Challenge Dunes: Day 22
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Spy - Kirby - Engineer - ROB - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
Upon exiting the Super Stars pipe, the first thing the survivors did was do a slow three-hundred and sixty-degree turn, gazing at the empty surrounding desert with great detail. Last time, the old Laudable Leaves pipe had gone from its original brown to an icy blue, a color that hinted at the frosty Sherbet Land challenge that the survivors took part in on that day. This time, the pipe opposite to it had changed color, and this pipe was none other than... the old Super Shrooms pipe! The color had switched from a bright, cherry-red to a deep, dark blue.
"Another blue pipe?" Peach gazed. "Hmm..."
"So, if that last pipe symbolized the last challenge's theme of ice, then this could only mean... w-water?!" Little Mac's jaw dropped with awe. "Aww yeah! We get to cool off yet again, and this time, we won't be under the risk of freezing to death!"
Aware of the Mushroom Kingdom's odd differences from the real world, Luigi attempted to diffuse his hope before he ended up with mass disappointment. "W-wait! Water isn't the-a only thing that would be represented by-a blue-"
"Pssh, nonsense!" He stubbornly shrugged. "I bet my entire rice portion on it!"
Luigi then gulped. "I-I wouldn't go as far as to-a bet my already-small rations on-a something so small..."
"That kid sure loves his bets," Engineer whispered to Peach. "The boy's gonna lose one of 'em someday."
Alexa nodded, now leaning on the Texan's shoulder. "I know right? It'll hit him like a ton of bricks!"
"Gh!" He panicked, jumping away from the host. "Somethin' ain't right with you. We all looked around this place, and we didn't see anythin' other than each other! There's no way you could have snuck up on us."
He held his finger up and wagged it. "Hey, don't complicate it! I was just hiding behind this big ol' pipe here the whole time. I like surprises, and I like being the one who dishes them out!"
Alexa proceeded to walk away from the startled group, making distance between them and finally greeting them appropriately. "Welcome to the second merge challenge survivors! Although, for one of you, this will be your very first merge challenge. I'm looking at you, ROB."
"I am feeling quite amped to get back into the challenges, Alexa," ROB confessed.
"Amped? I didn't know robots were capable of cracking puns," he winked.
The robot analyzed his own sentence before raising his arms slightly into the air. "Oh! That wasn't my intention."
Alexa chuckled at his naivety and continued with gusto. "Today's challenge involves yet another pipe! This time, as you've all seen, the Super Shrooms pipe has been repurposed much like the Laudable Leaves pipe! As well as last time, I'll also spare you the surprise of finding out what region lurks on the other side. And, in case you were wondering, the entrance to the Sherbet Land pipe has been blocked off in order to prevent any of you from cooling off on some of the hotter days of the competition."
"Oh wow... you shouldn't have," Spy sarcastically groaned. "Not like the temperatures over there are tolerable either, but regardless, you've just given us an extra reason to hate you."
Ignoring the malice, he spun around and beckoned the contestants with an overarm point to the mysterious deep blue pipe. "Follow me, survivors!"
They strolled with him until they had arrived at their destination. From that point, Alexa immediately climbed up and onto the pipe. "See you survivors beneath the surface!" He yelled, falling backward and entering.
"Wait, did he just say BENEATH the surface?" Queried Little Mac. "I knew it, we really are going into the ocean!"
Samus made no hesitation, landing straight into the pipe with one impressively high jump. Similarly, Luigi did the same maneuver, though his jump was slightly higher and slower in execution.
"Sheesh, way to rub in the fact that I'm beyond physically outmatched," Phoenix sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how I made it this far."
"You ain't no spiteful fella, unlike a lot of the people that have kicked the bucket so far," Engineer admitted, climbing up onto the pipe and dropping down.
Though the Texan grammar in his remark had temporarily confused the lawyer, he eventually processed the message and felt a wave of reassurance, shuffling up the pipe and hopping in.
Following them were Meta Knight, Kirby, Jotaro, Peach, Little Mac, and ROB, leaving Spy to be the last contestant to brace themselves and enter the pipe...
?: Day 22
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Spy - Kirby - Engineer - ROB - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
Towards the end of his journey through the blue pipe, Spy felt the atmosphere change, similar to how it did towards the end of the Sherbet Land pipe. This indicated to him that he was about to arrive at this new destination.
The minute lighting of the pipe made it a very uncomfortable, almost scary experience to venture through, with the uncertainty of where it could take him next making him nervous. Nonetheless, Alexa wasn't that evil, and so he knew that wherever he ended up, it wouldn't be a painful landing, right?
To the mercenary's misery, his benefit of the doubt towards Alexa had been tarnished immediately as soon as he shot out of the pipe. Oddly enough, he was still falling, upside-down, and coated in thick, cool darkness that swallowed the supposedly massive area around him. Spy felt like screaming, but before he could open his mouth...
*SPLASH*
He collided with a large pool of water in the middle of the dark area, immediately receiving a jolt of adrenaline from the shocking sensation of cold water seeping through his suit and gushing up his back. After regaining composure, Spy flipped himself upright and swam upwards, eventually escaping the dark clutches of the water.
"Gh?!" Spy choked. "Hello?!"
"Hey!" A voice called out. To his relief, it wasn't Alexa's, but the young and enduringly chirpy yell indicated to him that it was none other than Little Mac who yelled back. Right after, another voice called out...
"H-hello?!"
The accent and stutter had instantly registered as Luigi in Spy's mind. The fact he was hearing voices he recognized eased him, but only by a small amount. Regardless of everyone else being fine, he was still soaking wet in a pitch-black, windless location. The fact he had fallen from the top made things all the weirder.
"It's completely dark!" This voice's panicky yet assertive tone screamed Phoenix Wright at the other survivors.
"Alexa, I know 'yer there." a Texan voice, presumably Engineer's, called out. "Why not explain yourself instead of havin' us sit in the dark!"
Another voice called out in response, though this voice wasn't Alexa's. "I can see exactly where we are, thanks to my stand."
"JoJo, that's you right?!" Asked Little Mac. "Where the heck are we?"
"Several, and several, and several meters beneath the surface," ROB answered. "I have night vision installed on me, and although it limits my vision of color, the formation of the area heavily resembles a cave."
"Mmhmm," Jotaro agreed. "The fact we came from above was enough evidence. I don't think I've ever seen rocks this naturally blue before, and I don't think I've ever seen a more punchable person before, either."
Catching him off guard, the Stand user pointed to the hiding Alexa, peering at the survivors from behind a rock. "What's going on here, Alexa?"
"Alright, you got me yet again!" He snickered, stepping from behind the rock. "Welcome to the underground, survivors! You've been taken to a large cave, a cave that's completely full of spiraling tunnels, dead-ends, and an eventual exit! I'm not going to break down the challenge to you this time, because all you guys need to know is that there's one goal: escape the cave first! There are two different exits that lead to the surface, and the first five people to escape using either exit will receive immunity, leaving the other six to be up for elimination! This challenge only has one rule: don't dig your way out!"
He then slipped back into cover behind the rock, resulting in an eye-roll from Jotaro.
