Survivor - Heroes vs Villains

Chapter 21 - Day 18 Part 2

Okay, so guess what everyone? It's almost time to officially announce season six! The boot order is being planned as your read this. But,... the planning for the seasons from season six forward is going to be a little different this time. More on that later.

Let's see what happens knowing Valverde blew the challenge. How many temper tantrums will Plague Knight throw? Is Specter going to feel humiliated and embarrassed? Would Ridley feel completely insulted knowing his high standards?

~KF

Valverde

Day 18

Zelda, Ridley, Shadow, Vector, Ryu, Shovel Knight, Specter Knight, Plague Knight

-/-

It was one thing to lose an immunity challenge, but to lose an immunity challenge the way Valverde did? How laughable.

"I've never been so humiliated..." Ridley exhaled deeply. "I was completely embarrassed. None of the challenges I've done in my season were performed this poorly."

To no one's surprise, it was going to be the topic of discussion initially. It became less about the other team winning, but more about the red team losing in a blowout. They were so far behind, Specter Knight and Shovel Knight never even made it out of the water.

"What about that pirate ship challenge?" Vector begged to differ. That was not the only challenge that both he and Ridley were a part of that ended up being a blowout. "The one where K. Rool was determined to win because it was right up his alley."

"Hey, we were not nearly as bad of a tribe at that challenge comparing to this one." He pointed at the main part of the problem. "These two over here were never able to get themselves free from DK and Bowser. I should have took them on myself."

"We did the best we could." Shovel Knight said in defense. "But it was going to be rather difficult getting myself free from someone thrice my size."

Specter was irritated in his own right. He did not really like being called 'the reason why the team lost the challenge'. "I've done everything within my power to try to get away, but it was clearly easier said than done."

Plague Knight jumped in. "See? This is why we should have communicated better. I'm the alchemist over here, so I'm used to being in charge of things and how things are supposed to be done back in the lab. I have the experience! Ryu should have been one of the people swimming in the water so that he could take those two on! He's an experienced street fighter for martial arts for a reason!"

Judging by the looks of his face, Ridley took that as offense. "That's an insult to my intelligence. You are not the only leader on this team. I lead an entire army on Zebes, in case you were not already aware. I can understand Shovel failing at his portion of the challenge, but I expected better results from Specter. ...Were you not on the Brawn team?"

Zelda hardly said a word and simply watched the argument unfold.

Vector also shot Plague a look. "Am I the leader of The Chaotix..."

Such a lame comparison to Ridley's profession, but in his world, there were no excuses. None. "The challenge was absolutely embarrassing. I've never seen anything like it. ...I've done my part of the challenge! And if I was Shovel or Specter, I would have done everything within my power to break away from those two. But it appeared they only gave like, fifty percent of their energy to do that as if they were trying to throw it! It's just completely unacceptable! What if we were on a big losing streak like the Heroes team and that was the one challenge we needed to win? If I was them I would be embarrassed to even show my face at tribal since the master is obviously going to ask where did it all go wrong..."

"Well at the end of the day, we should have done a much better job at the challenge!" The scientist still made his point. "Look, the right decision for me and Zelda was to sit out. Strategically, even I can say that the two of us would have been even worse with that. But, you now what? If it's best for the team, it's best for the team."

"The reason why we sat you two out of the challenge was because of us needing immunity more." Ryu explained, being one of the few from his tribe alliance to keep his composure. "We have more to lose if we got defeated at immunity, since it's the higher priority here. With all due respect, you and Zel are the weakest of the tribe, so sitting you both out on this one was nothing personal, but a team move for everyone. ...But as far as my part of the challenge, maybe I would have swapped positions with Specter or something. I dunno..."

"I've attempted my part within the best of my ability." Specter defended himself again. "Anyone who has watched my season realizes that I'm usually a much better performer."

"At the end of the day, we didn't win." Ridley glared. "A loss is a loss, and we lost by a landslide, and now one of us is going home right before the merge because you and Shovel blew it. Shadow had a hard time in the water as well."

Oh no, he did not...

"Look, I can not help if there are people who are twice as strong as I am." The last thing someone needed to do with Shadow was to piss him off. Simple as that. Yet come to think of it, there were a lot of egos on that team. "There was not anything else I could have done, I've given everything all of my might."

"I do admit that I felt embarrassed and humiliated. My reputation as a decent challenge performer is completely tarnished." Well, there was Specter owning up to what he was not able to do. "Bowser was able to literally lift me off the ground! It was my own fault and Shovel's for this team not winning. Plague just simply acts as if he knows everything, which is a topic in itself that I unfortunately do not have the time for at the moment. But Ridley is acting as if I threw the challenge on purpose. I'd like to win just like him, but it did not happen today, so that is something we would all have to deal with. The issue is that Ridley is not used to losing. He excels at every damn challenge he is a part of, but it is nobody's fault that not everybody is as strong and physical as he is."

Specter had a point. Everybody was good at something, but no one was best at everything.

Despite being named, Zelda used her right to remain silent. Maybe she was thinking in her mind.

"The fact is that we had no excuse to perform this poorly!" And Ridley was still going. "It doesn't make any sense!"

