Survivor - Emperors vs Knights
Chapter 28 - Day 22 Part 2, Day 23, & Day 24 Part 1
Alright, so this chapter we have quite a few events take place. We have the two different teams from the challenge both either being part of the reward, or once again at the island where it is pouring down rain. Not the most pleasant experience in the world.
We also have the follow up of the characters reactions to the previous Tribal Council and future plans from there. And from that point on, we will get to the immunity challenge.
Also, I've decided that this chapter (in the ending author's note) is where I'm gonna have the announcement of the second confirmed castaway for Survivor - Mexico.
Historyfan15: Well, when the tribe is divide post-merge into teams, it is only for the reward challenges, so everybody is going to be right back together before the next immunity challenge. Still, Roy is already a huge target now anyway lol. We'll see if he, Marth, and Zelda can come up with... something lol.
Enjoy!
~KF
Day 22
"Hey Foxy, don't forget to save us some!"
"I will." Michaels responded to Sheik, already feasting with Greninja, with Marth drying up in the shower. "But don't get too worried. Even though I'm obsessed with food right now, there's clearly enough for everybody."
Greninja giggled. "They literally chose you to go first because you have fur."
"Ugh..." He hunched his shoulders. "I don't blame them. When you have fur it is a total chore. You just don't know what it's like. Be glad for the skin that you have..."
"If you say so." The Pokemon laughed again between bites. "But, this is just amazing. We're all on a yacht in Japan!"
"I was actually worried to death if I was going to win any of the post-merge reward challenges, since I've watched previous seasons where people didn't go on one reward. ...I'm looking at you Worlds Apart, hahaha!" Greninja called out. "So since I'm getting off the island after twenty-two days, even if it is just a yacht right now, people say that this is no vacation, and I can agree with that. But earning something like this is something that can be considered at least partly a vacation to me."
"So, Greninja," Foxy crossed his left leg over his right knee. "Do you wanna have a one on one strategy talk now, or just wait and bet that more of the Knights Alliance gets here?"
"Nah." He shook his head after thinking for a moment. "It's not worth the risk for Marth and Zelda coming out here, and I think Marth is almost done."
"Ah, I see..."
"But strategy wise, right now we're all doing pretty good. We got our target out last night, we gained two new allies, and we have a nine person majority over three old Nago members... that's a lot." The Pokemon stated. "And the more people that are in the majority, believe it or not, that's actually pretty scary. So if it's going to come down to the three that are on the outs, we have to plan this pretty carefully of how we are going to get the right target out without everything that could possibly go wrong... Not to jinx it all or anything..."
"Okay, so the only thing that we weren't able to accomplish was Marth wasting his idol." He started to talk more quietly as Foxy was eating his burger. "If he was have used it, things would be heck of a lot easier. But since he most likely still has it, we can just do a 9-3 on anyone without making anyone mad. Which means..."
"Gotta split votes?"
"Exactly. ...And in case you didn't notice, Marth and Roy have been having heck of a lot of conversations with one another and are bonding quite well..."
"I have." Foxy nodded. "And Freddy told me this morning that Zelda isn't that much of a physical threat, too."
"I'm not ready to give up Zelda, either." The frog-like creature shook holding a couple french fries. "I'd say five for Marth and four for Roy, and just whoever those three vote for. ...Probably me just like last time..."
"Don't worry." Foxy wanted to him to know that he was not going anywhere. "I think if they keep voting for you, it's best to get used to it."
"Win-win. Not only I kept my place in the Knights Alliance, but I've also have my Pirate Crew here... I would rename my alliance that, but then they would all think that I'm running the show... Well the audience can know that I'm calling it the Pirate Crew over here. But anyway," He spoke between laughs. "I kept my position in my tribe alliance and I've made sure everyone from my Pirate Crew made it back to camp safe and sound... But in all honesty, I would take Bonnie and Knuckles and us three can finally do something, but Marth for some reason probably thought that Greninja was going home because of him thinking that Knuckles was gonna flip, and chose not to use his idol. So Plan B is to either get rid of him or Roy, force the idol out of 'em to decrease our chances of being idol'd out of the season."
"I don't think it matters if Marth finds out or not, since the idol would be out of here, anyway, but I think it's okay for us to let Zelda know that she's going nowhere." Greninja thought out loud, Marth walking up to them to join about half a minute later. "Hopefully the rest of us would be here soon and hope that it doesn't rain for the rest of the day."
Lowell took a glance at the sky. "It is not as dark anymore. Maybe it is simply going to be rather cloudy for the rest of the day. Otherwise, we would have to bring all the food inside..."