Around a few seconds after, the area around them came to life, as every nook and cranny was lit up just slightly. It was still rather dark, but now everyone could gaze around the massive cave they were in the middle of. Six passageways were evenly spread out around the cave's jagged yet round perimeter, two of which were small, four of which were large. Of those large caves, one of which was completely dark.
"So, a race to get out of the cave?" Queried Spy. "Easy talk! I'll make my way out of this damp nightmare before anyone else."
"We'll see about that," Samus said, climbing out of the center pond of the cave's hub. From that point, she chose to venture down the fully dark large cave to the right. Before she entered, however, she noticed a sign posted next to it, reading "CAVE F". Samus then looked at the nearest cave to the one she would be entering, and noticed that the cave had a similar sign, that sign reading "CAVE E". This confirmed her suspicion: the caves were coded from A to F to make navigation a lot easier.
Upon turning around to see the status of the others, it appeared that Jotaro, Spy, and Little Mac had already left into caves B, C, and D respectively. She knew moving quickly was her best option, and, with a deep breath, she took her first step into the void that was Cave F.
As her feet touched the ground...
*SLAM*
The draft from the hub cave had dissipated just like that, and the small hue that once emitted from the cave had also vanished. Now, no matter where Samus looked, she was in total darkness; she had been locked in the cave, and there was no turning back.
Upon recollecting her startled self from the loud slamming of the contraption behind her, Samus felt as if this particular cave was completely unique to the others, as the other caves didn't close behind them when the others had entered them. Luckily for her, she didn't have to theorize much longer, as the cave suddenly lit up in a similar fashion to the hub cave.
To her dismay, the darkness had turned out to be nothing more than a trick, obscuring the fact that the cave led to a dead-end only ten or so meters into it. It was nothing more than a waste of time, that was until she realized that a little box was tucked into the far corner of the aforementioned dead-end.
Samus ran over to the box, picked it up, and spun it around. Nothing out of the ordinary on the outside, but what counted was on the inside. She flipped it open, still holding it in the palm of her hand, and plucked a small note from the inside:
'Here's just a little fun fact about Alexa! His most successful subjects were Art, Chemistry, and English. However, the three subjects he failed in were Biology, Drama, and French. Maybe he had those subjects in mind when making this challenge?'
As she read it, her eyebrows raised more and more, attempting to find something hint-worthy in the sentence, but she was ultimately stumped by the hint...
"Art, Chemistry, and English were successful..." Samus whispered to herself. "...And Biology, Drama and French were failures..."
Just then, her eyes shot open, and she immediately realized the hidden meaning behind the hint.
"Art... Chemistry... English... A, C, and E are successful!" She said. "So that means caves B, D, and F aren't?"
Samus turned around to leave, spotting a red button on the wooden contraption that had her trapped in the cave. Using her common sense, she pressed the button, and as she predicted, the door slowly opened back up.
Nobody remained in the hub cave from a simple glance, but for some odd reason, she had a gut feeling that someone was rather close by to her. When she peeked her head out of the cave, she gazed to the right, catching a stealthy, eavesdropping Engineer.
"Well, I'll be damned!" The Texan snickered. "As soon as I saw you get locked in there, I waited outside, and what do I hear? I hear you readin' a hint out loud! Thanks a million for the advice, girl."
She shook her head with frustration. "How many times are you going to stick your nose in my business? First the idol, and now this?"
"Hey, I only camped outside of there because it seemed like it might have been the tunnel to the darn surface. I didn't plan on anythin' malicious," he justified. "Look, I'll make it up to ya by tellin' you who went into what cave. Does that sound good to you?" He questioned.
Samus nodded. "Sure, that would help a lot."
"Aight, well all you need to know is that Jotaro and ROB went into Cave B, and that Little Mac and Meta Knight journeyed into Cave D. If you really have that hint figured out, then I reckon those four are doomed to fail, so let's get outta here before we waste any more time. I saw that nobody went into Cave E, so that's where I'm goin'," Dell explained.
"If that's the case, then I'll go to Cave A," she shrugged. "Do you know who went into there?"
Engineer attempted to remember every detail but ultimately ended up recalling only some of it. "All I know is that Phoenix went in there right before you came outta that cave, I did see someone else but I can't remember if it was that Luigi fella or Kirby."
"They look too different to mix up," Samus thought before beginning to walk off. "I guess I'll see for myself."
"Possibly!" He responded with a nod. "I'll see ya around then, Samus." The Texan spun around and walked into the nearby Cave E, leaving Samus to enter Cave A.
Meanwhile, in the supposedly useless Cave B, ROB had caught up to Jotaro, even with the marine biologist's swift pace getting him through the long series of twists and turns, most of which rendering Star Platinum's extraordinary vision as useless.
"Greetings, Jotaro," ROB robotically waved, the gesture not affecting his speed.
"Hey," he replied nonchalantly. "Impressive speed you got there."
"I use some of my fuel to help boost me. Once I run out, I'll have to spend a little while recharging it. I suppose I could keep this speed up for say, ten more minutes?" He claimed.
Jotaro gazed in front of him, watching as the path around him and ROB narrow more and more as they went deeper into the tunnel. "We've been here for ten minutes, so you better hope there's no-... damn it!"
Before he could finish his thought, he turned a corner and discovered exactly what he had been dreading: a dead-end.
"Nothing but a straight line until a dead-end?" ROB hung his head with disappointment. "Well, by the time we get back out, I won't have much fuel. I'm the biggest sufferer of this unfortunate circumstance, if that makes you feel better."
"That doesn't make me any more or less pissed off," he bitterly confessed, spinning around and retracing his steps. "Considering these series of bends didn't clash with Cave A or C, I'm thinking Cave D, E or F might be my best shot."
ROB shook his head, following him. "Before I had entered this particular cave, I saw Cave F shut behind Samus."
"I saw most of it using my Star Platinum's vision. Granted, it was at an angle, so I didn't see everything. Maybe it's worth another look if it's opened back up yet, if it ever will," Jotaro remarked.
"She had to have been locked in there for a reason, right?" He assumed.
As they made swift progress on covering their mistake, the other duo: Little Mac and Meta Knight, sprinted in sync down the obnoxiously straight and uniform tunnel in Cave D. Meta Knight, even with his wings, was just slightly slower than Little Mac's focused sprint, which took the warrior by surprise.
"Hey, look!" Noticed Little Mac, pointing into the darkness ahead of him. "There are no lights over here!"
Meta Knight had seen it himself, getting a better look as he drew closer. "I can see a turning point to the left. Maybe we're going to link up with Cave C?"
"...Which means we made the right choice!" The boxer cheered. "That's a relief. It felt like we've been running down this tunnel for hours, and I bet it's only been five or ten minutes since we entered..."
Little Mac drifted around the corner with anticipation, waiting to see what lay ahead. Would it be yet more tunnel to travel through, or something far more interesting?
After a few more seconds of traveling in the darkness, he immediately stopped, holding his gloves out in front of him as they pressed into the cave wall. Upon further inspection, this whole cave was nothing but a straight line to a dead-end.
"Wh-?!" Mac choked, punching the wall. "T-this has to be a fake wall. I know Alexa likes messing around with caves, and I've done a challenge just like this! There's some sort of hidden button or something!"
