Survivor - Heroes vs Villains

Chapter 40 - Day 35 Part 2

Okay, everyone. So before I start, I gotta say that this episode in particular so far... might be a little more gamebotty than previous episodes. I'll try to come up with something regarding character development today.

Now I know that people are getting eliminated a bit faster now and there hasn't been many reward challenges as of late. It does contribute to do that, but I still do the best I can to include character moments. And on top of this being an All Star season where characters are already established, character development is a bit harder to do. So it's best for me to tell yall in advance. You find this episode to be a little too gamebotty, yall already know why lol.

By the way, this was supposed to be updated last week. But I got sick with the common cold. Yeah... Chills and everything. Good Lord. But I'm back to normal now.

~KF

Darleem

Day 35

Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Zelda, Wolf, Ryu, Shovel Knight, Plague Knight

-/-

"Well Plague, you have officially redeemed yourself in challenges."

Ryu, Plague Knight, and the other five members of the merged tribe returned home, the scientist in particular feeling very proud of himself. Not even he predicted this was going to occur in his second Survivor run.

"Every poor challenge performance you were a part in Mexico? Completely nullified." Ryu went on to say. "Sure, super physical challenges are of course not your forte. But you really proved yourself in most of the racing type of individual immunity challenges. And everyone who is standing here knows you are great at puzzles."

"You're tied with Funky Kong now from your own season." Wolf bumped his shoulder with his fist. "Both of you won three immunities each, tying the record for third most immunity wins in a single season. And you both come from the Brain tribe."

"The Brain tribe in Survivor - Mexico is going down as iconic." Donkey Kong figured. "Every last member of that group brought something to the table when season three aired. And it's the only season in this series in which all three players that made it to the end come from the same team."

Hmm. That was quite the point there. Even though Jimmy Hopkins did not even make it to the swap, he was quite in a character in his own right. ...And he was also known for being Plague's first ever ally that he lost to the game. The master of potions had yet to even meet Specter at the time.

"I think everyone in the Survivor community is going to be completely surprised." Shovel Knight grinned. "You in their eyes are probably the very last person to be expected to be some sort of challenges beast this season."

"Oh goodness, thanks everyone." He felt pride, yet his voice had a hint of anxiousness in it. "I do not think I am used to getting this many compliments in Survivor at one time. I am still trying to take it all in."

"The craziest part of all this winning is that usually when I compete in individual challenges, I hope that I actually don't place last, whether it'd be the first one dropping out or being the one to finish with the least amount of progress. Because if there's one thing I admit is that I've embarrassed myself at these challenges one too many times. That post-swap challenge back in Mexico still haunts me, and Specter being rather harsh me for it did not help much..." He was seen glancing off to the side, but then he suddenly shook his head rapidly. Plague probably did not want to think about that too much. "But anyway, it's more of me just thinking of how well I would perform. I suppose that's the average mindset most Survivor competitors have, but it's nice to know that I am actually capable of winning an immunity necklace, let alone three of them. Seventy-four days into my Survivor career and I've never been voted out. And tonight I can feel perfectly comfortable once again. ...Well, almost perfectly comfortable. There is a whole other person out there that came close to winning immunity, but he didn't. And regarding him, he is someone that I should actually be concerned about..."

Obviously he was talking about a certain mercenary whose name started with a 'W.' ...Yeah. Not really that hard to guess. More on that later, though. The next scene that followed consisted of Plague actually having a full blown dialogue with Ryu. Weird thing was that the two were never seen interacting together that much on Heroes vs Villains. Perhaps it was something to look into.

"Wolf and I literally have no choice but to vote with you two."

"Likewise." He nodded folding his arms. "So hopefully we could all trust each other on this one. I don't know if we're gonna have many chances to break those three up after this. All of them are vulnerable, so we have to figure out who goes first."

"I mean, it should be easy. But I suppose one of them might have an immunity idol that's gonna mess everything up." Plague shook his head at the possibility. "Shovel Knight has literally found an idol before and held onto it for basically the whole duration of the game and used it when he absolutely had it. He's gonna do it again if the idol is in his possession."

"Well if Shovel somehow does not have it, Zelda probably does. We can't guarantee which one of the two has it. All we know is that most likely, almost certainly, the idol is not in Yoshi's possession."

"I am sorry, but if Yoshi has the idol, my name isn't Plague Knight."

Alright, then. Someone was due for a name change. Regardless of opinion, facts never lied.

"When in my martial arts training, I was always taught to never underestimate my opponent. You never know what tricks they might have up their sleeve." Grouken really taught his son-like figure well. "Now to be fair, there's a low chance that Yoshi might have an idol comparing him to the other two who are more likely. Still not impossible, though. But if we were to play it safe, he would obviously be the one we could all vote for."

"Umm, are you sure?" Plague hoped to do something else. "Not trying to sound like a jerk or anything. But at this stage in the game, it would probably be more worth it if we dodge the idol and get a big player out at the same time. Zelda is the most risky player to put votes on, because that's probably something they all expect. But it doesn't mean that we can't at least vote for Shovel Knight."

