Survivor - Emperors vs Knights

Chapter 7 - Day 6 Part 2

(I've completely forgot to mention that "Sherry" that was briefly mentioned two chapters ago meant Cirie Fields from Season 12, Survivor - Exile Island.)

Alright, it is time for our second elimination. This time, the emperors are safe as they finally win their first challenge, which means that after this upcoming Tribal Council, each team will be down to nine members each. But before we get to the Knights tribe today, we have to cover Exile Island with Shovel Knight and Marth. Pretty interesting because this is the first time I ever had only two people in only one specific location on a season so let's see how it works.

As far as the Knights tribe are concerned, the other ten people this season now need to figure out who's going on. When Nago went to Tribal Council, they made a unanimous decision to vote out Peach and send her home. Will the same thing happen with the Knights tribe? Or will it be just a little more complicated?

~KF

Exile Island

Day 6

Shovel Knight and Marth had just been dropped off at Exile Island, and to their expectations, there was basically nothing but themselves.

Currently, the two were simply standing around in the sand.

"..."

"..."

"...So I guess we might as well make something here..." Shovel Knight stared in all directions. "...At least we won't return to our respective tribes until tomorrow..."

"I agree." Marth blinked. "Well, if you think about it, it is not as terrible as it may seemed. It's simply as if we're a temporary tribe of two, and we leave out the next day..."

"I never predicted that Exile Island was even going to be a part of this season." Shovel Knight admitted. "And the emperors chose me to be here, when there is literally nothing but just a regular beach as if I never left my camp. Though I imagine if I came here alone then it would have been terrible because it would have been a big task to perform all the duties around camp all by myself, so I'm thankful that at least someone is accompanying me, even if he came from the opposition."

"Did we at least get a flint?" Marth asked the new face.

"Nope. Nothing."

"...Well, I guess we can use this time to get to know each other, then. Maybe we can try and build some sort of shelter, unless we should focus almost exclusively on making a fire."

"I'd go with the latter option. We're only remaining here for one sight. I'd rather have a lack of sleep than consuming nothing and dehydration... I wouldn't mind a little exploring for a few..."

"Sounds good to me..." Marth Lowell stared at the pathway that led deeper in the woods.

-/-

"So Marth, is it? What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a swordsman."

"Ah..."

"I think I'll have some respect for Shovel Knight over here." Marth presumed. "He is quite friendly. One of my main goals is to interact with others that are playing this game, and I do personally see myself being friends outside the game. What stands out about him is that I use a sword to defend myself. He uses a shovel. ...Now that for sure is something you do not see every day in battle."

"I mean, I'm not calling it a useless weapon at all," It was currently the topic of the discussion at the time. "but it is something that is quite unique indeed... If anyone used that as a weapon in Altea, they... How do I exactly put this?"

Shovel Knight already figured out the answer. "They would not take it seriously?"

"...I'm sorry..."

"Hahaha!" The knight of the Knights tribe actually laughed at that. "Don't worry about it, Mr. Lowell! It is not as if it is surprising or anything. Besides, I like to prove people wrong anyway. I just personally like to use my shovel to fight. You don't always have to use the usual."

"Yes, I do find that quite interesting to say the least."

"I don't know how much time will I spend with Shovel Knight in the future as of now, but I think that we will get along quite well out here in a place like this."

"So anyway, I bet is pretty depressing for someone like Peach to go out this early. I really wished I could have met her somehow."

Marth sighed in response. "I'd rather not talk about it at the moment. Just thinking of her walking down those stairs made me feel quite sorry for Toadstool. She deserved to remain in the game... Say, what's that standing in the distance?"

Shovel Knight was already looking ahead, noticing something in the distance. "I do not know... But perhaps it's supposed to be the treemail for this island..."

"Hmm... Interesting..."

By the time they got to it, Shovel Knight retrieved an envelope from a basket that was sitting on top of box. After opening it, he began to read out loud so that Marth would not have had to worry about leaning in closer.

"It was a good thing I suggested to Marth that we might as well explore out here!" The shovel warrior stated. "Exploring is a personal hobby of mine back at home. Now I have more of a reason to why I do it. You never know what you can find!"

"...You've been sent to Exile Island." He read. "Both of you are now guaranteed to make it to day seven. But there's a twist..."

