Survivor - Heroes vs Villains

Chapter 34 - Day 30 Part 1

Whew... By the time I finish this story it'll be 2025... But just for everyone to know, I will never even think about giving up on this series. May not be able to post chapters on time all the time, but I do my best to pump out chapters and stories whenever I can.

EPISODE 11: A Whole New Meaning

Darleem

Night 29

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

-/-

Well, less than half the players remained in the game at this point. It was beyond the season's mid-point. Not exactly over, but at the same time, numbers are decreasing. Whatever a certain player needed to do to stay alive in the game, it was his (or her for the sake of Zelda) best interest to put up a fight until day thirty-nine. Every survivor for themselves.

"I was beginning to think that I was done for." Springtrap spoke out, knowing how concerned and anxious he was at the tribal. "I'm still here, and that's pretty much all I have to say. I appreciate you guys keeping me here."

Knowing she was one of the key decision makers for that vote, Zelda nodded, acknowledging the thank you from the rabbit. "It's our pleasure. It pained me to write off Golden, but it was necessary."

"I really didn't see that coming." On the other hand, Bowser shook in frustration. "Of all people, what did Golden do? I don't remember him making big moves or winning challenges."

Wolf hunched his shoulders. "Nothing. You don't have to... not do anything to get voted out of Survivor. It's about what other players think of what a certain individual is capable of, and we plan forward."

"It was unfortunate seeing Golden going, since he wasn't the original target. Yet, DK won immunity. So it came down to either Golden or Ryu at that point" Shovel Knight was relieved that he managed to recover his game like this, knowing that he still had a decent shot at this. Nothing was impossible. "He knows how to play under the radar in spite of being physically strong in challenges. Ryu in the long run would have been more likely to be voted out, since he was more of the immediate threat. If we choose to target him next, it would not be as hard to get rid of either him or DK, now. Speaking of DK, his best friend in the game is no longer here and I felt really bad for him..."

If his helmet was removed, the amount of guilt he had on his face would have been shown. The only hint of it was the sideways glance.

The conversation between him and the ape in particular was something he felt was rather necessary, given that the knight still genuinely cared about hm in spite of their strategic differences.

"I pulled you away from everybody so that I could check up on you..."

That made DK snicker. "Thanks, but I'm good."

"Well,... I just feel guilty that we've had to do that. I like both of you, and it still sort of pains that things are ending up the way they are now." Shovel Knight replied. "I know that this is a competition, but morally, I think you have gone through enough."

He sighed, acknowledging his entire journey thus far. Yet he brushed it off, not wanting the smaller contestant to be too concerned for him. "Thanks, but really. I'm fine. Anyone but me, right? I'm still here, I've made it this long, and I'm guaranteed a single digit placement now. May the best man win."

Extending his arm out, Shovel shook his hand.

"I suppose I second that. Wish you the best of luck."

"There goes my right hand man." Now when it came to Donkey Kong's actual confessional, it was not surprising to see him more emotional. When it came to certain situations, people felt that they needed to have a certain face on to hide what they were truly feeling. "You know, this is probably the biggest roller coaster I've ever been on. I thought that I found my footing once again once we got rid of Vector, but it's my fault knowing you can't ever be one hundred percent confident in this game. But then you can't be too unsure, because then you'd be seen as someone too paranoid, and you're gone anyway. There is a fine line with literally everything, and that's what make this game so difficult. ...And I don't even remember being emotional like this versus the last time."

Now he was not really shedding tears, he was getting pretty damn close to shedding at least one. ...Oh, there it was. "I don't think I should be, because I have somehow made it two rounds later this season. But there's always the feeling that you're going home next. It's like every little good thing that happens to you, you move two steps right back and you gotta mentally prepare yourself and do the whole thing all over again. ...But, I'll be alright. Sort of need a moment right now, but tomorrow's a new day. Survivor is not going to wait until I cheer myself up. It's gonna go on regardless..."

"So what did he say to you?"

Donkey Kong made his way back over to Ryu. "He just feels guilty and remorse that he had to do what he had to do. Nothing more. So I told him to not worry about it because we all came out here with the same goal."

The street fighter chuckled with a sigh. "I am just shocked that I managed to outpeak him this time, so there's my closure on that. At the same time though, Golden is my friend... our friend. And this just doesn't feel right. Only good thing that comes out of this is we only have each other left. ...We shouldn't have to worry about turning on each other. So,... whatever you do, just don't vote me out. Okay?"

