Survivor - Emperors vs Knights

Chapter 44 - Day 36 Part 2

Welcome back to another chapter of Survivor - Emperors vs Knights!

Final eight aside, let's fast forward to the current final six we have here: Zelda, Marth, Luigi, Sheik, Shovel Knight, and Foxy. Foxy is one hundred percent dead on the bottom against five other peple, Shovel Knight still has his idol, and Zelda of all people won the individual immunity necklace after a brand new Survivor challenge. (I figured that I had to create at least one more new challenge, since this is a different season after all, even though challenges are without a doubt the hardest part when it comes to writing a Survivor story.)

Before we get to the story itself, I have another big announcement to make. This story is now officially the longest Fanfiction I've ever written in the 8-9 years I've been on this site, even surprassing Survivor - Kodai Island, and we haven't even reached the finale yet! I honestly didn't expect not one, but two stories surpassing the 200k mark! And in spite of me being on here for almost a decade, I'm somehow accomplishing more than ever before these days. Guess this is what longevity means lol.

Historyfan15: Yeah, that seems to be the case. But best case scenario, sometimes luck is just all you need to make it! As long as Foxy knows that, he just needs to hope.

Onto the chapter!

~KF

Bikutā

Day 36

Shovel Knight, Foxy, Zelda, Marth, Sheik, Luigi

-/-

While a rather large, black spider was preparing to devour a small bug that somehow ended up caught in its web, the final six contestants of Master Hand's show made it back to their beach to continue on with their day, which meant the usual routine: congratulate Zelda, strategize, strategize again, reminding each other of the Tribal Council, and leave the beach to be on their way.

Rinse and repeat.

"You did it, Zelda!"

"Nice performance! You just prevented me from winning immunity again!"

"Good job, Zel."

"Thanks, everyone. Never thought I would actually win it, but I guess the Survivor Gods really wanted me to win it today."

"After thirty-six long days out here, I actually won individual immunity." She sounded rather elated as expected. "I actually had the urge to jump up and down with glee out of excitement, but then I thought that people would have seen that as gloating. But anyway, now that I have immunity, Foxy is one hundred percent vulnerable. All this makes it seem that it is possible that we could do a 5-1 on Foxy without making anyone mad, and then we're all final five. Luckily, I have both Marth and Sheik for the reward. So whatever the plan is, it is good that the three of us can bond together, Marth and Sheik hopefully coming to an agreement here."

The three of them were fully taking advantage of the time they had with one another, with Sheik actually being the first to start off the conversation.

"Alright, so I think it's best for us to just get this over with." She started. "But to not make it seem like this strategizing is coming out of nowhere, I want to give my thanks to Zelda first."

"Agreed." Marth replied, turning to the only other emperor remaining. "You have my gratitude, Zelda. None of us even thought that it was the final reward challenge, and us three are the ones that got to be part of it."

"It was nothing." Zelda chuckled a bit. "My main reason for choosing you two to go with me is because that I think this is the perfect opportunity for us to communicate with one another. Perhaps we can all be officially on the same page."

"Not a bad idea. Not bad at all." Sheik had no problems with it, eating her forkful of spaghetti. Just like the final reward challenge of the previous season, the menu for today happened to be spaghetti, garlic bread, and chocolate cake. "So, the plan for tonight? It can be to either get Foxy out of the way, or... something else..."

"...What do you mean 'something else?'" The final part of the ninja's statement certainly made Marth wonder, as well as Zelda.

Impa's student sighed. "...Okay, Shovel Knight has the idol."

"..."

"..." Sheik laughed at the somewhat unsurprised faces from her fellow competitors. "No words at all?"

"Well, the numbers are winding down and we figured that he was most likely to have it at this point." Marth replied. "...So I assume you were somehow leaning towards him instead of Foxy?"

"I..." She sighed in defeat. "Yes... I mean, Foxy approached me saying that he was my biggest threat in this game. I wasn't considering on voting him out last time because, what happened? He won immunity."

