Challenge Dunes: Day 10
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Papyrus - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Tails - Spy - Gordon Ramsay - Waluigi - Kirby - King K. Rool - Engineer - ROB - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
The two teams, as usual, entered the dunes, meeting Alexa as they observed the challenge's equipment: two large chests with a strange lock on the front of them, as well as a massive stretch of desert land with rope barriers protecting it. People had their usual ideas of what today's challenge would bring to the table, though all of them turned out to be wrong.
"Greetings, survivors!" Waved Alexa. "Welcome to the fifth challenge of the show, and whilst I'm at it, welcome to the tenth day of being in this blistering-hot desert! Last Tribal Council, Patrick Star was eliminated at a near-landslide, bringing Power Flowers down to seven survivors. If you made it this far, give yourself a pat on the back, but only a small one, because there's still so much more to go before we even hit the halfway mark!"
Spy nodded. "I agree! Getting to this point is way too easy, so I think a celebration is a little too early... but that's not important. What are the contents of today's challenge, eh Alexa?"
"Glad you asked!" Smirked Alexa:
*Today's challenge will have seven members from each team participating. Six of those members will be coined as "The Hunters" and the last member will be coined as "The Coder". Similarly to last time, both groups will heavily rely on each other to win the challenge. The Hunters will each have a walkie talkie to communicate with The Coder.
The job of The Hunters will be to grab a specially made metal detector that matches their team color. This is incredibly important, as these metal detectors, as I just said, are specially made. As they only respond to a certain color of metal. The red metal detectors only respond to red metal and will be used by Super Shrooms as a result. Meanwhile, the green metal detectors only respond to green metal, and obviously that means Power Flowers will use them. You will use the metal detectors to search for rings located beneath the sand, and attached to these rings are pages that have one letter per sheet. There are eight pages per team, and each sheet will be numbered from one to eight. The Hunter that finds one of these sheets will communicate the number and letter to the Coder, who will input the information into an eight-letter lock guarding a chest.
Within the chest is yet another metal detector, though this time, it's yellow, and is specially designed to respond to yellow or golden metals located beneath the sand. The Coder will use this metal detector to look for one more ring under the ground, and attached to that ring will be a victory flag. The first team to locate and hold this victory flag will be the winners of the challenge! The winners will receive immunity and a special prize. Though, before I get on to the rules, I think it'd be an interesting experiment to actually tell you what prize you'd receive if you were to win. That prize is a permanent extra bag of rice and beans for your rations! This may sound small, but even a slight advantage of energy can make all the difference.
Now, onto the rules of today's challenge:
- Breaking the chest or the lock will result in an instant loss for you and your team.
- The Coder cannot take on the same jobs as The Hunters and vice versa.
- If you ever somehow come across a sheet of paper from the other team, stealing it to hinder their performance will result in a disqualification for you and your team.
- You cannot steal metal detectors or sheets of paper from the other team.
Hopefully, all of these rules and basics of today's challenge should be printed on your mind, because I'm sure as Hell not repeating it! Good luck survivors! Starting now, both tribes may begin discussing who should sit out, and who should be The Coder.*
"Seems simple enough. We just have to run around with some over-sized trinket, dig up some pieces of paper with rings attached to them, and say the contents of that page to The Coder," Meta Knight repeated to his team. "Now, who wants to bear the responsibility of said Coder?"
Whilst unable to properly raise his hand due to his stiff, robotic anatomy, ROB raised both of his hands to the best of his ability, coupling it with a loud, high-pitched beep. "I imagine that I am the best suited for the job of inputting the code that is sent to me through the walkie talkies. My ability to deduct words and sounds through distortion is much greater than the average person, for example."
"Any objections to that?" He checked.
No objections were audibly given, though Spy couldn't help but discreetly roll his eyes at the robot.
Meanwhile, Super Shrooms had a similarly quick time choosing who to be The Coder. However, they also had another thing to discuss, that being: which two people should sit out?
"I may be used to giving out orders, but I've been taking in orders for years until I got to my status of a world-famous chef," said Gordon. "I think I should be The Coder."
"He's world-famous?!" Phoenix thought, shaking his head. "I've never heard of him..."
"Maybe he's a British celebrity, but if that's so, he definitely ain't globally famous, because I ain't ever heard a holler mentioning him in my life," Engineer muttered under his breath before nodding regardless, speaking up to respond to the chef. "Well, if ya say so Gordon. Don't let us down now."
He grinned, wringing his hands with excitement. "Brilliant! Now, who's going to be sitting out?"
"Poyo!" Kirby declared, pouting in the process.
"He seems sad about it, but it's-a for our own good. I don't think Gordon would be able to decipher his-a words, especially through radio," said Luigi, rubbing his shoulder.
"Now! Who-a else should be sitting out?" Asked Phoenix, shortly before realizing that he had just used a bit of Luigi's Italian accent in his question. "Oh no, I caught it..." He gulped.
Ignoring the Italian in Phoenix's words, Waluigi raised his hand. "After what happened last challenge, I'm-a still aching and tired! However, that won't stop Waluigi from-a participating in this challenge. Waaahahaha!" He chortled.
"Oh right, you passed out last challenge, didn't you?" Queried Tails. "Good thing it wasn't anything too major."
"The pain was!" He barked. "But yes, nothing too-a major..."
Half a minute of silence passed, and the tribe desperately needed to find one more person to sit out.