"This is not the first day I was being called a weak link, and I was being called one even though I did not even participate today." Though she took no offense by it because even she knew it was the truth. "I wish I could have stopped Vector from getting himself involved a little, but I suppose he wanted to defend himself and clear his name. But what I was more focused on was the entire Villains Tribe Alliance. Every last one of them was arguing and they are the ones that are in the majority. No relationship is perfect, yes. But I chose to not say a word just so that the argument rode its course. Myself, Vector, and Shovel are on the bottom. And any time majority alliances fuss, especially in front of the minority, that is a perfect opportunity for us to take advantage of it."

Ryu decided to have a one on one with Ridley in the woods.

"I think you went a little too far this time..." And he knew it. "No matter what, the two of them were nothing compared to DK and Bowser. I should have asked to swap positions with Specter so that we had an overall better shot. They might be bigger than me, but I've trained for stuff like that all my life. I would have handled them just fine."

He heaved a sigh, understanding where Ryu was coming from. "Alright, so I was a little harsh. It's always been a part of me. I just... Losing is something that I was never really fond of. When I lose missions with my minions, I just look at how big the loss is, and ways we could have prevented it. Any little slip up, any little error or problem that gets in the way, half the time it's something that could have easily been stopped before it even began. And sometimes when we fail a mission, the loss is rather huge."

"Hmm... So you aren't always successful." He might have found the heart of the problem right then and there.

"Most of the time we are, but the few times when we aren't, there is a price to be paid..." Ridley glanced away a bit. "At least until we manage to recover from whatever loss we suffer..."

"Look at it like that, then." Ryu suggested as they continued to walk. "We can't win everything. We were forced to go to tribal one time, and we naturally lost this time. It ain't the end of the world. You know what my master told me once? 'A warrior who never fails is a warrior who never learns.'"

It was either his master Grouken who explained that to him, or Ryu just so happened to remember a couple lines from the 2003 series of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

"But Ridley, you came off rather aggressive and you know people are gonna take it a certain way."

"I voiced my opinion, we should have performed better, but I suppose part of the reason why I got upset back there is because I fear that one of us is going to be targeted. The most we could do is to figure out who we're going to vote off and why. ...And at this point, you are probably going to feel good about this. Specter might go home today."

"!?" He immediately shot him a look. "You're serious?"

"I'm dead serious."

"Alright." He clapped. "Let's do it. I'm all over it."

"You should probably find out who he's going to write down just to see how he's thinking. But if you want him out, now would be the right time to do it since this is probably gonna be the last round before the merge."

"I've been patiently waiting. It has been eighteen days at this point, and with a level head, I can finally say that it's time." And Ryu was without a doubt ready for it. "He's going home... Unless I somehow get blindsided, he's going home tonight. He should have already been out of the game, but since it's still fairly early, we still have a shot. And I'm glad Ridley sees this as a perfect time. He has Plague, he has Shadow, that's three votes. All me and Ridley would have to do is to get the three heroes, and he's gone before he thinks about getting rid of me. There's no way I'm gonna let this man destroy my game again. This will be all for naught otherwise."

"You can come up to me after you two have your one on one." Ridley told him. "Specter is going to murder a lot of us if we do not get rid of him."

But Ryu had an honest question he wanted to ask him. "So,... what changed your mind? You weren't down for Specter when you decided to help take Sheik out..."

"Because Specter is a big name out here just like myself. Sheik wasn't. Why would I not try to align with some more big names out here just to further protect myself? Besides, even though Sheik was not the biggest threat initially, if she was more likely to make a deep run making some moves, I'm glad we got her ass out the way. But I've been trying to feel Specter out since we've been with him for six more days, and..." He paused. "I've been getting small vibes from him that he might not have any interest in working with me. And by the way he's been moving, he might put a fork into our plans and will stab you in the back. And for my game, you are one of the last people I want to be voted out because that will mess me up, especially if Bowser was somehow behind Foxy going home. But if we take him out tonight, we would be successful getting rid of a possible long-term late game threat and an immediate threat at the same time. Other words, we'll win no matter what we do."

"Hmm..." Ryu stared at the ground in thought. "You know what, I agree with you regarding Foxy. I wouldn't really count out the possibility of Bowser being behind that. He may not look it, but Bowser is perhaps smarter than people think. You're smart as well."

"And I believe that you are rather intelligent yourself, and we're all physical players. Common sense tells us that we have to stay aligned."

"Well, do you know what would really be a smart thing to do? I believe that you should be the one to approach Specter."

"..." He blinked in reaction. "Me?"

"It's the better move here. I feel like that even if he's not trusting me, he might lie right to my face. That's what he did back in Mexico. He was not afraid of telling me one thing and doing another. He threw major fork in my plans and my game never recovered. But the thing is, I don't know if he actually thinks we're aligning together. So let's just call this a little test." Okay. So Ryu wanted to test Specter by sending Ridley to talk to him. Hmm... "If you feel like he's a little iffy about me, even a little bit, we already know what to do."

He sighed knowing the exchange between himself and the skeletal villain. "This means I would have to do some sort of apologizing... And it's going to be cringeworthy and awkward."