"Who has had an immunity idol before." Ryu reminded. "If anything, he's just as dangerous. I'd rather still be here with somebody like Yoshi gone, than to go out foolishly targeting one of the more obvious players from that group. It's the lesser of the two evils. You just said yourself that you're not gonna believe it if Yoshi's the one who has the idol. We cut him out of the picture, that leaves the idol between the other two heroes. Yoshi is our best choice, even if we all have a decent shot at beating him at the end."

"I don't want to vote out Yoshi because he's probably the only person of this entire group at the moment that I could actually see myself beating. I don't even know if I have a chance of beating Shovel Knight. So preferably, it would be best for my game if Zelda is the one going home. I'm safe, so I don't have much to lose. So while I have the necklace, I am... trying to get my act together. I've been learning a bit from Wolf all people, who I need to stay in this game because he's the only ally I am close with. Maybe with him mentoring me of how to be more tolerable around other people, maybe they'll think that I'm not as bad as they initially thought. If I could somehow change peoples' perceptions about me this late in the game, perhaps there's still a possibility that I could get more jury votes. Ryu is someone that I've known longer than everybody at this point, so he was my first ever attempt of... trying to make things right. I do need him voting with me today after all."

"So even after we hopefully weaken the Hero Three, do you still plan on voting with me and DK, or you haven't thought that far yet?" The street fighter asked him. "We do have to think about the next Tribal Council after this, after all."

"Umm..." He glanced away. "I haven't thought that far... I can't say I can make any promises right now."

"I appreciate your honesty. That's fine." Ryu decided that was decent enough of an answer for him.

"I'm just trying to get to the end here."

"So am I, and I'm sure everyone else here is thinking the same. People might just be voting a different way from each other to satisfy their own plans, and that's okay. I've been there. I cut the dreams of people from my old tribe, so I know what you're feeling."

"...You mean the Brawn tribe?" Plague assumed.

"I do. You don't think I felt awful when I sent Jet and Katt home?" Both rounds, and especially for Jet were rather brutal. "Jet never in a million years expected me to vote for him. We literally bonded before tribal only for me to cut his head off. If this was moral Survivor, he would never have even been thought of to eliminate. Seeing his reaction to him being blindsided broke my heart. I just kept a straight face on because I knew it was all part of a game plan that I thought was gonna work, only for it to all blow up in my face."

"I remember being completely shocked when Master Hand announced that Jet was voted out over someone like Daisy or Espio." Not that Plague was complaining. Part of him was just happy his team won immunity at the time. "I think back in that day, I don't know if I really cared too much of who went home. I was still mad at my tribe for voting out Jimmy. Everybody else from my tribe wanted to stay together but me."

"That's what it looked like when you and Specter voted Espio out. Not going to lie, you really should have gone home instead of Katt when we first merged. It really would have changed things up."

Kind of bold of Ryu to make a direct comment like that Plague's way, yet the scientist did not take it rather personal. He laughed if anything. "That's what everybody's says. All because they thought Katt was going to be on the jury, and she didn't make it. But I am glad it wasn't me, because look at what happened. I made history, and then we all got you out."

Plague Knight pointing fingers sort of made things even, and Ryu Hoshi decided to not take it as offense. "And that's exactly what I get for turning on my old team members too early. It made me a bigger target, and Specter's ego was bruised because he blew that reward challenge which made him think in his mind he needed to flip with you because I'm physically stronger than he is. Without trying to sound conceited, that's a literal fact. Him getting me out after Espio was a way of him taking all of his anger and frustrations out on me."

"Even I can admit that." He grinned under his mask. "Specter had his poor feelings hurt. And as a result, he single-handedly made a name for himself due to what he did. For me, Espio had it coming. He harmed my game, so I helped ruin his. That's what he gets."

"To be fair, you were the one that got burned first. I can't blame you for wanting revenge. Imagine if Jet got me out in the same fashion." Oh Lord... It was always that 'what-ifs' that had Survivor fans thinking. "I burned him and he never had the chance to get me back on it. So instead, Specter completely killed my chances of winning because of what he did. But even with that, I am not one hundred percent blameless. ...It's a big reason why I can't stay mad at you, Plague. You may be far from a social butterfly, but you are what I call... a villainous underdog."

Rather fitting title for someone like him.

"You were just trying to survive. Like everybody else. And your gameplay really wasn't bad. But,... all you had to do was handle yourself better. If you did better in that department, you probably would have been a winner. But... points for Specter, because he was voting for you regardless since he's more cold than you."

"..." The potion master glanced away. It was rare of him to appear rather quiet. "You know how many times I tell Mona of the numbers of things that could have happened differently if I was to win that title? I think about it all the time. And,... I know sometimes I may have been a little harsh on others. But sometimes I just can't help it. I can't just change who I am. But what I'm trying to do right now is to how to have... honest conversations with others. And admittedly, I am not sure if I'm even the best at doing those."