"Mac."
"Oh, maybe a hidden sheet that's actually hiding more cave around here somewhere!"
"Mac!"
"If we find one of those, then we're set to victory! Alexa wouldn't put a hidden cave at a dead-end that ALSO leads to a dead-end!"
"MAC!" Meta Knight bellowed, the demand for his attention echoed down the cave, getting quieter and quieter with each repeat before eventually falling silent. "There's nothing here. Even in darkness, my sight is impressively sharp, and I can't see anything out of the ordinary."
The teenager folded his arms and leaned against the wall for a moment, his brow furrowing. "This sucks! It's nothing more than a challenge of luck; no skills are required!"
After a short physical and mental cooldown, Little Mac turned to see that Meta Knight had already begun flying off. "Hey, wait!" He cried. "Don't leave me on my own!"
Little Mac sprinted faster than he did before, catching up to his unofficial partner slowly but steadily.
As the pair made it out of their dud cave, they took a short breather, Little Mac leaning against the wall using his palm. "Maybe using all of my energy to catch up to you wasn't the brightest idea..."
"We're competing against each other; I see no need for you to follow me," Meta Knight bitterly revealed.
"I don't want to be left in this place by myself. Being with someone that has a lot more wits than I do makes the chances of getting lost in any mazes that may come up a lot smaller, right?" He explained.
"So you're relying on me to take you to the surface?" He closed one eye. "I think I'll pass on that one."
The boxer shook his head. "Hey! Don't underestimate me. My gut feeling gives me the confidence I need to make the right decisions, even if it seems random! That's how I manage to win boxing matches without getting hit once... that and reaction times."
"Gut feeling? In a cave?" Meta Knight sighed. "I'll give you a chance, but you can pick what cave we enter next."
He rubbed his chin. "Well... we did travel a lot to the left at that turning point in Cave D, so it felt like we should have hit Cave C. Maybe that means Cave C also has a dead-end pretty early on! I say we do... Cave E, because I got a good feeling about that one."
"That sounds less like gut feeling and more like gambling with a sprinkling of logic," he whispered to himself. "Very well, we'll try Cave E."
"If Little Mac was incapable of keeping up, I wouldn't have paired up with him. But alas, he insisted on it, and it's as much of a gamble as it would be if I went on my own, the difference being that I'm building trust by sticking with him." - Meta Knight.
When pushing himself off of the wall he had been leaning on, Little Mac spotted two figures from the corner of his eye, who spotted him and Meta Knight just as quickly. These two were none other than Jotaro and ROB, the other pair who had gotten screwed over by a dead-end waiting at the end of a rather uninteresting cave.
"Well, looks like Cave B wasn't right either," Little Mac commented.
Jotaro slowly nodded. "A long run all for nothing. I take it the same happened to you?"
"Yeah, Cave E wasn't exactly a truthful cave for us," lied Meta Knight. "I was thinking of going to Cave D, but Cave A is also on my mind."
Little Mac attempted to hide his face by rubbing it with his boxing gloves, in awe over the warrior's attempt to fool a robot and a fool-proof Stand user.
ROB stiffly pointed to where they stood. "I can see you're right next to Cave D. Strange how the two of you would take a break outside of the cave you're planning on exploring, especially when you also state that you may go across this massive central cave to Cave A, as well."
"That's true," JoJo agreed. "I was thinking of going to Cave D, but now I'm willing to bet my chances on Cave C."
"Well, it was worth a shot," Meta Knight proclaimed. "Not like I had a chance of convincing two lie detectors."
The pairs split up, with Little Mac and Meta Knight entering Cave E as Jotaro and ROB entered Cave C.
Samus sprinted down the long, winding, and repetitive corridor that was Cave A. Twists and turns around every corner, unnervingly pesky dark spots to trick her into slowing down and checking for any secrets, and so far, no sign of Phoenix or this mystery second person that Engineer had talked about prior.
Eventually, she came to a silent halt, catching Phoenix Wright in a three-way fork road, rubbing his chin, and attempting to use logic to figure out the right path, even though all he needed to pick the right cave was a stroke of good luck.
The bounty hunter went to stand by him to observe the tunnels herself, but that train of thought was interrupted by Phoenix's loud exclamation: "It has to be this one!"
Triumphantly, he ran off down the cave on his far right. His speed made up for all of the time he had spent standing around and contemplating which path to go through, and he hoped that this path would help him save lots of time.
A few moments after he turned off, Samus made her move, entering the fork road for herself and looking down the three paths. She had no idea what Phoenix did to find out which one was the correct path, but after considering the path on her right looked as if it would collide or link up with Cave B's tunnel - implying it was as long as Cave A - that meant it would either join up, be an instant dead-end, or elevate upwards or downwards. Overall, the possibilities were too broad for her to reliably trust the path to be the correct one.
Luckily for her, however, it seemed as if she didn't have to make the right choice, as she heard yet another bellow from Phoenix. An echoing yell of achievement blasted from the cave on her right.
"This definitely looks like the right path! There's a ladder here!"
"A ladder?" She thought, looking down the path. It couldn't hurt to check it out for herself. After all, following Phoenix would be the best strategy to not making it out of the cave last, especially with her speed outweighing his own.
Samus sprinted to and through the right tunnel, hoping that this unorthodox ladder wouldn't lead to a dead-end. After ten seconds of running, she entered the section of the tunnel Phoenix was talking about.
At that moment, she discovered the ladder. Stable, bulky, and made of stubborn and gritty rope from bottom to the hard-to-see top. Whilst she couldn't see Phoenix in any detail due to the darkness, she could just barely see his outline, hearing the mild creaking of the rope as he ventured upward.
She jumped up onto the ladder, skipping the first few rungs as she scrambled upward, drawing closer and closer to the unaware lawyer.
Eventually, the noises made by the ladder alerted Phoenix, and he gazed down, linking eyes with the bounty hunter. "Samus?"
"Heard you yelling about this cave having a ladder," she said. "Thought I'd check it out."
"Don't tell me you were following me the whole time..." Phoenix's voice turned to a disturbed mutter mid-sentence. "I know you want to win, but isn't that a little freaky?!"
An awkward air loomed between them as they continued climbing, Samus immediately defending herself. "It's not like that. I just came from Cave F, and then I ran down this cave. I just happened to come across you at the fork road."
"I hope so," he groaned, changing the subject. "I didn't actually think my logic would work, but I got a good feeling about the top of this ladder!"
She nodded slowly. "What "logic" did you use?"
"Uhh..." Phoenix fell silent. "Does it matter?"
"It's not vital for me to know," Samus admitted. "But what's stopping you from telling me?"
"N-nothing! I just realized I didn't phrase it right," he sighed. "It's less logic and more wordplay."
"Wordplay?"
"Right is right, so I chose the cave on my right!"
"I can see you don't often bring much of your skills in court to gameshows like this." She rolled her eyes before going back to focusing on climbing.
As they reached the top of the ladder, they were excited to see that the cave didn't end there! In fact, a door similar to the one in Cave F stood before them, thankfully accompanied by a lever that would assumably open it up.
Phoenix walked over and cranked the lever to the opposite side, and as hypothesized, the door swung open...