Finally, taking one for the tribe, Tails raised his hand. "I'll do it. Not only are the metal detectors too bulky for my size, but we're going to be here all day if I don't volunteer to sit out."
"You sure?" Asked Engineer.
"Well is there anyone who wants to take my place?" He replied.
Nobody volunteered, all but Kirby, who raised his stubby hands, smiling. "Poyo!"
"Erm, we've already established that you're sitting out," said Engineer. "But it looks like no one else is gonna be volunteerin', so Tails it is!"
Both teams approached Alexa and informed him of who had what role, and also on who would be sitting out in this challenge. Alexa nodded with approval to the decisions and began setting things up.
All members on Power Flowers, barring ROB, were given green metal detectors, and on them was an emblem that resembled a fire flower, which Peach recognized instantly. As well as this, they were given walkie-talkies that were also green in color.
Meanwhile, all of Super Shrooms, barring Gordon, Kirby, and Tails, were given red metal detectors, their emblem resembled a mushroom, something that Luigi and Waluigi recognized instantly, similar to Princess Peach. Much like Power Flowers, they also received walkie-talkies, though red in color much like the metal detectors.
Upon receiving the equipment, they lined up at the entrance to the challenge area, where all of the buried pages would be.
"Good luck survivors!" Alexa hollered. "The challenge will begin in, three..."
The survivors were nervous over the countdown, Power Flowers especially. This challenge proved to be primarily physical outside of the communication through the radio, meaning that their chances of winning would be around forty-two percent if they went by ROB's calculations. They were disadvantaged, but they remember Peach's reassurance, they knew that they could still win this, it just mean that they would have to try harder!
Super Shrooms were cocky, to say the least. They had communication on point, they had speed and strength on point, and they certainly had enough endurance and determination to find all eight pages within the area. They themselves were unaware that their chances of winning were objectively higher than Power Flowers, but they thought they would win with ease anyway, so it's not like knowing the statistics would impact their incredibly stubborn morale.
"Two..."
The survivors readied themselves into a running position, attempting to fit their bulky, odd-shaped metal detectors into the equation. Taller members such as Waluigi, Jotaro, and King K. Rool found their footing the quickest. Members that were experienced with metal detectors, such as Phoenix, would also hold an advantage, as they would know the perfect distance to have the metal detector from the sandy ground. The required skills for The Hunters were all about digging, endurance, experience, and most importantly, luck.
"One... GO!" Alexa yelled, causing The Coders to run to the chest, clutching their walkie-talkies. Meanwhile, The Hunters made a run for it over to the digging area, where all of the pages would be.
Super Shrooms had a tactical approach. Phoenix, Luigi, Engineer and Jotaro would all scout around the middle of the area, whilst Waluigi and Little Mac would go around the very edges, where the rope barriers were. After covering all of the edges, Waluigi and Little Mac would group back up with the rest of The Hunters.
Power Flowers, however, had a traditional, messier approach. They'd all split off into separate paths, but that was the maximum strategy they put into the challenge, as most of them knew that it would simply be a challenge of "Who can cover the most area and get the luckiest with their finds".
Within the first few seconds of scouting the edges, Little Mac's metal detector picked up a rather brutal beep right off the bat, causing the boxer to immediately drop the equipment and yell into his walkie-talker to Gordon.
"I FOUND A PAGE!" He announced.
"Already?!" Said Gordon on the other side, in awe. "What does it say?"
Little Mac raised an eyebrow. "Woah! I haven't dug it up yet..."
"Then do it you bloody doughnut!" He scolded.
Using his boxing gloves as little spades, he was surprisingly able to dig it up in mere seconds. Finally, his boxing gloves constantly being on had paid off for Mac. He scooped out the ring and the page and read it out to Gordon.
"Okay the number is six, and the letter is 'V'," he said.
The chef nodded, inputting it into the chest's lock.
Meanwhile, Power Flowers had a similar headstart, though it began to take place a few seconds after Little Mac dug up his page.
Papyrus was scanning the sand slowly but surely, unaware of the fact that the metal detector would probably pick up the metal regardless of the speed he was traveling. Despite this slow method, however, he picked up beeping.
"OH MY GOD!" He yelled, his pupils dilating as he pulled a grin of raw excitement and bliss. The skeleton dug up the ring and paper with his bare hands and yelled into the walkie-talkie, the volume causing pretty bad distortion.
"R**, * FOUND THE P*GE! THE NU**ER *S THR*E AND THE LETTER ** 'R'!"
ROB deciphered it as best he could, and discovered that the number was three, and the letter was 'R', thankfully those two pieces of detail weren't lost in the blaring static Papyrus unknowingly caused.
"Understood... barely," ROB said on the other side, inputting the letter.
A few minutes passed, and both teams had little luck finding anything until Waluigi was almost finished going along the edges, he was about to meet up with Little Mac.
However, before he drew any closer:
*BEEEEEEP!*
Immediately, Waluigi began yelling into the walkie-talkie. "I-A F**ND A **GE!"
Gordon sighed. "Good, but stop yelling so loud into the bloody walkie. What does it say?"
"I haven't dug it up yet!" He whined. "Jeez..."
The Brit groaned as Waluigi dug up the ring alongside the page. Though, something was a lot different from this particular page. There was a special message on it, and Waluigi quietly read it to himself:
*Congratulations! You have found one of the two immunity pages in this challenge. If your team loses the challenge, then show this to Alexa for immunity on the next Tribal Council!*
Upon finishing his read on the page, he began laughing maniacally. "WAHAHAAHAAAAA!" Was all Gordon could hear.