"Well, what you're doing right now is being completely vulnerable. This is my first time personally seeing this side of you." Impressed, Ryu actually formed a grin. "It was those last words you just spoke to me that told me that you're at least trying. Ridley was another social pariah that I ended up talking to a bit. He was definitely open about a couple of his insecurities and internal struggles. I'm not saying you have to be like him, but I think it's appropriate to use him as an example. I feel like when you're honest with others with how you're feeling, it increases the chances of more people understanding you and letting your voice be heard. We all just need to be honest with ourselves first, though. Because when it comes to talking about love for instance, you can't love others if you don't love yourself. So in regards to being honest and genuine, it's sort of the same thing. And I know for me in particular I have my own conversations with myself when no one's looking."

Plague Knight simply sighed. It was rather a big bunch of words for him to take in all at once. Yet he still took a second to think about them all, as much as they made his head hurt a little. "This is rather... overwhelming for me."

"Look, I know we're not exactly best friends out here. But whatever um,... relationship you and I have, I appreciate it." Ryu just did not want to be rude and outright say him and Plague were really not known for getting along like that, most likely being in his eyes he was just a reminder of Specter Knight and everything that went on. "What I can say is that if you continue to have talks like this with the others about certain things, folks would probably respect you even more, regardless of how they feel about you."

"Plague Knight just showed me right then and there of what one of his main flaws are. There's no denying that he's a complainer when he doesn't get what he wants, and he doesn't know how to handle himself when it comes to dealing with other people. You know, it's always about how you say it. But I'm starting to think he really doesn't know how to have honest, genuine conversations with the people he comes across. At least that's the impression I got him, because I don't know if the others feel the same. The general consensus of the merged tribes of both Mexico and this season is that he is rather irritable to be around. Yet when it comes to actually taking your time and expressing your emotions in a healthy way, he doesn't seem to know how to do that. He instead reacts with anger and... plainly throwing a fit. ...I dunno. I may be a lot of things, but I ain't no people expert unless when it comes to physical training. Maybe he's better off with talking to someone like Golden. He did come from his old tribe after all, and he's always been the most understanding guy I know. Where's Fredbear when you need him?"

"And then what did he say?"

Wolf was being let in on what occurred throughout the whole conversation.

"Basically, he told me that if I really wanted to express myself properly, I should just been honest and genuine with my emotions. But,... I kinda feel like I already have been doing that. Like, I'm just the kind of person where if I have something to say, I'll say it to your face. ...Even Percy is smart enough to know that!"

"Yeah, but people are capable of expressing how they feel without being a jerk about it. And I think it was something Specter might have said to you before, but I feel like it's a matter of you finally realizing it. You admitted to me yourself one time that you're a little too hard on Percy sometimes. Like how a regular boss mistreats one of his worker. That's basically what you said to me that time."

"'Mistreat' is such a strong word, isn't it? He's just not the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes."

He glared. "Plague..."

"Okay, okay. Maybe you're right and I'm wrong again." Mona's partner heaved a great sigh. "Maybe I've been a little cruel to him. ...But I suppose I can say is that he has greats amount of patience. Even more than both me and Mona combined. Maybe he is worth something."

"I think it'll really help if you treat him a little better. It's not a bad thing to admit your faults. Don't you think you need a little more patience? Whatever Ryu told you ties in to what I said about valuing your relationships. And if you were that open with him, that's progress. I'm sure Mona would appreciate you learning from your second time playing this."

Plague sighed at the mention of her name. Yet he knew the lupine was right. Everyone needed to learn how to have a little bit of patience. It very much changed the outcomes of certain situations sometimes. But still, he found it hard to believe who exactly was he taking advice from. "Yes, Master Wolf."

"Good puppy. We should get you a doggy treat today." Ahahahahahaha! That was definitely going to crack somebody up! "DK should be close. Let's see who we're gonna settle on before we eat dinner."

"I never expected myself to be some sort of mentor or teacher for somebody. Kind of a new role people aren't used to seeing me in. But I guess there's a first time for everything. Specter got out way early this time leaving Plague behind who still needs a few pointers. Maybe I can fill in the void until they meet each other again, because even if I dislike Plague, I've no other choice but to stick with him. The best thing to do is make the most of it by not having his mouth getting me in trouble, because this is the absolute worst time for me to go home right now."

"I was just talking to Ryu back there about one of them probably having the idol, but we don't know for certain who might have it in their possession."

"Could be any of 'em..." DK scratched the top of his head. "They know we're targeting one of them, and they might have something to use against us. If we don't do this correctly, one of them is going to win the game."

"We have to do this correctly." Wolf folded his arms. "We have to think of every literal detail we could come up with. Even if they're not gonna vote for me, they'll probably vote for you. I think they see you as a bigger threat than Ryu."