"Hmm..." Zelda thought out loud, shewing a bee away. "Well, I am pretty sure Foxy was the one who put your name down last tribal... Now that I think about it, all this could mean that Foxy probably pitted you and Shovel against each other. In an attempt to save his life, he probably approached both you and Shovel Knight to go after each other."

"That could most likely be true." She agreed, now taking a bit of her piece of chocolate cake. "Not only he was saving himself, he... actually gave pretty valid reasons to why both me and Shovel should turn on each other. He has an idol, he's a social threat, and he's already bringing Luigi to the end. ...If he gets to the end, then he probably wins this game... And I wouldn't be surprised if he votes me out before then..."

"I'm still thinking about Shovel Knight..." Sheik confessed. "Foxy was right, but probably the only reason why I didn't vote for him because he had the necklace. I was never going to put down Luigi because he's someone that I'm also taking to the end. However, this time, Shovel is actually vulnerable to be voted out. Soon to be fifteen Tribal Councils and he has yet to play his idol and this is the second to last opportunity that he can play it. He plays it at five, I'm screwed since he could very well win the final immunity challenge. He already won two like I did. Why wouldn't I vote him out?"

"If we were to go after Shovel Knight, I believe that now would be the perfect time." She continued. "He's probably expecting us to go after him at five, and then my name is written down. Better to get rid of him before he gets rid of me. ...I just want to know of what do you guys think of letting Foxy in on the plan..."

"...I..." Marth spoke, sipping his tea with lemon. "I actually doubt that his vote would be required to blindside Shovel Knight. He's still on the bottom and he has to go as well. Perhaps it would be best for us three to write down Shovel, have those two write down Foxy, and then it would just be whoever Foxy votes for, and together, all three of us are safe for the final five."

"..." The only Chatan member of the three eventually nodded in agreement. "Hmm... You have a point. That could work..."

"I believe Zelda made a good move here." Marth opinionated. "Now, even though I was sort of down that I was left out of the previous vote, I figured that one way Sheik would completely earn my trust if I... express to her that I would be willing to not work with Foxy in order to put her at ease. Showing that I care more about us three working together rather than just me working with Foxy would hopefully truly make a difference this time. ...However, in the back of my mind, Foxy is still an option for my game. If I still feel that things are not going as planned, maybe I could rely on Foxy for extra support, since I'm pretty much the only person he completely trusts at this point..."

At the camp, Foxy Michaels was seen digging beneath the tribe flag, not even checking to see if there was anyone watching his back.

"You know what, at this point I'm only looking out for myself. I've already tried to pit Sheik and Shovel against each other. But now since I didn't win immunity again this time, my next step is to see if I can find another idol out here. Two idols have already been played this season, so I know there's another one out there. Just need to look in the right places. I'm still trying to be sneaky, but I think I'm probably spending more time out here looking for idols than I should. Regardless, even if someone sees me, I don't know how much I will even care..."

Yet the moment when he saw Marth heading in his direction (apparently already returning from the reward, he almost instantly covered up his digging spot and pretended that he was just relaxing by the tribe flag by himself.

"Hello..."

"Hi..." The fox replied. "So, how was it?"

"The reward is nice, I'll admit." Lowell responded. "However, that is not the reason why I'm approaching you. I'm approaching you just because I figured that you should know that I am still willing to work with you if you want."

"Really?" He popped an eyebrow.

"Positive. Besides Zelda, you are the only true ally that is left for me..." He wished he could have stayed with him just a bit longer, though Shovel Knight was seen heading their way. "Here comes Shovel... Maybe we'll talk right before tribal, but if anything comes up, I'll make sure you know."

"Alright, thanks..."

And with that, he walked away shortly before the shovel wielder approached the fox.

"...Hello..." Before Foxy could reply, he rotated his body to see Marth head out of his sight, seemingly heading back to the shelter from where he came. "...What did he tell you?"

"He was just checking in on me because he figured that I wondered what the reward was like..."