"Guys there is so much food here." Foxy chuckled as he continued to eat away. "Do you two know how long that's gonna take? Oh... and one of you give me a napkin."
"You don't have some in your area?" Greninja gave Foxy one of his.
Bikutā
Day 22
Whenever it was someone against the entire world, one typically felt nothing except the concept of being alone, with literally no allies to work with to progress his or herself further in life.
And unfortunately for Roy, even though he had not one, but two fellow members from original Nago, neither of them were on the same page as him whatsoever for obvious reasons, which of course never helped his game one bit.
He ended up finding time alone as he sat on the beach, seemingly eyeing the waves, yet the reality was that he was thinking of nothing other than being pitted against literally everyone that was in the same location breathing the same air as he was.
"Suppose you are in an army, and you somehow managed to fail every single one of your allies in the field of battle, when no one else left, where of course you can not be mad at no one except yours truly, then... that's just it. I've talked with the people who I thought I could work with in the future and do whatever it is that they want to do, I'll follow them for it in order to build relationships... but of course things are different from me. I'm not being a sore loser at the fact that I'm on the bottom with a now thirty-three percent chance of going home, but I just feel so... defeated... like there is so much more that I could have done. Even if I am not the one getting the boot, one hundred likely an emperor will perish and will perish as nothing but a warrior... Maybe I could have played a stronger game, maybe I should have stepped up and got rid of certain people just to prevent the future, but I didn't... And now there is at least a guarantee that my name is going to be written down, and I suppose that I deserve it because I am on the wrong side of the numbers now, and there isn't really much you can do..."
Now at that point he was not even pretending to eye the waves anymore, since he was now staring down on himself as he was lost in his own thoughts.
"People do not compete on Survivor everyday. For me it is a once in a lifetime experience, and that is why people do whatever it takes to win, myself included... But I didn't even make it halfway through the game, so I am slightly disappointed in myself. Sure I could have been the first booted, but being the Sole Survivor is a dream that could have came true if things worked out in my favor perfectly. Though the problem is that I am not the only individual that is playing this game... And perhaps there are people that are even more deserving than I am because I know there are ones out there that are playing a more all-out game than I am... sorry..." He wiped a couple tears from his eyes. "Maybe if I am going home at the next Tribal Council, I should at least get to know the people around me a little more if I want to become friends with them outside of the game at least so that if it is me, then I have to prepare for it as I will try my best to take in every remaining moment that I have on the island before my Survivor experience will officially reach its end..."
He chose to speak with Freddy first.
"Hello..."
"Hi, Roy..." Freddy was found making his way back to the shelter from the other side of the beach in which Roy spotted him from a distance. The bear formed some sort of a guilty smirk. "...Are you mad at me?"
"I have no reason to be mad at you, Freddy..." The red-haired emperor slowly shook his head. "If you honestly felt that it was in your best interest to do what you needed to do to win, then I have no hard feelings. After all, you were one of the two emperors that had your name written down."
"Oh, okay." He nodded. "Just wanted to be sure, because I feel like that if you were mad at me for what I did, then I should at least know about it. If I end up in the finals, I don't want to face the jury with many unanswered questions,... even though at that point you literally have to explain everything..."
Roy actually laughed at that. "I see what you mean."
"I really feel guilty of the fact that back on Motobu you told me that you didn't wanna screw my game over, and now I feel like I screwed yours..."
"That was only because of the challenge, Freddy." The eighteen year old chuckled a bit more. "That's an entirely different topic. And besides, if I have to be sacrificed just so that the rest of you can move forward, then I suppose that is how it has to be..."
Fazbear blinked. "...What do you feel about Shadow?"
"It will um... take some time,... but I'll get over it. It's a game."
-/-
He was now speaking with Luigi getting water.
"I mean honestly, it's astonishing to see someone like you still here." He told him. "Shovel Knight told me what happened on old Chatan for your first few days. You were quite the underdog out here..."
The plumber grinned at that. "Really? Thanks."
"You were." Roy nodded. "You really proved to us all on why you were a knight out here, and in all honesty, being a young swordsman out here, I could be considered to be a knight as well. I rarely get to experience on what it is like to lose sometimes, so that challenge really opened my eyes about the realities that some people may face. And because of you that are willing to take part in this competition knowing the circumstances you have to face, this experience is going to make me a stronger person, just like this is going to make you a stronger person. Mario would be very proud."
Luigi was rather touched. "...Aww, thanks... That really means a lot to me..."
