Cumhachtach
"Unlike a certain someone I know."
End Confessional
Location: Lower Ceol Fields (Cfrwys Territory)
Contestants: Aria, Kalyssa, Laura, Mateo
Laura stirred the porridge above the fire. The rest of Cfrwys gathered around, eager for their breakfast. "I can't believe you three. Willing to throw the challenge? Seriously? If we lost, half of our land would've gone to all the other clans! Are you not thinking straight?"
Confessional: Mateo: Clan Cfrwys
"I am Laura, in fact, I'm thinking more straight than you are!"
End Confessional
Confessional: Kalyssa: Clan Cfrwys
"Of course, all of us want to be royalty. The hell is she thinking?"
End Confessional
Confessional: Aria: Clan Cfrwys
"Honestly, this whole thing is giving me so much life. It's so funny watching all of this crumble. My plan now is to not rock the boat and let everyone self-destruct around me."
End Confessional
Confessional: Laura: Clan Cfrwys
"Why is everyone so dumb? If they keep up their idiotic ideologies, they're only going to rule over nothing. Provided they even succeed of course, which they won't. Go ahead. Get yourselves tossed into the Shameterranean, for all I care. But I do care when it's my game being affected."
End Confessional
"Look Laura, you're already the second leader of this clan-" Mateo started.
"I am the best leader of this clan," Laura quickly interrupted him, "and that is purely because I led us to victory the past few challenges. We have half the island now, thanks to me. If Cfrwys were to fall to any one of you, you aren't going to treat it responsibly.
Mateo bowed his head. "I'm sorry, but it is you ordering us like a tyranny that makes you so unlikable for us to want to vote you off."
"Yeah, because that worked out so well for Jeremy." Aria mentioned.
Mateo looked at her with concern in his eyes.
"Oh, I'm sorry, that sounded mean. I'm sorry. I'm just gonna… I'm gonna go."
Confessional: Aria: Clan Cfrwys
"Phew, close one there, but at least I sort of let Laura know who the person to get rid of really is right now."
End Confessional
"She might be leaving, but she's freaking right." Laura stood up to Mateo. "You were only ever planning on getting rid of every ruler until it was you with this power, well it's not going to work you absolute waste of muscle!"
"Not gonna lie…" Mateo raised both his hands. "You're extremely hot when you chew us out like that."
"Well then, I'm sure you being placed on cleaning duty will make me seem like a fucking goddess." Laura crossed her arms.
"Indeed it will! But I won't appreciate it."
Kalyssa snickered.
Confessional: Kalyssa: Clan Cfrwys
"It's like when mum and dad met all over again."
End Confessional
"If you're going to laugh, you can laugh while you go gather berries for lunch." Laura turned to Kalyssa.
"Of course, Your Majesty!" Kalyssa smiled as she skipped off.
Location: Cailleach Bog (Cfrwys Territory)
Contestants: Kalyssa
Pluck. Rustle.
Pause.
Pluck. Rustle.
Pause.
Kalyssa's eyes captured some red markings on the tree.
How intriguing! Well, enough of that. Time to keep picking.
Pluck. Rustle.
Pause.
This tree had one too. Kalyssa turned her head in the direction she was going. Smoke rose above the trees. Ffydd's campsite. This must've been where they picked berries.
Kalyssa smirked. Maybe she could convince Laura to lose their shelter. It can be a little vacation spot away from the rest of the idiots on her team.
Pluck. Rustle.
Pluck. Rustle.
Pluck. Rustle.
She stepped to the side.
Crumple. She looked down on what she stepped on. Leaves were expected, but not the reality.
A bound scroll. She picked it up. A medal fell out of it.
She spawned a devilish smile.
Location: Ionad Desert
Contestants: All Remaining
"Come on in everybody!" Chris announced as the remaining contestants all gathered around in the area of Alltud territory that production had cordoned off for the challenge.
The contestants arranged themselves along some palm trees and what looked like an outdoor bowling alley along some hardened, flat sand.
"This challenge… is real fun. I call it: Bowling with your Coconuts! Here's the dealio. One contestant from each clan will climb a tree and collect coconuts to use as bowling balls. The other members will set up bowling pins designed for the coconut to knock over. Each contestant will have to climb up the tree for their own coconut. The goal is to be the first team to strike." Once all the coconuts from one tribe are down, Alltud's challenge begins. Alltud, your challenge is to cut down the four trees using nothing but these blunt axes." Chris kicked over a box with the weapons. "In order for you to be safe, you have to cut down all the clan's trees before all clans strike. If Alltud manages to do that, the bowling stops. Whichever clan has not already striked will be sent to elimination. Clan rulers, heed any counsel you wish to heed and place your bets!"
Tiberius turned to his men. "So, what are we feeling today, cucks? 300? 400? 500?"
Stan nodded. "I like 500."
Bryan shook his head. "We can't bet that low! We need a large win to get our land back! Bet 1000!"
"Life isn't all about getting our land back." Michael pat Bryan's back. "500 sounds good, Tibes!"
"But-" Bryan began to argue but Frag put a hand on his shoulder.
"Everyone has already agreed. Let's at least prove to ourselves that we can gain land before we throw out larger numbers. We don't want Cfrwys to eat all our acres."
"Fair." Bryan sighed.
Confessional: Stan: Clan Cumhachtach
"Well, it looks like Bryan is the big neigh-sayer right now. That means Tiberius wants him gone if we lose at the moment. And I need to make sure that Coehoetoch stays unified in everything, including the eventual overthrow of our monarch at four of us left."
End Confessional
Rose turned back to face her clan, but looked almost directly at Jarri. "What… what are you guys thinking?"
The clan stayed silent. Jarri glared and crossed her arms.
Rose sighed.
Confessional: Rose: Clan Mealltach
"I knew it wasn't going to be easy recovering from that colossal mistake I made last challenge, but I didn't think they wouldn't even give acre input!"
End Confessional
Indigo looked back at King, Morgana, and Setsuna.
"Well, we were talking about this when you were off at Mealltach, actually." Morgana let Indigo know. "We're thinking something a little in the middle, like 1200."
"The lowball is 800." Setsuna stretched in preparation.
"While the highball is 1600." King finished up.
Indigo flicked his nose and stroked his brows. "I got the perfect bet for us. Don't worry!"
"Well…" Morgana, Setsuna, and King exchanged glances. "I guess that works as long as it's within our parameters."
Confessional: Indigo: Clan Ffydd
Indigo scoffed and crossed his arms. "What are parameters?"
End Confessional
Laura turned back to her clan. "This wager will let me know how you truly stand with me. Don't let me down!"
Confessional: Aria: Clan Cfrwys
"Never thought more and less of her at the same time."
End Confessional
Confessional: Mateo: Clan Cfrwys
"This time, I shall not! Perhaps I should try to win her over to my side and eliminate Kalyssa?"
End Confessional
Alltud all huddled together.
They put their hands in a circle.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors, shoot!" Carol announced.
She had Rock. Ryuji had Rock. Angelo, Axel, and Maggie all had Scissors.
She and Ryuji went again.
She had Scissors.
Ryuji had Paper.
"Okay." Carol said. "I'll start off the discussion. How does 1000 sound? It's not too big, but it's a nice amount of acres that anyone could give us, and since we have a few clans getting low on land, we might be able to get multiple clans' things."
"Sounds good to me." Axel nodded. "Even if it does feel like more of a minimum bet."
"We're cutting down trees, dude." Ryuji laughed. "I think 1000 is a pretty safe bet."
"As long as no one has objections." Maggie nodded. "We should focus our energy on tree-cutting."