Marth watched as Shovel Knight lowered his eyes to read the rest of the text.

"...Congratulations. You... found a clue to a hidden immunity idol!?"

Lowell immediately widened his eyes in reaction standing back a little. "...Hidden immunity idol? Here?"

"Well, there have been idols out here on exile in the past." Shovel Knight replied as he kept staring at the letter in front of his eyes to read on. "However, unlike seasons past, the hidden immunity idol is actually hidden back at your camp... Ah, so it's back where I belong..."

That was when Marth popped an eyebrow. "...You mean back where you belong?"

His eyes kept scanning across the text. "This is the clue to the hidden immunity idol on both the Nago and Chatan beaches..."

"...Ah, okay..." Marth nodded in understanding.

"I have no idea why those knight sent me to exile,..." Marth shook his head in wonder before suddenly grinning. "but no matter what, now I'm glad that they did! I feel like I am just one step further in the game... However, since the idol is not on Exile Island and actually back on the Nago beach, I have a strong feeling that I need to be rather subtle about looking for it when I get back to my tribe tomorrow..."

"So," The blue-haired member of Nago asked another question. "where does it say the idol is located?"

Knights

Day 6

Back on Chatan, the remaining nine members nimbly made it back to their camp. However, one castaway in particular that was carrying the tribe flag was not exactly in the best of moods.

And his name was Cloud Strife.

He was walking slightly faster than everyone else, which led him to being the first one to return to the camp, quickly setting their flag down, his face not being quite satisfied at the results of the challenge. Digging in his bag, he drew out his canteen and began to make his way over to the water well.

All eight of his tribemates that were coming behind of course noticed it.

"...Okay, so obviously Cloud's upset..." Sheik blinked.

"Without question, Cloud is one of those people that does not like to lose." Greninja concluded. "We were neck and neck with those emperors in the beginning, but then out of nowhere they completed the puzzle. I mean, I don't even blame Strife, because I myself am not exactly a fan of losing. But hey, it's not the end of the world. At least we can be hopeful that we can win the next challenge."

"Who's gonna follow him this time?" asked Krystal.

Knuckles, Foxy, Rouge, Luigi, Sheik, Bonnie, and Greninja all exchanged glances toward one another.

"Guess I'll go after him..." Bonnie raised his hand. "Someone has to be with him anyway in case he decides to look for an idol again..."

"What if the idol is on Exile Island?" Rouge questioned.

"It is possible, but then again, what if it's not?" Bonnie responded as he began to follow Cloud's direction.

"That's actually a valid point..." said Greninja.

"Perhaps I took my anger a bit too far, but it is my initial reaction whenever something is so close, yet so far. I really wanted to win the challenge today." Cloud said. "But at the puzzle, people were all over the place. We only had like two words put together by the time the red tribe completed their puzzle. But now since we lost, we have to eat one our own."

He was pouring water into his canteen as Bonnie Roberts was seen in the distance.

"I'll do whatever it takes for me to survive this tribal. My main motivation to do well is to apply myself to whatever I'm assigned. I used to be a soldier. But now I am simply a mercenary that will take any job possible. Whatever it is, I know that I could accomplish my goals in whatever way possible. Obviously when it comes to Survivor, it is no different and clearly my job this time is to simply win a million dollars. But the question is, what exactly do I have to do to win?"

Bonnie Roberts finally caught up. "Hey, you alright?"

"I'm okay..." He answered, taking the canteen that Bonnie had in his hand to fill it up. "Just need a few minutes to calm myself down. Losing is not something that I am exactly fond of, so what is best for us, as well as the tribe altogether, is to simply make sure this team is going in the right direction."

"Who do you suggest?"

Unbeknownst to the both of them, there stood Rouge not too far behind them as she hid behind a rock.

"Well, my strong suggestion is the green-claded plumber of the Mario Bros." Strife answered. "He's not exactly the strongest of the bunch, and he claims that he's bright at puzzles, using the first challenge to back him up. However, he didn't perform in that role today. Only the simplest of the words were put together and when it came to the longest, he had no clue on what to think when it came to it. I mean, he is a good guy and all, but I'd rather not have us hurt him in the future. We're already set to be the underdogs of the season, and I personally feel we need a strong team in this competition."