Roy kept his smile. "I think there are more ways we can relate to one another than we might think."
-/-
Now he was left alone with Knuckles in the shelter.
"Well, you are nineteen, now." He spoke to him. "You were rather young when you were forced to protect the Master Emerald all alone, right?"
"..." At least Roy was not aware of Knuckles's real age when he had to start protecting the emerald all alone on Angel Island. "Yeah... I was..."
"How often do you think about it?"
The echidna sighed. "Well,... over time I had to get used to it, and so I did... But out here like this, whenever we have downtime around here, I can't help but think of not only that emerald, but the position I'm in back on Mobius as if I'm carrying the entire island on my shoulders."
"...Sounds rather difficult to process if I do say so myself..." Roy was rather sad for him for whatever Knuckles had to go through. "...Though I clearly can not relate, I know what it's like to deal with such a task like that at such a young age... You have more weight on your shoulders than ever before..."
"Exactly." The anthropomorphic animal nodded up and down. "You think about what you're doing almost every day. Sonic is one year younger than I am, and he's having adventures all the time... I mean sure I join him at times when I can, but I think of that a lot. He's having the time of his life, and I'm on Angel Island knowing what's at stake if something happens to that emerald... Part of me still regrets being out here, but thanks to a few of my friends from back at home, it's in trusted hands..."
"I see what you mean. This is why it's important to have good friends by your side." Roy completely agreed and stared ahead at the fire that was burning. "I made a lot of good friends when I was in battle myself... And the thing is, knowing that we are both young here, I don't think the world realizes how much pressure we have to face, because not everyone our age has the same experiences we had. So hopefully, this spreads awareness to some degree..."
Knuckles was actually looking at Roy in thought. "...You know,... you're a good kid. ...I know that's not saying much since we're separated by a year. ...But... I guess I can thank you for understanding where I'm coming from."
"Roy knows a lot for his age. You know, when I came into this game I didn't know if I was going to have that much to relate to when it comes to these people, but I know I can definitely relate to him without a doubt... And clearly with us being in the same age group, yet with all these expectations we have to follow, Roy knows the feeling of such enormous pressure and challenge we have to face as we are both responsible for performing such big tasks such as the ones we have to perform in. I have to guard the Master Emerald for the rest of my life, and he had to stand up and put his life on the line for not only his father, but for an entire army just to prevent a war... He's gonna be my boy for now on, hahaha!" Knuckles laughed. "Maybe I can introduce him to Sonic myself..."
Bikutā
Day 23
The following day, Greninja, Sheik, Shovel Knight, Marth, Zelda, and Foxy all returned to the island at mid morning, where camp activity was already taking place on the tribe.
"We returned!" Shovel Knight announced, getting the attention of everyone else.
"Oh, there you all are..." Knuckles blinked, getting away from the fire to walk up to the group folding his arms. "...How was it?"
"Well, we slept overnight on the yacht of course." Foxy grinned. "Having time away from the island isn't something to be mad at, even though Kodai Island looks nice. But I mean, you need to take a break from it, you know?"
"...How about the burgers?"
"Didn't even know those existed." Marth admitted, placing a hand on his stomach. "But, um... Now that I do,... I sort of... got carried away..."
Sheik decided to spill the beans. "He threw up."
That made everyone sat there with surprised, yet a few humorous reactions, making Greninja facepalm.
"He... he just couldn't help himself!"
Roy was trying his absolute hardest not to laugh, but Bonnie could not have helped it.
"Don't worry, Marth. You wouldn't believe how many people have thrown up in the restaurants I go to. Try to eat a little slower for now on. We already have a shortage of food around here."
"I'll do my best..." Marth replied as he went over with his belongings and sat down. "Is the camp doing okay?"
"Well, since there is not much to do today, I guess we can finally start splitting the bamboo..." Roy suggested. "We have all day, anyway and we certainly have more hands here..."
"Like Marth, burgers are basically something new where I come from, Zelda too of course since we both originate from Hyrule." Sheik said. "But the reward was nice. I've been on a yacht for the first time and I paid close attention to my surroundings. We really got to see what island we were competing on from a distance."
"Just place the machete on the top of the bamboo and we'll just hammer it down on both sides..."
"Okay..." Luigi nodded to Knuckles as they began to hammer away, slowly splitting the piece of bamboo open, Shadow doing the same with Greninja.