The gorilla giggled in reply. "If we go after each other right now, we're going home one by one right after him. We need to stick together until,... say you vote me out at final four."

"Okay. We'll try to go to final four together, then. We're all we both have, unless you count Bowser."

Well, that was one way of them basically stating that the two of them were closer to each other than they were with Bowser at the time.

Shovel Knight was then seen interacting with Zelda again.

"He didn't appear upset at all. But I could read between the lines that he's not telling what's really on his mind."

"I suppose he doesn't want to hurt your feelings." The Hyrulian assumed. "And that's okay. You two care about each other, but DK knows that he needs to put up a fight to stay in it. All I have to say is that he's lucky he won that challenge. So perhaps we'll just... check in on him every now and then, but we should watch ourselves growing too close with him. And I know that sounds hard to hear, but... we pretty much have no reason to work together at this point, which is okay. We'll all just have a conversation once our journey this season is finished."

Exhaling deeply, he stared down at the ground. "You've really changed since Emperors vs Knights, Zelda. You are further displaying how intelligent you are in front of me. But I do understand. We have Yoshi, and we hopefully still have the numbers on our side to do what we have to."

"Balancing relationships and strategic play is one of the most important things you have to learn. There are those who say if you let your heart get in the way too much, your mind is not sharp enough to handle the competition out here. Though if you rely solely on strategic play and nothing else, nobody knows who you are when you are facing the jury." Shovel knew that it was best to play in the middle when it came to that. "I am thankful to still have Zelda here, so she can... rough me up a little. She knows that I care a lot about other people, but... we can't help everybody out here. That's just how it is. What's the point of competition if everybody doesn't want to vote out anybody? We all signed up for this for a reason, and that's the one thing I have to remind myself a million times."

Day 30

"Come on in!"

Now there was a moment where a tree mail scene was in consideration right before this, but... it got cut due to 'pacing' reasons. More on that for another time, perhaps.

But it was bright and sunny day in the Caribbean, and whatever was left of the Darleem tribe all marched towards Master Hand. Though a few of them had their eyes focused on the challenge that appeared rather similar, whether it came from their season or not.

Master Hand of course noticed, wondering what was on their minds. "Challenge seems familiar to some of you?"

"Well," Ryu spoke up. "looking at this challenge, it came from my season. Though I did not make it far enough to actually participate in it, I did see the challenge. And Plague Knight participated in it himself."

"This is the challenge where we had the loved ones visit." The alchemist spilled the beans. "And that probably means that... they're all here. This is the loved ones challenge. ...Right?"

With all nine of them eyeing the host's way, it sort of put the master on the spot. Sure, one could have argued that he did not need to be rather astounded that they already knew what was supposed to be coming. But anyway, he decided to just give them what they want.

"Alright. You guys got me there. ...Link, come on out!"

Zelda instantly covered her mouth with both hands. "Oh my Goddesses..."

And before she knew it, there he was. Dashing along the sand, Link from season one of Survivor hurried right over to embrace his close friend rather tightly. "You've made it!"

The tears were already starting to fall.

"Hey, it's okay. You've made it this far twice. It was worth it for you to come out here again."

The rest of Zelda's competitors were already thinking everything over in their heads. Obviously if Zelda's loved one was there, so were all of the other loved ones of the castaways. The reality for them was setting in that just like Zelda, they all officially made it to this part of the game. No matter how emotional they were all going to be, a little extra motivation to do well was not going to hurt anyone.

"Link, from our very first season, Survivor - Kodai Island. He and Zelda have now made it to the loved ones visit three times." And to interrupt their hug, Master Hand just had to ask a question. He really knew how to ruin the mood. "So Link, back in our first season, you were one of our most notable figures. People wanted you to play again. We wanted you to play again. But we just didn't find you to be a hero nor a villain based off your gameplay. Yet to you, seeing Zelda out here and knowing she's still in it, was it worth having her here over you?"

"Most definitely." He nodded, his hand not ever letting go of her shoulder. "This right here is without a doubt the strongest woman I've ever made it. Her willpower, patience, and wisdom really speaks volumes. She has some qualities about her that I wish I have myself. And the fact that she's still here, maybe it was the right choice to have her in over me. She's been a fighter, and comparing to how she was in her first season, she's stronger than she's ever been. There is absolutely nothing in this universe that is stopping her from doing anything at this point. And I am forever proud."

Aww. How sweet.

"Alright, Link. You can take a spot on the bench over there." Yes, because the only challenge where the loved ones actually participated was in season four. "Now Ryu, this is new for you. You've never made it to the loved ones visit before. You ready for it?"