"Hey, play with a level head. ...Right?"

"Okay." Lifting his hands up in compliance, he reluctantly agreed. "So I talk to Specter and then what? I should probably talk to Vector. Make sure he's still with me. We would need his vote, anyway."

"It's always good to strike before the other person. He's gonna do some convincing again. I already see it happening." The look of Ryu's face let people be aware that he was preparing himself for it, even though it was probably going to be a frustrating process to get through. "I just have to be the one to do some convincing here. Back in Mexico, Specter flipped... because his ego was bruised. That's exactly what happened. And what do you know, he ended up being the one to blow that reward challenge back in the day, because he's also not used to losing. And of course, here we go again. He then felt that he was basically at the bottom of my alliance. Even if he was, it did not mean that he had to snatch Plague up, use his idol on him, and let somebody idol themselves out of Survivor while destroying half the tribe's games in the process. The fact that he's still here alone is just another reason why he should go home now. He is so dangerous that it's not even funny."

But Specter Knight was thinking of some things on his own end. He was on the beach with Plague and Shadow, who just so happened to be his top two allies, anyway.

"So who's it gonna be?" Plague wondered. "A hero?"

"...No." Alright, then. "We still have our numbers advantage, so I think we can afford to send home one of our own this time. Those three can stay for now. We have problems of our own that we have to take care of."

"Who?" asked Shadow. "Ridley?"

"He crossed a line today, but thinking clearly, there is another person on here. I've been trying to figure out what his overall plan is, and... this person hasn't really been talking to me like that."

"Ryu?" Plague popped an eyebrow.

"Correct." It was official. The Villains Tribe Alliance was over. Bowser started it and now this. "Do not get me wrong. He has talked to me personally back when we were first named Valverde on day thirteen. However, him strategizing with me was something that was rather... lacking. I wouldn't be too concerned, but... I strongly feel that he's purposefully trying to avoid me."

"Not much strategizing went on between us either." Shadow actually agreed with him. "I don't think he trusts me."

"He doesn't trust you, because he doesn't trust me. He knows that the three of us are aligned together so there's a possibility he could be plotting something against us."

"So Ryu's gonna be our vote? Fine by me." That was all Plague Knight needed to know. "As long as nobody from this group of three is going home, I don't care."

"If I wanted to truly have things my way, assuming we merge at thirteen, I would delay the merge by one round so that I could have enough time to send both of them home. Ridley pissed me off, but Ryu is a problem on his own. He hasn't strategized with me for multiple days in a row, and he's barely even talking to me. Plague, Shadow, and I, the three of us make a good alliance. I don't see either of them turning against me, and just so that I have numbers, I've no reason to turn on them. If we are already three votes, all that would be required of us to do is to convince the heroes to side with us and take out Ryu before he attempts to get rid of me... if he is not doing that already."

#SpecterKnightvsRyu

Final Destination. One on one, no items, no time limit, not even any music. Not even any stocks were necessary. A 500 HP matchup. A true fight to the death.

"I feel like I could do a decent enough job to persuade the heroes to vote our way." Specter Knight convincing somebody to vote in his favor. A concept he was far too familiar with. "We would all make six. If we can fully trust those heroes we could even consider splitting the vote. Ryu has an idol, we can flush it and send Ridley home. Ridley has an idol, we can flush it and send Ryu home. We vote for Ryu, they vote for Ridley, done. We get our way no matter what."

"I'll do anything to stay alive for another day in this game." Like the former finalist, Shadow did not care either. "I'm all in."

"Ooh!" Plague Knight jumped up and down in joy. "This is gonna be sooo gooood! This could be our big moment, Specter! I mean, I never really cared about Ryu, anyway. Always gotta talk about the Strong Guys Alliance. Always gotta meditate all the time. That's all he does!"

"To be fair, I've never tried it before, but they say meditation is good for the soul..."

"..."

...Okay, not even the audience expected that to come from Specter.

But Plague Knight was more confused than ever. "You're a skeleton and you have a dark and edgy personality. You have no soul."

OOOOOOOOH!

"I might have shot at the moon too early when I turned against Ryu, but I strongly believed I was at the bottom of the Strong Guys Alliance. And I feel like I was fully justified." Specter counted on his fingers. "Ryu, Incineroar, Golden, Funky Kong... That's four. Daisy ended up being out of SGA, and Panther was left as the only Beauty in that group... How in the world did Ryu expect me to not see that coming? What does he take me for? A fool? I'm surprised we weren't putting each other's names down at our first tribal, but the Sheik vote was just so that I could get my foot in the door. But now I feel like tonight is going to be a big vote for my game. One of us is without question going tonight. I've already won the battle in season three. I could win the war, too."

"The look on Ryu's face when he realizes that he's not even going to make it to the jury! Hahaha!" Plague Knight just could have not waited any longer. "It's gonna be hard for me to not laugh."

"Here comes Ridley..." Shadow warned. Good thing Plague was using his 'quiet-yelling' voice.