"I'd say that argument does make sense." Bonnie shrugged his shoulders in agreement. "But I guess it depends on what the tribe thinks about it. Even though Shovel is on exile with Marth, nine is still a large number so you never know where people's minds are at."

With a few more seconds, Rouge turned around and walked away.

"With my talented spy agent skills, I've heard a name come up." Rouge smirked. "Cloud threw Luigi's name out saying that he's physically weaker than the rest of us. Now I have to tell everybody."

And she did. Luckily some of her tribemates were still at the shelter: Foxy, Greninja, Krystal, and Knuckles.

"Hi, everyone." She wandered towards them. "Cloud wants Luigi out of the game."

"He did?"

"Yes." She nodded to Greninja, still keeping her smirk on her face. "I heard him say so myself. Thoughts?"

"Well, okay. I don't mind that." Greninja answered. "His choice is understandable anyway. ...But who do you guys think Luigi will write down?"

"Nobody other than Cloud I guess." Krystal hypothesized. "He is the only other possible choice he would see at the moment due to obvious reasons."

"I do not know who exactly the tribe as a whole wants to send packing. I don't even know if Luigi is the weakest physically, but I guess it's maybe a combination of everything or something. I dunno." The vixen admitted. "For me personally, I'm just sticking with the numbers here. If they all want Luigi out, then that's who I'm voting for. If they all want Cloud out, then that's who I'm voting for. But so far, the tribe wants to be as strong as possible, and Luigi isn't the strongest competitor. However, if something changes out of nowhere, then I have to make sure that I'm not on the sinking ship. I'm not trying to be exactly on the radar this early in the game."

As Greninja and Krystal wandered off elsewhere, there left Rouge, Foxy, and Knuckles.

"You boys find sending Luigi home even though there's this certain individual that's digging his own grave that we know all too well?" Rouge asked the two males with her.

"See, if this was some other point in the game, I would actually think more about it." Knuckles answered. "But right now? This early in the game? I'm all about strength. One hundred percent. Like, coming from me of all people, strength is everything. Sure I'll feel bad for voting Luigi and all, but that's just how the game works. The emperors already voted out their weakest member, so now it's our turn."

"Mmm-hmm." With a hand on her hip, she face the other red anthropomorphic animal. "What do you think Foxy boy?"

"I think the same." His arms were folded. "But not only that Luigi is the weakest compared to the rest of us, even if we keep him around, he'll then become a social underdog threat in the future and will then get jury votes. Now is the most appropriate time to get rid of him while we can and then we'll deal with Cloud later."

"You're not wrong." Rouge shook. "I mean, if we're gonna vote out Cloud, I'd personally like to wait at least one more vote to do it."

"Even though Cloud clearly isn't the most sociable player here, right now since our tribe has lost the immunity challenge. This season is set up for the emperors to dominate, and right now we need to make sure that they don't dominate this game, especially in the challenges." Foxy explained. "We wanna win challenges as well, so Luigi is the most logical choice. I just need to make sure where Bonnie's at since we made an agreement to tell each other what's going on and how people are voting."

Not too far from them, Luigi was sitting in the sand thinking to himself.

"It's quite obvious that I'm a target for tonight's Tribal Council. Of course I wished Shovel Knight would have stayed because he was the main one that I could trust in this game so far, and now he's on exile, which I wish I was chosen instead so that I can be safe, but things just didn't turn out that way. However, even though Shovel Knight has left the island, his advice never gone anywhere. He told me that I needed to start conversing with others in order to build social relationships. I've been going to Greninja and Sheik like he said, so I guess I gotta talk to them in case and figure out where their heads are at knowing that I'm on the chopping block..."

-/-

He finally found them, who were accompanied by Bonnie and Krystal standing near the tribe flag.

"So..." He started. "How are you guys doing over here?"

"We're fine, I suppose..." Greninja nodded as he stared off to the side. "Just curious to see what Tribal Council looks like..."

He dreaded the thought of it all. Not by the looks of the tribal, but simply fearing the worst at what was supposed to happened as far as the vote was concerned, which was just what Luigi wanted to bring up. "So uh, what do you guys think the best move is?"

The four exchanged glances for a bit, Bonnie deciding to keep his mouth closed and let the others do all the talking.