"Okay..." Moments later, he finally faced his taller opponent. "..."

"...?" The next thing Foxy Michaels knew, he found Shovel Knight facing back and forth between the direction Marth came and himself. "What's wrong?"

The knight finally exhaled deeply staring at the sand while gradually shaking his head. "I don't know... Everybody seems to be all over the place as of late... Ever since camp life before the Knuckles vote..."

"You talked everyone much lately?" He blinked and cocked his head.

"...Actually,... not as much as usual." That answer was actually a bit surprising. "I mean, I try to not be too paranoid around here, because at times it can be one's downfall. Though since we went from thirteen to six rather quickly, if anything, Sheik should be talking to me more than usual. Luigi is fine. I have no concerns regarding him... But, Sheik has always been one of my closest allies. ...Yet these days I'm starting to feel as if she's slowly distancing herself from me, and spending much more time with Zelda and probably even Marth of all people..."

Foxy snickered. "Is that so? ...Well, if you want to vote her out, I'm right here. Haha!"

"Ever since I found the hidden immunity idol for my tribe, what is the worst fear when someone has it in their possession? Being blindsided with the idol in their pocket. Greninja informed me of multiple situations where people are blindsided with idols in their possession, wasting perfect opportunities for them to be played... I simply do not want to be one of those people. Honestly, at times I wonder why I even still have it. There were parts of me that considered on playing it a long time ago. ...Though it is the only idol I have. Thus, I need to use it wisely. ...If people are talking behind my back, and... if they are actually considering on making a big move and getting rid of me, maybe it is best for the hidden immunity idol to finally come into play... Then again, if it turns out that the idol that I have is not needed, I am but a fool. That's where the other half of me is telling myself to not be paranoid and save it for the final five, where you are certain to be guaranteed final four."

"..."

"..."

"I do not want to be sent home by the others, but then again, I do not want to look too paranoid... If worse comes to worse,... perhaps I might need you to write down either Sheik or Marth... just as a way to test my alliance... I'll speak with Luigi about this..."

"What are your reasons for both of 'em though?"

"Well, Marth really wasn't a priority in the alliance." He elaborated. "If she is somehow not lying, getting rid of him, I doubt it would do much. It would just show that we should communicate properly. The plan for them is to vote for you after all... But I'd work with you if I feel that things are rather not going a certain way. And for Sheik? That is in case I do find out that I am her target and we need to write her name down in return."

"Well, what do you know?" Foxy could not have been more elated. "Music to my ears. A perfect opportunity for me to take. If Shovel wants Sheik out, of course I'm gonna do whatever Shovel wants me to do. Though since he probably has the idol and if he is in fact finally going to play it, there's still the possibility that my name is going to be written down anyway. So in order to prevent that, I need to play up that Sheik is in fact going after Shovel, who I do prefer to go home by the way. I mean if I get to stay, I need to take full advantage. Getting rid of Sheik will be the best thing in the world. Now I have to convince both Shovel and Luigi to vote her out. ...Turns out peer pressure isn't so bad after all."

-/-

"I mean,... something is telling me that I am simply being far too paranoid..." He was now wandering with the plumber in the forest. "But then again,... I do not want to be the fool that gets sent home due to a wasted opportunity that I could have took in a heartbeat... I've already spoken with Foxy, yet I desire to hear you out as well in case if there is anything you might want to say... just in order to... calm my nerves down a little bit."

"I can't imagine what it's like to have a hidden idol because..." Luigi giggled with a hint of sarcasm. "look at me. I never found one."

"Then if anything, consider yourself lucky, since you are saved from all this paranoia going on for me right now..."

"I am kind of worried for Shovel, you know?" His back leaned against a rock thinking everything over. "This isn't like him. I have never seen Shovel Knight this worried before. You know something is up. But hey, he's helped me out so many times. Why not do the same for him? All I really have to do is to picture him as if he's my older brother..."