"Maggie's got the right idea." Angelo agreed.
Confessional: Carol: Clan Alltud
"Wow, that went way better than last time!"
End Confessional
"Time is UP!" Chris announced. Rulers, Alltud, approach me and make your bets!
Tiberius walked up first.
"500, Chris." He sniffed.
Rose nodded. "500 as well."
Tiberius shot her a wink.
Rose shuddered.
Indigo bounced. "Chris~! All of Ffydd's 3000 acres please!"
"WHAT?!" King's jaw dropped.
Morgana briefly fainted from shock as Setsuna tried to catch her, but they both fell onto the sand.
"Indigo!" Chris chuckled almost nervously. "Betting all of Ffydd's remaining land. This will either pay off handsomely or be incredibly heartbreaking!"
"My money's on paying off handsomely." Michael whispered to Stan.
"Mine's on incredibly heartbreaking." Stan replied. "Otherwise we might lose land."
"It could also be of no consequence if they get second-" Bryan began to mention.
"Shush!" Chris shushed him.
Laura snickered.
Confessional: Laura: Clan Cfrwys
"When I told him to bet bold, this wasn't exactly what I meant, but I'll APPRECIATE it!"
End Confessional
"Cfrwys will bet 100 acres, Chris. Nice and small."
"Laura." Chris smiled. "Throwing out the first bare minimum since her predecessor, Jeremy bet 100 all those years ago."
"Chris, stop being dramatic, it was only a couple challenges ago." Chef rolled his eyes.
"I'm just keeping my lands safe." Laura shrugged. "Once you own half the island, it's better to not let the other clans claim any of it."
Confessional: Laura: Clan Cfrwys
"Also, we have no monkeys in our clan. Hard to win this one. Like I said, keeping our land safe."
End Confessional
"1000, Chris!" Alltud cheered.
"Finally, a normal bet!" Chris exclaimed to the heavens. "I'll give you a minute to strategize. Then, we'll get going!"
Challenge: Bowling with your Coconuts
Rules: One contestant from each clan will climb a tree, gathering coconuts for use as bowling balls. The other members will set up bowling pins at the end of their clan's lane. The contestant that climbs the tree to grab the coconut then bowls the coconut down the lane, trying for a strike. If they succeed, the clan is safe. If they fail, another contestant has to go up the tree while the rest of the clan members set the pins back up. The last clan to score a strike will be sent to the Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony.
Alltud Rules: Once one clan has all their coconuts, Alltud must start chopping down that clan's tree. Alltud must chop down all four trees before three clans strike in order to escape elimination. If Alltud manages to chop down all four trees, any clans who have still yet to strike will all be sent to the Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony.
Wagers:
[2500] Cumhachtach: Tiberius bet 500
[2200] Mealltach: Rose bet 500
[3000] Ffydd: Indigo bet 3000
[16,600] Cfrwys: Laura bet 100
[5700] Alltud: Everyone bet 1000
CHALLENGE BEGIN!
Alltud sat on the bench impatiently with their axes in their hands as the other clans one by one got their coconuts from their trees.
Ffydd was actually making good progress. Along with Cfrwys.
"We are right out of the gate and Ffydd and Cfrwys are in the early lead, surprisingly." Chris announced. "Ffydd themselves in first place for the first time this whole season!"
"Could do without the jab, Chris!" King called back.
"King getting mad at me, when he should focus on the acres!" Chris announced. "Cumhachtach, flailing down the tree."
"My muscular body is hard to hoist up the tree!" Stan announced to his clan.
Frag picked his coconut out of the tree with a jump. "Got one!"
Tiberius pulled the same act. "Me too!"
Bryan gripped the bark and acquired his own coconut. "It's down to you two."
Michael and Stan looked at each other, both rather wearily.
Michael gripped the bark, nervously. "I got this."
"Mealltach, with all their coconuts down as well. With two clans out of the way, time to start bowling!"
"That's our cue to begin chopping!" Axel rallied Alltud as they finally got up off the bench and headed toward Ffydd's tree.
Round 1
"Go Setsuna!" Morgana cheered.
She knocked over one pin.
"Oh. Well, you tried!" Morgana did her best to remain positive as Setsuna hung her head in disappointment while she went to go get her coconut.
Anemone held her coconut. With one swift movement, she knocked over five pins.
"Woo~!" Alice cheered. "Just hit it with twice the power next time and we're on easy street!"
"Al-, -most, got it." Stan strained.
"Hah!" Kalyssa held her coconut up triumphantly and quickly slid back down the palm tree.
"Stan, hurry the hell up already!" Tiberius bellowed.
"Alright guys, an orderly rhythm!" Axel announced. "Don't hit anyone next to you!"
"All clans now with their coconuts!" Chris announced.
"That means all their trees are fair game!" Ryuji noted.
Round 2
"King, King, he's our kille!" Setsuna cheered. "If anyone can do it, he sure will!"
King rolled his coconut along the sand.
Five pins.
"Five is good, Mealltach just got five!" Morgana kept trying to keep spirits up.
Rose took a deep breath and spun her coconut down the Mealltach lane.
Six pins.
"Wooo!" Alice and Anemone high fived each other. "We're getting there!"
"We are getting there." Jarri nodded, reluctantly. "Still, we need to get there faster, look at Alltud!"
"That's it guys!" Carol psyched everyone up. "We're almost through this tree already!"
"Looks like...all the working out...is paying off…" Maggie huffed as she worked.
Kalyssa rolled her coconut down the alley.
Five pins.
"Not good enough!" She pouted as she ran to go pick it up.
Frag rolled his coconut.
Three pins.
"That was pathetic, Frag!" Tiberius scolded as Frag went to get his coconut.
"Then you get us a strike and save us the trouble!" Frag called back.
"Maybe I-"
He was interrupted by Alltud's cheers as one tree fell.
"Already?!" Michael looked over, in utter surprise.
Round 3
"Time for the real King to show you what's what!" Indigo confidently spun his coconut down the lane.
A single pin.
"Maybe Setsuna should be your queen since you're both failing terribly." King suggested.
"Uncalled for." Setsuna muttered. "I haven't once gotten stuck in a trap today."
"Alltud slowing down a bit on their second tree!" Chris announced. "Maybe some of their adrenaline is wearing off!"
Jarri grabbed her coconut and threw it down the lane.
Eight pins.
"Gahhh!" She ruffled her hair. "We were so close just now!"
"Just keep it up, Jarri!" Rose tried to cheer her on. "We'll get there!"
Jarri didn't respond.
Aria rolled her coconut down the lane.
Two pins.
Confessional: Laura: Clan Cfrwys
"Two pins. One for each twin tail."
End Confessional
Confessional: Aria: Clan Cfrwys
"Coconuts aren't perfectly spherical! Okay?"
End Confessional
"That was a fluke!" Aria called. "I swear!"
"Yeah, yeah." Tiberius shoved his way past her. "Whatever, let The Vult show you how it's done."
He threw his coconut down the lane.
Four pins.
"Ah. Muuuch better." Frag rolled his eyes.
"Still better, cuck." Tiberius spat.
"That's gross." Bryan pointed at the spit.
"Moving on!" Chris voiced.
Round 4
"Spirits, please guide my coconut." Morgana whispered before throwing her coconut down the lane.
Nine pins.
"Apparently one spirit is deciding to be difficult today." She laughed to herself to hide her disappointment as she went to get her coconut.
Alice rolled her own coconut down the lane.
Seven pins.
"We're bowling really well, guys." Rose cheered her clan on. "We just have to keep it up and we'll be sure to strike soon!"