"And you know at some rewards there is always that one thing that makes it all better, especially for me personally. When I began to eat, I guess I was able to catch the lucky napkin that..." Sheik suddenly pulled out a note. "has a secret advantage, and this advantage will allow me to steal someone's vote, and that I can vote not once, twice. Wow, right? ...And knowing that I've just got an advantage from old Chatan that allowed me to block someone's vote whenever they decide to use it at a future Tribal Council, I guess it's extra security for my game to be protected, since I have no plans on being voted out anytime soon. I'm fortunate enough to be in the majority, and for me, I have to make sure that it stays that way."
Day 24
"Alright, you guys ready to get to today's immunity challenge? First things first, Sheik, I will take back the necklace."
At the next immunity challenge, Master Hand met Sheik halfway and unhooked the individual immunity necklace from her neck, placing it back on the post where it belonged for the time being.
"Once again, immunity is back up for grabs. For today's challenge, the twelve of you will be in an uncomfortable, squatting position as you balance two bars on your shoulders that has a urn full of water right in front of you on a small table that connects the two bars together. At any point in the challenge, if you squat too low, a flag on your left will pop up, or if you go too high, the urn will fall, putting a fire out from below right in front of you with the water. Last person remaining, wins immunity and is safe from the vote. Losers, Tribal Council where someone will be the ninth person voted out of Survivor and will become the second member of our jury. Makes sense?"
He earned a few nods and claps from the competitors.
"We'll draw for spots, and we'll get started.
-/-
"Alright, everybody gets settled in as you all stand on your boxes, pick up the bars, release the handle, and this challenge is... on..."
From left to right, Shadow, Roy, Greninja, Zelda, Marth, Knuckles, Freddy, Shovel Knight, Foxy, Bonnie, Luigi, and Sheik were all stationary in their positions, all either eyeing their urn, the boxes they were standing on, or had their eyes closed not looking at anything at all. Though in their defense, perhaps it was their own way of getting in the zone.
And those include, Shadow, Greninja, Knuckles, and Foxy, wanting to remain completely focused on what was at stake if they managed to outlast all the remaining competitors in the challenge.
...
"...Everybody is looking good so far." Master Hand noted. "Don't underestimate this challenge. You have very little room to work with. You can't go high, nor can you go too low. So what's your best option? ...Try to remain as frozen as possible. Think like a statue."
"Easier said than done..." Knuckles mumbled under his breath.
"Better hope that time move faster than you might think..."
"...Huh?"
"...Marth's flag went just a little too low. His flag is up, and he is our first casualty."
With a defeated sigh, the Altean hero was already on his way over to the bench.
"It's actually sunny today, Marth. Maybe it's a good thing for you to stay in the shade." The hand suggested.
"Perhaps so..."
"..."
SPLASH!
"Zelda can't hang in there anymore, she is now out of the challenge."
"Worth a try..." She glanced down at her urn that put out the fire.
"Kinda like Tribal Council. You lose your flame, you are gone."
Luigi gripped his hands harder on the bars like never before, as everyone else except Bonnie remained solid, the bunny wiggling slowly in an attempt to find a safe spot.
Though even though he was struggling, Shovel Knight was suddenly no longer in the running.
"Shovel Knight came up too high. Take your spot on the bench."
He started to walk away. "If only we were able to use that water to drink..."
"Don't worry, Shovel." Marth grinned. "The shade is just fine over here."
Roy out of nowhere began to slowly raise, not very comfortable anymore, in spite of never really being comfortable in the first place. Although, knowing the position he was on the tribe, he was not about to give up so easily.
"Come on..." Marth mouthed. He figured he was the group of three's last hope of winning immunity.
Nevertheless, within the next five seconds, a splash was sounded.
"Bonnie came up too high, unable to find a safe spot."
The blue-haired and brunette were relieved.
Just then, another urn fell off the platform and poured all over another one's fire.
"Roy's out of the challenge."
A hand was placed on Marth's face. No immunity for them.
"We are now down to seven..."
Elapsed Time: 10 Minutes
"You've been out here ten minutes, now... Keep doing whatever it is you're doing in order to stay in this..."
"...!"
Sheik's fire was now out.
"Sheik, too high. Take your spot on the bench."
Shaking her head in defeat, she made her way past literally every other castaway that remained in the challenge.
"We now have... Shadow,"
"...?"
"And he squatted a little too much and his flag is up. Not shot at immunity."
The hedgehog could not believed it. He was unable to make at least top four in the past two immunity challenges. Frustrated, he immediately got off and headed to the bench.
"...As I was saying,..." Master Hand continued. "We have Greninja, Knuckles, Freddy, Foxy, and Luigi..."