The man was grinning from ear to ear. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Let's meet the man who ended up raising both you and Ken. Come on out, Master Gouken!"

Ooh, this was going to be interesting.

The martial artist legend himself came out of the bushes calmly pacing his way over, shaking Ryu's hand and embracing him upon getting close enough.

"Wow..." Plague Knight stared at how big and masculine he appeared. It was almost as if he was a bit terrified. "Uh,... hi?"

"So this is the man who raised you." Donkey Kong grinned.

"He would literally win every last immunity challenge out here." Springtrap commented. "No contest."

"Alright, Ryu. Go on. We'd love to hear all about him."

Beaming as if this was his proudest moment throughout his second season (probably was), he knew that everybody needed to hear what was so great about his master. "To put it simply, he made me the man I am. I have no idea who my real parents are and this man of all people took me in under his wing. Obviously I developed my skills ever since. And the weird thing about it is that I've made so much progress under his eyes to the point where he doesn't even see me as his student anymore, but simply a son."

"Aww." Zelda grinned. It was a rather cute moment for him to admit that in front of everyone.

"I think that alone puts that in perspective." Shovel Knight knew where this was going.

"It has even gone as far as him putting me as an actual competitor of his, since I kinda went down a road of my own and developed my own style that suits me. I don't know how my life would have played out if it wasn't for him, and we both know it."

"Gouken, everything that Ryu's saying, did he just took the words out of your mouth?"

"Couldn't have said it better myself." The legendary master nodded. "And when I was a student myself, I began developing and mastering my own techniques for the better. Ryu and Ken both were my two students that had the most potential. All I wished for them to do was to recognize it, and now they've made names of their own. It is a full circle moment for me personally, since I've raised them since they were kids and I couldn't be more proud."

"Well in just a few minutes, you'll get to see your son perform in a Survivor challenge up close and personal." Gouken was shown to the sit out bench before the hand continued. "Springtrap, you're lucky enough to make it to this point in back to back seasons. Let's bring Ryan out!"

He was Kevin's loved one from Survivor - Caribbean, due to them being close friends since high school.

Upon him meeting up with Kevin, he was pleased to see that he made another decent run. "They haven't gotten rid of you yet?"

"Shut up..."

"Oh, don't be like that. I'm already thinking of coming out here myself someday to see if I'll perform even better than you."

"Well you've got a lot to learn in order to not be the first voted off at least."

"Springtrap, you're threatened he might take your spot?" Master Hand already joked with him multiple times throughout the season. Was there an upcoming beef or something? "Does the thought of that scare you?"

"Hey, we may have a good cop, bad cop thing going on in this friendly relationship, but I ain't scared of nothin', so stop making fun of me."

"And Ryan, you mentioned to me personally you have a nickname yourself."

"Yeah." He nodded remembering that conversation. "He's Springtrap, I'm Spring Bonnie. Iconic duo."

Yes, Spring Bonnie was the canon animatronic Ryan was named after in the Five Nights at Freddy's series. There was no other loved one for Springtrap that came to mind. Who else was left? Circus Baby? No.

"Who's next? ...Donkey Kong."

Oh, his loved one was going to be obvious.

The furry monkey immediately curled up his lips. "I'm ready. Bring him out!"

"...Diddy Kong, come on!"

Diddy Kong? Nice! Funky would have been cool, but another smasher nonetheless.

He even ran right to everybody on all fours. The kid could not have helped but to be so excited, dashing right into his uncle's arms.

"I can't believe it! I've actually made it out here! This is just incredible!"

"So Donkey Kong, explains this to me in front of everyone. I asked you of who your loved one was going to be, and naturally I thought of Funky Kong being your answer. But then you told me that you were going to bring your nephew out here this time. And it's great that he's family too, but why him over someone like your cousin, Funky, who has actually played this game before? He even made it all the way to the end just like Link."

"Funky and I both had a conversation." Donkey Kong explained, patting Diddy's cap. "All three of us are fans of the game, two of us have played before, Diddy's too young to be an actual contestant at the moment. Say if I'm never coming out here again, Diddy deserves something. This is the best thing I could do for him until he has the chance to compete himself, which will be well worth the wait. For now, we want him to get a taste of it. All I needed to do was make it far enough."

"One thing I can guarantee is that Funky Kong is gonna be just as proud of this moment as you are when this comes out." Master Hand knew that for certain.