Laura silently looked over the sandy lane, and when she had a trajectory she deemed satisfactory, she let the coconut go.
Nine pins.
"Another nine!" Chris proclaimed. "And is Alltud getting scared? Their progress has spiked considerably!"
"Gogogo!" Tiberius urged Bryan, who threw his coconut down the sandy alley.
Seven pins.
"Gah, you're useless!" Tiberius stormed off.
"Round five!" Chris declared.
Round 5
"Try to stay calm." King encouraged Setsuna, who took some deep breaths before bowling her coconut.
Seven pins.
"Better, but not what we need." Setsuna smiled at her improved performance before going to grab the coconut.
"Maggie… Carol…" Axel grunted as Alltud worked on their second tree. "You two feeling confident about the workout?"
"You know it!" Carol nodded.
"I guess so, yeah." Maggie agreed.
"Then go to the next tree and get started there. Ryuji, Angelo, and I will finish up here."
The girls nodded.
"Alltud dividing up some trees for a while!" Chris noticed. "The shirtless men starting to power through that second tree! Meanwhile, Anemone with six pins!"
Confessional: Anemone: Clan Mealltach
"I could have totally gotten a strike, but Chris just shouting about shirtless men was too hilarious for me."
End Confessional
Mateo rolled his own coconut down the lane.
Seven pins.
"Ah, snap." He snapped his fingers.
Michael cracked his neck back and forth, and made a little show of stretching his quads, before rolling his coconut.
Five pins.
Confessional: Michael: Clan Cumhachtach
"Noted. Coconut bowling does not work like pitching a baseball."
End Confessional
"Yes! Go boys go!" Carol cheered as Angelo, Axel, and Ryuji felled the second tree.
"And with the second of four trees knocked down and not a single strike, Alltud is starting to threaten to take the big W!" Chris exclaimed.
Round 6
King rolled his coconut.
Five pins.
He hung his head.
"Worse than Setsuna?!"
"You're worse than me at a lot of things." Setsuna hummed cryptically.
Rose bowled her coconut down the sand.
Two pins.
"Ugh!" She stomped her foot down. "Why can't we just get a striiike." She groaned into the sky.
"Probably karma for calling that special elimination ceremony." Jarri off-handed.
Kalyssa rolled her own coconut down the lane.
Eight pins.
"We're so tantalizingly close! I can feel it!" She encouraged the others.
"I'll be sure to get a strike once I'm up again." Laura waved the concern away. "Don't worry about it too much."
"Yeah, 'cause Cohoto is about to win this whole thing!" Stan chuckled as he bowled his coconut.
Two pins.
"That's what you get for not bothering to pronounce the name of your own clan correctly." Bryan chided.
"Alltud slowing down a bit!" Chris announced. "Maybe the spike in energy is over! But this is still anyone's challenge!"
Round 7
"Alright, time to get serious!" Indigo rolled his coconut.
…
…
…
…
…
… One pin.
"Seriously inept maybe." Alice snickered to Anemone as Jarri took her place and bowled her own coconut.
Six pins.
"Whyyyy?" She groaned as she went to grab the coconut.
"Alltud really at a lull!" Chris announced as Aria took her place.
She let loose her coconut.
Strike.
"And we have our WINNERS!" Chris confirmed. "Cfrwys in first place, avoiding losing all 100 acres they bet, and avoiding the Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony! But there's still time to this challenge, any of the remaining clans could be in for a tough loss!"
Frag, likely unnerved by the strike and Chris's warning, once again only managed to hit three pins.
Round 8
"This is taking forever!" Ryuji groaned as he swung his axe, and accidentally chopped Axel's weapon in two.
"Axel no longer has an axe!" Chris mentioned. "What will L do now?"
"He'll glare at you for making that awful joke." Axel responded as he looked over the tree.
Morgana rolled her coconut down the lane.
Eight pins.
"We really need a strike, spirits, why are you leading me astray like this?"
Alice happy rolled her own coconut.
Two pins.
Alice was no longer happy.
"Step aside." Tiberius once again shoved a woman much smaller than him out of the way so he could bowl.
He let loose his coconut.
Six pins.
"Two Frags." He mused. "Looks like I'm twice the player he is."
"Alltud seemingly doing nothing!" Chris hollered. "Just thinking about cutting down the tree rather than actually cutting it down!"
Round 9
Setsuna let her coconut fly down the lane.
Eight pins.
She stretched her facial features with her hand before going to get her coconut.
"What do we do?" Angelo asked Axel. "If you don't have a weapon, how will our toughest muscle contribute?"
"Hrm." Axel thought to himself.
Anemone bowled her coconut.
Seven pins.
"No!" She punched the sand.
"That's it!" Axel realized. "Hrah!" He punched the tree.
It shook.
"Yeah, keep that up, Axel!" Maggie realized what that meant. "The rest of us will head onto the fourth tree!"
"You got it." Axel nodded.
"Alltud, getting a bit of a second wind!" Chris mentioned. "The game is starting to get close!"
"Not as close as it's gonna get!" Bryan got the saying wrong as he bowled his coconut.
Three pins.
"Fall!" Axel announced from the top of the palm tree as his weight finally brought the thing down.
"Alltud with three trees down!" Chris announced. "This challenge is on its final legs!"
Round 10
King quickly rolled his coconut, his eyes filled with determination.
…
…
…
… Seven pins.
"Not! Good! Enough!" King stomped to get his coconut back.
Confessional: King: Clan Ffydd
"Not only is Indigo's bet about to freaking dissolve our clan, but I'm actively performing the worst out of everyone besides him, and he's gone if our clan dissolves!"
End Confessional
"This is our last tree, gang!" Ryuji cheered as Axel rejoined them. "Let's make it count!"
Alltud all cheered as they began to chop, or in Axel's case, punch.
Rose noticed Alltud closing in.
She took a breath.
She bowled her coconut.
…
…
…
…
… One pin.
She collapsed onto the ground. "Why is this happening…" Her eyes began to water. "I'm trying! I'm trying so hard!"
Jarri, reluctantly, helped her up and brought her away so that Michael could attempt his own bowl.
He did a different stretch this time.
He let his coconut go.
…
…
…
… Seven pins.
"Hrm…" He grumbled as he went to retrieve his coconut.
Round 11
"Go!" Indigo tossed his coconut like a pokeball.
Four pins.
"Axel's fists starting to bleed, Alltud is working so hard!" Chris announced as Indigo went to get his coconut as his clan all stressed over the limited time remaining.
Jarri stood at her lane.
She looked over at Alltud.
She looked at Ffydd freaking out.
She looked at Cumhachtach tensing up.
She looked at Mealltach, where Alice and Anemone were watching her intently, while Rose seemed resigned to her fate.
She furrowed her brow.
She brought her hand back.
She rolled the coconut.
…
…
…
…
…
…
… Strike.
"And Mealltach strikes!" Chris brought his hands into the air. "They are safe from the Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony!"
Alice and Anemone quickly hugged each other as they jumped up and down, while Rose looked up, in disbelief.
Jarri gave her a quick smile.
"Alright Stan, just do exactly what Jarri did." Michael patted Stan on the back. "No sweat."
Confessional: Stan: Clan Cumhachtach
"Some sweat."
End Confessional
He looked at Alltud.
He looked at Ffydd freaking out.
He looked at Cumhachtach tensing up as they all eyed him.
He looked at Mealltach, celebrating.
He furrowed his brow.
He brought his hand back.
He rolled his coconut.
…
…
…
…
…
… Two pins.
"Stan, you aren't in Jarri's weight class, you weren't supposed to do exactly what she did!" Michael huffed.
