Challenge Dunes: Day 18
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Papyrus - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Tails - Spy - Kirby - Engineer - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
The three teams met up with one another, half-clumped together as a big cluster of curious yet determined contestants. They studied a large arch-like structure that they assumed to have something to do with the challenge, and next to it was a pair of very large wooden crates.
"What a low-budget challenge..." Remarked Spy, walking over to the crates.
Papyrus wasn't fond of his assumption. "DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER! FOR ALL WE KNOW, THERE COULD BE GOLD IN THOSE CRATES!"
"And why on Earth would there be two crates full of pure gold?" He challenged, waiting five seconds for an answer before continuing. "That's what I thought."
Spy peeked inside and saw the contents; the crate was completely full of medium-sized red balls with a rubbery texture. Their weight was slightly light, though Spy immediately recognized them as dodgeballs.
Little Mac barged into the crate himself, taking one of the dodgeballs out and gaping at it. "Aww yeah! This challenge is gonna be a good one!"
He returned to the cluster with the ball in his hand, giddy to a child-like extent.
"Anything sporty is my forte, and Dodgeball is just ranged boxing if you think about it! With those two factors in mind, I'm gonna be carrying my team on my two shoulders, which will make up for the cake blunder, no less." - Little Mac.
"I'm glad somebody's enjoying these challenges," Engineer chuckled, shaking his head. "I ain't too fond of dodging, but I got that ability in me."
Samus observed the ball in Mac's hands before being reminded of the first season she participated in. "Didn't we do a dodgeball-related challenge back in the Tropics?" She asked.
"GOOD OBSERVATION; WE DID!" Papyrus applauded. "I REMEMBER IT FONDLY..."
"I remember you getting hit halfway through saying you won't!" Said Little Mac, breaking out into laughter.
"..." Papyrus squinted his eyes and sent an upset glare his way. "...IN CONTRAST TO MRS. ARAN, YOUR OBSERVATION IS TERRIBLE! ERR, THOUGH IT IS TRUE."
As the skeleton sulked in his own pitiful recollection, Alexa pulled up in his jeep, jumping out and taking notice of Little Mac holding the dodgeball. "Well, looks like you guys did some snooping and found a crucial component to the challenge!"
"Yep! It's dodgeball, right? Just like last time!" He smiled. "It's another easy challenge for me!"
"Not necessarily," replied Alexa.
Little Mac's smile depleted in an instant. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Is it a dodgeball challenge? Of course it is! Yet, don't be fooled, as this challenge will function a lot different compared to the fast-paced onslaught that took place last time," he explained. "Allow me to explain! Though before I do, have you noticed Waluigi's absence? If you're wondering why, well use your common sense! In the last council, he was eliminated by a landslide."
Spy perked his eyebrows up. "Oh right, the tool was eliminated? No wonder it felt a lot more peaceful around here."
*Each team will take turns climbing onto the large arch behind me and balancing on the topmost-section. The width of the beam isn't too narrow, but it makes swapping places with the person next to you incredibly difficult, so I recommend you don't bother and make space for any teammates that may need it. Now, once the team is on the arch, the other two teams will put their differences aside and assist each other in hitting all four team members with their dodgeballs, but they must do so within a five-minute timer. If you're hit, you're out. If you catch the ball, then the person who threw the ball at you will also be out, meaning they can no longer throw any more dodgeballs at you, how useful!
At the end of the five minutes, the number of team members remaining on the arch will be recorded, and after all three teams attempt to stay on the arch without getting hit, then the team with the most members will win the challenge! Now, here are some ground rules and extra tidbits of info:
- You are not allowed to exit the arch unless you're out.
- If you fall off the arch, you are out.
- Flying or levitating is not allowed, whether you're throwing or dodging. I ain't a fan of limiting your abilities, but come on, FLYING in Dodgeball has to be one of the most unfair things I've ever heard!
- The team currently on the arch will not be allowed to throw the balls, only catch them with their hands. If the ball bounces off of their hands, they are still out.
- A line will be drawn between the arch and the throwers. You may pass the line to collect dodgeballs that have fallen within that area, but you cannot throw them until you are back on the right side of the line. Throwing the ball past the line results in you being out, and the person you may hit will still participate, so it's nowhere near a good trade!*
Phoenix, stingy over the details, attempted to press Alexa. "The team with the most members will win? That goes for second place, righ-"
"See?" He rhetorically asked, ignoring the lawyer. "It's very different from the simple dodgeball challenge you did a long time ago. Now, one last thing before we begin... and it's to do with Jotaro Kujo!"
The Stand User turned to him, giving him his full attention.
"We have no way of seeing your stand Star Platinum. Thus, we cannot one-hundred percent guarantee that it will actually be grabbing the dodgeballs properly. For all we know, it could just body-block it and hold it against its body, which doesn't count as a grab. I think you know what this means already, but the usage of stands will be forbidden if you're on the arch," Alexa declared. "On the flip side, you can still use your stand to throw the dodgeballs!"
Everyone cheered on the inside, at least somewhat, as they had no idea just how good Star Platinum's accuracy is with throwing. Well, everyone barring Laudable Leaves and Jotaro himself. Additionally, to their surprise, Jotaro was not fazed by this declaration at all, and the only thing he did was give a gentle yet unintentionally intimidating nod.
"Alright, with that out of the way, the order of the teams will be determined by... the tribe who hasn't attended Tribal Council the longest! Power Flowers will go first, followed by Laudable Leaves, and finally Super Shrooms!" Alexa exclaimed. "So, without further ado... let's begin!"
ROUND 1
DODGERS: Power Flowers (Papyrus - Meta Knight - Princess Peach - Samus Aran)
THROWERS: Laudable Leaves (Phoenix Wright - Spy - Luigi - Jotaro Kujo) & Super Shrooms (Little Mac - Tails - Kirby - Engineer)
Meta Knight soared upwards into the air before firmly landing on the arch, preparing himself for the round to begin. He was well aware of Star Platinum's abysmally high strength and precision, and thought of many ways to counter it. The warrior was quick, had a good reaction time, and is capable of catching one of the dodgeballs. Maybe if he could bait out Jotaro and catch his ball, his team would have a shot?
