Ticket here, and we are back with Episode 11A, where we will see the fallout after Price's departure and what comes next!
Enjoy the show!
—
Vara: Snake, Ripley, Slade, Dante, T'Challa, Dylan, Peach, and Zelda
Jury: Skarlet, Wade, and Price
—
Vara Tribe— Night 20
Night hits once again for the eight left in the game. Zelda leans her torch by a tree where everyone else's is, and shares her thoughts about last night.
Zelda: That was a terrifying time for me. Being on the line twice is terrible, and it's a miracle I survived both of them. Here's to better times!
Slade sits on the shelter, taking a seat next to Dante. "Glad you stuck by us. You would have caused a sh*tstorm." says the Sparda brother, lightheartedly.
Slade: There was only two people I was worried about after that challenge: Price and Dante. One was safe, and the other needed to get chopped. Now that he is gone, I can make a run against Dante because if HE was on the line, last night may have went differently.
"You had a better pitch." replies Slade, which makes Dante raise a brow. "The rest of the path is easy. We're not missing out so we should get some rest."
"Don't tell me what to do."
Slade: There is a plus to Price leaving: I'll have to make it up to the scorned, and if they are onboard, this next blindside is a go.
Elsewhere, near a tree with grapefruit, the said scorned in Snake, T'Challa, and Dylan meet up.
"It's five on three, we'll have to play dirty." admits Snake, who turns to Dylan first. "Remember that spy shack I mentioned?" he asks, and Dylan just shrugs. "That was like, a week ago."
"We'll be needing it."
He turns to T'Challa next. "Any information you get on Slade, send it to Dante. It doesn't matter if he wants to join us, we can "protect" him for this vote and then take him out on the next." orders Snake, only looking at Dylan. T'Challa shakes his head with a cold heart. "If it gets the worst, we will send him out now."
"That's my language…" he says, sideying T'Challa.
Dylan: This is why I didn't want to just jump to my death. If they weren't so up in arms about Wade, we wouldn't be here right now, but we are sitting here and need a very good reason to get their next shot off of us.
T'Challa: Slade's nature is going to catch up to him..and as much as I want a tie, I will find dirt. If the three of us can't find dirt, all of us are goners.
The three put their hands in the middle. "Here's to another week."
Snake: I have two jury votes at the end, and I'm going to do whatever the hell it takes to get there. Spying? Do it. Extortion? Do it. Anything is on the table now, i just need to get the numbers back.
—
Vara Tribe— Day 21
Despite the darkness of the vote, the next day opens up with some lighthearted fun. All eight castaways are on top of a SLICK hill, with four sleds open, where two will sit in each. We get to hear from Dante about the events.
Dante: This is going to be a dirty race. Nobody said it had to be clean, and we all know that. I just can't wait to see what these people do!
There are four teams: Snake/Ripley (S.R), Zelda/T'Challa (Z.T), Peach/Dylan (P.D), and Slade/Dante (S.D). Before the race starts, we catch each of the teams whispering to each other.
First Snake and Ripley…
"We're strategists, you know what to do." Alright Ripley, hitting Snake with bluntness. He simply nods his head.
Ripley: We're both cool, calm, and collected almost all the time. In another world, we could have done a lot of damage.
Next Zelda and T'Challa…
"If we just steer ahead, they'll eat eachother." states T'Challa. "You are strong, so if they comes at us you should take the back." replies Zelda.
"Understood."
Zelda: Their best defense is offense. OUR best defense is defense. If you don't get involved in the action, then you can slide to the end.
Then Peach and Dylan…
"I won Grand Prixs, I should steer." suggests Peach. "Wait you're a kart racer? Where do you race?" he asks.
"Mountains."
"Uh huh."
"Volcanoes."
"OH…"
"You can trust me."
Peach: I've had to dodge shells, stars, bombs, and bullets behind the wheel. I won't feel the heat, but he definitely will.
Dylan: …WHAT are they driving over there?
Lastly Slade and Dante…
"Show them no mercy." states Slade, and Dante just shakes his head with a smirk "glued" to his face.
Dante: Slade is a madman. Even a fun, violent race is serious for him, it's like the end of the world. Don't want to go against him but if I'm WITH him? We can hit the jackpot.
Once those talks are done, each team gets in their sled. At the front, is Ripley, Zelda, Dylan, and Dante. On the back is Snake, T'Challa, Peach, and Slade.
On their marks..
Get set…
The people in the back push off and down they go!
At first it's neck and neck between the teams..that is until some shenanigans start immediately.
Z.T pick up speed due to the combo of strength, leaving P.D open to S.R. Snake gets a foot out and kicks Dylan in the legs! Peach tries to get the sled away from them as Dylan wobbles, but he trips and lands right on her! Snake and Ripley advance, coming in hot on Z.T.
Meanwhile P.D sees the three far ahead. "We're done fo—" Peach ignores his complaints and leans forward, speed picking up again as Dylan falls down twice!
Dylan: Snake and Peach knocked me out today.