"Hey!" Waved Luigi. "Great-a timing!"
"Oh, hey Luigi," Phoenix waved. "How long have you been here for?"
"Errm, just a few seconds," he explained. "I came from-a Cave C, and it had a door like the one you came through just-a now!"
They turned behind them to see the door they had entered through. To their surprise, it had fully closed without any of them noticing or hearing.
"Hmm..." Samus placed a hand on her hip. "Engineer told me Phoenix, and either you or Kirby entered Cave A. That means Kirby might still be in Cave A..."
"I didn't see him," said Phoenix. "Maybe he's really far ahead?"
"Well, let's not waste any more time then," she advised, continuing down the cave, past Cave C's closed wooden doors.
As they turned a sharp corner, they entered a particularly large tunnel with an elevator shaft placed directly in the middle, thought the elevator itself was absent. A sign had been hammered into the blue rock next to it, and the three of them ran up to get a closer look.
"Here's a one-person elevator that leads directly to the surface! If the elevator's not present, then that means someone's already taken it. Oh, and FYI, that thing's not going to come back down after they're done with it."
Luigi scratched his head. "So someone's already at the-a surface?!"
"I-a saw Peach and Spy enter the cave long before I chose this-a one," Luigi said. "So it could be either of them!"
"Or, it could be Kirby who made it here first," speculated Phoenix. "I don't see any other doors aside from ours and Luigi's, so that means Cave A and Cave C are the only right caves."
*Objection.*
"H-huh?!" He turned to Samus with bewilderment. "What I said made total sense!"
She shook her head. "I'd agree, but in Cave F, I found a particularly interesting hint at a dead-end. This hint told me that Alexa succeeded in "Art, Chemistry, and English", whilst he failed in "Biology, Drama, and French". Then it said he might have had those subjects in mind when designing this challenge."
"How is that a hint? It-a just sounds like a fact about Alexa," Luigi argued. "I-a don't think it means anything."
"Come on, read between the lines," she insisted. "The first letter of each subject is what you should be paying attention toward."
Phoenix then understood what she was trying to say. "Art, Chemistry, and English... A, C, E... and they were the ones he succeeded in? Maybe you're onto something!"
"I have a feeling I am," she said. "Caves A and C led to this part, and I know Cave F was a dead-end. Cave E might not have led here as A and C did, but I have a feeling it might lead to the surface regardless."
"Well, we gotta move quick!" Yelled Phoenix, nearing the end of the tunnel.
They turned yet another corner and were greeted with another sign.
"The Stairway to Heaven (AKA The Surface!)"
Beyond the sign was a series of rocky steps, some of which too tall to simply step up onto. At the top of the steps was a speck of light, which they immediately assumed to be the surface.
"There it is!" Luigi pointed to the top. "Let's-a go!"
As they began climbing up, Meta Knight and Little Mac, after an arduous sprint, had finally made it to the end of Cave E.
"Hey there fellas," Engineer greeted, leaning against the wall of the cave. "I thought I'd get my energy up before I tackled on that ladder. You might wanna read the sign next to it."
Little Mac and Meta Knight closer to the dead-end, noticing a large, stiff rope ladder just like the one Samus and Phoenix had encountered in Cave A.
"The Ladder to Heaven (AKA The Surface!)"
"Wha-?!" Little Mac gasped, in denial with his findings. "No way, that can't be it. This has to be the lamest challenge ever!"
"Just half an hour of running followed by a climb up to the finish? Maybe if I was an out-of-shape loser, it'd make for a tough challenge, but this is has been a cakewalk!" - Little Mac.
"I suppose it's less about the cave itself and more about making it to the surface first," Meta Knight attempted to justify the challenge's abrupt finish. "The challenge isn't over anyway, we still have that ladder to climb up. Or, should I say, you two have that ladder to climb up."
Engineer adjusted his hard hat and kicked himself from the wall. "How do ya mean?"
With no verbal explanation, Meta Knight jumped up the hole that the ladder led him towards, soaring upwards to the surface. His wings assisted him in keeping his momentum in check, and before they knew it, he was long gone.
"Well, I'll be damned." He shook his head. "I was just about to hog the ladder to guarantee me getting out of this damp cave first, but he has to go an' ruin it!"
"You were planning to hog the ladder?!" Little Mac gasped once again, this time following it with a shove to Engineer's chest, moving the Texan out of the way as he scrambled up the ladder to secure his spot.
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that aloud," Engineer groaned, climbing up the ladder for himself.
Whilst Caves A, B, D, E, and F were mostly straightforward tunnels with the occasional branching path, Cave C was a complete nightmare. Only a few meters into the cave would give anyone the impression that the cave was nothing but a nightmarish labyrinth, and that impression lingered throughout the four who were still trapped within its endless tunnels and branching pathways: Peach, Spy, ROB, and Jotaro.
Peach and Spy had entered a while back, and neither of them had seen each other since they split up to go down separate paths. To make matters worse, the two of them had ended up back at the start of the caves on numerous occasions, thanks to the fork road containing six entirely different options. When ROB and Jotaro entered, however, their gifted memory made them able to hone in on details that told them if they were in an already-explored path or not. Using this advantage, the two of them made it to the end of the labyrinth quickly.
At the far end of the labyrinth was a wooden door, coupled with a simple lever.
"Is this the end?" A voice called out, drawing closer and closer to the pair. "I don't think I've been in this tunnel before!"
As the mysterious person turned the corner, she placed her hand over her mouth, shocked at both ROB and Jotaro's presence as well as the exit door. "I didn't know either of you were in this cave with me and Spy!"
"We originally went into Cave B, but that was bust," explained Jotaro. "Is Spy still in this cave?"
Peach scratched her arm, unsure. "Last I saw him was thirty minutes ago. I'm just glad I'm out of this section; I must have lost so much time in there. Mind if I tag along with you two?"
"Not like we have much of a choice. I'm not going to shoo you away like a dog, and I don't see a robot doing that either," Jotaro commented.
She nodded. "Well, I'll make sure to let both of you get to the surface before me. You have my word."
"A good bargain," ROB nodded.
"Considering her past behavior, plus the friendship we had formed a long time ago, I highly doubt Peach is capable of backstabbing us. Scans also show no body-language signs of her planning to go back on her word, which means she's either telling the truth... or she's dangerously cunning, which I find difficult to believe." - ROB.
The three of them slipped past the now-open exit to Cave C, entering the same narrow corridor that Luigi, Phoenix, and Samus had very recently traversed.
Upon entering the empty room that once contained a shortcut elevator to the finish, Star Platinum and ROB immediately locked onto and read a sign placed in the middle of the room.
"Here's a one-person elevator that leads directly to the surface! If the elevator's not present, then that means someone's already taken it. Oh, and FYI, that thing's not going to come back down after they're done with it."
"Someone beat us to the punch," said Jotaro. "Looks like we're all taking the long way up, which seems to be that way."
As the three marched over and around a corner, they spotted a large staircase seemingly leading to the surface, said surface indicated with a blinding bright speck of light at the top. Additionally, they spotted three figures slowly making their way up. Their heads occasionally blotted out the small dot of light as they reached the top of their next step.