"Ryu thinks that Yoshi having the idol would be possible, but not really likely. And I'm like, I get it. But... there's really no chance of him having it. Why would Yoshi find an idol?" Plague Knight was not going to be called Plague Knight anymore if Yoshi was set to use his weapon at the upcoming tribal. Did Ryu need to say it again? "If we're gonna keep anyone here, it should be him. He's not going to get any votes at the end! Even if he does have it, we should probably still keep him in because he's not going to win this game. We need to win!"

"Wolf and Plague need us, and Ryu and I both need them. Even if Wolf is trying to just use me, it doesn't matter anyway. It's not like the Hero Three plan on ever working with me again at this point." So of course, that by itself told DK that they were the ones needing to be rid of before they got him out. "We think that they have the merged tribe idol, so I have to put myself in their shoes and think about how they would play it, since I got to experience of what having an idol is like... twice. It's a scenario where there is literally no wrong answer. They all have their own reasons to why they should get the boot. So it's more about all not messing this up, or else we're all gonna look foolish in front of everyone because we know that they have an idol, only for us to take the hit anyway."

Alright. It was time for the Hero Three to get some screen time themselves, the producers saving them for last.

"Okay. We all know that pretty much everyone is talking about us, so we're all gonna have a big strategic dialogue right here." Zelda and her two hero friends all sat right in the sand by the water. "I'll be the thinker, Shovel can be the visualizer, and Yoshi's gonna have his own input in about what he thinks about certain things."

"Maybe I'll be the lookout to." The dinosaur volunteered. "Any one of them could come at any moment."

"Alright, so let's get this started. I don't know how long we're going to be talking together like this, so we really need to make this discussion count." Zelda cleared her throat before she began. "Okay. So, the three of us sitting right here all know that we're in the minority. Donkey Kong, Wolf, Plague Knight, and Ryu have the majority. Four against three. And for them it makes perfect sense to vote together, because they see us as being too threatening for them to keep around. So basically,... if we do not do anything to stop this, one of us is going home."

"Gulp..." And that was not Yoshi making the actual sound effect. That was an actual word that came out of his mouth to dramatize the situation.

"'Gulp' is right." Zelda agreed. "The simple question is what exactly are we going to do here? Well,... we have this idol here."

...Wait, what?

The next thing the fans knew, Yoshi was seen pulling out the idol from his bag and giving it to Shovel.

"And because of this idol, we now have a one in three shot at all of us surviving the night and making it to the next day."

...Well, no matter Yoshi's friends appeared to be more calm, rather than them both panicking and freaking out.

"Zelda and I were both searching for the hidden immunity idol high and low the moment all thirteen of us merged together. And lo and behold, it was Yoshi that had the idol with him the whole time. He told us yesterday." Okay, then. So Shovel was finally aware of the truth. He and Zelda must have found out after Yoshi himself knew how the votes were going to go at the following tribal, so he likely felt like getting it out of the way. "It was a big sigh of relief, yet we all know we're not going to be out of the woods until four of the votes are negated all tribal... assuming we play this right. I've been comparing Survivor with chess a couple times. Different games, sure. But in both situations, mind games are involved. And I have my own experiencing playing chess. Maybe that's partly why I end up being willing to adapt to the more strategic elements of the game anyway."

"The only catch is that we are the chess pieces. And we have to move ourselves across the board here."

Perhaps it was best for the audience to be the judge of that analogy. Did it make sense? Regardless, it was probably why Zelda picked Shovel to be the 'visualizer' of the discussion, him even having a stick in hand.

Currently there seven dots in the sand. Three of them represented the Hero Three while the other four represented everyone else. Looking simple so far, so there was no reason for any fairly intelligent person to complicate it.

Yoshi was glancing over his shoulder. "We're looking good so far..."

"Alright, so there is not enough room for the majority alliance to split the votes. They are all going to be voting for the same person. And that is when things get rather tricky... they could be very well voting for any of us at this point." Zelda heaved a sigh at this. It was just another reason why playing Survivor was so difficult. "No matter what the perception is of each individual that is sitting here, there is just enough reason for any of us to go home. Worst case scenario,... we all pack our bags tonight without leaving anything behind. We aren't even going to pretend that we are a happy tribe and there are absolutely no obvious cracks here."

"Whew..." Shovel sounded relieved. "Glad we do not have to worry about it. Otherwise, we would have been putting out a performance in front of Master Hand again to avoid spilling the beans of what's really on our minds. It is always tiresome... But Zel, you're already having me worried here."

"I am not trying to be pessimistic, but the chances of us succeeding aren't guaranteed a hundred percent. If one of us is really leaving, I know it'd be best for me to have all of my belongings with me than to go to Ponderosa with some things left behind on the island. And then I would have to wait for the producers to give me the rest of my stuff."

"I guess you have a fair point there..." The stick wielder used his new weapon to point. "So, we don't know who in particular those four are going to be voting for. I think the proper way to visualize it is by having us picturing ourselves that we are in the ones that are in the majority and we feel like the other side has the idol. Who would be the primary target?"