"Wha-? I-! YOU!"
"Alltud already almost done with that tree!" Chris warned.
Round 12
"Spirits… please …" Morgana prayed.
She let her coconut go.
…
…
…
…
…
…
… Six pins.
"Axel, you should really stop, dude." Angelo noticed Axel's fists. "You're going to break your hand if this keeps up."
"No!" Axel refused. "This is faster!"
"We really can't afford you to be evacuated Axel!" Maggie pleaded.
"Just chomp the rougher bits off and let me work from there!" Axel tried to compromise as Frag took his place.
He rolled the coconut.
…
…
…
…
…
…
…
… Six pins.
"Frag and Morgana having trouble cracking six." Chris notified. "Meanwhile, Alltud is very nearly finished punching their tree to the ground!"
Round 13
"All the pressure is on Setsuna and Tiberius now!" Chris exclaimed.
Setsuna did not appreciate the pressure.
Neither did Tiberius.
Setsuna took a deep breath.
She softly but quickly approached her lane.
She rolled her coconut.
…
…
…
…
…
…
… Two pins.
"Almost there!" Axel yelled as his fists painted the broken tree red with their own blood. "Everyone out of the way!"
He began to climb the tree, wincing in pain every time he grabbed hold of the bark.
Tiberius rolled his coconut.
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…
…
…
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… Three pins.
"Hey, armor cuck!" Axel couldn't help riling Tiberius up. "Have fun at Tine Naofa!"
With a shift of his weight, Axel brought the final tree down.
"Alltud has chopped down all their trees!" Chris declared their victory. "They are safe from tonight's Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony!"
He turned to Ffydd and Cumhachtach.
"Unfortunately, that means both of your clans will be joining me. And for the purposes of acre relocation, Ffydd, I'm sorry to say you're dead last based on that last bowl. Tiberius was in fact the closer bowler to a strike."
"Wait a minute." Bryan did the math. "Ffydd bet 3000 acres. Even with Alltud's bet of 1000, the rest of us only bet a collective 1100. Where do the last 900 of Ffydd's acres go?"
"That!" Chris pointed at Bryan. He stopped. "Is a great question. I, um… I'll need to make some calls about that later. For now though…"
He turned to Indigo.
"Indigo. You bet all of Ffydd's acres, and came in last place. Your clan has no more land. You know what this means?"
"I'm off to the Shameterranean." Indigo nodded.
"Where bad boys go~." Alice hummed.
"Indigo…" Chris shook his head. "Your clan has been conquered. It's time for you to head into the Shameterranean. The three remaining members will meet me at Tine Naofa later tonight for an elimination on top of that for losing the challenge before the clan is officially dissolved. Chef will escort you to the Shameterranean."
"Let's go, kid." Chef sighed.
*Indigo's Elimination Confessional:
"I definitely don't like losing this way. I mean, I really wish I could've found a girlfriend. Oh well, maybe I can find one belowground. Or maybe one up here will miss me so much that when I get back up we can go out. That'd be nice.."
End Confessional*
"You, Cumhachtach... I'll see you momentarily." Chris noted before turning to the rest of the contestants. "The rest of you are all safe, for now, and can return to your campsites."
Confessional: Michael: Clan Cumhachtach
"Right, time to put my master plan into action!"
End Confessional
"So guys…" Michael dipped back to where Bryan and Frag were walking, trying to figure out what to do. "Who here feels like overthrowing a monarch?"
"We both do." Bryan responded. "Are you here to help us with it?"
"Absolutely." Michael grinned. "Stan's been pretty adamant about not getting rid of Tiberius until there are only four of us left, so I know that our only bet is to take him out right now."
"I don't trust what you say is true." Frag let Michael know right away. "But we're in a position where we have no other choice right now."
"Yeah, a pretty big leap of faith, I'm sure." Michael nodded. "Especially since the T-man is gunning for you, Frag. Something about keeping the tribe strong."
Frag looked at Bryan as if to give him an 'I told you so.'
"Well then, here's to hoping you keep your word." Bryan nodded.
Location: Shameterranean
Contestants: Ani, Avi, Franchesca, Gazella, Harald, Indigo, Mathilda, Molly, Roxanne
Indigo stepped down the cold stone steps. Mathilda walked in the opposite direction than she had originally gone. "Hey!"
Mathilda waved.
Feeling welcomed, Indigo approached her.
"Wow… you're really pretty."
Mathilda smiled, but kept her lips tight.
"I was wondering if you maybe wanted to be allies…" Indigo shrugged. "I do happen to be a former king of Ffydd after all, so I'm royalty."
Mathilda silently pondered the offer.
Indigo took a deep breath and remembered Alice's advice.
He confidently strode up to her and leaned his face in towards hers.
"Whaddya say, baby-girl? The two of us against the world? When the show's over we can hook up and go steady~!"
Mathilda's eyebrows knitted together and she walked off.
"Where ya going? You afraid?"
Mathilda nodded. Anything to keep this creep away.
"Why can't you say something? Anything to let Indigo know how you feel right now."
With one deep breath, Mathilda shoved Indigo down a Pit of Peril.
Shift Camera Focus
"You can only have gone in one direction, runt!" Gazella called out to Ani as she trudged through the tunnel, Ani and Molly close behind her.
"Don't stop to call out if you're going to make us go through this thing." Molly suggested.
"Better yet would have been not going through this thing at all and setting an ambush at the True Resting Place like Molly suggested we would earlier." Ani snarked.
"Quiet, both of you!" Gazella noticed an object on the ground. "Is this what I think it is?"
"It looks like… is that the DA?" Ani asked, in disbelief.
"The runt must have dropped it." Gazella grinned.
"I'm not sure." Molly didn't trust the object. "He seemed very reluctant to give it up and was clutching it close to his chest. I don't think he'd part with it very easily."
"Well, he might have tripped and let go of it or something and then kept running." Gazella reasoned. "And now, we totally have it!"
Confessional: Gazella: Shameterranean
"And by 'we', I mean 'me'! The woman with the map! Hahaha! Don't worry Alltud, your cavalry's coming back up!"
End Confessional
Shift Camera Focus
"Freedom!" Avi announced as he finally got to the end of the tunnel.
"Avi?!" Jeremy's voice echoed.
"Jeremy!" Avi called.
They followed the sounds of each others' voices.
Finally,
Bump.
"Jeremy!"
"Avi!"
The boys quickly embraced each other.
"Wait…" Jeremy pointed at Avi's object. "That's…"
"It's the DA… I, uh… I think… You see there was this tunnel-"
"That doesn't matter." Jeremy shook his head. "If what you have is something that you think is the DA, we need to get it to The True Resting Place at all costs. And we can't let anyone push you or I into a Pit of Peril. Where's Nathan?"
Avi gulped.
"No!" Jeremy gasped.
"I… I saw it." Avi choked out. "Ani, Gazella, and Molly are all working together, and they'll be gunning for us."
"Then we have to move immediately." Jeremy took Avi by the wrist. "We can't stay anywhere near that trio while they're a trio, and we don't have Nathan."
Avi thought to himself as Jeremy led him through the caverns, careful not to let either of the two of them fall into any holes.
"Jeremy… what happens when we get to the True Resting Place?"
"I'll hedge my bets on a game of rock, paper, scissors with you or something of a similar nature." Jeremy answered. "What's important is that this group has it."
"Would you be willing to wait if you got there before I did?"
"I suppose I would as long as there wasn't an ambush." Jeremy answered. "But that shouldn't matter right now because-"
"Then you take it." Avi handed the DA off to Jeremy. "Find the True Resting Place. I'll double back and distract Ani, Gazella, and Molly. That will buy you time."