"I think all... eight of us should vote for the person who just doesn't fit in well with the rest of us..." Greninja ended up speaking.

"Cloud?"

"Yeah." The water-type Pokemon bobbed his head up and down. "He's been isolating himself since the start, he tried looking for the idol on day two while we were all asleep, and he's basically a dictator at camp. I feel like losing Cloud will make our lives a lot easier."

"Yeah, I agree with Greninja." Sheik nodded. "I feel like Cloud is gonna eventually mess this tribe up and then we're all dysfunctional as if we are trying so hard to let one of the emperors a million dollars."

"Cloud says that Luigi is the weakest one here, though..." Bonnie Roberts brought up, shifting his head to the man himself. "He threw your name out there..."

"Well,... ugh... okay to some degree I can understand where Cloud is coming from..." Greninja hated to admit. "But, even though Cloud is as strong as he is, I feel like the more we keep him around, the more dangerous he will be. He will not only because a physical threat at merge time but probably a dangerous one as well. I won't even be surprised if he were to flip on us."

"Valid point." Bonnie folded his arms. "But I still want to win challenges, and this is our first Tribal Council."

"Hmm..." Sheik placed her wrist against her hip. "We gotta make a big decision here."

"We are looking at two completely different players here." Greninja stated. "On one hand, we have Luigi who is supposedly less physical than the rest of us, yet we feel that he can be more loyal and more trustworthy. On the other hand, we have Cloud who is the strongest person on the tribe, yet does a really great job at isolating himself from the rest of us that is unlikely to have that big of a social game, with the possibility of him being completely untrustworthy... But hey, at least he can help us win challenges... I don't know what is worse... I don't know what television will make of it, but sometimes in Survivor, you just gotta take risks. This isn't even the first Tribal Council of the season. I will give it just a bit more thought just to make sure, but if we have to vote out the strongest person on the tribe in order for us to keep tribe harmony, then that's the risk we just have to take. It's not just challenges. It's about tribe unification and everything else."

"I mean, just because Cloud is the strongest of our tribe does not mean we're not strong at all. This is a very strong team." The Pokemon said. "I'm a strong person, Sheik's a strong person, Bonnie's a strong person, Knuckles, Foxy, Rouge, Krystal, and it's not like Luigi has a severe lack of any physical capability. Cloud only called Luigi a weak link to compare him to everyone here, not because he is a weak link at all."

"Very valid points." Sheik nodded in agreement. "You're not wrong at that. I mean, I'm pretty sure if Shovel was here he would vote for Cloud, anyway. We can still pull it together and win challenges whether Cloud is here or not. Besides, for some teams of the show, even when they do vote out the weakest link, they still lose. Strength doesn't always work, so I have no problem writing Cloud's name down. The tribe gets along rather well, and Cloud, even though he's a good guy and everything, I don't want to have the team be divided in the future, or else we're going to tribal again."

Bonnie rotated his head to face the vixen of the group. "What do you think, Krystal?"

"Well, if that's what most of the tribe is gonna do, then I'm down."

Luigi smiled in reaction with a bit of relief. "Thanks, guys... I'm gonna put Cloud's name down anyway because he's the only other target right now as far as I know, but if you guys can find a way to convince the rest of the tribe to vote him out that would be brilliant."

Greninja stared down. "I don't know if Knuckles or Foxy would be down for it, though... If we can't get them, then that means that we're gonna spend some time explaining to them on why we're voting the way we're voting tonight, even though we still want everybody to get along. We would just need to make them happy again as fast as possible."

Bonnie began to walk away. "I'll go talk to Foxy."

"Alright, so now the plan is changing all of a sudden. Cloud's name has been talked about for a while, but now since we lost, Luigi is an immediate target due to him basically be the sacrificial lamb on this tribe to make the team stronger. I mean, there wasn't even much talk of who is the weakest out of everyone. The moment we get back to camp, Cloud was just like 'Luigi's the weakest of the group, he's gotta go.' ...I guess over time this is what the first couple votes of Survivor has come to." Bonnie chortled a bit. "But the plan has changed again and we're targeting Cloud now so we can keep a one big happy family together. We're all just employees doing our job to beat those emperors. But the problem is that we doubt everyone here is gonna be on board... and I don't know what Foxy might think of it. He did say that he wanted to work with me in this game, so now I need to see where he stands..."