"Not to alarm you, Jotaro, but I feel like you should be aware of the math here," ROB gave a shaky beep. "Three people are on the staircase, three of us are right here, and one person's already made it to the surface thanks to the elevator giving us that hint. There's also a possibility of more than one exit, and there's a much bigger possibility of more than one person being on the surface already. If you want to stay in the show, then you have to-"
"ORAAAA!"
Star Platinum threw both of his fists against the step above him, causing the step to dent downwards. Using this dent, Jotaro was able to step up onto the stair without as much hassle due to its shortened height.
"ORAAAA!"
Another punch was thrown, this time aimed at the next step. As with the one before, Jotaro immediately stepped up.
From that point, punch after punch was hurled at the steps in front of him, the pace picking up more and more as Jotaro soon began running up the stairs. In the eyes of everyone else, the ground seemingly exploded in front of him, and to those in front, they could hear the echoing explosions get louder and louder by the second.
Phoenix was the first to comment on it. "W-what's that?!"
"Jotaro, obviously," said Samus. "We're not too far from the surface. If you want Jotaro to win this competition, then feel free to keep staring at him like an idiot, Phoenix."
"S-sorry," he shook his head and recollected himself, scrambling up the steps quicker. Though, even that speed wasn't fast enough to outpace Jotaro.
Peach and ROB decided to follow Jotaro, using the path he created with his Stand to make things easier, though the clouds of dust that lingered in the Stand User's trail were troublesome, especially for Peach.
Back in Cave E, Little Mac and Engineer had hit the halfway mark up the ladder, both beginning to break a sweat from the constant climbing they had been doing. Little Mac finally understood why Engineer had decided to take a small break before taking on the ladder.
Speaking of which, the Texan mercenary began to regret his choice of fashion that he had stuck with throughout his stay in the desert. The mercenary attire itself was not the annoyance for him, but the fact that he chose to not bring either of his rubber gloves clearly turned out to be a mistake. The rope ladder had started to burn his hands from the friction, the stinging resulted in him turning to an easier yet slower climbing pace, which slowly distanced him from Little Mac more and more.
"Thought I didn't need a glove because I wouldn't be doin' any handiwork in the leagues of buildin' or repairin' machinery, yet here I am with hands that have gone redder than any sunburn rash," Engineer mumbled under his breath, eventually deciding to take a small break after the pain's severity rose to an unbearable degree. He propped his right hand against the cold wall opposite the ladder and wrapped his other hand around one of the ladder's rope rungs. With a deep sigh, he began his rest.
The boxer peeked down to see that Engineer was now resting, which didn't affect him too much, as his chance of making it to the surface first was guaranteed because of his position above the mercenary. He continued climbing upwards, the same pace as before. All he knew was that Meta Knight beat him to the surface and that he would beat Engineer, though he had no idea who else might have gotten to the top. Was Cave E the ONLY correct cave? Or were there multiple exits?
At the staircase, Samus, Luigi, and Phoenix had naturally split up due to their different paces. Samus and Luigi were upfront whilst Phoenix trailed behind more and more, terrified for his life as he heard Jotaro get closer and closer.
ROB lingered behind Jotaro, but Peach was far gone, still on the lower half of the steps.
"ORA! ORA! ORAAAAA!" Star Platinum cried louder and louder, punching harder as Jotaro encountered higher and higher steps. He was almost at the surface, and if he could just get a little closer to Phoenix, he'd be able to surpass him and raise his chances of victory.
"J-Jotaro, you aren't gonna trample me right?!" Phoenix yelled, his voice quivering.
The lack of response only made things more worrying, and so he gave it his all. He sprung his legs up into the air, practically jumping onto step after step whilst using his hands to quickly get back onto his feet. Yet not even this speed was good enough to outdo Jotaro.
Samus was finally facing the surface in all of its glory, its appearance going from the bright dot it was before to a large blue canvas laced with tiny, thin wisps of cloud.
However, she gazed to her right and caught Luigi overtaking her. His ability to scale not one, but two steps with each jump eventually ended up benefitting him on these last set of steps. Despite this, she didn't bother trying to overtake the plumber. Jotaro was far enough behind her to not surpass her, even with Star Platinum: The World. If the two of them lost, then Jotaro would be eliminated anyway. All she had to do was not take too long on this final stretch, and she would be fine.
A few moments later, and Luigi jumped head-first into the surface, finally leaving the grueling cave for good...
"W-wha?!"
The plumber was in awe. Where he stood was none other than the tribe he set off from nearly two whole hours ago. Luigi was back in Team Super Stars.
"Congratulations, Luigi!" Alexa applauded. "You made it out of the cave! As you can see, this massive cave had been lurking under your tribe the whole time! How does that make you feel?"
He was mostly static, the only part of him moving was his slowly rotating head. "I... I-a didn't expect this. How did you even get out of the-a cave without us seeing you, anyway?"
The host rolled his eyes. "Come on Luigi! You should know the magic of warp pipes by now. Mine just happened to be one that disappears after I enter it, just in case anyone wanted to use it for themselves." Alexa's focus was then lost on Samus, who emerged from the cave and stood by Luigi. "Welcome to the surface, Samus!"
"Are we the first ones out?" She asked. "Well, aside from Kirby..."
"Not only has Kirby left the cave, but he was also the first to do so. BUT, that doesn't necessarily make you two second and third place," he winked. "More like, third and fourth?"
Samus raised an eyebrow. "Who else?"
"I got a lil' walkie-talkie on me, and on that walkie-talkie are two crew members that are located outside of the two other exits. The first of which being the elevator shortcut, and the second of which is a ladder exit which you would have come from if you went through Cave E," explained Alexa. "Kirby was the one to come from the elevator exit, and so far, Meta Knight has been the only one to emerge from Cave E's exit. Which means only one more person can receive immunity from this challenge."
After being reminded, Samus walked back to the cave she came from and stared down into it. Phoenix was still quite far away from Jotaro, and he only had ten or so more steps to climb before reaching the surface. With Jotaro's ability to stop time in mind, they were debatably neck and neck even despite their distance.
Luigi stared down for himself, hearing each step Jotaro passed crush beneath Star Platinum's fists. "I-a can't look," he gulped, covering his eyes.
As Phoenix climbed each of the final steps, he felt more and more confident in his chances of winning. If he just kept up the pace or somehow managed to speed it up, he definitely wouldn't be surpassed by Jotaro... or so he thought...
Once the lawyer hit the sixth step of the final ten, he heard those same chilling words that were uttered last challenge...
"STAR PLATINUM: THE WORLD!" Jotaro yelled.
And just like that, everything not only in his surroundings, but in the entire universe, came to a screeching, eerie stop...
Time-stopped Caves: Day 22
Survivors: Jotaro Kujo.
Here he was again, in the realm of unmoving time. Everything barring himself and his stand were unable to budge for themselves, and Jotaro wasted no time taking advantage of that.
Just as he did before, he began punching the steps in front of him and stepping up. Massive plumes of dust and pebbles sprung into the air before grinding back to a halt alongside everything else.
The marine biologist eyed Phoenix's frozen body, half-way up the seventh step. He quickly and efficiently made his way to the lawyer, and just as he began to pass him, time began moving once more. Jotaro was out of time, but it appeared that he had used that small period well. All he had to do now was outpace Phoenix, which was something he had been doing since he began traversing the stairs.