"Hey..." The dragon seemingly sped-walked over to their area just so he had something to say with Specter. "We're running short on time and we're getting ready to start on dinner, but let's just say that I may have placed all of my anger on you regarding the challenge. It's more appropriate for us to call it a team loss. Bowser and DK were stronger than you, and we really should have planned better as we were going over the tree mail today. I apologize."

"There was some anger sent my way as well." Shadow did not want him to forget it.

"I apologize."

"We'll simply move forward." Specter suggested. "And did you come over here for anything else?"

"I just want to know who are we going to send home."

"Vector."

"Yeah, Vector's going to be our vote." Plague and Specter lied right on the spot. "He's the strongest hero here so he has to go."

"Vector it is."

"Perfect." But maybe for Ridley's own reasons. "I am going to tell Ryu and if we do not talk to each other again, Vector's going to be our vote so that I could say that I have gone further in the game than him this time."

"Good luck."

"You as well."

Upon him leaving, the three villains all exchanged glances at one another.

"Oh man..." Plague clapped both of his hands on his hand. "I didn't even have any time to think about it."

"Well if we were going to make up a story for him, at least make it realistic, right?" True. Specter was right.

"It appears to me that we have a little one on one battle going on around here." Shadow observed. "Specter is on one side, Ryu's on another. All we are hoping for is that Ryu has no idea we are putting his name down. Then again if he does, so be it. Including the heroes, the six of us have the numbers, so it's going to get done. ...I wonder what it would have been like if it was me versus Sonic, though."

Meanwhile with all that going on, so far that day the three heroes remained at the shelter and had hardly moved.

"I mean, I am foolish to simply assume,-" Zelda told Shovel and Vector. "-because this could just be one of the few times they argued over something. But if tensions are really getting high, the best thing we all can do is to simply watch."

"Basically let them go after each other." Vector lied on his back with his leg resting across his knee. "I get it. That'll keep the target off of us."

"Being on the bottom is something I am not rather used to." Shovel Knight admitted. "I am worried that my name is going to be written down tonight, so Zelda might have a point. ...Watch out. Ridley's coming back."

"Vector..." The dragon's voice sounded with Ridley himself coming back into view. "Could I speak with you for a moment in the woods?"

"...Sure." He really did not feeling getting up after the challenge, but he had to do what he had to do. Perhaps the conversation Ridley wanted to have with him was crucial.

So the two of them left leaving the other two survivors to exchange glances.

"Alright, so..." Shovel blinked. "What do we do next?"

Zelda was already looking. "Now Specter's coming..."

Some of the audience watching from home took a guess. Was he going to have his own talk with them?

"I'd like to have a word with the both of you."

Yes, he was.

"Is Vector around?"

"Ridley just borrowed him and they both went off to the woods." Shovel replied.

"Hmph..." He preferred all three of them to remain there, but it was not that big of a problem for him. "No matter. The two of you can relay this message. To put it simply, in spite the three of you having no power in this group, do not fear. Myself, Shadow, and Plague have other plans."

Both of them widened their eyes.

"The objective is to send Ryu home tonight. He could have an idol, but we are trying to flush it."

So Zelda was right. The five villains on Valverde were clearly not as strong of an alliance as the three of them pictured. There were cracks that were ever so obvious.

"So you don't trust him after all..." said Shovel.

"I've been wanting to know what he was planning on doing for eighteen days, and I have a feeling that at this point, he could be possibly seeking out a way to be rid of me. Because of this, I've no choice but to get rid of him first."

"Alright, then." He kept his composure on the outside, but inside it was absolutely ecstatic for him to hear. "We'll do whatever you want."

"You wish for us to put Ryu's name down at tribal?"

"The plan is to split the votes between him and Ridley." Specter answered Zelda. "You all vote for Ridley, and Plague, Shadow, and I vote for Ryu. It doesn't matter who those two vote for. I just highly suggest you all not informing Ridley about any of this. I do not trust him either, especially after what just occurred the minute we got back here."

"Well if Ridley comes to us, who does he think is going home?" The shovel wielder wondered.

"Vector. We needed to have something to throw him off, but he's not going home today. We all vote for Ryu on the re-vote and he's out."

"And what do you know?" Shovel was expressing himself a lot more in his confessional. "I was so fearful of me going home early this season, and apparently none of us are on the chopping block at all. I thought for at least this portion of the game, the villains were all going to have a mentality of making sure all of the heroes have gone extinct. But I suppose they are being even more villainous trying to take out each other. And I was a crucial swing vote at my last tribal. Now all three of us are in the middle. Specter Knight, Plague Knight, and Shadow all want to vote out Ryu, Ryu and Ridley need our votes to take out Specter. This couldn't have gone any better! The only thing that is against us is time. Things are getting a little chaotic right now and people have been all over the place today. I don't think they really know how little time we have left. At this point, I still haven't made up my mind yet. At the end of the day, however, as an All Star season, I don't think I can expect anything less."

So what were the two reptiles talking about?

"Just so you know, Specter threw your name under the bus."

"Okay..." He nodded his head in acceptance, not that it sat right with him or anything. "I don't really like that..."