He then looked to his left and saw Papyrus scrambling up the arch clumsily. And, upon gazing to his right, he saw Peach and Samus already lined up.
"DON'T WORRY META KNIGHT!" Papyrus yelled. "IF YOU EVER DESIRE MORE SPACE, THEN JUST ASK ME, AS YOUR WISH SHALL BE MY COMMAND!"
Ignoring the boisterous, naive skeleton, Meta Knight gave some general advice to his three tribemates. "Keep on your toes," he said. "If Jotaro goes for you, then at least try and grab the ball, because the precision of his "stand" isn't exactly known, but I reckon it's incredible.
Peach acknowledge the advice. "Right!"
As they readied up, Alexa looked at them with unhealthy exhilaration. "Are you guys ready?!"
"Yeah!" They chanted back.
He then turned to the eight people facing them, each one with a ball in their hand.
"You'll have to aim quite high to be able to hit them, I guess that's what's stopping us from immediately taking them out," assumed Tails.
Alexa then began counting down...
"Three..."
"Two..."
"ONE!" He bit into his whistle, blowing on it as hard as possible before shouting "GO GO GO!" as quick as he could.
Immediately, seven dodgeballs were sent their way. Of which, only four seemed high enough to reach the arch and the survivors, but they were incredibly easy to dodge.
"AHA!" Papyrus teased. "LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE THIS IN THE BAG!"
"Er, Papyrus?" Peach called out. "I think Jotaro's aiming for you; his ball is floating in front of him!"
The monster felt his eyes explode out of their sockets with panic as he held his hands up, ready to catch the ball.
"ORAAAAAA!" Star Platinum cried, slinging the ball at a speed so fast that it reduced it to a red blur, colliding with Papyrus and sending him flying off the arch.
"NOT AGAAAAAAAAIN!" He screamed, tumbling to his doom.
Though it was obvious, Alexa announced his elimination anyway. "PAPYRUS IS OUT! Only three remain, and there are just over four minutes to go!"
Samus shook her head, attempting to take her mind off any pessimism that came her way. She was capable of winning, even if Jotaro and seven other powerful survivors stood before her.
"Eat this, Meta Knight!" Yelled Little Mac, whizzing a dodgeball his way.
The masked, winged swordsman saw the attack coming from a mile away, and a simple sidestep to the left caused him to evade the attack.
"H-how?!" He gasped.
"You got his attention, that's how," Tails reminded.
"Oh, right..." Little Mac slapped his glove against his face. "Alright, next time, I won't say a thing!"
By the time those words came out, Meta Knight was now focused on Jotaro, who appeared to be aiming towards Peach, who was busy trying to evade the other dodgeballs sent her way.
"Peach, look out!" He warned. "To your right!"
Her eyes darted to the right and saw Jotaro taking aim. "Oh no..."
"ORAAAAA!" The stand cried yet again, throwing the ball with the same strength and speed as it did when aiming for Papyrus.
The speed was uncanny, brushing her arm and sending her spinning off the arch, greeting Papyrus on the sand.
"PEACH IS OUT!" Announced Alexa. "TWO REMAIN AT THREE MINUTES!"
"Every minute we lose another person," said Samus, side-stepping and dodging a ball sent by Phoenix. "We need to do something about Jotaro, A-S-A-P."
Meta Knight acknowledged the somewhat obvious comment, dodging two more balls sent by Spy and Luigi. "Try and grab anything he throws at you, even if it means you fall off. I know we're both competent enough to dodge these balls by ourselves, so as long as one of us takes him out, we can survive the five minutes."
For the next thirty seconds, they resumed dodging every ball that went their way. Some survivors were terrible at throwing, whilst others almost got close to hitting Samus and/or Meta Knight on one or two occasions.
Though, Jotaro had now received his third ball and finished aiming it, taking extra care to guarantee the hit. This time, it was aimed at Meta Knight, and he was well aware...
"ORAAAA!"
As the ball was tossed towards him, Meta Knight jumped high into the air and landed a few feet behind him. It was an unpredictable move that hopefully wouldn't be accounted for by Star Platinum, right?
His maneuver was quite unpredictable for even Jotaro, it turns out, albeit the ball BARELY grazed his cape, which several survivors noticed.
Prematurely, Spy decided to announce his elimination. "It touched him, he's out!"
"Hmm..." Alexa rubbed his chin. "I dunno, it touched his cape, which he can't really control. I say he's safe!"
The Frenchman scoffed. "Of course... you and your soft spot for Power Flowers are beginning to show."
"What? No! My favorite is Super Shrooms," he argued. "Then again, they're only my favorite tribe because red is my favorite color, right next to kickass purple!"
Whilst Alexa was daydreaming over the beauty of red and purple, Meta Knight was happy that he was still in the game, but it also meant that Jotaro would begin picking up the pace. Sacrificing quality for... quantity.
Star Platinum picked up two balls whilst Jotaro picked up one on his lonesome. The balls were all directed towards Meta Knight, who had his eyes widened from the sheer amount.
"OOOORRAAAA!"
Meta Knight analyzed the balls as they came his way, discovering Jotaro's trick as he stood in place. It turned out that he attempted to read every single option Meta Knight could have done using the three balls, but he didn't account for simply standing still.
"He's no master of prediction," Jotaro commented. "Looks like his reaction time is difficult to overcome."
For Plan B, he scurried around for four balls, placed them at his feet, and planned to use Star Platinum to throw all four in succession, which would hopefully overwhelm and cover every single option she could do. Not to mention he knew she wasn't as experienced as Meta Knight, so his confidence was much higher.
"Try me," she mouthed, preparing for his onslaught.
"ORARARARAAA!"
As soon as they began moving, Samus jumped backward and off the edge of the arch.
"Gh!?" Grunted Jotaro.
Right as she began falling, however, she reached out and grabbed the edge using her hands, swinging and using her momentum to flip under the arch and jump back on, dodging the four balls simultaneously.
"Did she just do a full circle around that arch?!" Peach gasped.