Caves: Day 22
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Spy - Kirby - Engineer - ROB - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
As he made his way up the seventh step, Phoenix immediately detected Jotaro from the corner of his eye. He was around six or seven steps back a few moments ago, but now he was all but past him, something that would change if Phoenix couldn't keep his lead.
He tried his very hardest, but only two seconds after noticing his presence, he was now behind the tall, brooding and cold Stand User, who didn't even bat an eye towards him as he ran past.
Only two steps remained, and Alexa joined Samus and the fearful Luigi in watching Jotaro secure the final spot in the challenge.
However... as Jotaro came to the final step...
Alexa's walkie-talkie went off, and a blaring voice pierced the ears of everyone standing near him:
"Little Mac has exited the cave using the Cave E ladder! I repeat, Little Mac has exited the cave using the Cave E ladder!"
"W-WHAAAA?!" He spat. "You have to be kidding me..."
Not long after the news left Alexa, Luigi, and Samus in a state of shock, Jotaro exited the cave, shortly proceeded by the out-of-breath Phoenix.
"Never again..." The lawyer wheezed. "That was... awful. Please tell me I'm immune, Alexa."
The host snapped back to reality, still shaken. "Oh, uh, I'll gather everyone, and then I'll announce the five people who won the challenge and immunity!"
"It looks like it's just us four, plus the elevator," he admitted. "Please tell me that hint you read was wrong, Samus."
Similarly, after being interrogated by the exhausted Phoenix Wright, she snapped back to reality herself. "I was right."
"Hint?" JoJo folded his arms. "What hint?"
"Oh, it appears Samus was the one who found the Cave F hint!" Alexa applauded. "Erm, well done."
Alexa then pulled his walkie-talkie back out and muttered into it. "Gather every survivor and bring them to Super Stars. Send a search party for those who are still deep into the cave; I doubt it will take longer than ten minutes."
He slid it back into his pocket and waited, staring down into the cave and seeing that Peach and especially ROB were nearly at the surface.
Fifteen long minutes passed, and at long last, every survivor was gathered at the Super Stars.
"Wow... those steps were connected to this tribe the whole time?" Princess Peach asked.
"It appears so," Spy nodded. "I must admit, they covered up a massive cave system underneath the desert pretty well. But alas, we all know that Alexa's soon going to demolish it. After all, he can't have us relaxing in a cool cave when we're supposed to be rotting in the sunlight out here!" He scoffed, sarcastically glaring at the busy Alexa.
He wrote down a few details on a clipboard, counted up all of the survivors, and finally stopped leaving them in the dark with the results. "Luigi and Samus are already aware of the results, but in case they didn't leak any of it to you, I'll give you the bottom line myself."
"I was allowed to-a give the results?" Luigi rubbed his arm. "I-a don't think I would have been able to-a handle that role anyway..."
Alexa continued, "the first one to exit the cave in its entirety was Kirby, who used the special elevator shortcut outside of Cave A and Cave C to skip to the end!"
"Poyo!" He proudly beamed. "Poyo poyo."
"So you were the one who took the elevator?" Spy stared at the creature. "Admirable job. That means Jotaro might be saying goodbye to this tribe sooner than we all thought."
"Poyo?" Kirby queried.
Jotaro ignored him and his taunts, but on the inside, he had a strong urge to beat him down.
"In second place, we have Meta Knight, who apparently soared out of the ladder exit in Cave E without using the ladder itself!" Alexa wedged his clipboard between his arm and torso and clapped, impressed. "It sounded like he won with style. Anyhow, in third and fourth place, we have Luigi and Samus Aran, both of which exiting from the stairway exit which can only be accessed through Cave A or Cave C. Which means..."
He pointed to the cluster. "The fifth person to leave the cave will be the final one to receive immunity. It was overall a pretty close call up until the final second, but that person is..."
Phoenix knew Jotaro had won, and he felt ashamed of himself. If he had just gone a little bit faster, he would have made life easier for himself and for everyone else. Instead, he blew that chance and allowed him to win.
The neck-and-neck race between the two of them fit Alexa's description pretty well, and Kujo felt a lot more at ease as a result. He simply waited for his name to be called out...
"...LITTLE MAC!" Alexa declared.
"What?!" Jotaro gritted his teeth.
"Just before Jotaro made it to the surface, I got notified that Little Mac had exited the cave for himself. I told ya it was a close call!" He grinned. "Though, that leaves Jotaro, Phoenix, Engineer, ROB, Peach, and Spy as the six losers who will be facing tonight's elimination!"
Spy growled, covering his face with his hand. "That stupid labyrinth had me stuck forever! Luckily, I'm not going to be the one on the chopping block tonight, and it's all thanks to you, "JoJo"!"
Again, he was ignored, but the urge to punch him silly rose higher.
"Sheesh, I'm err, sorry about that one JoJo," Little Mac sighed. "But, you lost despite having the ability to stop time!"
Alexa placed his hands on his hips. "Well, it was an exciting challenge despite the cave's simplicity compared to the first season's cave-related challenge, and I'll leave you eleven to figure out someone to eliminate! You won't have long to decide, so make it quick, and I'll see you all at the Koopa Sphinx."
He turned around and left, slipping into the Super Stars pipe and leaving the eleven survivors on their lonesome.
Super Stars: Day 22
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Spy - Kirby - Engineer - ROB - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
Jotaro knew he would be the center of attention for tonight. He knew that this was ultimately his final night in the desert, and he knew that fighting back would be all but useful to his chances of staying in the competition. So, with this in his mind, he took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. "Looks like this is the end for me."
"Unfortunately so," Meta Knight agreed. "Trust me, if you weren't here, then we'd still all have little trouble picking someone to eliminate."
Spy rolled his eyes. "Should we even be standing here? Let's just follow Alexa to the Koopa Sphinx and get this elimination over with."
"You're kinda right there, Spy," Engineer began strolling forwards. "Anythin' that can be said about tonight's council can be said on the way there."
"Poyo..." Kirby muttered. He certainly wasn't happy to see another friend go, but he had gotten used to the malicious cycle of Survivor a long time ago, and he was at least glad to see Jotaro accept it.
Jotaro silently joined in with Engineer, walking with him to Tribal Council. Soon after, everyone else was following them, some of which were in pairs, talking either about the challenge or the oncoming council.
Kirby walked closely with Jotaro, right behind him, and it didn't take long for him to be noticed by the soon-to-be-eliminated contestant.
"Joh-Joh!" He called, giving an innocent smile.
Though he didn't respond, he peered at Kirby and mustered a small, near-hidden grin. The cutesy nickname he gave to him hadn't lasted long, though deep down Jotaro knew that his time would be up eventually, no matter how far he got.
Similarly, Little Mac steered towards Jotaro and was soon on his right. "Err, Jotaro, about me getting that last spot at the last second... no hard feelings, right?"
Jotaro yet again didn't respond, which caused the boxer to try a drastic approach in order to make amends. He brought his voice down to a whisper and leaned closer. "Okay, look, what if I managed to get Samus to use her idol to vote for Spy instead? I'll also try and convince anyone I can to vote for Spy. I know you're the bigger threat, but going for you over Spy just doesn't feel right!"