"Um,... I mean, if you really feel that Sheik is not talking to you as much as she used to, then I suppose you have to follow your gut on what you believe to be true..."

"..." He lifted an eyebrow.

"..." Luigi Mario sighed with a bit of frustration. "I'm sorry... I'm not so good at this..."

His friend still giggled placing a hand on his back. "You're fine, Luigi. From what I am getting is that you simply want me to feel confident, since you are probably thinking that I'm not my usual self."

"I mean, last time I checked, the plan was to finally vote out Foxy. But out of nowhere, he's telling me that he feels that worst case scenario, Sheik is targeting him with Marth and Zelda behind his back and plans to vote him out with an idol in his pocket. ...Now clearly I can't state my side of the story, since I don't have one, because I haven't heard anything about anyone wanting to blindside Shovel at all... Then again, perhaps like Bonnie and Foxy, they probably think that me and Shovel are getting too close, which I wouldn't be surprised. First Marth and Roy, then Sheik and Greninja, then Bonnie and Foxy, now us. It's a whole pattern... Though if that's the case, that does in fact worry me as well, because then that basically means that I myself am not being spoken too as much... People may be telling the truth, but then it's not hard to see where Shovel is coming from..." He all of a sudden buried his face in his hands. "Now I feel like someone has punched my gut... What am I to do..."

Night 36

It was the final Tribal Council before the finale of the season were to begin, and the final six went right to business, all entering the Tribal Council area approaching the remaining six seats that were left for them to sit on. Placing down their torches, they were ready to face the jury once more.

"We'll now bring in the members of our jury... Shulk, Roy, Shadow, Greninja, Freddy, Bonnie,... and Knuckles voted out at the last Tribal Council."

Foxy did nothing but blink and smirk briefly upon seeing the seventh place finisher of the season, watching him sit down in his spot and simply stare back.

"...Knuckles?"

The echidna suddenly faced Marth's direction, catching him mouthing his name at the corner of his eye.

"...I didn't know..."

He nodded in understanding. "You're good..."

"Alright..." Master Hand knew who he wanted to speak first. "So Foxy, we'll kick things off with you since you probably had a feeling that you were going to be spoken to first."

He nodded in confirmation. "I did..."

"...Any changes?"

Eyeing each individual one by one with one big head turn, he hunched his shoulders. "Not that I know of. All I know is that Foxy Michaels is still, and will probably always be public enemy number one until day thirty-nine, even if I actually get there..."

"Luigi, why is Foxy being painted as public enemy number one?"

"Well, based on what everybody else thinks about Foxy, he is the main threat here because we all feel that he's been strategically sneaking his way through the game underneath our noses. ...Now luckily enough at the final eleven, I wasn't the one that was voted out." He recalled one of those dreaded times where he was literally one vote away from a shocking elimination. "Foxy and his alliance have been working behind the scenes which was something we never expected. Marth and Zelda saved my life, and then Sheik saved my life at the final nine to make sure we have the majority back. But based on the other Tribal Council where Foxy betrayed Bonnie to save himself, from that moment it really showed how big of a player Foxy is."

"Now Sheik, going into the last Tribal Council, Foxy was still public enemy number one, but then Knuckles ended up getting blindsided instead. Why do you think that was the case?"

Knuckles even leaned in to make sure he heard every word that came out of the ninja's mouth correctly.

"Alright, here was the thing..." She begun her explanation. "Knuckles and Foxy were the two biggest physical competitors remaining in the game, with both having the chance to win their way to get to the final three. They literally even competed against each other at the final twelve. And at the end of the day, we found Knuckles to be a little more dangerous than Foxy at the challenges. And since Foxy didn't win immunity today, we figured that if Knuckles was still in the game and if he won immunity, then that tells us that we might have in fact made the right choice."

"Well Foxy," Master Hand spoke again. "you once again don't have the necklace. Though, just as last time, as well as many other times in Survivor, just because you're on the bottom, doesn't mean that it's impossible for you to reach the end. For all you know, the majority could once again vote off one of their own and save you for later, even though there are the final two immunity challenges that have yet to take place."