-/-

"Alright bro, first tribal..."

"I know..."

Bonnie ended up reuniting with Foxy near the same spot where Cloud was digging for an idol.

"So..." Foxy glanced from the side to Bonnie's face. "How are people voting tonight?"

"Well right now besides Luigi, Sheik, Greninja, and probably Krystal are set on sending Cloud home, but they're not completely keeping him in yet. But what I do is that Knuckles is obviously one hundred percent on Luigi over Cloud, and I won't be surprised if Rouge votes with him."

That was when Foxy Michaels simply stared, with his mouth halfway hung open. "...Are you serious?"

"...Yeah?"

"...People are actually going for Cloud right now?"

"It certainly appears that way..." Bonnie blinked. "You don't agree with that?"

"...I really rather see Luigi get his torch snuffed." Foxy opinionated. "Not that I completely disagree with the Cloud idea, but... don't you think it's a little bit too early for that?"

"Greninja said that sometimes you just gotta take risks in the game." Bonnie defended. "I don't even blame him. Cloud for all we know could get worse and worse, and then in the end he's gonna be too chaotic for our own good. I won't be surprised if he's kept around on any swapped tribe for challenge strength, and then he'll be dangerous at the merge."

"...So you're set on voting for him, too?"

"I'm dead set on whatever the tribe thinks overall." Roberts shrugged. "I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers here..."

"..." Now it was Foxy's turn to blink, and then he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, I get where you're coming from and everything, but could you please find a way to convince everyone to vote for Luigi over him? I just feel that now's not the right time to send Cloud packing. I don't want to lose any more challenges..."

"Well, you can have your opinion and everything and like I said, I do understand your argument there." Bonnie continued to nod. "But honestly, no matter who we vote, I think it's best for us to vote together to see where we are. Some of them are probably thinking that you're not that easy to convince so that you can vote for them."

That caused the red fox to raise an eyebrow, almost being frozen in place. "Oh, so you're saying they might not trust me?"

"Not saying that they don't trust you, it's just that they don't know if they could by you voting the way they would... But I figured that if we're gonna work together in the future, I'd pretty much like for you to vote with me tonight..."

"I'm surprised that people are already wanting Cloud gone, and it seems that Bonnie is gonna vote however they vote whether they're actually gonna pull the trigger on him and Luigi. I'd very much prefer the vote to be for Luigi in order so we can continue to compete with the emperors on challenges... But no matter who it is, Bonnie is gonna vote with the tribe, and now it seems like I gotta be a part of whatever he says just to save my own butt out here. I was just thinking of convincing the tribe that Luigi should be the target tonight, but now it looks like I gotta keep my mouth shut..."

With all bags packed, the Chatan tribe began to head out and leave for their first Tribal Council.

Tribal Council

Night 6

Foxy, Rouge, Cloud, Luigi, Knuckles, Bonnie, Greninja, Krystal, and Sheik all approached the stairs, walked up to the Tribal Council area one by one, and all stood awaiting for Master Hand's instructions.

"Behind each of you is a torch. Take one, dip it in, and get fire." Master Hand watched them follow the procedure. "This is part of the ritual of Tribal Council where in this game, fire represents your life. When your fire is gone, so are you."

The Chatan tribe all seated in a similar fashion as the emperors back on night three.

"Alright, so last time the emperors had to go to Tribal Council." The hand commenced the discussion. "Now it's the knights turn, minus Shovel Knight who is on Exile Island with Marth, one of the emperors. But let's focus on the theme of the season for you guys. The knights are used to toughing it out by either generally having good work ethic, getting the job done, or getting through any type of situation life throws at them. And so, we have nine people who even though are completely different from one another in some way, you all still have one thing in common. Now's the time to get to know some of you guys. Bonnie, why are you here?"

"Oh, why am I here?" He grinned. "Well, I'm kind of a fan of the show here. I just wanted to try something that I wanted to for quite a while now. I play in a band back where I'm from all for the sake of entertaining kids at restaurants and everything. I've been performing for quite a while now. Normally for places like that they have something like animatronic robots of some sort, so me and a few of my friends back at home decided to do it ourselves. Not not only my name is being spread around everywhere, but people like me are starting to do the same thing. Back then we were just hoping to play somewhere and now I'm a household name in some places around the city."