Sheik and Shovel Knight were not only impressed by Greninja, but Luigi as well.
At that point, Foxy's eyes were opened gritting his teeth.
"Foxy doesn't seem secure..."
"..." But then, he suddenly found safety.
"...Nice recovery. He seems to be in the zone once again..."
"...Wha?"
Luigi's flame was now extinguished.
"Luigi, didn't even know he was too high, and it was too late for him to notice. No shot at immunity."
In spite of him no longer in the running, some of the castaways including Shovel Knight and Sheik clapped at his efforts.
Elapsed Time: 20 Minutes
"Been out here an extra ten minutes, now. Greninja, Knuckles, Freddy, and Foxy. Three knights, one emperor. Will the emperor conquer them all, or will the knights overcome the one emperor remaining?"
Roy shook his head. To him, it never even mattered in what order they were all going to be eliminated in the challenge.
Freddy was starting to feel a little too uncomfortable, so he decided to lower himself just a little bit...
...only it was a little bit too much.
"...Freddy, out of the challenge, and the emperor is defeated."
"Good try, Freddy." Zelda complimented with a nod, showing the bear that she still cared for him.
"Now it is down to the three knights... Greninja and Knuckles have remained solid for the entire challenge, Foxy only moved once, but maybe this time he's in a safer place." Master Hand observed. "But the thing is, how safe is he, or any of the other two that remain?"
"Keep it up, guys..." said Sheik.
Elapsed Time: 26 Minutes
"..."
"Greninja starting to wobble..."
"..."
SPLASH!
"And he's out..."
"I don't think I could have lasted another second on there like that." He told him as most of the other castaways clapped.
"And now, we have a showdown. Knuckles vs Foxy... Who, will, win?"
Both red animals remained as solid as ever.
Elapsed Time: 33 Minutes
"...!"
"Knuckles is wobbling. First time moving in this entire challenge."
Shadow blinked as everyone else stared.
"Foxy once again on the move..."
"..."
"...!"
SPLASH!
"FOXY WINS INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY!"
Upon hearing the first two words, Michaels immediately raised himself up as he watched his fire came crashing down. He slowly stepped down from his box to place a hand on his lower back attempting to stretch it out, ignoring his fellow survivors clapping for both him and Knuckles, who ended up having an arm around one another as they both made it back to the rest of the group.
"You two did great!" Greninja smirked.
"Foxy, come on over."
Literally all of them clapped at that point, Freddy and Bonnie watching the immunity necklace being hooked around his neck.
"Foxy is now safe at Tribal Council, with a one in eleven shot at winning this game." Master Hand placed a hand on his shoulder. "As for the rest of you, even though twenty-four days wouldn't be enough for any of you, one of you is about to become the second member of our jury at tonight's Tribal Council. Foxy, it will not be you. Congrats."
"Good job, man." The echidna commented him out of respect.
"I hate losing... but it ended up being me and Foxy." said Knuckles. "I mean, you can't be mad at all at that. He gave it his all just like I have. We're both strong competitors, and if I had to lose to Foxy of all people, then I'm proud of him. At least all the people who we want out don't have immunity, or else we would have been in trouble."
Kinda neat on how there ended up being a showdown between Foxy and Knukles of all people at the challenge.
I'm actually kind of a fan when it come to endurance tests in Survivor, and I think it's good to have some of them at the start of the merge for a large group of people. Though at this moment, I don't even know what the next challenge is gonna be lol.
So anyway, Roy, feeling defeated, figured that it was best for him to at least bond a little more with some of the castaways he had been stranded with. And as a result, he ended up having even more respect and likability points from Freddy, Luigi, and even Knuckles. Knowing how the latter can be, that is definitely saying something lol. ...Oh, and on a side note, Sheik managed to find yet another secret advantage. Lucky ninja indeed.
Also, one more announcement... Isabelle (newcomer from Smash Ultimate) is going to be on the Brain Tribe for Survivor - Mexico (Brain vs Brawn vs Beauty)! And just like that, we officially have our very first Smash 5 newcomer coming into the series. Though originally it was supposed to be somebody else, as I actually plan for Isabelle to be part of season 4 of the series, but then I realized that she is good for the brain tribe in season 3.
Questions:
1. What are your honest feelings about Roy right now?
2. When do you guys think Sheik is going to use her steal-a-vote?
3. Who do you think is the biggest remaining physical threat?
Vote for your top five players this season and I will see you all for our next elimination! I encourage everyone to review!