"...It could pretty much be me or you." Zelda had a strong feeling it was her. Though even when it came to her closest ally, she did not want to give too much away for her own reasons. "That is probably how they are thinking right now. And I'm sorry Yoshi, but you are probably going to be the one underestimated here."

"I know, I know." He waved it off, already knowing where she was getting at. "They don't see me as a big player."

"Well I tried to word it in the nicest way possible, but that is probably what is going on in their minds. But, for that same reason, they are probably seeing you as the safest option to vote for. And with that note,-" She and Yoshi both witnessed Shovel circling one of the lower three dots in the sand. "-maybe there would be a high chance of them targeting you. It might not be that bad of an idea for you to play the idol on yourself, Yoshi."

"That's easy." The green creature looked over his shoulder again. "Keep going..."

"I'm playing it all in my head." Shovel Knight had a finger beneath his helmet. "They are likely to go for Yoshi for being the absolute safest option for the three of us in order for them to dodge them idol. ...But I do believe that there might still be a catch to it. What if they know the idol is going to be played on Yoshi (regardless of they think might have it)? If we as a group play it on Yoshi because we feel that's who they are going to be voting for, it goes right back on them."

There was now a top view of the whole picture Shovel was drawing. There were starting to be arrows all over the place. "They're trying to flush the idol while we're trying to play it on the right person. Their goal is to make us look foolish. Basically, they might somehow be risky and vote for either me or you, Zelda. While it is not a bad luck for Yoshi playing the idol to save himself, what if we need the idol more than he does? The objective here is for one alliance to outsmart the other. It's the very reason why this is going to be one of the most interesting voting rounds of the game."

"All this is making my brain hurt. I'd take on lookout duty any day." And the dino glanced over his shoulder one more time. "Still nothing."

"Part of me wishes that I should have never found the idol in the first place. Obviously Vector, Shovel, or Zelda would have done a much better job handling it. I did do a good job keeping a secret until I pretty much had no choice but to talk about it. The immunity idol is the life vest that we need to survive. And honestly, I haven't felt this much pressure since the time I had to vote out K. Rool in Survivor - Caribbean. Sure, I'd rather have an opportunity to save one of my friends rather than vote off one of my closest allies. But it's a one in three shot in playing it on the right person. Of course the safest move is to play it on myself, but this is a do or die round right here. My friends might need it more than me because they're being perceived as the bigger threats, and the safe vote might be the obvious vote for the majority alliance. ...All this is just too overwhelming for me and I think that if I keep talking about it, my head is going to straight up pop! It's just too much!"

Maybe Yoshi just needed to take five seconds to calm down. "All I know is that I don't need an Espio situation. We already had one play idoling themselves out of the game. I'm not asking to be the second one to do that."

"It'll be all up to you to decide who to play the idol on." While it did not sound like Zelda was trying to make things any easier for him, there was a fine line between putting things in a nice sounding way and outright sugar coating it. "But at the end of the day, neither of us would hold any resentment towards you playing it on yourself. We don't know want you to go through the same thing Espio had to go through."

He exhaled a deep sigh hanging his head down. "It's fine... I understand the whole situation. It could be one of the two of you, but... I'm the safe vote for a reason. I dunno..."

"Keep your composure. It's okay." Shovel placed a supporting hand on his shoulder. "We don't want you to feel any more pressure than you already have to. If it works out, we're all here for another day. If not, at least you tried your best. That's all that matters and we thank you in advance for no matter what happens. This moment is going to be for us three and Vector if we do get out of her unscathed, though. We have to mentally prepare ourselves to be ready."

"Of all the tribals I've been a part of this season, I certainly feel the danger coming." It was the first real time Zelda felt like she was in hot water since... all the time she was almost voted out in Emperors vs Knights. "I think I said everything that I needed to say today when it came to discussing options with my alliance members of what we might have to do. But at the end of the day, Shovel isn't carrying the immunity idol. I'm not carrying the immunity idol. Yoshi is. And because of the rules surrounding hidden immunity idols, we can not force Yoshi to play it on a certain player. He has to make the decision himself to play it on whoever he wants. And any time Yoshi knows he's in a big position to make something happen in the game, that is when he grows worried and starts to panic. He simply is not fond of having someone's fate in his hands... And all that I'm hoping for is that our three votes are all that would be needed to send anyone else home other than ourselves tonight."

Tribal Council

Night 35

Well, somebody had to go. Right?

That was why people were basically playing a game of musical chairs at tribal. Somebody was going to lose a seat and they were going to get punished for it. And due to the circumstances, people were really scrambling for their place in the game this time.

So hopefully no one at home needed to go to the bathroom, because Survivor rarely carried commercials during the middle of Tribal Council.

"We'll now bring in the members of our jury. Shadow, Ridley, Vector, Golden, Bowser, and Springtrap voted out at the last Tribal Council."