"Code?!" He barked through the walkie-talkie.
"Eh, it's-a nothing! Just a random p-penny," he lied.
"Doesn't it only pick up green metals?" He asked.
For a few seconds, the lanky purple villain didn't know what to say to the interrogation.
"Erm... shut up!" Replied Waluigi, causing Gordon to forget about it for the good of his sanity.
He stuffed the immunity page into the sleeve of his shirt, continuing the challenge...
Nearby to him, Jotaro ran along the dunes with his metal detector, hoping for even a small beep to occur.
And, to his luck:
*BEEEEP!*
"STAR PLATINUM!" Jotaro called out.
Star Platinum appeared, the brutish, purple stand glancing at the mound that the metal detector picked up on. Then, with a battlecry, it began punching it at a blinding speed. "ORARARARARARARAAAA!"
As it delivered one last punch to the mound, sand exploded across the dunes, picking up interest from everyone participating or spectating the challenge.
A cloud of sand and dust obscured the scene, though as it faded, Jotaro emerged with the next sheet of paper. "Four, 'V'," he said, speaking into the walkie.
"Gotcha," nodded Gordon as he inputted the second letter onto the chest. Although he only had two 'V's and nothing else, he pondered if the code would be a jumble of letters or an actual word.
Whilst he did so, Power Flowers still failed to find anything important. That was, until a few minutes later when Meta Knight picked up a small beep on his metal detector.
He began digging around the small area, his speed was incredible for a small Kirby-sized being with no equipment, and alas, he found a page.
However, this one was akin to the page Waluigi had recently found:
*Congratulations! You have found one of the two immunity pages in this challenge. If your team loses the challenge, then show this to Alexa for immunity on the next Tribal Council!*
"How useful," Meta Knight said to himself, hiding the sheet before anyone could look. "Not that it would matter, considering a particular target..."
Whilst his discovery was surely beneficial to him exclusively, Power Flowers had now gone without any pages for a while, and ROB was beginning to get concerned over it.
As luck would have it, ROB's concern was luckily cut off by a slightly hazy transmission from Peach.
"Good news ROB!" She exclaimed. "I might have just found something; my metal detector is going off!"
The robot nodded and gave a beep through the walkie-talkie, alerting her that he was aware of her message. ROB knew he could rely on Peach for the challenge, as her communication was typically on point.
Sensibly yet with pace, Peach dug up the page and read out the two crucial pieces of information on it. "The number is one, and the letter is... 'S'!" She described.
ROB inputted the letter into the first part of the lock, then he went back to waiting for the next broadcast from a fellow tribe mate.
At first, it seemed like Power Flowers had caught up. Though, it was short-lived, as Super Shrooms proved to be a force not to take lightly, especially Jotaro, who had found yet another spot using his metal detector.
He did the same practice as before: summoning his stand; having it punch the spot into oblivion; finding the ring and the page alongside it, and giving the information on the page to Gordon.
"One, 'S'," said Jotaro before sliding the walkie-talkie back into his coat. Even in this mostly luck-based challenge, he was asserting his potential and ability over the others on the tribe.
Though, Power Flowers wouldn't let Super Shrooms take the lead yet again, as King K. Rool was the next one to have his metal detector go off.
"Aha!" He shot a toothy grin, stretching his claws before striking a fearsome swipe at the ground, launching a cloud of sand to his left. Also to his left were Phoenix and Luigi, both of which proceeded to be assaulted by the aforementioned cloud of sand, causing their eyes to slam shut from the pain, shortly rendering them unable to proceed in the challenge.
Back to the unaware K Rool, who had since continued digging downwards until he felt the metal ring snag around his claw. He pulled out the ring alongside the page and read it out to ROB.
"Erm, apologies there's still sand on it," the croc groaned as he blew off the excess coating of sand. "Ah! Righto... the number is eight, and the letter is 'R'!"
Before the robot could respond to K Rool, he realized something. So far, the code was S_R_R, but something about those three letters was oddly familiar, almost like ROB almost knew what the code would be. He knew Alexa well enough to realize that the host wouldn't be above putting such an annoyingly obvious codename, so he decided to experiment.
ROB proceeded to input the rest of the code by himself...
S...U...R...V...I...O...R.
*Click*
By sheer luck, ROB's hunch was right. The code was SURVIVOR, referencing the name of the gameshow he was participating in.
"Ahem... I just gave you the code, ya idiot!" Yelled K Rool. "Do you need a battery change or something? Give me some acknowledgment for crying out loud!"
"It's okay, I've solved the code," he responded.
"Wait, what?!" The crocodile gasped. "WH******T?! Quit with the jokes!"
ROB could still make out his incredible shock through the distortion, and he shot out a firm beep. "I am not one to tell jokes. I am not one to tell jokes during the heat of a challenge either."
Suddenly, Papyrus joined the walkie-talkie call.
"I JUST HEARD SOME SCREAMING, IS EVERYTHING OKAY?!" He asked.
"Robby just solved the code for us!" Revealed K Rool.
"He solved the code?!" Asked Samus, joining the conversation. "I just found a page."
As the team slowly learned about the news, ROB reached into the chest and pulled out the golden-colored metal detector, the symbol was a fire flower with a yellow-gold color palette, and it admittedly looked like real gold, though Alexa was definitely too cheap for that.