"We're all gonna be on the couch watching from home."

Alright. Four down, five to go.

"Now even though Funky's not here, we have another former contestant Survivor - Mexico. Panther!"

Wolf folded his arms and grinned. "Heh."

Panther Jackie Caroso stepped his way out of the bushes. And upon seeing the lupine, he loudly clapped his hands grinning from ear to ear.

"You somehow made it this far."

"Shut up."

"No, I'm impressed. Maybe one day you can actually outperform me." Yes, because if one kept track, Panther made a slightly deeper run in his season compared to Wolf. ...Why was it weird that none of the StarFox heroes made it to the jury phase, and both of the StarFox villains did? Maybe that was a curse in itself. And Fox was robbed in Kodai Island, but that was another topic.

Friendly embracing one another and laughing, they were both pleased at the end of the day that they were part of the loved ones visit twice. ...No wait, three times now. Nice little record tied with Zelda and Link.

"Way to make history, my good man." Panther congratulated his long time friend patting him on the back. "This is like a little routine we got going on at this point... How's it going, everybody?"

"Hanging in there." Ryu grinned. "Still alive."

"Hi..." Plague Knight did not have much to say. He and Panther never really had any relationship like that. ...Then again, Specter was all he cared about post-merge back in season three.

"Wolf, you and Panther just made Survivor history. You guys met each other at the loved ones visit three times now. Every other season, you two meet each other yet again. It's something the fans are going to get used to seeing every time one of you play this game. But you know what? I'd like to hear just a little more about the relationship you two have with each other."

"We've known each other for a while now, but the great thing is that the bond I have with him has gotten stronger because of Survivor." Wolf elaborated. "Kodai Island, Mexico, Heroes vs Villains. We're the only two of our team so far that has played this, so nobody else over there understand the things we had to go through. It's something special and we both have you and everyone else around us to thank for."

"Aw, that's nice of you." Ryu folded his arms.

"That's right." Bowser smirked. "Give me all the credit that I deserve because I suffer through this with you in season number one."

"We're really thankful for playing this game with us." Zelda replied. "The both of you."

"What a way to pay your respect where it's due." Nearly everyone laughed at Master Hand's comment. "But I'm glad I was able to give the both of you a chance and seeing how things are playing out now."

"Hey, this guy still screwed me over." Panther playfully punched Wolf in the arm. "Hopefully I'll still get mine soon, but I'm happy we got to share this moment thrice."

"Now Shovel Knight, get ready. I know you have been waiting for this moment this entire season. Shield Knight is here. Let's go!"

"Oh, goodness!" His heart was already pounding before she was even visible. And when she was, he was jumping for joy.

In an interesting turn of events, Shield Knight was actually able to pick Shovel up off the ground. It was rather comical for some of his fellow competitors.

"Nice to see that you're still in it!" She congratulated him. "How are you feeling?"

"My day is made, thanks to you. That's all I need."

Yoshi was pleased to see one of his former fellow castaways. "Welcome back, Shield Knight!"

"See?" Springtrap talked to Shovel. "She came back after all."

"He's been holding up pretty well." Zelda let her in. "Talking about you as usual."

"I don't expect anything less. He still feels like I should be here instead of him."

"You know what, could you elaborate on that a little?" asked the host. "Because he has mentioned that before. From your perspective, explain to me of what that conversation was like."

"Back after Caribbean finished, it really saddened him that I had an unfortunate early exit. My alliance was outnumbered and there wasn't much I could have done."

Yoshi's eyes stared down feeling responsible. He and Shield were not just players from the same season, they were on the same starting tribe together. It was K. Rool's Reptile Runaway alliance against the Army alliance, with Val, Rodin, and Springtrap all being swing votes at the time blindsiding Robin, and Shield ended up being the next target right before the swap.

"He wanted me to come right back out here, but even he knew that it was not going to be possible. I was only in the game for a short while, so I never really made much of an impact." Wow. That was self-awareness right there. To put it more bluntly, she was one of those, um... 'thanks for playing' kind of characters. Some other former contestants that fit the bill were Bandanna Dee, Falco, Captain Falcon, Banjo, Kawasaki, Pac-Man, and Little Mac. None of them contributed much to the gameplay or story whatsoever. And Kawasaki was basically one of the most useless players of the whole series. Having him on the show was rather regretful, and all he did was play a factor in the notorious Kirby curse.