"No... it's fine," he assured. "Spy will get his taste of medicine eventually, and it'll be pretty soon if my calculations are correct. You wouldn't even come close to getting anyone to vote for me, even if I wanted to fight back."
"You... don't? Even if you had a fighting chance like right now?!" Little Mac became offended, shaking his head. "A big guy with a time-stopping boxing ghost is just gonna give up like that?"
"Don't worry, this will be the best timeline for everyone," said JoJo. "Now, stop talking loud enough for anyone nearby to hear."
He groaned. "Well... you know a lot about time, so I guess you might be right with this one. You really are a selfless guy, and that's totally not what I thought of you when I first saw your tall, menacing figure..."
Little Mac made distance between him and Jotaro, continuing to walk forward.
"We were like rivals throughout this show. We fought each other only a couple of times, and we've bested each other at least once! I'm gonna miss the guy, and his weird spirit buddy." - Little Mac.
Though the encounters surrounding Jotaro were friendly, Spy and Engineer had tension rising between them. The Frenchie had inserted himself next to Engineer, which created an uncomfortable, malicious tone as he eyed his rival.
"Well, getting rid of Jotaro wasn't as hard as I thought," he shrugged. "And now, all I have to do is shame you and your team on national television! Soldier had already made a big enough mess for you by being a dopey fool back in the first season, but you getting bested by someone from BLU such as myself will be the killing blow to you and the rest of the RED team..."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "I darn knew that was your goal all along. You ain't here for the money, you're here to get personal, and I ain't goin' down without a fight, Spy. You might have gotten your wish with Jotaro, but if you think I'm goin' out before you do then you're heavily mistaken, partner."
"Hmmph, looks like waiting is our only option, then," Spy said, slithering away into the main cluster of traveling survivors...
Eventually, they made it to the Koopa Sphinx. Alexa had told them they didn't have long to discuss, but considering the entrance to the Koopa Sphinx was still closed, he didn't expect them to discuss it this quick.
Nighttime began to take over, the pure, black, and starry skies began to succeed the previous deep blue color, and as the last spec of blue disappeared, the entrance to the Koopa Sphinx finally opened...
Tribal Council: Night 22
Survivors: Phoenix Wright - Luigi - Meta Knight - Little Mac - Princess Peach - Spy - Kirby - Engineer - ROB - Jotaro Kujo - Samus Aran.
A little over forty-eight hours ago, the ten survivors left Tribal Council, leaving Tails to become the first Jury member. Since that night, two more members of the Jury joined Tails, and ROB rejoined the ten remaining survivors in their journey for the cash, hotel stay, and the fame that they would get for becoming the last man standing.
Upon entering, it was just like how it was a few nights ago, though ROB got to experience all of the small though noticeable changes for the first time. They sat down on the left benches and waited for Alexa to fully begin the Tribal Council.
Eventually, the host stood from behind his desk and greeted the eleven. "Welcome to Tribal Council, survivors! I especially want to give a warm welcome to ROB, whose last visit resulted in utter chaos that ended with him getting booted off of the show! But, before I ask him or anyone else any questions, I'd like to introduce you to our current roster of Jury members. Please welcome Tails, Squidward, and Waluigi!"
From the left corridor that led to the voting room, the aforementioned trio of Jury members gleefully entered the spotlight, taking their seats at the stone benches at the right side of the room. Only mild exchanges of greetings were given between them and the survivors, as they were given orders to not directly communicate with the survivors outside of basic etiquette. Hence, none of them were talkative.
"Welcome, Jury!" Alexa dramatically bowed to them. "I'm glad you guys are here to watch tonight's events unfold, as, by the end of tonight, you guys will have an extra member in your group. But enough about the impending doom of the survivors, because it's time to ask a few questions! ROB, as someone who's experienced a bit of survivor, got eliminated, then rejoined to experience another bit... how do the two experiences compare?"
ROB processed the question before forming his answer. "Both experiences are naturally going to be very different. My first experience here involved me experiencing conflicts among my team, moving from said team to a different team, and then experiencing that so-called chaotic Tribal Council. Then, my second experience so far has been me greeting my old acquaintances and participating in one challenge."
"Seems more like a description than a proper comparison, but I'll take it," accepted Alexa. "This second question goes to Little Mac! You were the final one to win immunity in the last challenge and at a close call no less. How did that victory make you feel?"
"It was like a double-edged sword," Little Mac scratched the back of his neck. "On one hand, I feel good for winning a challenge and redeeming myself after a terrible performance on that dumb icy coin challenge, but on the other hand, I kinda feel bad for screwing Jotaro out of that position."
"Why's that?" He retaliated.
He exhaled, annoyed. "It's no surprise that he's the next one on the chopping block. Even HE knows it's over, and the guy's accepted it already!"
"Interesting," Alexa nodded. "I knew he'd land into a pickle the second he lost immunity, but accepting defeat is quite the shocker. Is this true, Jotaro?"
"I see no reason to give my all into convincing these people into voting someone else. Like I said earlier to Little Mac, this is the best timeline for everyone, and they all know it."
His eyes widened. "How selfless!"
"That's what I said!" Little Mac added.
Alexa then clasped his hands. "Well, I see no need to continue asking questions if you've all apparently come to this conclusion... it's time to get down to the vote! Survivors, you may cast your votes one by one..."
Phoenix Wright: I can't believe I'm outliving Jotaro of all people. There are a fair share of powerful foes that I have to overcome if I wanna win, but this guy could stop time for crying out loud! (Jotaro Kujo)
Jotaro Kujo: Let this vote be a warning of what's to come. (Spy)
Spy: Oh how the mighty falls. Taking down someone like you gives me the motivation I need to shame Engineer and his team! (Jotaro Kujo)
Engineer: Sorry JoJo. If you weren't as powerful as you were, then I wouldn't have to deal with that Spy fella! (Jotaro Kujo)
Kirby: Poyo... (?)
After collecting the eleven votes, Alexa began the worst part of the council: the elimination. "Survivors, I shall now read out the votes! That is unless someone would want to shake things up a bit using an idol?"
Silence...
"I thought not," he smirked, getting back to it. "Now, let's get down to the elimination!"
*VOTING TIME*
First vote goes to Jotaro Kujo. One vote Jotaro.
Second vote goes to Jotaro Kujo. Two votes Jotaro.
Third vote goes to Spy. One vote Spy, and two votes Jotaro. ("Hmph," Spy utters.)
Fourth vote goes to Spy. Two votes Spy and Jotaro. (Spy is confused, but ultimately assumes Engineer was the wielder of the extra vote.)
Fifth vote goes to Spy. Three votes Spy, two votes Jotaro. ("What the hell?" He audibly comments.)
Sixth vote goes to Jotaro Kujo. That's three votes Jotaro, and three votes Spy.
Seventh vote goes to Jotaro Kujo. Four votes Jotaro and three votes Spy.
Eighth vote goes to Jotaro Kujo. That's five votes for Jotaro, and three votes for Spy. (Jotaro closes his eyes, awaiting the final vote to seal his fate.)