"That's just what I'm hoping for." He bobbed his head up and down. "And if anybody needs my vote, all they need to do is to tell me what to do. I don't care which of these five people get their torch snuffed tonight because as long as good ol' Captain Foxy is still sitting right here by the time this tribal is over with, I have no reason to complain. Just as long as it's not him."

"You really learn from the legends of Survivor, do you?"

"Indeed." He grinned largely. "I don't blame people for saying that. I already don't have any sort of control over this tribe, anyway. Deciding who gets to go home is something they have to worry about."

"Now Zelda, Foxy is saying that since you all are in the majority, that you guys are the ones that have to do all the work in deciding who is going to get their torch snuffed tonight while Foxy simply waits until he's given the word. One could take advantage of the situation and use Foxy as a shield even though it is this late."

"Exactly, master." The brunette completely agreed. "That is the scariest part of it all when it comes to the ones that are out of the loop. Worst case scenario, everyone could be thinking of blindsiding me rather than take out Foxy. All I can say is that it is a good thing that I've won the immunity challenge today."

"Although, Marth, unlike Zelda, you don't have the necklace today." The host pointed out. "If people are in talks of getting rid of you, what would your plan be?"

"I suppose that depends of why do I feel as if I am being targeted. Even if I was, I assume it would probably be because of my history throughout the game. I also would not be surprised, say if I was on the chopping block for simply being an emperor. Not saying that is the mindset of the original Chatan members at the moment, but just as an example, since there are four Chatan members and two original Nago members. But I only say this as an example since the last two voteoffs were both original members of the Knights tribe. And of course Foxy didn't start this game on the Emperors tribe and he's the one that is on the chopping block."

"So Shovel Knight, if you are expecting things to be going your way tonight as far as the vote is concern, how confident are you tonight?"

"I'd say I'm confident enough." He briefly nodded. "Just as long as I am still on good strategic terms with my alliance, then all will be well. …I mean, clearly I feel sorry for Foxy. So if he is in fact the one that is going to be on the jury, then the most I can say is that I enjoyed these last, final moments with him."

"Appreciate it." He thanked him without looking over.

"He's always being nice to everyone." Bonnie mumbled to no certain jury member in particular. "That's why his name was written down before I went home..."

"Alright. It is time to vote. Shovel Knight, you're up."

Let the voting session once again begin. The only Shovel Knight character got up to the urn to cast his vote, Zelda shortly following suit.

"Honestly, I think that everybody's a threat to get to the end based on different circumstances. Let's hope that I'm taking out the right threat for tonight."

Luigi and Sheik were the next ones up to have their shot at the urn, Foxy being the second to last to have his time.

"No comment."

It was a first for the Survivor series. The closest thing to a person having the words 'no comment' being expressed at a voting confessional is when that certain individual chose to share no comments at all, rather than Foxy literally stating those two words.

Once Marth sat back down, Master Hand was ready to get the show on the road.

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

"What are the chances of Foxy surviving tonight?" Bonnie whispered to Knuckles.

"...I'd say fifty percent..." The Mobian guessed.

With none of the current competitors doing much, the hand came back to place the urn on the table.

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

Shovel Knight eyed the rest of his tribe to see if anyone was going to react, as well as Marth, only because he found Shovel to be doing the same thing.

"...Alright, Master Hand. That's it. I'm afraid I can not hold onto this idol any longer."

Everyone at Tribal Council gave Shovel Knight their undivided attention as he went through his bag to pick something he held onto since day eleven.

"About time..." Roy muttered from the jury.,

"He's has that thing for twenty-five days..." Greninja did the math.

Luigi heaved a sigh at all this, watching Shovel Knight hand over the idol to the Survivor host, calmly sitting back down in his spot.

"This is a hidden immunity idol." He confirmed. "Any votes cast for Shovel Knight will not count... I will read the votes..."