"I don't either." Ridley shook agreeing. "Plague Knight even said that it's because you're the strongest hero of those three, further proving my point. The strong are starting to get targeted already and the merge has not even happened yet. And you know what, I'm not taking any chances. I'm putting Specter's name down, and I want you and those other two heroes to be a part of it."

Vector's arms remain folded, but he was giving him his full attention. "Okay... So we're gonna down a 5-3 on Specter without telling Shadow."

"I think he aligned himself with those two before Sheik got booted off." And Ridley was spot on with that assumption. "Ryu is down for it, too. Once we send Specter home, we can talk some more about what we're going to do and who we're going to work with."

"Ridley has been showing that he's wanting to work with me. He is turning his back on Specter and Ryu is right by his side inching to send him out of here for good." Music to Vector's ears. "To be honest, I still don't really know what Ridley and I can do together, but right now I'm on the bottom, and any of those five going home benefits me. And the thing is I went from being a possible target, to everybody needing my vote. Now myself, Zelda, and Shovel have a really big decision to make. Ryu's going to be a strong competitor in the physical challenges and he'll probably keep winning individual immunity until the end of time. But on the other hand, I don't know how the hell Specter Knight is even still here, but maybe it's for a reason. Bottom line is that we all know what he's capable of."

With the sun starting to set, Ridley and Ryu were seen speed-walking their way back to the group. They were told that they needed to leave rather soon, so they basically had to hurry up and finish strategizing. Most of the group even rushed to put the few usual spoonfuls of rice into their mouths.

"Man..." The bandanna wearing martial artist mumbled. "If this works, Ridley, I owe you one. You know I kind of feel useless having you to do my dirty work here, knowing that he's my arch-rival."

"Just say arch-nemesis. That's the impression I got from it." Maybe it was up to the fans to decide what sounded better. "And I really do not care. As long as the two of us are still here, if it takes me executing your plan, it is what I must do."

"...What if this doesn't work out?"

Ridley kept his eyes on him as he was hooking his bag around his shoulder. "What if it does?"

"Well if it doesn't, than it was nice knowing you, and... I appreciate you taking up for me."

"Look, even though I may appear to be narcissistic all the time, if someone is after my army, I've got to make a plan to defend them because they're fighting for me. Let's just say you are one of my top generals and your life is on the line right now. I can't afford to have you go home because that exposes me."

"I've been trying to handle this with as much patience as possible, carefully trying to make strategic calm decisions whenever necessary. But that Specter Knight?" Ryu Hoshi gradually turned his head side to side, everybody gathering all of their belongings before they reached for their torches. "He is just way too dangerous. Nobody should trust him at this stage. And now it's do or die. Either I go home, or he goes home. Only one of us is going to wake up on this island to see day nineteen, and only one of us is going to wake up on their first official day out of the game and at Ponderosa."

Now... that was long... And yet, there was the best part. Guess what? There was still some footage that was cut, still extra scenes that had to be left out.

That was why it was called the 'edit' for a reason.

Tribal Council

Night 18

This was probably going to be one of the biggest tribals of the season so far. Ryu vs Specter Knight, everyone. The time finally arrived. It was time to see who was going to better the other, and who was going to be led to the slaughterhouse?

It was good to imagine all the live watch events going on in the universe. Rodin (a former contestant from Survivor - Caribbean) was known to hosting one of those at his own bar.

Hopefully he was able to get drinks for everyone watching.

"Alright. So the first thing I'd like to start off with is the reaction to the La Vega tribe when Foxy got voted out." Fitting topic considering literally everybody else was so surprised at his elimination. Good job, Master Hand. "I've gotten the impression that it was somebody nobody expected to be voted out this early on."

"Specter Knight, for the Villains Tribe Alliance, for the sake of the numbers, Foxy going home is not a good sign for you all on the surface. You all have dominated in challenges until you were forced to come here together at tribal, and now another villain is out of the game. With Foxy being out of the game, does that give you any signs?"

"Well, we have come to a conclusion that there was most likely an idol being played on that side." He stated, just as he did with his teammates. "One of those heroes on La Vega had an immunity idol and they saved themselves, burning Foxy in the process for being a strategic threat. For their best interest, it was a good move. But this further complicates things for the rest of us villains."

"Have you all ever considered the possibility of one of your own flipping on him?"

"That's a possibility, yes. We have considered that as well, but I do not think that it is likely. Foxy, Bowser, Springtrap, and Wolf all seemed to have no issues with each other as a foursome. I doubt that was the case."

Ridley and Ryu both begged to differ, but they said nothing.

"Ryu," Perhaps that was spoken too soon,... no fourth wall breaking intended. "did you and the rest of the villains in this tribe agree? Do you think that was an idol play by one of the heroes, or did a villain turn on one of your own?"

"It could be either one, but the idol play is the most probable cause due what Specter's saying." Again, he did not exactly side with him on that, but he had a game to protect. "Based off the unanimous vote on Sheik, and those four having no beef, we all have been getting along together. I'll be shocked if it was in fact a flip. Right now we have eight villains, and six heroes. I don't know what the future will hold for us if tribe alliances are already being broken, but if villains keep going home, we're going to be either tied with the heroes or outnumbered."