She folded her arms, dodging an extra ball thrown by Phoenix in an attempt to catch her off guard. "I knew you wouldn't account for below me-"
"ORAAAA!"
Another two balls were sent her way, causing her to frontflip from the middle of the arch and over to the very left of it. She barely evaded the balls.
"THIRTY SECONDS REMAINING!" Yelled Alexa, forcing Jotaro to pick up the pace.
"Everyone, throw your balls!" He commanded.
"They can't," stated Little Mac. "Only Luigi, Kirby, and I are the only ones who haven't had their ball grabbed by Meta Knight."
Surprisingly, Jotaro had put in so much concentration towards taking down Samus that he didn't notice Meta Knight grab everyone's dodgeballs, which resulted in their untimely eliminations.
"YOU CAN DO IT!" Cheered Papyrus.
"Yeah!" Said Peach.
Jotaro glared at the two with focus, grabbing two more balls with Star Platinum and violently tossing it high into the air.
"Hmm?" Samus analyzed the ball, then immediately looked back to Jotaro in case he used it as a form of distraction. Much to her surprise, he wasn't moving an inch, and the second ball was still in Star Platinum's grasp.
"TEN MORE SECONDS!" He exclaimed.
Little Mac, Kirby, and Luigi threw their final dodgeballs towards Meta Knight. He dodged Kirby's and Luigi's but caught Little Mac's.
"Aww man!" Mac cried. "There's no way we can get any of them out now!"
Five seconds remained, and Jotaro was still waiting. No matter what happened, at least one of them would be safe... at least, that's what they thought.
Within the last few seconds, the ball Jotaro threw high into the air ten or so seconds ago had re-entered his sight.
"ORAAAAA!"
Jotaro threw his final ball towards the other one still in mid-air, causing both to violently collide and bounce off from each other. This seemed like a harmless stunt due to them being far away from both survivors on the arch, but his aim and strength was so impeccably precise that one ball was sent in Meta Knight's direction whilst the other was sent in Samus's direction.
This last-ditch effort proved to be worth it, as whilst Meta Knight dodged his with a jump into the air, Samus was struck right in her stomach RIGHT before the timer was up.
"SAMUS IS OUT RIGHT BEFORE THE TIMER ENDS!" Alexa applauded. "H-HOW DID JOTARO PULL THAT OFF?!"
"Well played," scoffed the bounty hunter, jumping off the arch.
The host was still in shambles from what he had witnessed. "Not only did Jotaro was the only one to eliminate people in this round alone, but that last stunt was so technically precise! What's more impressive is that Meta Knight managed to dodge it too!"
After a few seconds of drinking in the quick events of the first round, Alexa finally moved on. "Well, let's see if round two can live up to the intensity of this one. This time, Laudable Leaves will be on the arch, and Super Shrooms, as well as Power Flowers, will be teaming up to take them out!"
ROUND 2
DODGERS: Laudable Leaves (Phoenix Wright - Spy - Luigi - Jotaro Kujo)
THROWERS: Power Flowers (Papyrus - Meta Knight - Princess Peach - Samus Aran) & Super Shrooms (Little Mac - Tails - Kirby - Engineer)
The four of them climbed up the arch from the left side, with Spy going first. He was followed by Jotaro, Phoenix, and Luigi.
"This shouldn't be too much of a pain," hoped Spy. "It's a very difficult angle to hit us from, that's why most people barring Jotaro did terribly last round."
"Y-yeah, I-a did terribly," Luigi sighed. "At least I wasn't-a out!"
Phoenix rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, it looked like he forgot about the fact you could grab, cut me some slack!"
As soon as they were all ready and in position, Alexa began the countdown.
"Three..."
"Two..."
"One... GOOOO!" Alexa blew on his whistle yet again. The piercing noise threw Peach and Tails off, ruining their throws. The others, however, were deadset on eliminating Jotaro first, as they still didn't trust him in the slightest.
Whilst he couldn't use his stand to grab the dodgeballs, he used Star Platinum to sus out Meta Knight's and Samus's dodgeballs from the crowd of five balls that went his way, and at that point, he decided to make an incredibly risky choice.
Instead of dodging any of them, he leaned forward and grabbed the two dodgeballs that belonged to the aforementioned duo. Whilst they were eliminated as he did so, two other balls collided with him, resulting in his own elimination.
"WHOA!" Alexa gaped. "Jotaro, Samus, AND Meta Knight are OUT! Not even thirty seconds in, ladies and gents."
Jotaro felt satisfied with what he did. Now that two incredibly competent contestants were out of the round, it would be a lot easier for the other three to get by.
"We already lost Jotaro?!" Phoenix hung his head low. "He was like our own personal dodgeball magnet!"
Luigi timidly yet patiently waited for the survivors to fetch more dodgeballs, either from the near-empty crates or from beyond the line. Either way, it looked like he could take a break, even if it was only for a few seconds.
As Little Mac returned from the line, holding two dodgeballs, he sent both of them towards Spy, who seemed the least prepared of the three.
His assumption turned out to be faulty, however, as the Frenchman dodged the first ball before reaching out and grabbing the second.
"N-NOOOOO! NOT AGAAAIN!" He yelled. "Damn it..."
Little Mac walked over to Meta Knight and Samus, joining them in their half-boring wait for the round to end.
Two more minutes passed, but little progress was made. Nobody was catching any more of the dodgeballs, but nobody was striking anyone on the arch, either.
"THERE ARE ONLY TWO MORE MINUTES ON THE CLOCK!" Alexa announced. "GET THROWING!" He yelled.
Tails jumped into the air as he threw his ball, almost like a basketball. His plan was to throw it so high up that it would distract his target: Phoenix, from the other dodgeballs that were about to be thrown his way. Unfortunately for the fox, he swiftly and cowardly ducked under the ball before standing back up, noticing the three or so people gearing up to throw at him.
"Gaaah!" He cried, running across the arch towards Spy.
Thankfully, all three throws didn't even threaten him. None of them came close to touching the lawyer.