Then, through the incredibly loud uproar from the Power Flowers team cheering on ROB, members of Super Shrooms also caught on to what had just unfolded.
"Did they already find the code?!" Asked Little Mac, half-yelling into the walkie.
"Pssh, no way..." Gordon scoffed. "It's not even been twenty minutes!"
"Nuh-uh... that Robo-boy has the darn metal detector in his... err... hands?" Engineer declared, squinting his eyes at the sight. "Something's fishy!"
"Is it a bad time to tell Gordon that I found a page?" Asked Phoenix, joining the call. "Alright, it's a 'U', and the number is a two!"
As Gordon inputted it in, the chef was hit with the same stroke of genius that had graced ROB. "Oh *CENSORED*. Holy *CENSORED* I think I know the code!"
"Really, was that the last page?!" Questioned Little Mac.
"No, the code might just be..." Gordon paused before inputting it to test.
S...U...R...V...I...V...O...R.
*Click*
"WHAT THE *CENSORED*?!" Bellowed Gordon, scrambling the chest open and dropping the walkie by pure instinct.
The other members were confused over his silence but soon gazed over to see that he himself had entered, holding the same golden metal detector as ROB.
"INCREDIBLE!" Alexa clapped. "I knew you wouldn't have had to find all of the pages before you sussed it out, but I certainly didn't expect it to happen only twenty-or-so minutes in! Bravo to ROB and Gordon, this is getting tense!"
What was once a relatively casual hunting challenge was now an incredibly tense game of speed, and of course, luck. Both were looking for the same treasure, and both searched every little bit of the area, especially the cheekier spots. The golden ring had to be around there somewhere.
Five minutes passed, and by this point, the spectators of this event were cheering on their respective teammate.
"ROB! ROB! ROB! ROB!" Chanted around half of the Power Flowers tribe.
"GOR-DON! GOR-DON! GOR-DON!" Chanted all of Super Shrooms, barring Jotaro, who was still pulling a small grin for his teammate.
After a further minute of this chanting...
*BEEP*
The noise came from... ROB! The robot immediately reacted to it by spinning his mechanical arms in circles, using the motion to scoop and fling the sand away until the flag was in plain sight. It was large and had a white and black checkered pattern across the cloth.
Before Gordon could reach him for any last-ditch effort to steal the flag (if that was even allowed), ROB already had it in his robotic clutches.
"ROB WINS THE CHALLENGE FOR POWER FLOWERS!" Announced Alexa.
Upon receiving the announcement, the whole tribe cheered with glee, all thanks to ROB's idea with the code.
"How did you find it out so soon?" Asked Meta Knight.
"Through thinking "what would be the most 'Alexa' option?"," replied ROB.
A few members of the team laughed at the unintentional ridicule, and Alexa was clearly displeased at it himself. Regardless, however, he let them have their few minutes of celebration.
After the atmosphere had calmed down, he began congratulating the survivors himself. "Well done Power Flowers! Just like how I thought you would, you managed to avoid your fourth loss so soon!"
"Pssh, you never thought that," K Rool rolled his eyes.
"R-regardless..." He gulped over the exposure. "Not only have you received today's prize of rice and beans, but you've also received immunity, AND an opportunity to exile a member from Super Shrooms! Who will it be this time?"
Power Flowers huddled around to choose one person from Super Shrooms to exile. They couldn't choose Waluigi, but anyone else was fair game.
After a small talk, they decided to pick a random option, Papyrus being the one to deliver the news. "WE CHOOSE... KIRBY!"
"Poyo?" He pointed to himself.
"ERM, POYO POYO?!" Papyrus scratched the top of his skull. "AM I DOING IT RIGHT?!"
Even though Kirby had no idea what the skeleton was getting at, he still felt as if shaking his head would be the right answer to the question.
"OH..." The monster pouted. "NO MATTER, OFF TO THE EXILE OASIS YOU GO!"
Alexa agreed. "Indeed! Kirby will be taken to the Exile Oasis as the rest of Super Shrooms will be subjected to another painful experience of Tribal Council!"
"Darn..." Groaned the Engineer. "Let's hope it ain't as bad as last time, ay fellas?"
"Yeah." Tails rubbed his arm. "Eliminating Squidward was pretty difficult."
"Now, back to Power Flowers. You all may return to your tribe to celebrate, and your extra bag of food will be brought to you, starting tomorrow!" Alexa began waving as they walked off, entering their pipes and leaving the Challenge Dunes. He then turned to Power Flowers. "As for you guys, you will be heading off to Tribal Council to eliminate the second member from your tea-"
Waluigi held his hand up. "Hang on you-a loudmouthed loser! You aren't giving me a chance to-a turn in this!"
He walked up to the host and handed him the sheet of paper referring to his immunity.
"Aha! I didn't think anyone would have found one due to the short challenge time, but your immunity has been granted, Waluigi!" He revealed. "Which means that you may vote in the next Tribal Council, but you will be unable to be eliminated, as well!"
The purple villain couldn't help but cackle over the wonderful news. "WAHAHAHA! WAH-LOO-EE-JEE, YEAAAAH!"
"I'm glad someone's happy," thought Phoenix, though on the outside he was visibly irritated over the bragging.