"Shadow, Ryu's saying that if tribal lines are already being broke, you guys might be in trouble."

"That is something rather accurate to say. If a villain goes home this hour, it will be seven villains against six heroes. The heroes could be trying to make a comeback after proving themselves to be one of the most pathetic tribes in Survivor history."

That earned an annoyed kind of reaction from Vector.

"On paper we could keep our numbers strong, but if you rewind Survivor history, take a look at my season. In the swap phase of Emperors vs Knights, the numbers were dead even. Eight on eight. I turned against one of my own and put the rest of the tribe in jeopardy at the merge where the knights had the advantage over us. That appeared to be a fatal blow for everyone else, but in the end, an emperor still won Emperors vs Knights. It may not have been me, but it was somebody. The point I'm trying to make is that there are a number of things that can happen if one of us were to flip or backstab somebody. Things could still turn out well for us if we can continue to make decent enough decisions for each other."

"Vector, you seem irritated as he was speaking."

"I wouldn't really call ourselves the worst tribe in Survivor history, first of all." First of all? Sounded as if he had more to say as Shadow kept talking. "We worked our absolute hardest in the challenges, but it's not our fault they had strong competitors on their side. And second, what came out of his mouth just now doesn't seem to make sense to me. Are you implying that you could flip on your own team and you could still be on top? I mean, you're playing with a team right now. You have to balance your own interest with your team's best interest."

"So are you trying to say that Shadow can't have it both ways?"

"Basically. You can't be all for your tribe alliance and then be willing to flip on whoever you want just to propel your ownself further,... while trying to fight for everyone in your tribe alliance at the same time. You can't have it both ways like that. Besides, Shadow's team was in the minority in season two. This season, his team has the majority. It sounds like maybe Shadow should be someone his own teammates should be worrying about."

Deeply exhaling, he spoke again to defend himself. "Alright, then. I'll clarify. To clear up what I meant, if someone was to flip on somebody, it would be a setback for the villains. But it would not mean the end of the world. There. ...Happy now?"

"Well Shovel Knight, on your end, since you're a hero, any villain going home at this point would be fine for your three. I'm assuming you all were pretty much thankful for what happened to Foxy. It could have been the doing of the heroes that are on La Vega, but you all should have no reason to complain."

"No complaints from us. That's for sure. In order to prevent us from being..." He showed a hand Shadow's way. "'the worst tribe in Survivor history', if we can make one more villain go home, that would earn us a little bit of redemption. Seven villains against six heroes? We would have a fighting chance of turning the tables around. Then again, if there was in fact a flip that occurred, that's a whole different topic in itself."

"And that would imply that Heroes vs Villains would be over."

"Couldn't have said it better myself."

"Let's talk about the immunity challenge."

Oh boy...

"After you guys have already suffered a lost by missing out on the reward, you guys lost the immunity challenge... in a rather pathetic way, to put it bluntly. Shadow and Vector had a hard time getting their key back to the shore, but the most concerning part was when Specter Knight and Shovel Knight just couldn't break away from Bowser and Donkey Kong. You two couldn't even make it to the shore where Golden's puzzle was already finished!"

"It was really embarrassing, master." Plague spoke out before Master Hand even called on anyone. "And I wasn't even a part of that! They needed to understand that they're not just representing themselves, but they're representing me as well because I'm still on this team. So even on my end it's a bad look."

Really, Plague Knight? Really?

"I knew it was the right challenge for me and Zelda to sit out, but the main issue was that we put the wrong people in the wrong positions of the challenge. It cost us. You have to carefully plan everything properly. In my field of work, if you are unable to do that, working for me of all people is not really cut out for you. You have to know what you're doing!"

"Plague, you are coming off as if working for your laboratory is the most difficult job in the world..." said Specter, never being afraid of calling him out as usual. "Don't make it seem as if working for you is the most important thing in the universe."

"Look, if it was me instead of you trying to take on Bowser and DK like that, I would have been much worse. So it was good for me to sit out the challenge today, and I'm glad I did. But the rest of you should know better. If you don't want to go home, you have to plan things properly in these challenges and do things the right away. That's why I was so hard on you all in my challenge. You all may not have liked it, but I just wanted everything to be right! And,..." He put his hands in the air. "look what happened. We won that!"

"You have all that mouth and yet you did not even participate. Why are you even talking?"

"I'm talking because I know what it's like to lead people when it comes to doing anything! I play the leader role all the time! You don't have that, so you don't know anything about the experience."

Specter Knight slowly brought a hand to his face.

"You have to put the right people on the puzzle, and you have to put the right people to be able to handle the strongest parts of the challenge. This time the challenge was set up a little different, so we had to think outside the box... We did not do that."

"Well, what's done is done." The red-cloaked warrior did not feel like putting up with him. Not now. "I have performed within the best of my ability. I admit of my failure to complete my part of the challenge, but I do not know what do you want me to do about it."

"It's nothing other than constructive criticism."

"Anyone ever heard of the phrase, 'we all make mistakes'?" Shovel Knight interrupted. "I'd like to apologize as well. I was with Specter in that moment. But continuing to lecture others about it isn't going to undo what happened. It's all about learning and how to move forward so that we wouldn't have to make the same mistake the next time. Nobody is perfect."