Meanwhile, Papyrus grabbed his ball and aimed at Luigi. "PLEASE HIT HIM... PLEASE HIT HIM..."
His dodgeball majestically soared through the air, angled to hit Luigi square in the nose, and, as it approached...
"WAAAH!" Cried Luigi, holding his hands out and closing his eyes. To his inexplicable luck, he somehow managed to catch the ball.
"WELL... IT TECHNICALLY HIT HIM..." Papyrus sighed.
"THIRTY SECONDS REMAIN!" Cried Alexa. "There are only four throwers left!"
And, whilst the thirty seconds were typically the most epic part of the round, especially due to the tension, these final thirty seconds consisted of nothing more than failed throws and close dodges.
By the time five seconds remained, they had pretty much given up. All of the dodgeballs were past the line, barely anyone was left, and Laudable Leaves were already celebrating.
"THREE... TWO... ONE... TIME'S UP!" Yelled Alexa. "Great job, Laudable Leaves! Only one of you fell down, which I'm more than impressed with considering you had no Jotaro for the most of it!"
"Pssh, you try throwing a ball onto that obtuse arch of yours!" Spy bitterly spat. "Unless you have your own little ghost assisting you, it's not easy. Not to mention anyone here bothered to coordinate, and that's why my the three of us survived the five minutes with ease!"
"You didn't bother to coordinate in the first round either!" Tails argued.
Spy rolled his eyes. "Oh right, because that definitely makes you look a lot better."
"At least he ain't bein' a hypocrite," Engineer added.
"Stay out of this, cowboy," he hissed.
Whilst the blame game appeared to show no sign of slowing down, Alexa folded his arms and looked the other way.
"Bringing where he comes from into this isn't going to solve anything, it's just distasteful!" Peach argued. "Now, let's stop blaming each other for that one game, and let's just work together for this final round!"
"Great timing..." Little Mac grunted under his breath.
The host folded his arms. "Are you guys done with the drama? If so, then let's begin the third and final round!"
ROUND 3
DODGERS: Super Shrooms (Little Mac - Tails - Kirby - Engineer)
THROWERS: Laudable Leaves (Phoenix Wright - Spy - Luigi - Jotaro Kujo) & Power Flowers (Papyrus - Meta Knight - Princess Peach - Samus Aran)
Once it was time for them to climb onto the arch, Tails and Kirby were the first to get fully on top. Tails used his helicopter-esque tails to soar onto the middle-right side, whilst Kirby puffed himself up, almost like a balloon, and peacefully drifted onto the middle-left side of the arch. This left Little Mac to climb onto the left side and Engineer to climb onto the right side.
"None of us here are as athletic as Samus, nor are we as swift as Meta Knight. Alongside me not being able to fly... I'm not sure if we can win this challenge," Tails frowned.
"Hey, don't lose hope already, the round hasn't even started!" Little Mac advised, yelling halfway across the arch. "Trust me, simple dodges are all you need!"
"Against a group of people that are probably gonna start coordinatin' a lot more?" Engineer placed his hands on his hips and shook his head hopelessly. "We're done for, even if it was just us versus Jotaro.
Surprisingly, Kirby shared similar pessimism, something Little Mac hadn't seen before. "Poyo..." He sighed, though he readied up. At least he would try his best, right?
Little Mac didn't want to lose hope, but he couldn't face away from reality. Jotaro was simply too strong for a challenge like this to be winnable, and soon he would be eliminated for his mediocre performances. Yet again, another loss added to the boxer's record, something that frustrated him just as much as his previous loss in the first season.
He then recollected himself, and saw Jotaro readying himself...
Alexa proceeded to start the final countdown for today's challenge:
"Three..." He placed his whistle near his mouth.
"Two..."
Power Flowers had only Meta Knight standing by the end, whilst Laudable Leaves had Luigi, Phoenix, and Spy standing by the end. To win, Super Shrooms would have to keep two people alive by the end of the challenge. Would it happen?
"One... GO!" Alexa blew into his whistle, though this time the noise didn't throw anyone off guard.
Most of the balls were immediately sent towards Tails, and only a few made it to him, and none of those required too much effort to dodge.
Miraculously, coordination went out of the window once more. People fetching their balls and focusing more on trying to catch people on the arch off guard with sudden throws. It was now a constant stream of stress, but their chances were a little better, at least.
Until...
Jotaro took aim, aiming at the already-struggling Dell Conagher: the Engineer.
Obviously, the Texan took notice and bit his lip. "Darn..."
"ORAAA!" Star Platinum threw the ball his way, and although the reaction time was good, he wasn't fast enough to move out the way, and off he fell...
"ENGINEER IS OUT! THREE REMAIN!" Yelled Alexa.
Little Mac was in astonishment. He already lost a member, and things were about to go pear-shaped even quicker, as Jotaro was now beginning to grab his next ball only fifteen seconds after the stunt, focusing in on the champion. Not even two minutes had passed.
As Star Platinum reeled back his fist, Little Mac finally felt like accepting defeat. There was no way he'd dodge it, and even if he did... he would just delay the inevitable demise. He couldn't outpace Star Platinum, and the fact that Jotaro didn't bother to take everyone out within the first five seconds almost felt like mockery to him.
"No..." He gritted his teeth. "I'm a world champion boxer; I'm not going to be eliminated without a fight... I know they're going to vote for me the next chance they get, at least until I prove myself!"
He gazed behind Jotaro, the levitating ball was now static, which meant that any second, he would throw it towards him...
"I won't be eliminated," he repeated. "GIVE ME YOUR BEST SHOT, JOTARO!"
The bloodcurdling, slightly fearful yell caught the marine biologist off guard, but regardless, he decided not to beat around the bush with extra attention and seconds wasted focusing and strategizing, and instead, he threw the ball.
It flew through the air, and Little Mac didn't move an inch, even after his brain registered what was happening.
Little Mac held his hands out as the ball collided with him, sending him flying off the arch.
"Hmm," huffed Jotaro, before his eyes widened. "Huh?!"
As he fell onto the sand, next to Engineer, he had the ball cupped in his boxing gloves, the shape of them had helped him grip the ball, even whilst he was falling.