"Avi…" Jeremy seemed hesitant to go through with the plan.
"Just do it!" Avi shouted. "Time to go show you why I was on Cumhachtach in the first place!"
And Avi doubled back the way they'd gone. Jeremy looked down at the DA, and began to rush forwards. Safe in the knowledge that he wasn't a target yet.
Shift Camera Focus
Harald was walking down one of his routes when he saw Ani, Molly, and Gazella emerge from the tunnel.
He noticed the DA in Gazella's arms.
Gazella glared at him.
"Just you try and get this, circus freak." She warned.
"You could always just hand it off to one of us." Ani suggested. "We could probably outrun him."
"Nah." Gazella shook her head. "I have the better grip."
Molly and Ani exchanged glances.
"Ah, you don't need to mind me." Harald nonchalantly walked by the trio. "I can tell when I'm outmatched, and outnumbered to boot. Therefore I know it's in my best interest to live and let live just this once. After all, it is the scavengers that get the biggest meal in the end, after the hyenas tear each other apart."
"Whatever, creep." Gazella eased up and allowed Harald to continue on his way.
"Guy gives me the heebie jeebies." Ani shuddered.
"He's not important right now." Molly kept everyone focused. "What's important is getting the DA to the True Resting Place.
Shift Camera Focus
As Mathilda began to therapeutically hit the cavern walls with her bat, she noticed Avi rush by her.
She stopped, and decided to follow him.
"There he is!" Gazella announced as Avi finally found the trio he'd been looking to distract. "I'll take him!"
She began to bulldoze Avi, but he was putting up a remarkable resistance.
"What's with this kid?" Gazella grunted.
"He's Cumhachtach for a reason I guess." Ani shrugged. "But even so...he's no match for a second directional force!"
He rammed into Avi's side, sending him down a Pit of Peril.
Mathilda hid as the trio passed by a cross-tunnel.
She quickly rushed up to the Pit of Peril.
"Hey." Avi smiled up at her as he was hanging on by a rock.
Mathilda smiled back.
Avi found the end of a bat in front of his face.
His eyes lit up.
He grabbed the bat.
Mathilda painstakingly pulled him back from the brink of elimination.
"Oh, thank you so much!" Avi collapsed onto the ground in relief.
He quickly sat up.
"Jeremy!"
He turned to Mathilda. "We have to find Jeremy! He's got the DA!"
Mathilda nodded and motioned for Avi to go one way, while she went the other way.
Avi nodded.
Shift Camera Focus
Roxanne found a stone switch in the cavern wall and walked into the alcove.
Not the typical ones she'd seen some of the others open during her brief time below ground.
A very peculiar pedestal rested in the center of a mossy grove. The design on the pedestal reflected that of a moon cycle.
"Ahhh, the True Resting Place." Harald startled her as he approached from behind. "Fitting that a dryad is the one that found it first." He held up his hands. "Or perhaps a shaman would've been more fitting, alas, I own one, and another dryad owns the other."
"What are you even trying to say?"
"Your former dryad sister. Her trio, they possess the relic you seek to fulfill this prophecy of the underground."
"I think I get it." Roxanne narrowed her eyes. "You're saying Molly's down here somewhere and her group's got the Druidic Artefact."
Harald tapped his nose.
"Alright, time to go on a special shopping run!" Roxanne cupped her fist before rushing out of the alcove."
Harald smiled.
Shift Camera Focus
The trio of three stepped together, acting as though they owned the Shameterranean.
"Molly." Ani whispered, still looking straight ahead as if he hadn't said anything.
Molly figured it was her imagination and ignored it.
"Molly, I don't trust her." He whispered.
This time, Molly was able to see his lips move. "I don't either." She whispered back. "She was never originally part of the alliance anyways."
"Should we throw her?"
Molly nodded at Ani.
Ani cleared his throat. "Say, uh, Gazella, you mind if I hold that?"
"Why? So you can be the one to put it on the True Resting Place?"
Molly scoffed. "What's to say you wouldn't do it either? Ani and I had a specific deal."
"That you never let me in on?"
"Urg," Molly rolled up her sleeves. "Enough of this." Molly grabbed the for Druidic Artefact. The two girls tackled each other to the ground. Ani guarded the other side of Gazella as Molly pried Gazella's fingers off of the Druidic Artefact.
Molly put the Druidic Artefact down while Ani did his best to push Gazella, but Gazella was much stronger than he was.
Molly pushed her as well.
With their forces combined, Gazella was rolled into a Pit of Peril.
The two exhaled their remaining adrenaline.
Molly turned to Ani. "I'm glad that's over."
"Yeah, me too."
Footsteps approached in front of them. Molly tucked the Druidic Artefact behind a rock. The two gulped at what was to come. They nodded at each other, deciding to toss off the person that was to come.
Ani charged at them. The mysterious force was enough to throw Ani down the Pit of Peril. The shadow stepped up to Molly. As it got closer, and closer, Molly was able to recognize who it was.
"Roxanne?"
"Molly." Roxanne sighed. "You should've trusted us." She was about to walk away. "We could've saved you."
Molly sighed. "I know. Could I, at least, try to save you?"
"What do you mean?" Roxanne stopped and turned to face her.
Molly brought out the Druidic Artefact. "Take it. Win for Mealltach."
Roxanne hesitated. "Are you sure?"
She nodded. "The Resting Place isn't far from here."
Roxanne held the Druidic Artefact in her hands. "I'll return it. Thank you, Molly." Roxanne left Molly.
Molly turned to the Pit of Peril. No reason to stay. No reason to leave.
Shift Camera Focus
"Damn, dead end." Jeremy cursed his luck.
"Damned indeed." Harald's voice alerted him.
Jeremy turned around and clutched the DA close to his chest.
"You have gone as far as you need to." Harald flashed his cape before pointing at the first Cfrwys king.
Jeremy noticed a nearby Pit of Peril.
He held the DA tighter.
"I'll throw it down a Pit of Peril before I give it to you."
"Then you leave me no other course of action." Harald shook his head.
He got into a low stance.
"Prepare yourself, fallen king, for your funeral rites!"
He lunged at Jeremy who charged back in turn.
The two collided back into the cavern wall, and took turns pinning each other against the wall as they fought, bruising and bloodying both each other and themselves in the process.
"Hah!" Harald used his cape to flip Jeremy over and the DA began to roll away from him, right towards the Pit of Peril.
The two looked on in horror as it neared the edge, with no sign of slowing down.
Suddenly, without warning, Mathilda.
She knocked the DA back towards Harald and Jeremy.
"Mathilda!" Jeremy cheered.
Harald was not amused.
However, no response.
As Franchesca ran onto the scene, she noticed what was happening.
Mathilda was sliding down the Pit of Peril.
She was fighting her hardest to not touch the ground.
Franchesca tried to reach for her hand, but couldn't stretch far enough.
Mathilda slid down until finally, she touched the lower level's ground.
She shook her head.
"Haha!" Harald took advantage of Jeremy's remorse to quickly bind him up tightly with his cape.
"And that… Cfrwys king," He stood over Jeremy to gloat, "is victory!"
"Harald!" Franchesca gasped. "Before we send the wicked to Gamata's realm, it is customary for us to pray! Sit with me!"
She sat down by the Pit of Peril.
She closed her eyes and recited a meditative prayer.
"Now to get rid of the gullible cultist." Harald whispered to Jeremy with a malicious grin.
He snuck up behind Franchesca, and prepared to push her down.