"Anyway, go back to the tribe, think of someone to eliminate, then come to the Tribal Council!" Ordered Alexa. "And, to the seven of you that are actually in danger of elimination... good luck!"
Alexa waved goodbye to the eight survivors as they left Kirby behind, entering their own warp pipe and returning to the tribe to do the one thing they hated the most: discuss and proceed with elimination...
Super Shrooms: Day 10
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Little Mac - Tails - Gordon Ramsay - Waluigi - Engineer - Jotaro Kujo.
With another loss, and with Kirby out of the equation for tonight's Tribal Council, it was noticeably much harder for the Super Shrooms tribe to keep positive morale. Not to mention that Waluigi, an agreed-upon threat to their chances of winning challenges and keeping said morale, had immunity.
The eight survivors split into two equal groups: one was in a square-like formation under the shelter, and the other four were a lot further away, hiding behind the semi-circle of tents and being exposed to the infuriatingly hot sun. The shelter group contained Luigi, Phoenix, Gordon and Waluigi, whilst the tent group contained Little Mac, Tails, Engineer, and Jotaro.
"This sucks..." Said Luigi.
"Yep," Phoenix agreed. "Though I guess our lead can't be too big..."
Waluigi rolled his eyes. "Whining about it isn't going to-a make a difference, you just sound naggy and annoying!"
"You always sound naggy and annoying," thought Phoenix, disturbed by his interruption.
"It's-a true! I can't think of a single person here that I would want to-a vote off." Luigi continued to justify his glum behavior, "and I'm not used to-a bad nights like this!"
The man in purple gave a loud forced laugh before shaking his head. "You got to-a be kidding me! Just as-a cowardly as usual, Luigi... I can think of eight people in this tribe that I'd vote off!"
"Wait, there are eight others in this tri-" Gordon's realization was immediately interrupted by Waluigi's continuation.
"But I think there's a clear threat in this-a tribe," Waluigi glared to behind the tents. "One of those freakazoids over there! Specifically the one with the black coat. What's his-a name again?"
"Jotaro?" Asked Gordon. "Would it be a bad move to say that I actually agree with this recommendation?"
Luigi shook his head. "Well, you got me and-a Kirby to vote for him last time, so it's-a not surprising to say the least."
"People agree with me for once?!" Waluigi went starry-eyed before quickly breaking out of the glee. "N-not that it's-a rare or anything..."
The other three gave him a blank stare, clearly seeing through his backpedal.
"Oh whatever! You losers can think whatever you-a want." Waluigi rolled his eyes before getting back to the main topic. "Anyway, if all four of us were to-a group up to vote Jotaro, then we'll eliminate him!"
Gordon shook his head. "It's not that simple. If they all grouped up and targeted someone from this group, then clearly it'll be a tie."
"Then just force the tie and tell the others to-a vote Jotaro!" He barked.
"That's not how it works you imbecile!" Gordon barked back. "Convincing Engineer, Tails and Little Mac to vote out Jotaro will be hard work. All of them are near-bloody-inspired by him with how much he does for this team!"
"Never thought I'd have to explain to someone how getting someone on your side is a little more effort than just telling them to do what you want. Waluigi's a complete muppet, and I'd blindside him any day of the week, but unluckily, the idiot has been blessed with invincibility." - Gordon Ramsay.
All of a sudden, Luigi of all people decided to step in for his rival, defending his argument. "Well, honestly, voting Jotaro is our best bet. You really think it'd be easier to-a try and convince that same group of people to vote Little Mac, Tails, or Engineer?"
Suddenly, the mentioning of Engineer made Phoenix remember Engineer's slightly bizarre behavior last Tribal Council, where he refused to say which teammates were specifically the best to be around, which sparked the theory of him being involved in an alliance. However, the lawyer didn't mention this, as he saw no point in doing so. Besides, now that he was reminded of PsycheLocks, he could see the truth for himself another time...
"You're right..." Groaned Gordon, causing the chef to cover his face with his hands. "We're *CENSORED* from every angle. At least with Jotaro, we can attempt to convince them that he's going to be a massive threat later thanks to that ghost Stand of his, something that doesn't apply to the other three."
"From the sounds of things, we-a may just have t-t-two ties! I remember watching the first season on TV to-a cheer for my bro, Mario, and when a tie occurred twice on the-a show, the pick for elimination was all down to-a luck via rock draw! I don't want that to happen here, and I feel like that's going to-a happen if we get two ties again. Mama mia..." - Luigi.
Waluigi then clasped his hands as the Brit had given up under his and Luigi's pressure. "Wah-nderful! We may have to-a force a tie, but other than that, nothing is going to-a stop Jotaro's elimination!"
*OBJECTION!*
"Wah?" His jaw dropped from the yell.
Phoenix had his finger pointed right at him, and he wagged it slowly. "Sorry, but that's incorrect!"
"What do you-a mean?!" Asked Waluigi. "Spit it out, law-boy!"
He scratched the back of his neck, suddenly giving a slightly unsure grin. "Well, you'll have to take my word on this, but I'm incredibly confident that Jotaro Kujo has an idol!"
"SAY-WHAAAAAH?!" The villain gawked. "S-since when did you-a learn that?!"
"...Again, you have to take my word and trust m-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Phoenix discovered that his team was certainly not going to use such a baseless claim to decide their vote.
"I think you're talking straight out of your *CENSORED*, Phoenix." Gordon shook his head and sighed. "Unless you have any form of evidence or connection that would make us believe you even by just a little bit, then shut up and let the grown-ups do the talking. Because I'm not going to vote someone else over a hunch."