"LITTLE MAC IS OUT. HOWEVER..." Little Mac pointed to Jotaro. "AT THE COST OF JOTARO! HE CAUGHT THE BALL!"
"H-he did?!" Tails gasped. "MAC, YOU DID IT!"
"Huh?! I-I DID! THE GLOVES FINALLY PAID OFF," he cheered before freezing in his laid-down position. "Ugh... my hands felt like they were used to stop a truck..."
Spy rolled his eyes at Jotaro. "What was stopping you from spraying them with balls instead of taking a minute to focus?!"
"Immediately mowing down the entire arch wouldn't make for an interesting challenge," said Jotaro.
"Oh, so you're caring about the show, all of a sudden?" He folded his arms.
"I knew we'd get first place the second I saw dodgeballs," Jotaro justified. "So I thought I'd take it easy just a little bit. Besides, we've won. They're down to two, and Power Flowers only made it with one."
Spy pointed to him, scowling, but then he stopped. "YOU... are... correct. In that case, what's the point in even assisting Power Flowers?"
Overhearing the conversation, Phoenix then lowered his dodgeball. "You're right! There's no point stressing about it."
"W-WAIT, HELP US!" Papyrus pleaded. "I JUST GOT MY DODGEBALL GRABBED BY TAILS, THERE'S ONLY THREE OF US IF YOU DECIDE TO DITCH THE TEAM..."
Luigi rubbed his arm. "Err, can I-a help?"
"Do what you please," shrugged Spy. "As for me, I'm going to have a well-deserved break from dodging and throwing in this sweltering heat."
As Luigi took the place of the eliminated Papyrus, Peach waved and smiled at him. "Thank you for helping us, Luigi!"
"It's-a no problem!" He smiled back, throwing the dodgeball over to Kirby, in hopes of hitting him.
"Poyo!" Retaliated Kirby, grabbing the ball in an instant.
"O-oh... sorry..." Luigi pouted, spinning around and joining Spy in relaxation, though unlike his French ally, he couldn't help but hang his head with shame.
Even with their great aim, none of it was fast or unpredictable enough to hit any of the remaining survivors, though none of them had a good opportunity to catch any of the balls in mid-flight. With the lack of people, it just wasn't possible.
The final couple of minutes quickly passed by until the time was up, Alexa announcing it with yet another whistle blow. Whilst the results were predictable from the moment Luigi had his ball caught by Kirby of all people, Alexa still decided to hype up the victory.
"SUPER SHROOMS HAVE WON SECOND PLACE!" He cheered. "The leaves Laudable Leaves with first place! As for Power Flowers..."
"IT'S OKAY, I THINK I'M USED TO IT BY NOW," loudly mumbled Papyrus.
Regardless, Alexa decided to spell it out for them anyway, taking an oddly deep breath before doing so:
"You guys will be joining Super Shrooms in Tribal Council!" He revealed.
"N-NO LONGER AM I USED TO IT!" Cried Papyrus. Terror and anxiety had immediately gotten the best of him.
"Say WHAAAAAA?!" Little Mac covered his face with his bulky gloves, shaking his head with disbelief. "No no no, you're joking right?! This is another one of those jokes, like yesterday!"
Filled with a newfound hope from the suggestion, the skeleton frantically nodded. "OH, INDEED! OR MAYBE IT'S GOING TO BE A TRIBAL COUNCIL THAT DOESN'T FEATURE ELIMINATION, JUST LIKE YESTERDA-"
"Nope." Alexa decided to shut down the denial before it got out of hand. "Tonight's Tribal Council is going to involve elimination, and both teams: Power Flowers AND Super Shrooms will be attending."
Engineer gritted his teeth. "This just ain't right! We dodged elimination fair n' square, and now you're doing this to us?"
"Don't get the wrong impression! This was planned for a while, so I didn't decide to do it just because I felt like it," he shrugged. "On the bright side, you all have an overall lower chance of elimination compared to a solo council, so there's that!"
"Interesting..." Meta Knight remarked. "Looks like the vote will be an unexpected one."
"A tie will either form due to both teams grouping up, or a backstab will occur. I'm personally hoping for the backstab," Samus opined.
Peach had her hands cupped and pressed together, holding them over her mouth. "And why would you want that?"
"Because rocks are much more of a threat," Samus explained. "You may even be able to detect if someone's planning to betray you, but you can't detect what the final result of the rock draw will be."
She frowned. "I don't like the fact that you're correct, but I'm certainly not going to make out like you aren't."
"However, since we've never had a joint-council before, allow me to go over some stuff you should know about it," said Alexa. "Both teams will come to the Koopa Sphinx immediately, and they will discuss who to eliminate as a collective until night begins to fall, at which the entrance to Tribal Council will open up! As usual, an exile decided by the winning team will take place, though this time it will be slightly different... Laudable Leaves will elect one survivor from Super Shrooms and one from Power Flowers to attend the Exile Oasis together. Laudable Leaves may discuss those two members now..."
Laudable Leaves huddled up.
"Meta Knight and Samus have already been exiled, correct?" Asked Spy.
"I'm-a sure of it," agreed Luigi.
Jotaro nodded. "...Which leaves Papyrus or Peach."
"Maybe throwing Peach a bone would be a better idea than giving Papyrus immunity," Phoenix suggested.
"I was thinking the same thing," Spy said, tilting his head over to Luigi and Jotaro. "What about you two?"
Jotaro repeated his previous gesture: a head nod. "Peach is the better option, in my eyes."
"Phew!" Happily sighed Luigi, wiping sweat from his brow. "I'm-a glad my bias towards the-a princess didn't have to-a come into play there," he tittered.
Next, they had to discuss who to exile on Super Shrooms.
"I know that Little Mac was exiled last time. Plus, I remember Kirby being exiled too, but I'm not too sure about Tails and Engineer-" Phoenix was then interrupted by a strangely abrupt Spy.
"Oh! Both of them haven't been exiled, so let's do it to Engineer," he stated. His tone resembled a middle ground between a forceful command and an urgent plea.