Snake: I'm just following the rules.
S.D and Z.T are neck and neck, S.R still on their tail. Slade and T'Challa stare at one another, the hall brawl flashbacks incoming.
T'Challa: The smell of revenge hit me…until Snake came up.
Before they can duke it out though, Snake and Ripley hit the scene, and Snake LEAPS from his sled onto Slade and Dante's! T'Challa's eyes widen, while Zelda has no reaction, only focusing on the line ahead!
Snake tackles Slade, and they both land on Dante! A steering Ripley pulls ahead, and Snake shoves her sled from behind to help them both! On THAT sled, Dante gets back to steering and spots a tree ahead!
"OH SH—"
While they are occupied with that, Z.T and Ripley are tied, the line in view. "Your partner is insane!" exclaims Zelda. "That's why I picked him."
Zelda: I would not have thought Ripley to be this chaotic!
Behind them, S.D swerves the tree, but the other two are closer to the line then they are. Slade crosses his arms, sideying Snake.
Snake: You do what you have to do in life. If that's what I had to do to slow them down, so be it.
Dante: His version of "slow down" is just assault.
They spot P.D next to them as well. Peach steering with a competitive look and Dylan keeping his arms and legs in the vehicle.
While those two stay back there, the line gets ever closer. In an effort to stop Ripley, T'Challa grabs ahold of her sled and pulls back! She rocks the side of their sled, but it's good enough as Z.T have a clear shot to the line!
After a few more seconds, they pass it and win the race! In the fight for second, Slade tosses Snake off of their sled! He does have the quickness to get to Ripley's sled, but Slade and Dante take second!
P.D come up behind S.R, but S.R already has some speed and takes it to the line! They finish third and P.D finish last!
After all the sleds are in, they come to a halt. Everyone exits their sleds, applauding Zelda and T'Challa..minus Slade of course.
"Nice moves."
"Congrats!"
Zelda and T'Challa hear it, new bragging rights at camp.
T'Challa: We beat Dante and Slade, which is a nice confidence boost!
Ripley: That T'Challa..he's not as innocent as I thought.
Peach and Ripley have some inaudible words with Zelda, while Dante and Snake share some inaudible words as well.
Nonetheless, the sledding is done with and there was another two days to get on with.
—
Sitting on a stone is Peach, who has that idol paper in hand. Zelda is sitting next to her as they go over it in the background.
Zelda: Some may say we don't have agency, but we are just going with our best strategy. It's not the most exciting to read but we came here to win.
"So the other half is still out there…" assumes Zelda, who sets a hand on Peach's shoulder. "I haven't found it yet but the best I can do is keep digging. Ripley could cause a rift if she gets a hold of it." continues Zelda, and the Princess turns her blonde head to her. "It's better that Ripley does it than someone else."
Peach: If Ripley gets the other half, I believe she will take me to the end over Zelda. Zelda will take me over her. I was going to the end both times because I am the gap between them, but this idol just gives me more power!
Back to the rock, the Hyrulian hops up and says her goodbyes. "I hope to deliver good news!" she exclaims, leaving Peach alone…or so she thought.
In patch of bushes nearby, is Slade, lying down and taking all of this in.
Slade: There's no doubt I'm jumping over now. They have an IDOL in their hands now..
The man clicks his tongue.
Slade: That will not do.
—
He immediately takes the info to the trio of men on the bottom. "..Now they have an idol. Half of one, not the real deal." he states, which locks in Snake's attention. "If one of us has the other half, they need to fess up. We could use their own power against them…" he suggests. T and D look at one another, but neither has anything to say.
"If the other half is still out there, then we have a good shot at flipping the game back to us. Going four against four tonight is the best path, there is no other way around it." states Slade. "It's very important that DANTE loses. He has social skills, he can compete, he's the full package. We need to take the shot the first moment we get." he pitches. "If Dante's safe, we can continue to go for Zelda…and hope the rock hits Ripley or Peach. They are difficult in their own right."
Snake seems to agree, while Dylan is more on edge.
Dylan: Slade is just…something is wrong with him. Look, we got info, blackmail, that's cool and all, but I just…don't trust him. He's the shadiest guy around and I'm buds with a guy named SNAKE.
Slade: If Dante loses that necklace, i'll jump over here and risk it all. After he ragdolled us Dante can't be let anywhere close to the finals…and could you imagine my speech if I take out Price AND Dante?
After Slade finishes his statement, he turns around to see nobody else in the distance. "I'll get going. Skipped breakfast for this." he comments, before heading off. When he's in the distance and gone, Snake immediately turns to his allies.
"He may have duped us once, but the enemy of our enemy is our friend. If we lose another person, it's four against three and we can't get out of it unless one of us has the other half." he opens, but Dylan gets a say in this. "Yeah but then we'll go to rocks. What if one of us loses the rock draw? He'll just jump on back and leave us in the dust." he argues, but Snake disagrees. "It's a risk we have to take. I'd rather we have Price here and pick them off, but we don't have the privilege." he says, with a small sideye to T'Challa.