"Is he insulting my age?!" Phoenix angrily thought. "Looks like I'll have to put down Gordon's lack of faith in me with a connection. Good thing I have one."
*TAKE THAT!*
Phoenix began adjusting his suit. "Many days ago, Little Mac and Jotaro Kujo both set off from this very tribe to the Cacti Paradise for idols. Little Mac came back before Jotaro did, and a couple of days after that, Little Mac went back to the Cacti Paradise to look for idols again, only to find out that the idol was missing, and a sign announcing its departure had taken its place!" He described. "This, coupled with Jotaro's even more rock-solid than usual behavior when I asked him about it, proves that he has the idol!"
The chef rubbed his chin. "Hmm, in all fairness, that's a good theory. Though you're forgetting that anyone from Power Flowers could have stepped in and taken the idol themselves."
"True," agreed Phoenix before triumphantly shaking his head. "He arrived back remarkably late, remember? More than an hour after Little Mac, if my memory is on point. Do you really think he wouldn't have noticed someone else take it whilst he was there? If he did, Jotaro wouldn't have hidden it from us, and he definitely would have revealed it when Little Mac announced that the idol had been taken!"
Luigi was interested in his argument but had a crucial question of his own. "Couldn't that person have just found the idol after Jotaro left?"
Waluigi frantically nodded, for once, sticking up for the plumber. "Yeah! Answer that one, loser!"
"This is it!" Thought Phoenix, before giving out the final answer:
*TAKE THAT!*
"Remember, if someone had arrived just after Jotaro left, it would be dusk. A very impractical time to hunt for idols, as both teams have no portable light! How could they see in the dark?!" He interrogated, turning the tables on Luigi with the questioning.
Luigi scratched the back of his neck. "Well, err... I guess it's-a just too unlikely," he smiled. "I'll take your word for it, and I definitely won't risk voting someone as tactical as Jotaro!"
Gordon sighed. "Yeah, no way, and definitely not now."
"Tonight seems so tense, I normally wouldn't mind blindsiding someone, but if it's Jotaro, who is probably able to read our facial expressions like a book, I think I'd prefer to go with an easier version for the time being. Maybe I'll try and blindside him when Waluigi isn't in my group because doing so with him sounds like suicide." - Phoenix Wright.
"Pfft, then who do we-a vote?!" Cried Waluigi. "The dumb boxer, the fox boy, or the cowboy?"
"If we're going by threats, then the kid who can carry Little Mac, travel at incredible speeds and be nearly as smart if not smarter than an Engineer at twelve would be a good choice," suggested Gordon.
"I'm up for-a that!" Waluigi grinned.
Phoenix and Luigi, much like the other two, went along for it out of fear of starting another debate and wasting more time on who to vote. Though deep down, both thought that Engineer or Little Mac was more worth eliminating, especially Luigi, who definitely considered Tails a friend both inside and outside of Survivor Crossover.
They simultaneously reached out and shook one another's hands, confirming the vote.
Coincidentally, as they did so, it was time for the eight to head off to Tribal Council. Both groups had one specific person in mind, and those same groups were unbelievably curious to see what the other group had targeted. Though, their suspicions would be answered shortly, as they nervously walked over to the Koopa Sphinx...
Tribal Council: Night 10
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Little Mac - Tails - Gordon Ramsay - Waluigi - Engineer - Jotaro Kujo.
Once again, Super Shrooms were back to stare their greatest fear dead in the eyes: elimination.
They didn't drink in the environment like last time, but the atmosphere was certainly noticeable by them, even if they paid little attention to it.
Alexa emerged from the right corridor, locking the room behind him with a shiny key before giving a slow clap.
"Congratulations, Super Shrooms!" He smiled. "You had a pretty good run out of these first five challenges: you beat Power Flowers by a longshot in the first challenge; you barely beat Power Flowers yet again in the second challenge; you unfortunately fell short in the third challenge, yet you brought back your thunder and won by a decent margin in the fourth challenge! And sadly, your luck runs out yet again in the fifth challenge, though you came extraordinarily neck and neck! Moreso than any other challenge in the season, thanks to Gordon's sharp thinking, albeit ROB's was unfortunately sharper. Now you're here, to have the second victim claimed. Are you ready to begin?"
The survivors nodded, answering his short question.
"Good!" He smirked, pointing to Gordon. "The first proper question goes to Gordon. Tell me, how did it feel to solve the code so early, yet still later than ROB?"
"Made me feel bloody smart." He couldn't help but pull a proud, triumphant grin. "Though the only reason I knew the code would be SURVIVOR was because of ROB solving it so early, as it planted the idea that the code wouldn't just be a random assortment of letters in my head. And after receiving another page from Phoenix, I realized what it was."
Alexa inclined his head, mainly expecting the answer of "smart". He then moved onto the next question, pointing to Phoenix. "You were just mentioned in Gordon's answer, Phoenix, so I'll ask you this: what went through your head as you realized that your page was the last one needed for Gordon to crack the code?"
"Proud!" The lawyer confessed. "If you want specifics, I guess I didn't think too much of it at the time, because I was still in shock that both of the Coders on each team managed to solve the code in only twenty minutes! Though back at my tribe, I had some hindsight and thought that nobody would target me, and I guess Gordon since both of us nearly won the challenge for our team! That IS how it works, right?"