That earned a couple of friendly laughs as well as a few grins from his fellow tribemates.

"Quite interesting." Master Hand reacted. "Knuckles, why are you here?"

"I'm just here to push myself to the limit." The echidna began to elaborate. "I've been through thick and thin back where I'm at. My job is simple. All I have to do is guard this gigantic emerald out on an island all by myself. Even if it does get boring at times for obvious reasons, I am not kidding when I say it's not as easy as it seems, where anything can happen that will not only put the emerald in danger, but pretty much the entire island at stake. But all I know is if I can sit down and guard the Master Emerald for years on end, I can be surrounded with nineteen strangers on a stranded island in Japan for thirty-nine days."

"So just so were clear," The long-time Survivor host spoke again. "the ten of you have been put into this competition so that you all can simply fight through it, even though all of you are different in your own way. Knuckles for example has to guard a special emerald in order to prevent chaos from happening, while on the other hand, Bonnie simply thought of a creative way to handle his career by simply... playing in front of kids in an audience just to represent entertainment at family restaurants. But like he said, he basically made up his own rules where usually they create robots for that sort of thing. Though the thing is, the ten are all knights because in comparison to what an actual knight is, you all are 'soldiers' that are recognized for your services. And that is a great quality to have."

Greninja nodded in agreement.

"With that being out of the way, let's start with the basics. Sheik, what is the whole tribe dynamic of Chatan?"

"Well, I think that as a whole, the tribe gets along really well. We all are able to cooperate with each other as we take care of the chores around camp, and we generally enjoy each other's company. When we all stepped foot on the beach, it was the usual greeting, we talked and interacted with each other on what we do for a living, we had some enjoyment on the beach we were on, and we seem to have an overall good, positive spirit."

"But the thing is, even though you guys can be as positive as you can be, now you all had to go Tribal Council after losing against Nago today." Master Hand reminded. "So for sure, you guys have to vote out somebody, whether any of you want to or not. Nobody's leaving Tribal Council until someone is voted out. So Krystal, how do you all make your decisions to vote somebody out?"

"Pretty much the typical criteria in the early stages of the game." The bounty hunter replied. "There was a little talk about the weakest links in the camp, and how well does a certain person get along with everybody here so that we can continue to keep that good positive vibe like you said."

"So you're saying there's a certain someone that might rub certain people the wrong way in the future?"

That resulted in Cloud turning his head to stare directly at Krystal.

"Well, as far as the tribe feels, it's not based on that alone. For example, just the other day nine of us woke up and realized that a certain someone was out looking for an idol."

Cloud Strife shook his head.

"Cloud?" Master Hand called.

"They're not wrong." He admitted. "I'm the culprit and they caught me red-handed. I figured that it was best for me to retrieve security as soon as possible. Not many members of this tribe were distancing themselves from the rest to search for it, so I took the advantage by being an early riser and attempt to find the idol before anyone else woke up. But I was too little, too late, and now I have to own up to it in order to be honest with the rest of my team."

"Alright, so you're not lying when you said that you searched for one."

"I was caught. They sent somebody out and they found me digging in the sand. I'm not gonna blame them, though. I would have done the same thing."

"Greninja, what do you make of Cloud searching for the idol, especially now that we know that Shovel Knight was sent to exile and now he could possibly be searching for one as we speak?"

"Um, well Cloud searching for the idol before anyone else woke up that morning was a great strategy, but it never really paid off for him because of what happened. He might have wanted a chance to get the idol before anyone else could have because he knew that somebody from this tribe was gonna get it." He expressed his thoughts. "As far as Shovel Knight is concerned, that may be true. Maybe he and Marth could be looking for it right now, since there were seasons past where the idol was found on Exile Island. However, we thought that there is also a possibility that the idol could actually be hidden at this camp and Shovel just found a clue on where it might be. Maybe, maybe not. You never know."

"So Cloud Strife, since you chose to look for the idol, are you afraid that might have lost a little bit of trust with the rest of your tribe?"

"That was my main concerned, but ever since then, not many have brought it up since then. So I think I'm slowing earning their trust back. Foxy was the one who told me that they needed me for challenge strength and that the other knights did not want to lose trust with me because I'm too caught up in searching for idols rather than being with the rest of the group."