Specter leaned over to heavily nod his head at Plague. In all honesty, he was probably the one person that openly called him out whenever he wanted and always managed to get away with it.

...

"Master," Shovel shook his head from side to side. "I think today's loss has brought out the worst in us. There are some many of us sitting here that have never been known to be fond of losing, and I think that it is really showing right now..."

"At least I am able to admit where I have failed." The taller knight continued to defended himself. "Being lectured because of one loss is not going to get us anywhere. That goes for everyone sitting right here."

The hand paid close attention to detail. "When you say 'that goes for everyone', you're not referring to just Plague in particular."

"I'm referring to the tribe in general. There was an argument that occurred the moment we returned to our camp. I've made myself clear then, and I've made myself clear right here at tribal."

Ridley was staring at the ground. Just because Specter did not feel like addressing himself when it came to the situation did not mean that he himself did. For him it was already over and done with. Now Specter Knight was bringing it up again.

"Ridley pointed fingers at me and Shadow, but me specifically. And we both got into it."

"I was venting, master." The dragon replied immediately. "I was venting about the challenge like Plague Knight was, and I came out to be more aggressive by blaming the entire challenge on him, where it was a whole team loss. But I have already apologized."

"You still threw me in the fire a little."

"And I said I apologize." His head then turned away from Shadow. "I just did not want to lose any more challenges before we all got to the merge, because it is coming. If we did not lose, we all would have made it."

Well, duh...

"Ridley, your team has won every single immunity challenge until now." reminded Vector. "That ain't the first challenge you lost and it's not going to be the last."

...

"So Zelda, what are the chances of a hero going home tonight? All of the villains here are under the impression that one of your old teammates played your tribe's idol. Assuming that is the case, you, Vector, and Shovel Knight don't have much room to hide."

"It is five against three, so the obvious move for us to make is to explore the cracks in the alliance. And for the sake of saving ourselves, we'll do whatever these people want. As long as the three of us are safe for the next day, we'll vote whoever we have to. There are always bigger targets on the board, and I don't think any of us should be the biggest priority at this moment. All five of them have moves or reputations up their sleeves that make themselves more vulnerable to be voted out, so perhaps they, or at least somebody from that group should be worried."

Ryu curled his lips while Specter remained facing the master.

"They should be worried. Maybe not as much as we are, especially since I'm not really used to being on the bottom like this." Shovel Knight talked again. "But one thing we can all agree on here is that whether you're in the majority or on the bottom, you gotta make sure you're not the one going home. Blindsides do happen, idols are played, and jumping ship can occur at any moment. But no matter what, the goal here to survive as long as you can. So we'll see what happens tonight."

"Alright." The discussion was finished. "It is time to vote. Specter Knight, you're up."

And it was on!

The knight got up and left his seat, about to make his second vote of the season.

R-Y-U

"You may be up to your old tricks again. Slitting the throats of your own teammates for your own benefit. Not saying that it's wrong, but be prepared, mister. Two can play at that game."

Oh, and guess what? Ryu was called on next! What in the world, Master Hand?

S-P-E-C-T-E-R

He did not even write the full name, but it was clear that no one cared in the slightest.

"Maybe Ridley's right. You are my one true enemy. You are the one thing that has kept me on edge for eighteen days. You have been here for far too long. This is my first and hopefully only time I need to put your name down. I want to get you out of here in one shot."

But Ryu did care about making sure all the letters in his name were capitalized so much that they took up the entire piece of parchment.

Next to be called forward was Plague Knight... Yes. Wow. And the funny thing the order of the people voting was actually randomized.

The masked villain wrote down Ryu's name in a rather interesting way.

WII-U

It was not surprising to learn that some fans were at home rolling on the floor laughing out loud. Well, on the plus side he actually wrote down Ryu's name in parentheses... even though the letters were smaller.

"Eh... Never cared about you like that. All you do is talk about is street fighter, Strong Guys Alliance, and meditate all day. How boring."

Ryu stared his way the entire time as the screen faded to Shadow and Zelda voting next.

Ridley was uncapping the fountain pen when it was his turn to vote, writing down the same name as his ally.

"I've tried giving you a chance by keeping a threat like you around, but you're just so dangerous in this game it's not even worth it. The only thing I'm gonna give you is that you're the one person that can truly shut Plague's mouth."

And Specter kept his eye on him.

Following Shovel Knight, Vector went up last to cast his vote.

"This is a good way to split the three of you Mexico people up. To the other person we're saving tonight, I strongly hope you don't cause any problems down the road."

He could have had the common courtesy to speak a name...

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

Whatever. Everyone was going to find out soon.

Ridley sat completely still, hoping the plan he put in place turned out alright for himself and Ryu's sake. As for the martial artist himself, he appeared to be a deer caught in the headlights.

All the while, Specter kept his composure while Plague nervously shot his eyes all over the place.

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

Anyone?

...Anyone? ...Ridley?

...

...Apparently he did not wish to play anything.

"Okay."

That actually made Specter think a little.

"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..."