Phoenix pulled a nervous look as Alexa shrugged, giving his two cents on the situation. "Depends! Some people see your excellent performance for what it is, and thus they won't vote for you. Other people see your excellent performance and may think that you're a threat, but considering the context, I don't think that would necessarily be the case."
"Glad the host himself is half-reassuring me that I won't be eliminated," thought Phoenix, feeling slightly embarrassed.
The host moved on to the final question, pointing to Little Mac. "Mac! Be totally honest with this one: did any drama go down at your tribe?"
"Err, not really," he scratched the back of his neck with his gloves, attempting to remember. "Nah, can't think of anything that went down! All I did was discuss who to vote with three others since the tribe had split into two groups, which is weird, but I guess it beats nominating people right in front of their faces."
"More or less confirms that a tie will occur," Phoenix whispered to Luigi.
"Mama mia..." The plumber felt his lip quiver.
After the questions were finished, Alexa clasped and wrung his hands. "Alrighty! I think it's time we get down to the meat of tonight's Tribal Council, which is... the vote! Remember that Kirby is exiled and thus unable to be voted for, and Waluigi has immunity, meaning that he ALSO cannot be voted for."
"The fact that Waluigi's been immune for both Tribal Councils so far has been nothing short of downright annoying..." - Phoenix Wright.
One by one, the Super Shroom survivors traveled down the left passageway to cast their votes.
Gordon Ramsay: You're probably one of the most tolerable people here, but you're far too strong, agile, and smart to go on any longer. (Tails)
Luigi: I really don't wanna do-a this, but I promised my bro that I'd win for-a him, and if I have to get rid of the strongest to achieve that, then I-a will! (Tails)
Tails: Jotaro told us that you had some suspicions of him, and since we were struggling to pick someone, we had to settle on you. You're a decent asset to our team, but your elimination might just be our greatest outcome! (?)
Waluigi: WAHAHAHAAAA! Waluigi's immune yet again! And with-a this power, I'll eliminate that two-tailed critter, and then I'll make sure to-a finish off that brooding loser Jotaro the next chance I-a get! (Tails)
"Survivors, before I read out the votes..." Alexa paused. "Does ANYONE here have any idols that they would like to play?"
Jotaro wasn't planning on playing his idol, though it didn't stop Waluigi, Phoenix, Gordon and Luigi from making quick glances at him in the ten-second silence.
When said silence came to an end, Alexa collected the votes. "Alright, it's time for me to read out the votes!"
The eight were nervous, to say the least. A tie was bound to be formed, but what would happen after the second vote was going to be a complete and utter mystery...
*VOTING TIME*
First vote goes to Tails. One vote Tails. (Tails sighs upon realizing that he was the target for the other group all along.)
Second vote goes to Tails. Two votes Tails.
Third vote goes to Tails. Three votes Tails.
Fourth vote goes to Tails. That's four votes Tails. (Tails grows nervous, as four votes in a row would invoke anxiety in anyone.)
Fifth vote goes to Phoenix Wright. One vote Phoenix, four votes Tails. (Phoenix's jaw drops. He was the one who was targeted by the others all along?! He couldn't believe it.)
Sixth vote goes to Phoenix Wright. Two votes Phoenix, and four votes Tails.
Seventh vote goes to Phoenix Wright. That's three votes Phoenix and four votes Tails. (Everyone braces themselves for the tie...)
"And the fifth person to be eliminated from Survivor Crossover: Dry Dry Desert is..."
Both were taken off guard by that specific statement, as it almost sounded like a tie wasn't going to happen at all.
Fortunately for Tails and unfortunately for Phoenix, however, Alexa delivered the answer everyone expected.
"Neither! Both of you have received four votes each, resulting in a tie," he revealed. "Can't you people just have a proper vote instead of resorting to ties?"
"I-a wish so too," Luigi pouted.
Alexa shook his head. "Never mind! What's important is that, since a tie has occurred, the tribe will have to vote again, this time between Phoenix and Tails! Since they're at stake, they won't be able to vote. If another tie happens, then rocks will have to be drawn. The vote will begin immediately, and, since I forgot to mention last time, no idols can be played in this second vote!"
"Phew..." Phoenix felt a weight lift off his chest, though he was still incredibly vulnerable. All it takes is for one person to change against him, and he'll be eliminated. The same applied to Tails.
Once more, the survivors rose from their benches and, one by one, went into the voting room to cast their votes.
After the deed was done, Alexa went into the room, collected the votes as usual, and read them to himself, much like last time they got a tie.
He eyed Phoenix, and then Tails, then the other survivors cautiously waiting for the answer.
"Some people have changed their votes," he said, making some people a little more relieved now that rocks were no longer involved. "However... that overall vote is still a tie."
And just like that, their inner celebrations had judged too early, and they had jinxed their safety. Everyone knew what the infamous rocks were like, and Gordon had even experienced it first-hand.
Alexa continued, "thus! That means rocks will have to be drawn. Underneath your benches are rocks wrapped in a cloth. Please pick them up without opening it," he commanded. "Phoenix and Tails haven't received rocks due to being in their tied position, and this is mainly a punishment to those who tied twice in a row, so what's good punishing you two?" He rhetorically asked before continuing. "Waluigi also hasn't received a rock, as he is immune. The rest of you, however, will have to experience this luck-of-the-draw."