But he stopped.
Something about the way she was fearlessly sitting there.
He was about to bring his hand back, when Franchesca's own hands shot up and grabbed his wrist.
She turned to look at him, fury in her eyes.
"Lord of light?" Her voice rose. "Gamata's domain…"
She tossed him right down the Pit of Peril. "Is Wind!"
Confessional: Franchesca: Shameterranean
"I've been lying this whole time about Gamata's true sphere of rulership. It's how I figure out who are true followers and who are heathens who do not know any better. Harald thought he could play a long con. He didn't realize that I too can play the long con if it's to punish the most wicked among us!"
End Confessional
Tine Naofa Bonfire Elimination Ceremony
1st Wave: Cumhachtach (Bryan, Frag, Michael, Stan, Tiberius)
"Here we are, Cumhachtach." Chris announced as Cumhachtach sat on their stumps.
"You needed a single strike. You had thirteen tries. You failed. Alltud punched a tree to the ground."
"Yeah, that one stings." Michael rubbed the back of his neck.
"I don't care what any exile cucks think of me or my clan." Tiberius huffed. "What matters is that we lost yet again. We were lucky that the Ffyddcuck bet such a high amount of land that we actually got some acres."
"And we'd have gotten more if we'd bet a thousand." Bryan mentioned.
"Or we could have been an even bigger fuck up and lose us more!" Tiberius growled.
"Tiberius, let's talk about the loss because it might shed some light on things." Chris decided. "Would you say during the challenge your clan was very supportive of itself?"
"I'm not supporting any of these cucks." Tiberius crossed his arms. "And if they're not babies, they won't support anyone else either. Not all of us can spend until the challenge relaxing in the hot girl camp."
"That's a dig at Frag, who was called over there, I take it." Chris tilted his head towards Frag.
"It makes sense though." Tiberius stretched. "They'll take him because he's our weakest link. He's their entrance."
"I, for the record, told them nothing about what was going on in our clan except to tell the one that called me over there that we thought Roxanne should have stayed." Frag butted in.
"Well, Tiberius, it sounds to me, like while you might value effective teamwork, you don't seem to value unity."
"That's not true." Tiberius shook his head. "I value unity. Unity under my leadership."
"Interesting you say that, because I see behind you four people, who could very easily on their own say 'hey, if we all disagree with this guy, let's just vote him out now, be done with it, let a new king lead the clan!' What's to stop them from doing that right now?"
"Power." Tiberius answered immediately. "I have power that they need."
"Well, what has it done for us, lately?" Bryan asked. "We keep losing after all."
"We keep losing because you keep being difficult," He pointed at Bryan, "and you keep being weak and sucky!" He pointed at Frag.
"And these are the same problems he said Avi caused, Chris." Michael joined in.
Stan eyed Michael suspiciously.
"Stan, you've been silent this whole time." Chris noted. "Anything going on in your noggin?"
"A lot of words are being thrown out in frustration, right now, Chris." Stan responded. "But I think, right now, a unified team is best for everyone, and hopefully, tonight's vote will bring us together."
"A wonderful lead in!" Chris announced. "It is time to vote! Tiberius, you're up first."
Tiberius walked up the voting podium, angrily scribbled a name down, and returned.
Frag was next. He walked up, thought, wrote a name down, and came back.
Bryan was up next.
Confessional: Bryan: Clan Cumhachtach
"Tiberius. You are over two hundred pounds of armored man baby. It's time for you to go back home so your parents can finally give you some proper discipline. Goodbye."
End Confessional
After Bryan returned, Stan was sent up.
Confessional: Stan: Clan Cumhachtach
"I'm sorry. I don't really want to vote you off, but I have to do this. It's my best move."
End Confessional
Finally, it was Michael's turn.
Confessional: Michael: Clan Cumhachtach
"You thought you were riding high….but you didn't see my sweet-ass curveball. Woo!"
End Confessional
After Michael returned, Chris left to tally the votes.
Soon, he too returned.
"The votes have been tallied." Chris asked. "The player who receives the most votes will be asked to wait by the entrance to the Shameterranean. If anyone has a hidden immunity idol or an advantage and would like to play it, now would be the time to do so."
Stan and Michael looked at each other.
Tiberius rested his chin on his armored fist.
Bryan and Frag exchanged glances.
There was no movement.
"I'll read the votes." Chris announced.
"First vote…
… Tiberius."
Tiberius remained still.
Bryan and Frag smiled as Chris pulled out another vote.
"One vote for Bryan."
Bryan frowned.
Frag frowned.
Tiberius smirked.
"Next vote…
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… Tiberius. That's one vote Bryan, two votes Tiberius."
Bryan and Frag got some of their confidence back, while Tiberius lost some of his.
"A second vote for Bryan." Chris announced.
Bryan, Frag, Tiberius, Stan, and Michael all stared intensely, Michael especially.
"That's two votes Bryan, two votes Tiberius, one vote left." Chris explained.
He took out the final vote.
"Second player voted out of Clan Cumhachtach…
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… Bryan." Chris flipped the final piece of paper to show Bryan's name. "That's three, that's enough, you need to bring me your torch."
"Well!" Bryan stood up. "Guess I should be glad this vote block wasn't wasted tonight since playing it wouldn't have helped." He took his vote block. "But now that I know I'm leaving him alone with a cult, I can hand this bad boy right off to Frag here. He, at least, can see things for what they are."
Michael snickered as Bryan came up and put his torch in front of Chris.
"Bryan…" Chris announced. "The clan has spoken."
"Tiberius wills it." Bryan muttered as his torch's flame was extinguished. He lifted a hand to bid the clan goodbye as he walked towards the entrance to the Shameterranean.
*Bryan's Elimination Confessional
"Well, I managed to get Frag as a last minute ally, but now we know to never trust Michael. Really needed him to flip. Glad I didn't waste that vote block, but yes, I do know that there isn't much point to Frag having it right now, but if my own theory is correct, Frag might be getting an ally in the form of a former Ffydd member very soon. Their clan is dissolving after all, so they need to have somewhere to go, and I don't see any of them heading to Cfrwys if you know what I mean. Rooting for you, for now, Mitchell. I'll see if I can't get right back up."
End Confessional*
"Well…" Chris turned to the remaining four Cumhachtach members. "If that vote is anything to go by, this clan is not united. Hopefully that can change before the next challenge. You're all safe, for now. Head back to camp."
2nd Wave: Ffydd (King, Morgana, Setsuna)
"I'm sorry to have to do this to you, Ffydd." Chris shook his head. "The idea was that you'd run out of acres without also having to attend an elimination ceremony, but since Indigo decided you might as well lose all your land and the challenge, here the three of you are."
"So freaking ridiculous." King shook his head.
"Even worse that you won't even be going to your normal camp after this." Chris smiled. "You're spending the night in Chef's jeep!"
"Wonderful." King groaned.
"The spirits are not looking favorably upon any of us tonight, it seems." Morgana sighed.
"This blows." Setsuna agreed.
"Setsuna…" King turned to Setsuna. "I need to ask… do you think… maybe you could not vote using the box this time? I wouldn't want to be taken out of the game due to random chance."
"I…" Setsuna's face flushed. "I would much rather vote with the box."
"Morgana, you aren't voting randomly too, are you?" King asked.
Morgana shook her head.
"I've already made my decision."
"Then I guess there is nothing to it." Chris smiled. "Morgana, you're up first."
Morgana stood up.
She went to the voting podium.
Confessional: Morgana: Clan Ffydd
"Sorry. It feels wrong voting for either one of you but… the spirits are telling me this is the better move to make."