The lawyer, as skeptical as usual, latched onto the odd behavior. "You seem pretty adamant, is there any reason why?"
Before any form of a hint could be given, Jotaro stepped in and defended Spy's choice.
"Tails is incredibly smart and agile. Giving him a chance at being eliminated is a better bargain than Engineer. So, I nominate we exile Engineer," he said.
When Phoenix was about to go back to answering his question, Spy's bizarre behavior was further made irrelevant by Luigi stepping in immediately after.
"I-a like Tails, but your logic makes-a sense. We can't keep everyone I like," admitted Luigi.
Once their conclusions were formed, they turned back to Alexa, breaking away from the huddle.
"For Power Flowers, we choose to exile Princess Peach," said Phoenix. "And Engineer will be exiled alongside her."
"Is that your final choice?" Checked Alexa.
"Sure is," he confirmed.
The host cracked his knuckles and shot one of his maniacal grins. "Awesome! Peach and Engineer, both of you will stay behind. Laudable Leaves will head on back to their tribes as normal, whilst Power Flowers and Super Shrooms will proceed to head over to the Koopa Sphinx earlier than the norm. See you later, survivors, whether that be in a couple of hours, or in a couple of days."
He waved as all survivors excluding Peach and Engineer departed from the Challenge Dunes. Alexa then disappeared himself, and the exiled duo were driven away to the Exile Oasis Outskirts, where they would board a boat and arrive at their isolated destination...
Koopa Sphinx: Day 18
Survivors: Papyrus - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Tails - Kirby - Samus Aran.
"You think Tails is the bigger threat?!" Little Mac sarcastically chuckled. "Nice try, Meta Knight, but you'd probably crush him in a one-on-one fight! No offense to Tails..."
Samus shook her head. "You know for a fact that isn't true. That is unless you genuinely forgot about the time Tails did beat Meta Knight in a one-on-one fight a few challenges ago."
"W-well, he just got lucky!" The boxer shrugged. "Call me stubborn all you want, but I think keeping Tails is the best-case scenario!"
"Stubborn..." Uttered Meta Knight.
The argument was getting heated. Not even fifteen minutes into arriving at the Koopa Sphinx, and already were both factions yelling and insulting each other over who to eliminate. Super Shrooms wanted Meta Knight to be eliminated, whilst Power Flowers wanted Tails to kick the bucket of elimination instead. Obviously, the disagreement wasn't going to be solved on its own, but Papyrus and Kirby watched as they slowly were convinced that the debate that both sides were having wasn't going to solve the disagreement either. Regardless, they kept their mouths shut throughout most of it, and watched the chaos proceed further and further.
"Tails is fast, strong, capable of flying for long periods of time and is incredibly intelligent," listed Samus. "We get that you're on his team, Little Mac, but the merge is right around the corner. This whole joint-council is a test to see what would happen if both teams had to come to an agreement on who to eliminate, and you're only going to put yourself in more danger by not collaborating with our side and forcing a tie!"
Little Mac shook his head. "Shut it! How about you two back off?"
Before she could reply, Meta Knight placed his hand on her arm and nodded. "He's right. Neither side is going to win here, so trying is pointless."
He walked backward and away, traveling to the other side of the sphinx with Samus. Despite their departure, Papyrus remained where he was, assuming their discussion to be private just in case.
"You do realize there's no saving me, right?" Tails pouted.
"Quit it with the pessimism, man!" Little Mac yelled with encouragement. "I will fight tooth n' nail to help out a fellow member of my tribe, and that's a promise!"
Though, even with the declaration, Tails was still feeling gloomy. "Samus has the idol, remember?"
The realization made Little Mac discover that the so-called "pessimism" Tails had was more realism than anything.
"Oh... right..." He hissed nervously, scratching his neck. "You think that's what they're talking about right now?"
"Probably," Tails admitted.
"Poyo..." Kirby pouted, his eyes starry and glistening with sadness. There was nothing he could do to save his ally, at least with that idol threatening him. In spite of that, Kirby still had some hope for Tails. Perhaps Samus would take the chance of being in a rock draw? But in that scenario, that would put Kirby and Little Mac at risk.
He sighed, spinning his tails and beginning to fly into the air. "I'm just going to snoop around this place a little bit, if you catch my drift."
And, not much to his surprise, Little Mac had no clue what he was secretly trying to say. "Err, I don't..."
"I'm going to go spy on Meta Knight and Samus, just to see if they are planning on using the idol," he whispered, just loud enough so Little Mac and Kirby could hear him, but not Papyrus.
As the fox ascended away from the trio, Little Mac leaned and slumped against the exterior of the Koopa Sphinx, now feeling pessimistic himself. "Sigh..."
"ERRM, I'VE HEARD ABOUT YOUR PREDICAMENT, MAC!" Exclaimed Papyrus, leaning next to him in an attempt to fit in. "IT IS AN UTMOST TRICKY SITUATION FOR SURE! THOUGH, AS MUCH AS I WANT TO... I HAVE TO SHOW MY RESPECT TO MY TRIBE!"
Little Mac groaned, ignoring his surroundings. "This sucks! I tried to be good enough to prove to you and Tails that I'm a team member worth keeping around, and we're still up for elimination. I don't even feel good about not being targeted either; I just feel... disappointed?"
"Poyo..." Kirby shook his head, a slightly confused look on his face formed as he tugged on his shorts tenderly. "Poyo!"
"I don't know what you're trying to say, but I know that confused look is just you playing dumb! I know you were all planning to target me the second I screwed up alongside Waluigi," Little Mac's lean turned into a sit.
Due to the accusation, the puffball got annoyed, prodding his leg to get his attention as he shook his head over and over again. "Poyo!"
"Well... even if you never planned on doing that, whether it be because you don't like to think about the worst-case scenario for the future or because you had someone else in mind, the other two probably would have gone for me! Otherwise, it would have been you, and I don't see them voting for each other. After all, they give me really subtle vibes of an alliance," he said, lowering his voice drastically.