Once he uncapped the urn, the actual knight of the group felt a major pit in his stomach.

"First vote..."

"...?"

"...Shovel Knight. Does not count."

"..."

Marth curled up his lips.

"...Shovel Knight. Does not count."

The blue armored hero heaved a great sigh of relief, Foxy shaking his head with arms folded.

"...Shovel Knight. Does not count. Still no votes for anyone."

...

"Foxy."

With no words, he simply slowly held his back staring up into the night sky out of annoyance.

"One vote Foxy."

Freddy looked rather saddened.

"...Marth."

It was that vote where suddenly nearly everyone was rather stunned and confounded, including Zelda, Sheik, and Lowell himself.

"...Where did Marth come from?" Sheik mouthed.

"One vote Marth, one vote Foxy, one vote left..."

Roy's jaw had dropped, watching his friend facepalm himself.

"Fifteenth person voted out of Survivor and the eighth member of our jury..."

"..."

"..."

"...Foxy. You need to bring me your torch."

"Okay, then... That's it..." He got up from his spot. "No hard feelings, and I wish you guys luck. Don't let anything or anyone hold you back from winning the million."

"Bye, Foxy!" Sheik smiled.

"So long, cap'n!" Shovel Knight gave him a salute.

"The captain will be with the rest of his friends at Ponderosa." Foxy replied, turning his head towards Master Hand.

"Foxy, the tribe has spoken."

Snuff.

"Time for you to go."

With no other words coming from, he calmly made his way down the stairs and out of the tribal.

Shovel Knight exhaled once again. Now he had another thing to worry about.

"Well, here are two things here." Master Hand said. "The first thing is that you finally got rid of Foxy. However, the second thing is that clearly not everyone written his name down. Perhaps this was when people in this case actually wanted to target somebody else, and Foxy was never the plan for some of you tonight. Turns out that not everybody was on the same page after all. But no matter what, only two more votes to go. You all make the final five. Only two more tribals after this, and you would never have to worry about voting someone out ever again for this season. Grab your torches, head back to camp. Goodnight."

"I was told by Shovel Knight to write down Marth tonight, but he and Luigi decided to vote me out anyway. Maybe I was still somehow more threatening in the game to them. But for whatever reason why, if there is one thing I need to say is that I love this game. I wanna give a few shoutouts... Freddy, Bonnie, Clyde, Val, mom, dad, and to everyone that is in my Pirate Crew from back at home, sad to tell you that I didn't win... But I still had the absolute time of my life."

Votes:

Zelda - Shovel Knight

Marth - Shovel Knight

Luigi - Foxy

Sheik - Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight - Foxy

Foxy - Marth

-/-

2-1-0

So even if Foxy has finally being eliminated, by the way the votes went, he wasn't even supposed to go home for some people lol.

Anyway, Shovel Knight has held his idol for 25 days. He didn't break the record, but if there was a top ten on the longest time someone has held an idol, he would definitely be on the list.

Now that Foxy has been eliminated, allow me to introduce you to a brand new miscellaneous character from the next official franchise that is set to be introduced in this fic. On the brain tribe, meet Jimmy Hopkins from a game called "Bully" back in the mid-2000s where he is the protagonist. I've made the decision to put him on the brain tribe, since I figured he can come up with such creative ways to target his enemies and everything. Though I haven't really thought about how canon his backstory is going to be yet.

But anyway, onto the next character. You wanna know who else is going to be on the brain tribe? Golden Freddy (who's name for the story is going to be called "Golden") the second and final FNAF character for the season, mainly for his intelligence when it comes to his backstory. (No, he's not going to be related to Freddy in this).

Questions:

1. Thoughts on Foxy finally going home?

2. When it comes to Shovel Knight and Sheik, who would be eliminated first?

3. Thoughts on the two new castaways?

As stated before, Bonnie's Ponderosa chapter is up for all to see! Also, vote for your top players this season, watch the YouTube intro if you haven't already done so, and I encourage everyone to review. See ya for the next chapter!