End Confessional
After Morgana came back, King went up.
Confessional: King: Clan Ffydd
"Why? Why? Why?"
End Confessional
Finally, Setsuna went up to vote.
Confessional: Setsuna: Clan Ffydd
Setsuna took out her box. She rummaged through it and found a name.
She frowned.
She wrote down Morgana's name and showed it to the camera, silently. As she went to put the name in the voting jar, she accidentally brushed past the strip of paper she'd pulled from the box, slightly turning it over.
She had pulled King.
End Confessional
"Alright." Chris announced after he'd tallied the votes. "If any of you has an advantage or an immunity medal and would like to play it… now would be the time to do so."
"Chris." King stood up.
He took out his sealed scroll.
"I have no idea what this advantage is, but would like to play it."
He opened the scroll.
He frowned.
"Pandora's Vote. You may play this advantage at any elimination ceremony you attend as a participant. You cast three votes at random instead of your one chosen vote. Your name is not among the random choices."
He looked up.
"Oh."
"Don't worry King, I can remove your vote and you can head up there, and pull from Pandora's Box."
"Oh." King's enthusiasm lowered. "You mean after all that talk about no random chance, now all of a sudden someone's being eliminated by random chance?"
"I personally prefer it this way." Setsuna shrugged.
"It avoids any malice being tied to the votes." Morgana agreed. "It is simply a matter of what the island spirits will."
King rolled his eyes with a sigh as he went back up to the voting confessional.
One by one he pulled three names from Pandora's box.
Finally, he returned.
"Alright." Chris smiled. "I'll read the five votes."
He took a vote out of the jar.
"One vote for… Setsuna.
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… One vote for… Morgana.
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… A second vote for Morgana.
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… A second vote for Setsuna. We are tied. Two votes Morgana, Two votes Setsuna, one vote left."
Chris reached into the voting urn and pulled out the final vote.
"Final player voted off the Ffydd Clan before it was dissolved…" Chris announced.
"…
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… Morgana." He revealed the final vote. "That's three, that's enough, you need to bring me your torch."
"It was fun, you two." Morgana smiled at King and Setsuna as she brought her torch before Chris. "You both do your best, and make it as far as you can for Ffydd, okay?"
"Morgana…" Chris announced. "The island spirits have spoken."
Her fire was no more.
"Head on over to where Chef is waiting near the Shameterranean entrance."
"One last question before I go…" Morgana inquired. "Did you ever find out what do you with the extra Ffydd land?"
"Why yes I did." Chris smiled. "Now go."
He had some interns herd Morgana towards Chef.
"Well, what is going to happen?" King asked.
Setsuna nodded.
"I want to know too."
"Very soon…" Chris leaned in towards the other contestants. "Someone is going to rise."
*Morgana's Elimination Confessional:
"It's not fun to be punished for a judgement our king made after we explicitly told him we wanted to bet safely. I don't see him getting any sort of girlfriend in the future, which is unfortunate since he was kind of cute. That personality though, he really needed to dial it back a bit. Anyways, I hope King and Setsuna make it nice and far, and I'd love to see them come out of this horrible, horrible rut and win it all. May the island spirits guide you, for whether we have land or not, we are all members of Ffydd, and the spirits favor us."
End Confessional*
Location: Shameterranean
Contestants: Avi, Bryan, Franchesca, Jeremy, Morgana, Molly, Roxanne
"It's quiet..." Morgana noted as she and Bryan were left to their devices in the Shameterranean.
"Avi and Jeremy and Nathan are down here somewhere…" Bryan told her. "Our best bet is to meet up with them."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Roxanne rushed by, holding the DA, heading straight for where she knew the True Resting Place was.
Bryan caught on immediately.
"Or we can jump right into the action too, that works!" He announced as he took off after Roxanne.
Morgana didn't.
Morgana headed towards a Pit of Peril.
Confessional: Morgana: Shameterranean
"The island spirits told me in not uncertain terms in that vote just now. I am not the one to carry Ffydd's burden. It must fall to the other two."
End Confessional
With nary a word, Morgana hopped down the hole, landing safely in the lower level of the Shameterranean.
Shift Camera Focus
"Theeere we go! Free as a breeze!" Franchesca happily announced as she untied Jeremy and sent Harald's cape down a Pit of Peril after him. She stood up and began to walk away. "See you later, Jeremy! Consider this a gift from one former royal to another!"
"I very much appreciate it." Jeremy smiled as he waved Franchesca off.
Curiously, the DA remained where Mathilda had batted it.
"Might as well keep going." Jeremy gave a heavy sigh as he took the DA and continued on his own path.
It wasn't long before Jeremy noticed Bryan's figure running through the cavern.
Bryan.
That was the man who Avi and Nathan regularly contacted on the surface.
An ally.
"Bryan!" Jeremy called.
"Jeremy!" Bryan hurriedly pointed ahead of him as Jeremy began to catch up. "It's Roxanne, she's got the DA!"
"She what?!"
"I think she's heading towards the True Resting Place!"
"Damn right I fucking am!" Roxanne called back.
"Sprint, Jeremy, sprint!" Bryan pleaded.
"But… Avi…" Jeremy worried.
"Avi will understand!" Bryan shouted. "There's no time Jeremy! Go!"
Jeremy nodded and began a low sprint, managing to gain ground on Roxanne with every step they both took.
Soon, Roxanne had gone through the stone door to the secret room.
Jeremy dove for it.
He slid under the stone door as it began to descend back down, but he lost hold of the DA.
He managed to just barely slide it back before the door closed.
"Roxanne!" He called, startling her.
She had thought he wouldn't make it.
He held up the DA.
"I have the DA!"
"That's…" Roxanne held up the DA. "I have the DA!"
Jeremy walked up to the pedestal opposite Roxanne.
"Two DAs?"
"Maybe…" Roxanne compared the two. "They don't look exactly alike, but they do look very similar."
"Then how about we both put them down at the same time?" Jeremy reasoned.
Roxanne nodded. "Sounds good, but if you trick me, I'll break your bones before you're brought back to the surface."
"No tricks. You can count us down if you want." Jeremy panted.
"Alright." Roxanne's breath shook. "On 'go', okay?"
"Okay." Jeremy gave a shaky nod in response.
"Alright. 3… 2… 1… Go!"
Both players put their Druidic Artefacts down on the pedestal at the same time.
However…
Only one began to glow.
The Votes for those who are curous
Wave 1: Cumhachtach
Bryan voted for... Tiberius
Frag voted for... Tiberius
Michael voted for... Bryan
Stan voted for... Bryan
Tiberius voed for... Bryan
Wave 2: Ffydd
Morgana voted for: Setsuna
Setsuna voted for: Morgana
King used Pandora's Vote
Pandora's Vote 1: Setsuna
Pandora's Vote 2: Morgana
Pandora's Vote 3: Morgana
20/36 Remain. 20 Above Ground
AN: aight, we've got a lot to get through so let me run through these guys really quickly in alphabetical order
ANI: I wish I could have written Ani a little more, but with everyone else on Ffydd being...everyone else on Ffydd, he unfortunately got the short end of the spirituality stick.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Ani receives the status of: Neutral
He had some bad moments, he had some good moments, I can see some arguments for all three statuses if I'm being honest, which is why I'll give him Neutral, though I do think that while his morals are in the right place, his actions err a tad on the villainous side.
Ani's Best Moment: Uh...probably when he confronts Indigo about Franchesca's religion. It really shows where he stood on the whole conversion thing.