Kirby shrugged, not bothering to pay much attention to the gossip revolving around the exiled Engineer and the soon-to-be-eliminated Tails. Instead, he decided to check in on the latter, puffing his body to double the size as it was before and floating up and onto the Koopa Sphinx, leaving only Little Mac and Papyrus.
"REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE IN AN ALLIANCE TOGETHER?!" Asked the skeleton, attempting to make his former comrade feel better. "BACK IN THE TROPICS. WE WERE UNSTOPPABLE ALONGSIDE JOSUKE!"
Little Mac smirked, giving a light-hearted chuckle as he gazed out into the setting sun. "I don't think we were unstoppable. People found out, and Josuke was eliminated, and later, so was I."
Papyrus frowned. "DON'T ASSUME I FORGOT ABOUT THAT PART, BUT I WAS SPEAKING IN TERMS OF OUR BOND!"
The words were heartwarming, though nothing was able to clear the pit in Little Mac's stomach.
"LITTLE MAC."
"Yeah?"
"I'M SORRY."
"For what?"
The skeleton turned to him, making direct eye-contact, and scratched his skull. "WELL, I NEVER DIRECTLY APOLOGIZED FOR MAKING THE ALLIANCE SO OBVIOUS, EVEN IF I TRIED TO MAKE IT UP TO YOU. I THOUGHT THAT NOW WOULD BE THE TIME TO DO SO, NOW THAT YOU CLEARLY NEED A MORALE BOOST!"
Little Mac cracked a large smile. "Thanks, bud. You probably have it worse than me in this situation. You clearly want to show loyalty to your team by voting with them, but you're also feeling pity for us too, so you're unsure of what to do."
Suddenly, a thought intruded the mind of Papyrus. A thought that he considered to be one of his best ideas, and an amazing solution to the predicament both sides were in. "VOILA! I HAVE AN IDEA!"
He turned his head, feeling a rush of hope. "Huh?!"
The skeleton thought about telling him, then immediately denied doing so. "CONSIDER IT A SURPRISE! HOWEVER, I KNOW HOW TO CREATE A HAPPY ENDING FOR YOUR TRIBE, INCLUDING TAILS, WHILST SHOWING NO BETRAYAL TO MY TRIBE WHATSOEVER!"
"To come up with an idea that good sounds like a gift!" Little Mac cheered, the dreadful feeling in his stomach fading. "I can't wait to find out!"
Papyrus wrung his gloves, feeling a rush of joy as he played out the scenario in his head. "OF COURSE YOU CAN'T WAIT, FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS IDEAS THAT MATCH THE EXCITEMENT OF A SEQUEL TO YOUR FAVOURITE MOVIE!"
"Weird comparison, but I like it!" He approved.
"SPLENDID!" The monster happily hollered before looking both ways. "I SHOULD PROBABLY JOIN UP WITH META KNIGHT AND SAMUS IN CASE THEY GET AN IDEA THAT I MAY BE ATTEMPTING A SNEAKY BLINDSIDE! HOWEVER, THEY SHOULD FRET NOT, AS I HOLD GRAVE LOYALTY TO THEM AND THE TRIBE!"
Papyrus marched off, leaving Mac on his own. He definitely needed the talk and cheering up, but he couldn't shake off the supposed idea Papyrus had. Was there really a way for everyone to achieve a happy ending at Tribal Council? Nevertheless, he sat there for the next thirty minutes, sneaking in a power-nap until...
*RUMBLE*
The entrance to the Koopa Sphinx, a few meters away from him, opened up.
Tails and Kirby hopped down from the large building and next to Little Mac, Tails looking slightly less bummed out than Mac expected. Maybe Kirby succeeded in rallying him back up to his usual self?
Samus, Meta Knight, and Papyrus appeared a minute after, but by then, the former three had already entered the building, leaving them to enter for themselves...
Tribal Council: Night 18
Survivors: Papyrus - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Tails - Kirby - Samus Aran.
At the end of the long dark corridor was the entrance to the Tribal Council room. Alexa stood there behind his desk, reading the last page of the same book that Super Shrooms had mischievously peeked at a couple of nights ago. He then snapped it shut and placed and aligned it on the corner of his desk. "Greetings, survivors! That entrance opening was pretty cool, huh? It was originally supposed to do that for each team's first Tribal Council but... technical difficulties played a role in preventing that," he winced, experiencing flashbacks of mental pain and stress. "Right! So Super Shrooms and Power Flowers, you both didn't achieve first place in the last challenge, so that means you're here together! I hope you came to an agreement, but something about the ambiance here tells me that it's going to be one ugly night if ya ask me."
Meta Knight glimpsed over to Tails as Alexa gave the last remark before regaining his focus back onto the host.
"I'll start council off by asking Tails if he feels safe tonight," Alexa pointed to him. "So, DO you feel safe tonight?"
Tails shook his head. "I never do, but tonight in particular is going to be terrible for me. I think I might be eliminated, and there's not much I can do about it."
"Sheesh, how pessimistic!" Alexa folded his arms. "But... something about you does feel a little off, so maybe you truly are cornered. If so, then things might go smoothly!"
"Define smoothly," Meta Knight suddenly pressured.
The host raised one of his shoulders. "Y'know... no rocks or revotes!"
"We definitely won't be having that," he stated, almost as if it were fact.
Alexa cupped his chin in his hand and slowly bobbed his head up and down. "Riiight. Kirby! How do you feel about the joint-council situation?"
The fact that he asked Kirby of all people a question was surprising, but what was even weirder was the amount of detail within the answer itself. He proceeded to give a long, arduous explanation of his true feelings and criticisms of the twist, making sure to call Alexa out on attempting to force drama that would affect not only tonight's vote but every vote succeeding that. Obviously, he explained this using gaggles and the word "poyo", so nobody was able to really respond to his statement.
"I'm glad you're enjoying it!" Smiled Alexa.
"Wait, you know what he just said?" Little Mac gasped audibly. "Why didn't you teach us?!"
A long silence filled the room. At first, it was awkward, then it was almost eerie, but then it came back to awkward.
"I... actually had no clue what he said, but it was probably something similar to what I assumed," he guessed. "What about your thoughts, Little Mac?"