Though he the guts to almost glare at him after writing him off, Wolf O'Donnell was grinning from ear to ear upon seeing Springy sitting down on the jury bench. In reaction, he simply smirked back. Maybe to him it was best not to worry. He was bound to receive some type of explanation sooner or later."

"So... Everyone, and I mean everyone wrote off Springtrap last night. Unanimous votes don't happen too often at this stage in the game. I do not know if that means something or not." Master Hand decided to plainly ask the Darleem family. "Is this one happy tribe? Do you all trust each other so much as if you're an actual family?"

"It is anything but." Shovel was heard speaking. "Everybody voted for the same person, but everybody knows each other's true intentions. There is a clear line in sand."

This might have sounded shocking to the jury, but they all felt like it was something to be expected anyway. Why would they be all having unanimous votes from there on out at this point?

"Okay, so the tribe's divided. And I'm already guessing what the alliances are, but I want to hear someone say it to make sure I have it right."

"I'll say it." Ryu volunteered. "Shovel, Yoshi, and Zelda versus myself, Wolf, DK, and Plague."

"And I was right."

"Would have said that it was the heroes versus the villains again, but of course DK in particular just had to mess everything up."

He hunched his shoulders. "Sorry for bringing fluidity into the game, I suppose."

"Alright, so it four against three. Zelda, you were never really aligned with Springtrap for the entire game. Voting him out should have benefited you. But you, Shovel, and Yoshi ended up being on the wrong side of the numbers, anyway. Why do you think that's the case?"

"I think it's because of Bowser leaving."

King Koopa was brought up again.

"After Bowser left, Wolf was kind of having some more conversations with DK, since he's another player that originated from his past season. They probably bonded over Bowser leaving knowing all that they have been through together as an alliance, and he probably made a deal with him to get rid of Springtrap together. My alliance was completely fine with it as long as it wasn't one of us going home. And if anything, it should have harmed Wolf and Plague's game since they voted out their own ally. But because of Wolf and DK strengthening their relationship, with Plague and Ryu also being with them, that's enough to form a four person majority over us. It is a nice social play, but it does not work in our favor one bit."

"Well me playing the game is better than just sitting here. You three could have used the opportunity to make your case to DK over here, especially knowing that you all came from the same starting tribe." True. "But DK and Ryu never told me of you guys doing that. And me having conversations with DK was not just so that I could use him for my own reasons, because I was genuinely upset that I had to vote out Bowser. But the same way that I need to DK's vote to help strike against you three, he needs mine as well. Plague and Ryu also came from the same season and now they need each other. Everything that we're doing with one another is all fair game."

Fair was fair and business was business. There was not much to say to that.

"Plague Knight, you are aligned with Wolf and you took out Springtrap, too. Do you back him up on that?"

"You know what, I do. Like he said, the four of us need each other for the same reason. And while Ryu and I did not really have much of a relationship in the first place, I guess the one thing he and I do have in common is that we both played together in Mexico and Specter was a crucial player for both of our games for better or worse. We both don't want to get voted out of this game, so you have to do what you have to do to avoid getting that torch snuffed. I especially don't want to get mine snuffed because I've never been voted out before, so I'm not asking to get a first taste of that."

Hmm... Plague composed himself rather nicely. It was nice to him to point out in front of everyone of how he and Ryu talked it over in particular, using Specter Knight as a way to form some kind of a strategic relationship.

"Well, we are not blaming either of you for playing the game, because we are all over here doing the same thing." said Zelda. "It is actually a compliment because you have made a social play, but in the end in our eyes, that makes you a threat for our games."

"Fair is fair." It really was, even regarding Wolf himself. "You all haven't been weakened since Vector, so game on."

"So DK, let's hear it from your perspective. You were apparently approached by Wolf, bonding over Bowser leaving due to the three of you knowing each other for years now. Do you feel like Wolf is being genuine with his intentions for this?"

"I think he is, and I'm sure Ryu thinks the same. And like Plague and Ryu, Wolf and I never really had much of a relationship. In spite of us being part of the now infamous Power Sumasshu alliance, we never really got to know each other that well. Wolf was closer to people like Bowser and to a lesser extent, Link and Ike. I was closer to Mario and Sonic, so the two of us did not really cross each others minds like that. But now is a perfect opportunity for us to need each other now more than ever. And I have to say that we have learned a bit more about another, so I've no complaints here."

Good to hear.

"Do you see Wolf and Plague voting with you and Ryu in the following rounds after this? We do have three more Tribal Councils to go once this one is over."

It was probably a question some fans were already thinking at the time.

"That'll all depend with time. Generic answer, know. But I do not know about anything about some sort of final four deal or any long-term plan as far as I'm concerned. But since we are a strong four for this particular voting round, hopefully we are all good with each other since all share a common goal, which is weakening those three heroes that are sitting with us. Afterwards if we still don't have any issues with each other, we could stick together for the next tribal after this. If not, everything will be fine. All is fair, because we are all fighting for that Sole Survivor title. None of us have won it yet, so a million dollars would be really nice to have."