AVI: One of our Shameterranean protagonists for this first little foray underground and also the very first plucky underdog of Cumhachtach. I'd have loved to write him some more, and I could definitely see him returning for Resurrection maybe.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Avi receives the status of: Hero
Avi did his best to oppose the obvious villain of his clan, routinely helped his ally up on the surface, and then just this chapter went on a suicide mission to buy Jeremy time to find the True Resting Place. All fairly heroic things in my book.
Avi's Best Moment: Not backing down in the first scene of this chapter. He's got a backbone and he's still loyal to Nathan when he could easily have just handed the DA over if he really wanted to avoid confrontation. Honorable mention to getting Bryan's attention using dad jokes.
BRYAN: Here's one that I'm sure a lot of people thought would be around a little longer. He was great. I had a blast writing his character. Not sure I'd want him specifically back considering the colossal age difference, but boy was he entertaining.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Bryan receives the status of: Hero
Like Avi before him, this man continuously opposed the villain of his team, he helped his underground allies stay in the loop for what's going on above ground, and he even convinced Frag to turn against Tiberius. Plenty of good aligned feats going on there. Especially giving Frag his vote block. It might not be useful, or it could save Frag's game.
Brian's Best Moment: Just allowing the Cumhoetach striptease to go on, letting the rest of his clan make fools of themselves. Honorable mention to finding Avi using dad jokes.
FRANCHESCA: Franchesca was an absolute riot to have on set this season. She really made every scene she was in that much better for her being in it. I'd also enjoy to see her return, but I don't know necessarily how viable that would be considering her status in her cult.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Franchesca receives that status of: Hero
Her most villainous was when she voted off Ani for being anti-Gamata, and while she's very clearly a flawed character, her general morals are all in the right place. And playing the long con on Harald and then yeeting him definitely scores her some hero brownie points in my book. Though I can see her being Neutral too.
Franchesca's Best Moment: Yeeting Harald. Easy.
GAZELLA: Oh land Galiris, I wish we had more time together. Alas, you were not the best runner out there and so you were sent down to the Shameterranean. Another character I feel like really deserves another shot at the game, but that will be a theme with practically all these people in this AN.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Gazella receives the status of: Neutral.
Not sure what you guys were expecting. She was generally more good and caring above ground and a little more selfish and goal oriented below ground. Balances out to a pretty even neutral if you ask me.
Gazella's Best Moment: Her reaction to the Cumhoetach stripshow.
HARALD: As many people have said before, Harald's plot really was the Shameterranean. Brutal, unforgiving, violent, manipulative, and ultimately, futile. However, I feel like he really did have a lot of potential and I was super bummed to see him go this early. He's definitely one of the one's I'd want to see back for, say, Resurrection.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Harald receives the status of: Villain.
Because of course our Shameterranean OG yeet-master would receive that status.
Harald's Best Moment: Yeeting Shelby-Lynn. That's all I have to say about that.
INDIGO: Poor indigo. This is what happens when power is given to someone easily corruptible, they become corrupted. Especially when taking advice from people who don't have his best interest at heart.
Having studied his actions throughout the season, Indigo receives the status of: Villain.
Let's see, never helped around camp, was more concerned with getting a girlfriend than earning one the old fashioned way, and bet an outrageously high amount of land after his entire clan gave him clear preferences for safer bets. He might have been an unwitting pawn for some other players at times, but when he was in control, he handled things terribly, and towards the end, even a little maliciously.
Indigo's Best Moment: When he actively sought out both Bryan's and Laura's advice. It was perhaps his biggest moment of self-reflection. Too bad he took the wrong lessons from it.
MATHILDA: Our dangerous, mute, lunatic. Mathilda is probably one of my favorite silent characters that I've ever written, even though secretnobody took control of her more often than not. Writing such an expressive character and personality without being able to use dialog was a joy. I'd love to see how she'd do in a game where she wasn't forced to already start below ground on the cusp of elimination.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Mathilda receives the status of: Hero
Mainly this is for her role in saving Avi, and then later saving one of the two DAs. However, even her chasing down Lorelei can be seen as heroic, since, when she was doing that, she was under the impression that Lorelei was a wicked force trying to push other people down Pits of Peril, and she is actively remorseful when she finds the note.
Mathilda's Best Moment: Batting Jeremy's DA back up like a boss.
MOLLY: Molly is another one of those characters that I wish I could have some more time writing but things just didn't work out that way. Y'know the same way you can like a survivor player early on and then you see them eliminated way earlier than you thought. That feeling is there with Molly right now.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Molly receives the status of: Neutral
She didn't do many moral or immoral things to be honest. There was some pushing in the Shameterranean and arguing with people who were clearly trying to get under her skin above ground, but for the most part Molly was generally in the middle in terms of moral choices.
Molly's Best Moment: Trusting Roxanne with her DA. The culmination of her albeit small character arc. She's finally face to face with someone she knew she could trust, and they had just seen her betray an ally. The act of giving Roxanne her DA is one of a mature acceptance that Roxanne held up Molly's standards more than Molly herself did.
MORGANA: And finally we have Morgana. The ghost whisperer, and honestly one of my favorites this season. She's definitely a character I'd love to have back for a future season, if the spirits allow it of course.
Having studied her actions throughout the season, Morgana receives the status of: Neutral
She's a sweet girl, and a fun player to write, but she didn't do anything terribly good or bad for the whole time she was here. She was definitely a more gimmicky neutral character. A fun one, but neutral nonetheless.
Morgana's Best Moment: Contacting Ani and Molly and thinking they were spirits. That was so freaking funny to us as we wrote that during the Fun with Firebending chapter, and it also really showed how much she believed in this stuff.
And there we go, that's absolutely everyone that was for sure eliminated this episode.
But that's all just my opinion, what do you guys think?
Who do you guys think is coming back up?
What's going to happen to King and Setsuna now that Ffydd is gone?
How will the extra Ffydd acres be dealt with?
Just some questions to spark thought and theories.
EN: Good evening (in my time. I just woke up. Been writing all day.) We nailed this chapter in a single day. It's a little late where I'm at (probably gonna sound real tired on voice chat later on), but we will get through it.
Yes, inside stuff. There were a lot of jokes in the challenge that ended up making it in. Specifically, random commentary. 'Getting scared?' is one of them. Cohotoe is one I came up with on the server, I guess it was too funny not to use. Idk Doobop put it in.
The title of this episode was always true since the creation of the outline. Normally, we struggle to come up with those, but this time, we already had one.
Joke of the Chapter: Literally, the entire Ffydd scene. I'm sure there are funnier jokes, but that was one that always stayed true. I guess the Ffydd vote also counts… eheh. A vote entirely based on random chance. That's something you don't see everyday.
But that also means Ffydd cannot be best team anymore. Oh well.
The first phase of Crios Cath is over! And this is where the humor begins to take a back seat. I mean, knowing us, it'll probably still exist. But the drama really drives the story forwards.
I'm so tired, I don't even know what to write here, so I'm just gonna ramble.
While writing, Doobop took over for writing Ffydd, and I was kinda giving commentary about it as I normally do, and then, we read over the Mealltach scene I had already written. Because I hadn't really written Indigo at all during Crios Cath, I wrote Indigo as if nothing had happened to him. Doobop was looking back, and he was all like, "What the heck? This is an entirely different Indigo than above." We fixed it up though.
Anyways, I'm gonna stop typing now. I should probably read through what Doobop wrote during my little nap. See you soon!
AN2: We have a discord server! The link is up on my profile! We have lots of fun making memes about these stories, doing live readings every sunday, and playing a whole bunch of fun games as well!
AN3: And, as always, thanks for reading!