Ryu's mouth formed a circle calmly breathing out air.

"First vote... Ryu."

In an instant, his heart began to race. Just a single vote made him more uncomfortable.

"Ryu. Two votes Ryu."

And by the way, that first vote belonged to Plague. But Ryu completely ignored it. He was too busy freaking out.

Specter kept his fist beneath his chin.

"Ryu. That's three votes Ryu."

Ridley shot a glance his way to check in on him, wanting to verbally tell him that their votes were not being read yet at the time. But even he had his own reasons to be concerned.

The three heroes on the other hand had no worries at all.

"Specter Knight."

...

"One vote Specter Knight."

He remained in his position.

"Specter Knight."

Plague clapped both of his hands onto his cloak in horror. He was aware that it was going to take more than that to send him home. But in a perfect world, he did not want to see Specter's name come up at all.

"That's three votes Ryu, two votes Specter Knight."

It helped Ryu a little bit to see his ri-... enemy's name come up, but he was still worried. The plan was either going to work out perfectly, or go up in flames.

Shadow showed no signs of anxiousness, probably showing his confidence. However, somebody was going to get blindsided. Somebody was not going to get their way...

...

"Specter Knight."

Shadow's jaw dropped, Specter facepalming as he already knew what was coming.

"No!" Plague gasped in reaction.

"We're tied. Three votes Specter Knight, three votes Ryu."

"I'm going home..." The scythe wielder shook. "I'm not going to make it."

Him already admitting to defeat was a bonus for Ridley, beginning to grin from ear to ear.

"Specter Knight. Four votes Specter Knight, three votes Ryu, one vote left."

Ryu was really starting to calm down now, shifting a glance at Ridley, who nodded in confirmation. He was going to be safe.

"Not again..." Plague on the other hand was continuously shaking his head in disbelief. "Not again..."

"Seventh person voted out of Survivor - Heroes vs Villains. Specter Knight. You need to bring me your torch."

#Blindside

Sighing out of failure to stay in, he gradually got up from his seat.

"Plague Knight, avenge me."

"I'm so sorry!"

"I've helped you for as long as I could." He went behind everyone to grab his torch. "You're on your own, now..."

"Hey..." Ryu then got up to face Specter. "No hard feelings, but I had to do it."

"You got rid of me first. Good call." He respectfully shook his hand before he went over to put his torch down.

"Specter Knight, the tribe has spoken."

Snuff.

"Time for you to go."

And he left. He was finally gone.

By the look of Shadow's face, he was furious.

Plague Knight buried his face in his lap. "Why do you all keep doing this to me?"

"We want to win just as much as you do." Ridley answered. "Suck it up."

"Well, based on the results of the vote, none of the heroes were targeted at all. The villains have clearly backstabbed each other. Maybe the theme of the season is already over. Imagine what would happen by the time you all make it to the merge. Grab your torches, head back to camp. Goodnight."

Ryu took a moment to briefly whisper to Ridley. "Thank you. You saved my life."

"My pleasure."

In that order, Ridley, Vector, Zelda, Plague Knight, Shovel, Shadow, and Ryu all walked out of tribal to begin their way back to Valverde.

Votes:

Zelda - Specter Knight

Ridley - Specter Knight

Vector - Specter Knight

Shadow - Ryu

Ryu - Specter Knight

Shovel Knight - Specter Knight

Specter Knight - Ryu

Plague Knight - Ryu

-/-

5-3

14th Place: Specter Knight

Total Votes Received: 6

Final Confessional Count: 2-1-2-2-1-4 (12)

"I am not bitter at all. They've gotten me. I've tried to survive as long as possible knowing my threat level, and they've gotten me. Ryu had his revenge on me. But I've told Plague to avenge me since he of all people is the one person I'm rooting for. Hope he does well... But at the same time, he does need to humble himself along the way. Though for my game, I do not think I could have played a better game considering where I stood with everyone. There was nothing else I could have done, so I have little reason to be upset."

Castaways Remaining:

Donkey Kong, Bowser, Yoshi, Wolf, Golden, Springtrap / Zelda, Ridley, Shadow, Vector, Ryu, Shovel Knight, Plague Knight

Character Confessional Count:

21: Donkey Kong (+2)

15: Golden (+2), Ridley (+2)

13: Zelda (+2), Ryu (+2), Bowser (+3), Shovel Knight (+2)

12: Specter Knight (+4), Vector (+1), Sonic

11: Yoshi (+1), Plague Knight (+1), Foxy, Meta Knight

10: Shadow (+2), Wolf (+2), Springtrap (+1)

6: Sheik

5: Mario

3: Isabelle

Well Ryu, you've done it. You won. You have officially got your revenge on Specter Knight. You should be proud of what you achieved, as Specter Knight just missed out here on making it to the merge (yes, that's next chapter).

For Specter Knight fans, sorry. He was a fun villain. He was like a cat with nine lives in Mexico and it almost happened here again by his way of convincing others to follow his plan. And it finally caught up to him and now he and Plague are separated once again... Well, Plague has Shadow, but still.

I haven't mentioned the poll in a while, but it's still up. I'll see you all next Wednesday!