"So Yoshi, if there are a four, and if there's only one, two, three of you,-" The host held up three fingers. "-that's not enough to overpower the opposition. Basic math. So if you know three is not big enough of a number for you to do anything to counter the alliance, what is your overall plan with your alliance right now? Of course, you can't just sit here."

And in spite of shaking his head, it was in agreement. "We can't just sit here. That would be giving up, and that's something we don't plan on doing. But they have grown tight, so that limits our options quite a bit. The absolute most we can do is to plead our case to anyone that is even thinking about flipping even a little bit."

"What would your case be?"

"...All that I would have to say is that maybe because of what Wolf did to help his position in the game, he probably knows what he's doing. He's very smart and he could probably continue to make subtle choices like that. He just got rid of his best ally in Springtrap. If he could to it him, he could do it to anybody. Maybe DK knows how smart of a player he really is. And maybe him helping us getting rid of Wolf would be what he gets for everything regarding both Springtrap and Bowser."

"Yeah that's gonna make 'em get me good, Yoshi." O'Donnell wanted to tell Yoshi to not even try out. "You're telling me that you're gonna try to convince Donkey Kong to vote me out because I voted out Bowser which was morally wrong (which I already explained a couple times now) and for also immorally voting out Springtrap (which was a pure game move from me personally). I don't think it's all about who's done the most bad out here. That wasn't the first immoral decision someone's made in the game and it's not gonna be the last."

"Look, I don't wanna be voted out without even trying to save myself here. I gotta tell him something."

"He did give you a compliment by calling you a rather intelligent player." Shovel felt the need to defend his friend. "That's probably something DK needs to hear. He just showed his intelligence by the way he took an opportunity after Bowser was eliminated to work some strategy with DK in order for them to vote out Springtrap together, and the result is DK having even more trust in Wolf believing that they share each other's best interests. It's fine if they're voting together, but deep down you could be looking out for yourself."

"We're all looking out for ourselves out here. That's the point. DK could be doing whatever to look out for himself too and I wouldn't be mad at him. This is our second chance at winning and it's foolish to not take full advantage of it."

Ooh. So instead of going down the road of disagreeing with him, Wolf instead full blown owned up to it. Interesting indeed.

"Okay. Well we can certainly take full advantage of this moment by getting to the vote. Let's do it. Yoshi, you're up."

Exhaling deeply and shaking his head, he wasted no time getting up from his spot. He was rather annoyed and he just wished to get it done.

W-O-L-F

Plague went up to the urn after Shovel was finished with the name of his target being cut off from view.

"I'm hoping none of you pull out anything. This better work."

Yoshi was immediately seen staring at his feet before Ryu and Wolf were both called up, the latter unfolding his vote to the camera. But like Plague's, the name of his target was hidden from the audience.

"Said a few more words tonight than usual. But I know how high the stakes are, and I'm going to be eating my tail if I get seventh place for a second time."

Donkey Kong was then called up with Zelda going last.

"Worst case scenario, we just feel like you could possibly be a late game threat. Better to get you out now while we have the chance."

And with her sitting down, it was time for the master to get to it.

"I'll go tally the votes."

...

Hmm. Nobody was giving off any particular facial reactions that time. Every last one of them had their own thoughts in their minds, yet they were doing a horrible job showing it.

Bottom line was that the vote was going to be rather intense.

"If anybody has a hidden immunity idol, now would be the time to do so."

The majority alliance of four almost instantly shifted glances at the three heroes, making the jury quickly do the same.

"Wow. We have the whole world watching us." Yoshi giggled out loud. "I guess this is something you guys are all expecting."

Wolf nodded his head while smirking.

"I'm... I'm gonna get up."

"!?" And then his jaw hit the floor.

Vector leaned in with the biggest grin on his face.

"There he goes..." mumbled Golden.

"Woah..." Ryu was near speechless.

"No way." Plague Knight needed a name change. Pronto!

"You have it?" Donkey Kong's eyes were widened.

"I have to play it!" Making his way over to the master, he turned on his heel to give one last look to Zelda and Shovel Knight.

"..."

"..."

"The idol is gonna be for..." He paused to think it over just one more time. Yoshi needed to be absolutely sure of this decision. "-me. I have to play it on myself."

Shovel Knight heaved a sigh staring down at the ground, Zelda immediately folding her lips out of nervousness.

"I'm sorry, you guys." The dinosaur was already apologizing as he headed back to his seat. "I really wanted to play it on one of you. But if they really voted for me, I can't just idol myself out of the game like that."

"No worries..." Shovel replied. "Now we have to hope that your guess was correct."

"Alright. This is a hidden immunity idol. Any votes cast for Yoshi will not count. I'll read the votes..."

And he uncapped the urn, suspense being the only mood that filled the air for everyone involved.