"And, the second survivor eliminated from Super Stars at eight votes is none other than... JOTARO KUJO!" Alexa announced. "Sorry JoJo, but you had a pretty solid run. Unfortunately, that run has gotta end for you."
The Stand User stood up, looking at all of the other survivors. "Good luck to you all. All but one..."
Smirking, Spy looked to him with satisfaction plastered all over his smug face. "I wonder who that could be," he joked.
Jotaro turned to the middle passageway and began walking off, not a second look was thrown at anyone, not even Alexa. It was a cold exit, but they knew Jotaro wasn't a man of many words.
As Alexa began torching his picture off of the wall using his welding equipment, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks.
"Hey... is he gonna say something?" Little Mac commented. "Why'd he stop?"
A few seconds later, he finally made another move, turning to Alexa. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
"Aha! Thought you forgot for a second there, Jotaro," he lifted the welding mask from his face. "Buckle up, survivors! Council's not over with yet..."
They looked to one another, confused. Albeit, Engineer and Peach knew exactly what the two of them were talking about.
"You see... remember that time I had you guys vote for one survivor from each tribe to come with me for a mystery event?" Alexa questioned. "Alright, maybe ROB won't remember, but the rest of you should! Anyway, regardless of what they said it was, they were all chosen as the three candidates for the Bob-Omb Twist!"
"Bob-Omb twist?! Don't make us do that challenge again Alexa, I beg you!" Phoenix pleaded.
He wagged his finger. "Not quite. You see, the three of them were given a special perk, and this perk allowed them to cast ANOTHER vote between two people of their choice after their elimination. Of course, this perk will now wear off for Peach and Engineer now that you guys know about it, meaning you won't have to fear a second elimination if you were to vote those two off in the future. However, because Jotaro was the one who got eliminated whilst the perk was still active... that means he gets to pick two people from Super Shrooms to put up for a second vote. However, those who are immune are unable to be chosen by Jotaro," Alexa explained.
"No..." Spy denied. "This is just a trick to rile me up! Prank me all you want, you incompetent man-child, but go to this extent and I'll have you licking the bottom of my shoe!"
"Eurgh," Alexa gagged. "Thankfully I won't be doing that, because I'm not joking whatsoever!"
The rogue gritted his teeth, his fists clenching. He was in the worst position he had ever been in, and that said a lot given past Tribal Councils he was involved in.
Jotaro stepped forward. "Looks like I'll be picking two, then?"
"Yep!" The host accepted.
"Well, on my way here. I managed to catch wind of a certain conversation between two people," he stated. "Spy was planning to eliminate Engineer after my own elimination. His motive for doing so was to shame Engineer's team on a public TV show whilst giving a better reputation to his own. Ever since I heard this, I knew that a vote exclusively between Spy and Engineer would ultimately settle which team is best." Jotaro pointed to the two of them, his eyes filled with unnerving energy. "Both of you are my picks for this second vote!"
Spy dragged his hands down his face, coated in disbelief and terror from head to toe. "NOOO!" He cried.
"So be it! Survivors, I'm not gonna give you any extra time to vote. Let's get right into this second vote," Alexa announced.
One by one, they stood up once again, this time Spy and Engineer weren't allowed to vote for obvious reasons. Additionally, Jotaro was also not allowed to vote due to his eliminated status, though he took great pleasure in watching the arrogant titan that was Spy crumble under the pressure and fear of elimination.
After collecting the new set of votes, Alexa collected them and read them out with haste...
*VOTING TIME*
First vote goes to Spy. One vote Spy.
Second vote goes to Spy. Two votes Spy.
Third vote goes to Spy. Three votes Spy.
Fourth vote goes to Spy. That's four votes Spy.
Fifth vote goes to Engineer. One vote Engineer, and four votes Spy.
"And the fifth member of Jury is... Spy!" Alexa revealed. "The other three votes consisted entirely of Spy. Looks like Jotaro's experiment reached its conclusion! Now, step forth Spy, because your time is just as done as it is for Jotaro..."
Spy stood up from his seat, walked up to Jotaro, and glared to him. "You... fiend! After this show ends, you better be running for your life, because BLU will assassinate you in seconds, no matter if you can stop time or no-"
"ORAAAAAA!" Star Platinum cried, delivering a meaty blow to Spy's torso. The mercenary was sent flying backward, landing and sliding between the survivor and Jury benches.
The survivors were shocked to see Jotaro use his stand to attack him. At least, that's what they assumed, as they couldn't see Star Platinum in the slightest.
"W-wow..." Alexa gulped. "Remember that you're going to be sitting RIGHT next to that guy in Tribal Councils, Jotaro."
"I know," he said. "And even if it's against the rules, I'm not afraid to keep him in check..."
Spy scrambled back up to his feet, both of his arms clutching his stomach. "You and your pompous "Stand"... I'll have you and that cowboy's head on a stick if it's the last thing I do..."
"Good luck tryin'," Engineer winked. "But for now, keep it out of the damn game show. We can't have the children watching this show from home see you get pummelled."
He growled, but an immediate gaze towards the angry Jotaro settled him down. "So be it."
As Alexa finished torching Spy's picture, he sent the two of them out of the Koopa Sphinx. "Alright, you two have been here for long enough. Please leave Survivor Crossover: Dry Dry Desert for good!"
The two of them left, Jotaro going first as Spy followed, keeping his distance.
"I'm glad we're allowed to watch these," said Tails.
"A lot must have happened since I was eliminated," said Squidward.
"Yeaaaah..." Waluigi nodded stupidly, still entranced from the punch Jotaro sent to Spy.
The host turned to the survivors. "And that's the first and hopefully last double elimination all of you survivors will experience this season! Jotaro was without a doubt the most powerful survivor we've ever had, and such power soon became his downfall. However, he went out as a legend, using the Bob-Omb Twist to end the apparent feud between Engineer and Spy by eliminating the latter! I wonder how the competition will proceed without either of them, but I guess we'll find out tomorrow... good night survivors!"
Jotaro's Last Words: "I knew revealing my ability would be the nail in the coffin for my reputation on the show, but I believed that I would be able to make it to the end solely relying on it. Looks like I was wrong, but I at least brought down Spy with me. I don't think I'll ever do this again, but it was certainly an interesting experience."
Spy's Last Words: "What a miserable excuse for a show. But alas, this Jury power may prove useful for stopping Engineer beyond the grave, though I doubt humiliation will come to him soon regardless..."
VOTES
Jotaro Kujo's voters: Samus Aran, Phoenix Wright, Engineer, Meta Knight, Spy, Luigi, Princess Peach, ROB.
Spy's voters: Jotaro Kujo, Kirby, Little Mac.
IDOLS
Koopa Sphinx Idol - Fire Flower Idol (triples voting power + nullifies first vote). Currently in Samus's possession.
REMAINING SURVIVORS
Super Stars Tribe (Yellow)
- Phoenix Wright
- Luigi
- Meta Knight
- Little Mac
- Princess Peach
- Kirby
- Engineer
- ROB
- Samus Aran
Jury Tribe (Gray)
- Squidward Tentacles
- Waluigi
- Miles "Tails" Prower
- Jotaro Kujo
- Spy