"It sucks!" He proclaimed, leaving it at that.
...
"Fair enough then," Alexa endorsed. "Let's get to the vote! Since there are two teams participating in one council, this time, Super Shrooms will be the first tribe to submit their votes. Consider it the second-place prize: priority!"
"You are really punchable, sometimes," confessed Little Mac, revving his arm up.
The host nervously giggled. "Heheh..."
"I'm serious!"
"T-TIME TO VOTE!" Alexa announced.
And, as usual, the voting began...
"WAAAAAIT!" Interrupted Papyrus. "I ALMOST FORGOT TO TELL YOU, ALEXA!"
He turned and tilted his head. "What is it?"
"I JUST REALIZED!" The monster bit his bony fingers with clearly-staged panic. "I LEFT MY OVEN ON BACK AT SNOWDIN! I MUST LEAVE THIS SHOW IN ORDER TO TURN IT OFF!"
Silence...
"Well, I'm sure it's burned down by now." Alexa then continued. "Now, commence the voti-"
"OH NOOOOO!" Papyrus cried.
"What is it now?!" He snapped.
The five other survivors were bemused at the interaction. Why was Papyrus acting so strange, and was this apart of his idea?
"I LEFT ON THE OVEN AT MY LOCAL HOSPITAL!" He exclaimed. "PLEASE, LET ME GO. THINK OF ALL OF THE POOR, ILL CHILDREN!"
Alexa's once-confused stare was now an annoyed one. "Is there something you're trying to say?"
"QUICK QUESTION, ALEXA!" Papyrus pleaded.
"What?!" Alexa gritted his teeth angrily.
"IF I WERE TO, SAY, SLAP YOU ACROSS THE FACE AT FULL FORCE... WOULD I BE ELIMINATED?" He questioned.
A long pause occurred before Alexa gave a slow, unsure nod. "If you did it right now, yeah, that would wind you up going ho-"
Mid-sentence, Alexa's face endured the wrath of a full-force slap from the uncanny-acting Papyrus.
And, at that moment, time froze. Papyrus had willingly eliminated himself via rule-break, a Survivor Crossover first...
"PAPYRUS?!" Little Mac cried. "W-what did you do that for?!"
"Are you crazy?!" Tails added.
"Poyo!" Kirby shrieked.
Whilst he was being thrown nothing but anguish, he still posed proudly through it all. "THE GREAT PAPYRUS PRESENTS TO YOU: THE HAPPIEST ENDING POSSIBLE! BY GETTING MYSELF ELIMINATED AND ALLOWING YOU STRONG COMPETITORS TO CONTINUE THRIVING, I MAKE ALL SIDES HAPPY! TAILS ISN'T ELIMINATED, SAMUS DOESN'T HAVE TO USE HER IDOL, AND ALEXA IS... IN A SOMEWHAT PAINFUL STATE!"
"You could have just confirmed your forfeit instead of slapping me in the face!" Alexa suggested, rubbing his face pathetically. "But yeah, you've just won yourself an elimination! Say your last words, and forever leave Survivor Crossover: Dry Dry Desert!"
Papyrus cheered. "I DID IT!"
"Papyrus..." Little Mac whispered. "Why would you do that?!"
He sighed. "I'M SORRY... I KNEW THIS WOULD ALSO MAKE YOU FEEL GLOOMY, BUT IT'S STILL A HAPPY ENDING!"
"Not for you, it isn't," Meta Knight said, still trying to process what had just happened.
"This was unnecessary," scolded Samus. "Who would want to spoil their chances of winning the money?"
Papyrus pointed to himself. "SOMEONE WHO NEVER STOOD A CHANCE! I KNOW I'LL NEVER WIN AGAINST THE LIKES OF YOU PEOPLE. I'M OUT OF MY LEAGUE, AND I WANT TO SHOW MY RESPECT TO YOU ALL BY MAKING BOTH TRIBES INVOLVED IN THIS CONFLICT HAPPIER!"
He heard the torching of his portrait behind him as his grin formed. "NO MATTER! I WILL BE SPECTATING YOU FROM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY! GIVING EVERYONE HERE THE MOTIVATION YOU DESERVE, ESPECIALLY TO MY OWN TRIBE, AND ALSO TO YOU, LITTLE MAC!"
"Well, it can't be undone," explained Tails. "Goodbye Papyrus!"
"Poyooo!" Kirby waved using both of his stubby arms.
Little Mac, unlike the others, stood up from his bench and approached Papyrus, holding his hand out and giving the skeleton a firm handshake, upset yet beaming just as much as his friend was. "Thanks, Papyrus."
"YOU'RE WELCOME!" He beamed, walking off and waving. "FAREWELL!"
As Alexa finished torching up the portrait of Papyrus, he turned to the survivors.
"A voteless night! Congratulations on having a lot of the tension dodged through not having any votes read out to you! Papyrus was an oddball in the first season, and he certainly lived up to that role in this one, too. Something about his idiocy, naivety, and clumsiness is just... charming... until he decided to slap me across the face. With that in mind: goodbye Papyrus, you will be missed by your fellow survivors, but certainly not by me! See you two tribes around, and make sure to get some well-deserved rest!"
Papyrus's last words: "THIS WAS A FUN EXPERIENCE! I MADE EVEN MORE FRIENDS, STAYED LOYAL THROUGH THICK AND THIN, AND GOT MYSELF ELIMINATED SO I COULD PROTECT EVERYONE FROM ELIMINATION OR USING THEIR ADVANTAGES! MAY THEY HAVE THE BEST OF LUCK, AS THE MERGE MUST BE CLOSE!"
IDOLS
Koopa Sphinx Idol - Fire Flower Idol (triples voting power + nullifies first vote). Currently in Samus's possession.
REMAINING SURVIVORS
Super Shrooms Tribe (Red)
- Little Mac
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Kirby
- Engineer
Power Flowers Tribe (Green)
- Meta Knight
- Princess Peach
- Samus Aran
Laudable Leaves Tribe (Brown)
- Phoenix Wright
- Spy
- Luigi
- Jotaro Kujo