Snake: It's still fresh in my mind. Saying I'm over it would just be a lie to myself. That cat needs to stay in line.
Speaking of T, Snake turns and addresses him. "No funny business this time. We are on the end of our rope." T raises a brow. "You know why I did it—"
"It was a bad move."
"You would have CUT us if we even made it all the way. You're too smart to have a two versus two at the end."
"…and who gave you that information?"
"Ripley."
Snake: He got me. All because Ripley had to run her mouth about it..that woman is really sneaky.
Snake grunts, which makes the Panther cross his arms. "None of us can talk about conspiring. We have our own agendas out in the open, let's be real about it." he calls out, and Snake locks eyes with him. Dylan just watches this whole thing go down.
Dylan: It was like watching my two favorite heroes fight. My "Captain America" in T'Challa and then the cool uncle in Snake.
"We HAD our plans but they've been thrown out by now!" counters Snake, who takes a few steps closer to him. "Your best plan is to just stay in line. Hell we can stab each other down the line like we both WANT to, but after what happened with Wade how do I know they won't manipulate you again?" he asks. "I wasn't manipulated. It was based on the truth."
"Back then, but now they make one out of a lie. Are you with us?"
T'Challa: Never thought I would say this but Snake is starting to lose his mind..I am too. We are in the Dark Ages, but at least I have some light by my side.
He pats his pocket, his half of that half idol inside.
The King gets one message out to the Snake. "I'm not leaving anytime soon. If I did all of us have no shot at survival." Snake stares at a confident king, and then turns to Dylan next. "While we're on survival, don't let the rocks get to you. A 1 in 8 shot at safety is better than none."
"Ehhhh…I'm up for it..But if he screws us, i'll never let this go."
Dylan: Honestly? Rocks are a no go for me. I go from being safe in a five to three, to being on the Hitlist. It's just self preservation!
After that comment, T'Challa taps Snake on the shoulder. "Can we talk for a minute?" he asks, and Snake obliges. He pulls him aside nearby while Dylan ponders. "If Dylan doesn't do it, we need to put dirt on Slade." he opens up. "It's better than he goes over one of us." Snake sets his hands in his pockets. "Anything else?"
"It's the best one we can go with. If Dylan doesn't want to draw rocks, then we'll have to sell him out…but also do our best to keep him. He'll be a bigger target if they know what he did."
"When's Dylan finding out?"
"He'll know about it when we get back."
T'Challa: When Dante catches wind that somebody is after him, he will not let that slide. It won't take much time to convince him because let's face it, Dante's always been sketched out by him.
—
Vara Tribe— Day 22
The next day, the Slade drama goes on. This time it's in the water…where Dante and T'Challa, moistened up, have a talk that quickly goes south.
"Have you seen Slade?" asks T'Challa. "Not today, but we had a talk yesterday. What's going on?" he asks back, and that's when T strikes.
"He came up and threw your name out."
"..MINE?"
"Yours. He also threw the women under too."
Dante lets out a sigh, frustrated at what he just heard. "What did they do?" he asks, and T lowers his voice. "Peach has a half idol. Slade said that she and Zelda want to share it by themselves." reveals T'Challa, and Dante's jaw drops a bit.
Dante: We were having a nice swim and then T drops a bomb on me! This guy had too much trust in me at nine, so if anyone was going to tell me I'm glad it was him. Slade wants to run against me, huh? He better pull out all the stops cause you can't just run from a Demon.
T'Challa: I would like to thank Slade for handing me a new play on a platter.
Their conversation continues, Snake walking by on the shore. "Since Slade threw you under, I would talk to your group about that. He's too crazy to keep around.."
"Crazy doesn't even cover it!"
Dante: Everyone are just a bunch of schemers. I have taking out Price for bragging rights, but I still have to stay on the road and Slade is about to get steamrolled!
—
Back at the shelter, Zelda is touching strands of Dylan's hair, as Peach holds a mirror. "You're new look is almost done!" announces the Hyrulian.
Zelda: Dylan asked for a makeover, and I know we are against each other but this war is exhausting! If we have to keep our sanity with something as simple as braiding hair, that's what we will do.
Peach: Dylan is a more…feminine man? I can't quite place him.
After a few more minutes of wrapping, and ensuring there isn't too much tension, Dylan has a short "braid." Peach gives him the mirror and he starts checking himself out.
"I look like a Founding Father."
"Toadstool doesn't have braids.." (Peach)
"Not yours."
"Rhoam?" (Zelda)
"Did he braid his hair?"
"He went through a phase not too long ago.."
Dylan: People in the 1700s had the wackiest hair you could think of. Me personally, I want to pull off an Isaac Newton style. THAT would be pretty awesome.
—
Alright, so in an effort to play both sides, Slade may have made a big enemy out of Dante! Plus, while Snake and T'Challa may want to still keep Slade now, Dylan is on the fence! That's not all, as Peach and Zelda have yet to find out about their idol getting leaked to EVERYONE? What will go down? Find out in 11B!