"And just so we clear, you guys did lose the challenge today." Master Hand recalled. "And you guys also pointed out that you all might vote based on whoever was the perceived 'weak link' of the tribe."

Luigi raised his hand.

"I think I am the perceived weak link, master."

That earned the attention of a few of his teammates.

"And why do you think that?"

"Well, I thought it was obvious when you have people like Cloud and Knuckles. Those two could help the tribe as far as physical strength goes. The tribe as a whole found me to not be a weak link, but I just compared myself to everybody else here, and if there was a contest in order to find out who was the absolute strongest of the Knights tribe, all I can say is that I definitely wouldn't come in first place."

"Rouge, would you agree that Luigi is probably number ten on the list of who is the most physically strong in challenges? You two were in fact the ones that won that shelter making kit back on the first day."

"My personal opinion on the matter is that even though we won that challenge, like Luigi said, we don't think that he's weak at all. It's just that if he was voted out, it is not for a negative reason at all, since I do like the guy. He should think of himself as a hero that helped his team win that challenge at the end of the day." The bat put her thoughts on the table. "When we were discussing on which obstacles we were to take on, he did not want to get across that beam over the water. And even though he still took that risk, the tribe probably assumed that it was gonna play a factor of how not only how physical Luigi was going to be in challenges, but also how he would react to certain parts of the challenges, and that was simply one of those examples. They're predicting the future and I don't exactly blame them for planning ahead instead of thinking tribal by tribal."

"So Luigi, if it is you that is going out on day six of this season, how would you describe your experience in Survivor?"

"Well, the feeling would be bittersweet." Even though he show his grin, there was a hidden look of sadness. "If it is me tonight, I'm not going to be bitter about their decision because otherwise, I'd be a hypocrite if I was in their shoes voting somebody who isn't the strongest of the team. If it just to help the team out and if they win the next immunity challenge, that's good for them, even though I would be sad that if I was leaving this early. I wouldn't be surprised, but I still wished that I would've gotten farther and probably would have been willing to do the hardest obstacle on that ship with Rouge."

"Aww." Rouge rotated her head to face Luigi with the biggest smirk. "We still love you, Luigi."

And that resulted in a few laughs from the tribe, including Luigi himself.

"Well, however the Knights tribe is gonna vote tonight, I could say that it won't be the easiest as you guys said that you generally get along together well. But at the end of the day, somebody has to leave the island. It is time to vote. Foxy, you're up."

And as soon as the red fox rose from his seat, the voting session officially began, Foxy Michaels quickly making his way to the voting booth, uncapping his pen to begin writing. Yet, it never stopped him from shaking his head with a quiet sigh.

Soon afterwards it was Greninja's turn, Krystal and Cloud following after him, the latter taking his type writing down 'LUIGI' in all caps.

"Sorry it had to come to this. Hopefully you will be able to hold your head up high at what you wanted to accomplish out here."

After Cloud was Knuckles, and then Luigi himself who wrote down his the name of who wrote his own name on the parchment.

"I don't know if I am going home tonight or not, but this is the only choice that I have..."

Once Rouge and Sheik voted, that meant Bonnie had to be last.

"No hard feelings. It didn't have to be this way, but right now I gotta do not only what's best for the tribe, but for me personally."

After Bonnie Roberts sat down, Master Hand knew it was time to do his part.

"I'll go tally the votes..."

Luigi clapped his hands together and had his head down low as Cloud was staring off to nowhere in particular, probably due to him being in his thoughts at the time.

Master Hand came back with the urn.

"If anybody has a hidden immunity idol and you wanna play it, now would be the time to do so."

All eyes were on Cloud, in which he stared back in reaction, but then faced the Master Hand.

"Okay." He was ready. "Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes..."

They all watched his retrieve the first vote that was to be read.

"First vote... Cloud."

That caused him to pop an eyebrow.

"Luigi. One vote Luigi, one vote Cloud."

"Luigi."

Luigi could not even blink as Rouge slowly cocked her head from her right to her left.

"Luigi."

Bonnie took a glance at Foxy sitting directly to his right, who remained focused on the master.

"Three votes Luigi, one vote Cloud."

Knuckles and Cloud both looked rather confident as Greninja faced from them to what was happening diagonally to his left.