"First vote..."

Oh God...

"...Wolf."

His lips formed a circle as he breathed out. Though he sat as still as a statue, his heart was beating a mile a minute being scared to death. And he was usually never known for being exactly scared of anything.

Ridley gave the master a rather confounding facial expression. Why in the name of Zebes did he call out Wolf's name first and not even reveal who the majority alliance of four voted for yet? He even hated how he did it regarding the Marth idol play at the final twelve at Emperors vs Knights, and now he was doing it again!

"...Shovel Knight."

"Oh no!" Yoshi could not have believed it.

The shovel warrior put both of his hands on the top of his helmet, already hanging over in his seat in defeat.

"They outsmarted them." mumbled Springtrap. "They knew Yoshi on the surface was the safe vote in this."

"Wolf. Two votes Wolf."

Though his name came up for a second time, the lupine was all of a sudden grinning from ear to ear. It was as if after seeing Shovel's name once, he knew he was not going home. He did it.

"Shovel Knight. Two votes Shovel Knight, two votes Wolf."

"I'm so sorry, you guys."

"It's okay." Zelda reassured, but she was still turning her head side to side in disappointment. This was way worse than Vector for her.

"Wolf. Three votes Wolf."

"We did it, boys." Donkey Kong was already nodding in celebration, giving a fist bump to Ryu who was sitting right to his right. "We pulled through.:"

"Shovel Knight. We're tied. Three votes Shovel Knight, three votes Wolf, one vote left."

"Might as well get my bags together now..." He was not allowed to stood up until the final vote was revealed. Yet it did not stop him from leaning all over grabbing whatever he could have.

"I should have played it on you, but I just thought they went for me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself."

"Fourteenth person voted out of Survivor and the seventh member of our jury: Shovel Knight. You need to bring me your torch."

Wolf clapped his hands a couple times out of excitement. "No seventh place for me."

"Damn right." muttered Bowser.

Whatever two season arc he had, it was going to be up to the audience to describe it. No matter what though, Shield Knight was happy back in Chivaland. He was seen embracing both the dinosaur and the Hyrulian.

"You're still in it, so you can still win."

"Thank you."

"Bye, Shovel..."

"I'll see ya around. You and Zelda will find a way." And he hoped he was right, placing his torch down in the hole.

"Shovel Knight, the tribe has spoken."

Snuff.

"Time for you to go."

"Keep on playing, everyone. Keep on playing." Turning back around, he took his time heading down the stairs.

"What have I done?" Yoshi was going to spend the rest of the evening hating himself. Shovel was right there near him, but he selfishly played the idol on himself.

"Alright. So after tonight, there will be four more days left of this game. And as I can see, you all are really fighting for your spots. Finish strong. It's still not over yet. Grab your torches, head back to camp. Goodnight."

"I'm so sorry, Zelda. It's all my fault." Yoshi spoke immediately after everyone got up.

"We will talk about it later when we get back to the camp."

Yes, Yoshi! He could have at least waited a second! Jesus!

Votes:

Donkey Kong - Shovel Knight

Yoshi - Wolf

Zelda - Wolf

Wolf - Shovel Knight

Ryu - Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight - Wolf

Plague Knight - Shovel Knight

Final Result: 4-3

7th Place: Shovel Knight

Total Votes Received:4

Final Confessional Run: 2-2-1-4-2-2-2-1-3-2-2-1-2 (26)

Castaways Remaining:

Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Zelda, Wolf, Ryu, Plague Knight

"Well, it was worth a shot. The vote could have been between any of the three us. We tried to predict who were they going to target, but Yoshi had the one to make the decision and he chose to save himself. He had every right to do that, but I ended up paying the price. Hopefully he doesn't beat himself up too much over this... I tried to play more strategically in order for folks to take me serious as a player. I did a little something, but not as enough as I would have hoped and... I'm okay with that."

Character Confessional Count:

34: Donkey Kong (+3)

31: Plague Knight (+3)

30: Wolf (+3), Ryu (+2)

29: Zelda (+2)

26: Shovel Knight (+2)

23: Yoshi (+1)

22: Ridley, Golden

19: Vector

12: Shadow, Specter Knight, Sonic

11: Foxy, Meta Knight

6: Sheik

5: Mario

3: Isabelle

Not gonna say too much here because I just want to get this chapter out there, but damn... On one side it's a missed opportunity. But for the other, it was a great success. Idol successfully flushed.

This next character reveal might be interesting... I'm bringing Mona. Plague Knight's partner. Let's give her a shot!

Characters Revealed So Far: Wario (WarioWare), Byleth (Fire Emblem - Three Houses), Blaze (Sonic the Hedgehog), Raven Beak (Metroid), Bill Grey (StarFox), Olimar (Pikmin), Richter Belmont (Castlevania), Jeanne (Bayonetta), Ludwig von Koopa (Super Mario), Dimitri (Fire Emblem - Three Houses), Mona (Shovel Knight)