The five remaining survivors - Jotaro, Engineer, Little Mac, Gordon, and Luigi - acknowledged his commands and grabbed the rocks.
"To stay in theme with the location. These rocks are in the shape of mushrooms! If your mushroom is red, then you have been granted an extra chance, and thus you are safe..." The look on his face then turned sadistic. "Though one of these mushrooms are purple, the color of a poison mushroom. If you get this, you're out of the show."
All of the survivors were sweating. Their game could end in the blink of an eye, and their fate is now dependent on these bizarre, mushroom-shaped rocks.
"You may open your rock in three..."
"Two..."
"ONE!" He yelled, causing each survivor to scramble their rocks open.
Engineer's rock was... red. The Texan had never been more relieved.
Little Mac's rock was... red. The boxer collapsed backward from the release of the tension, still conscious yet frozen.
Luigi's rock was... red. The plumber simply gave a massive sigh, glad to be safe.
Gordon's rock was... purple.
Finally, Jotaro's rock as red, but all attention was now on Gordon.
"*CENSORED*!" He cursed. "Are you kidding me?!"
Alexa shook his head. "Nope!"
"Gordon?!" Little Mac gawked, standing up from the collapse. "But he nearly won us last round, come on, we can't just have him eliminated based on luck!"
"Sorry Mac, but that's just how the cookie crumbles..." He pouted. "It really is a shame, but you guys shouldn't have tied twice! That's the punishment, after all. Now Gordon, please say your goodbyes, you have been eliminated from Survivor Crossover: Dry Dry Desert!"
Bitterly, the chef stood up from his bench and tossed his rock to the side. "Bloody luck. Thought I'd actually get further this time and look at me now!"
Alexa then proceeded to put on his welding equipment, aiming his blowtorch at Gordon's image as he slowly burnt it to a crisp.
"Y'know what, I deserve that," he grinned. "After all the blokes I had pictures burnt of in Hell's Kitchen, I had it coming... anyway, you all were a pretty good team. Just stick together and don't fall apart, otherwise, things aren't going to go to plan. Then, when the merge hits, build those alliances and be bloody secretive of them, for God's sake. Also, make sure to tell Kirby that my elimination doesn't mean that he'll never be fed again."
The joke caused a couple of them to let out a chuckle.
"Anyway, I'll be taking my leave now. I got a family and a career to come back to," Gordon confessed. "And I'm pretty excited, to say the least!"
"See ya later Gordon!" Engineer smiled. "You were a darn good chef."
"...And a great team captain!" Little Mac added.
"Thanks, and goodbye!" He waved as he disappeared down the middle passageway.
When Gordon left, Alexa removed the welding equipment and took a long gaze at the survivors. "Well then! Looks like you've all made it to the final fifteen! That's an incredible feat for sure, and you should be as proud as can be! Tomorrow, however, I will have a special announcement to give to not only your tribe but also Super Shrooms! Please be there by high noon sharp, because it's an incredibly important announcement. Though now's not the time to stress about what it could be, you guys need a rest! Good night survivors..."
The seven survivors left Tribal Council, and whilst the news intrigued them, they were still thinking about Gordon, who definitely didn't deserve an elimination considering he nearly won them the challenge in the first place. Other survivors thought about what Alexa said before announcing the second tie, which implied that some people changed their votes to the other person. If only one person had done so, then there wouldn't have been rocks, and it would have gone similar to Squidward's elimination. After some thinking and speculating amongst themselves, they decided to give all of it a rest, as the next day seemed like it would be a little different from the rest...
Gordon's last words: "What a bloody mess. I wanted to get further, I had a bigger challenge with the cast this time, but instead of going out on the terms of my rivals and teammates alike, I was eliminated by a rock. A, *CENSORED*, rock. That's dreadful, though I wish the rest of my team well... aside from Waluigi, the crazy *CENSORED*."
VOTES
Phoenix Wright's Voters: Tails, Engineer, Jotaro Kujo, and Little Mac.
Tails' Voters: Phoenix Wright, Gordon Ramsay, Waluigi, and Luigi.
VOTES (Round two)
Phoenix Wright's Voters: Tails, Engineer, Jotaro Kujo, and Luigi.
Tails' Voters: Phoenix Wright, Gordon Ramsay, Waluigi, and Little Mac.
IDOLS
Koopa Sphinx Idol - Fire Flower Idol (triples voting power + nullifies first vote). Currently in Samus's possession.
Jagged Rockies Idol - Mushroom Idol (triples voting power). Currently in Papyrus and K Rool's possession.
Cacti Paradise Idol - Star Idol (grants immunity). Currently in Jotaro's possession.
Exile Oasis Idol - Poison Shroom Idol (makes everyone barring two people immune). Currently in Spy's possession.
REMAINING SURVIVORS
Super Shrooms Tribe (Red)
- Phoenix Wright
- Luigi
- Little Mac
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Waluigi
- Kirby
- Engineer
- Jotaro Kujo
Power Flowers Tribe (Green)
- Papyrus
- Meta Knight
- Princess Peach
- Spy
- King K. Rool
- ROB
- Samus Aran
Hope you enjoyed watching this episode of Survivor Crossover: Dry Dry Desert. Feel free to leave a kudos (AO3) or a review! Shoutouts to both Daboil and Reader1235 for their uplifting reviews and criticism in my work! (Their comments can be found on AO3. My username on there is PunchDrunk123, so please drop by!)