"Cloud."

That without a doubt got a reaction as he leaned his head back slightly.

Luigi at that point was frozen in place.

"Cloud."

Rouge blinked as her eyebrow lowered. "...What?"

Sitting from the furthest end from the urn at that point began shifted his head to the rest of his tribemates with a dumbfounded expression. Knuckles, having to be sitting in the middle of the bottom row with Rouge ended up glancing in all directions with a very strange look.

"We're tied. Three votes Cloud, three votes Luigi."

Luigi remained watching.

"Cloud. Four votes Cloud, three votes Luigi."

Cloud at that moment had his mouth halfway opened, not even taking a glance at nobody other Master Hand reading his votes as Greninja watched. Luigi remained staring at what was happening the entire time, not even blinking.

Foxy had a fist beneath his chin.

"Second person voted out of Survivor - Emperors vs Knights. Cloud. That's five, that's enough. You need to bring me your torch."

Rouge had her hands over her mouth as Knuckles could have believed what just occurred. Luigi heaved a sigh of relief as Cloud Strife slowly rose from his spot to retrieve his torch behind, shaking his head all the while.

"I do not know if it was the correct decision you all chose to make, but time will tell..."

Bonnie kept eyeing Strife who was now placing his torch down in the small hole beneath him.

"Cloud, the tribe has spoken."

Briefly watching his torch being snuffed, he already began heading toward the stairs to make his way down.

Master Hand faced the rest of Chatan for one last time.

"Well, first Tribal Council, first blindside. You guys have said the criteria for tonight's tribal was based on who was the weakest of the ten of you only for you all to vote out seemingly the exact opposite of who was the weakest. Interesting strategy. Let's see how well it would play out in the future. Grab your torches, head back to camp. Goodnight."

"Unbelievable..." Knuckles muttered as he stood with the rest of Chatan as they all grabbed their torches and left.

#Blindside

Votes:

Luigi - Cloud

Sheik - Cloud

Greninja - Cloud

Krystal - Cloud

Knuckles - Luigi

Rouge - Luigi

Cloud - Luigi

Bonnie - Cloud

Foxy - Cloud

19th Place: Cloud

"I got blindsided. Never saw it coming. Guess I shot myself in the foot in the beginning, but I never expected them to take out possibly the strongest member of the group over the weakest... at our first Tribal Council. I have no hard feelings for their decision making, but time will tell if they do in fact win the next immunity challenge somehow."

Castaways Remaining:

Zelda, Ghirahim, Marth, Roy, Mega Man, Pac-Man, Shulk, Freddy / Luigi, Shiek, Greninja, Krystal, Knuckles, Rouge, Shovel Knight, Bonnie, Foxy

Well, I guess we have our first blindside of the season, and it actually ended up being Chatan who blindsided someone first instead of the emperors. The knights seemed that they were really willing to take a gamble on them voting out their strongest player. But in their defense, he was basically the one person that was not trusted after not looking going after the idol, but separating himself from the rest of the team half the time. I don't even blame them for targeting Cloud because if I was out there it definitely would have had me thinking at least. But as far as who was mainly responsible for Chatan's decision, I'd say Greninja was the first one who threw his name out there after he was one of the first who grew tired of Cloud's antics.

So let's compare Chatan's first boot to Nago's first boot. The emperors chose to vote out their weakest member (though they're not the happiest tribe in the world with Shadow and Ghirahim in the way) while the knights chose to vote out the one who was the most untrustworthy (even though he was the most physical person of the team). Basically, tribe strength vs tribe harmony. Two completely different strategies here for each of the tribe's first boots. So I guess it depends on what happens to both of them in the future.

Questions:

1. Did Chatan make a good decision tonight?

2. Based on the fact that both tribes went to Tribal Council now, what would be the future of the both of them?

3. Which tribe are you rooting for at this point?

4. Since Shovel Knight and Marth both found the clue to their own hidden immunity idol, would they both be able to find one or would at least one of them fail to decipher it?

Watch the YouTube intro if you haven't already (the link is now in my profile), vote for your top five favorite players of the season and I will see you all next time? (Also, if you want to get into the actual Survivor series, shoot me a PM. Keep in mind the episodes are on the CBS website, it's a paid subscription service.)