"The most I could have done was to wish Shovel as much luck as possible. He was rather emotional before he had to depart." And she laughed explaining this, Shovel Knight shook his head blushing under his helmet. "But in the end, he knew that there was so much more to the game for him to explore. And the fact that he's made it to this point, hopefully he learned something new."

"I've learned a lot of things while I was out here this season. I feel like I am growing and making progress, and I can finally say that I feel comfortable being here again. It really was worth it. Competing in this game twice is something that I will never forget."

"Alright, Shield Knight. Go ahead and sit with the other loved ones. Yoshi, your friend Rex came back here again. Let's bring him out."

What a lucky loved one to be part of that moment twice. Now to be shady, Rex was mostly 'unknown' in the Smash universe. But it was best to call him one of Yoshi's good friends. The main two physical differences between the two dinosaurs were Rex's indigo color and small dragon wings.

"Really good to know that you're still here, Yoshi! Everyone back at home is once again rooting for you!"

Excitedly reuniting with one another, Yoshi was definitely relieved.

"At least there's someone that I know out here... No offense to you guys."

"Wanna fill me in on that?" Master Hand wanted to know more. "You and Rex have both known each other for some years and Rex has seen you out here twice now. Being an All Star out here, you know what it's like to have no one that you're familiar with. No one really is looking out for you but yourself."

He heaved a sigh at that, knowing it was something he definitely related to. "I pretty much felt that way back on day one in my first season. Don't get me wrong, I was excited to meet new people and start off my Survivor adventure. But it's... quite nerve wracking. You have to deal with people smiling at you in your face only for them to talk right behind your back the moment you look away. You have to constantly worry about what a certain person's thinking or saying about you. Anything anybody could do could mean you going home, and so you are constantly worrying and stressing about everything! I surprised myself by having enough strength and courage to make it all thirty-nine days in my season. But coming back out here to do it all again, you know of most of these people. ...The thing is though, the ones who you really trust are those who you know the most. So,... Rex is kind of my number one ally for life at this point."

With him hooking onto his buddy's neck with his arm, Rex nodded rapidly in understanding.

"Sometimes I feel for him just by watching back at home. I would have lost my patience when it came to a few of the people Yoshi had to deal with. He really gone through it with a couple folks he had to play it. They're big gamers, but... Survivor is like no other game out there. Yoshi was never in a super competitive game like that before. He signed up for it just to see what it was like, and... maybe he needed it, you know? At least that's what he told me when he came back home the first time."

"Did you really tell him that?" Zelda asked Yoshi out of curiosity.

"I did." He bobbed his head. "It was overwhelming and my mind needed to take a minute to process everything once I sat down on the couch at home. I cried. I did. It was really something else. But maybe it was a wake up call to me of how tough this world can be. And in the end, it's made me a stronger person. I still have a lot to learn, and this game is really an eye opener for me."

Hmm... Now that was definitely something interesting coming from Yoshi of all people. Not know to be a big gamer in the eyes of the most fans, but he was not born yesterday. Even he learned in some areas.

With Rex heading to the bench, there were two more people remaining.

The master decided to tackle Plague Knight first.

"Now Plague Knight, I know your loved one is very excited to see you."

He was already beaming beneath his mask. "Yes... Please just bring her out. Please!"

Okay, okay. Time to bring her on the scene before he had a heart attack.

"Come on out, Mona!"

"Oh, goodness!" Before she even rushed from the bushes, the alchemist was already falling to his knees with his hands on his mask. And when she made her way over to him, Plague's right hand lady gave it a big kiss.

"Hi, Plaguey!"

"Oh gosh, you have no idea how happy I am to see you." He usually did not like being picked up at all, but this was the one time he did not give a damn. "I need you."

"Well, here I am! You're still in it and you still have a shot." Putting him back down, she still had her hands on his shoulders. "Are you having fun?"

"...Trying to... I don't know. I'm just still here. I've been on edge since I first got out here."

"You know what, Mona," Ryu observed the whole thing. "I think Plague really needed to see you this time. We all know that your his rock."

She shrugged chuckling. "I mean, it's not a secret. As crazy as Plague is, maybe it's my job to keep his feet on the ground."

"It's that part of the whole dynamic between the two of you?" Master Hand asked. "I'm a little intrigued if you ask me."

"Well if you want details, I can give them for you."

"You don't have to tell the entire universe everything, Mona..." Plague Knight reminded her.

"Hush, you. I know what I'm doing." She quieted him before she went on to explain. "To make it a long story short, him and I both know that we are most comfortable to be ourselves around each other. When it's us two in the lab, we're doing our own things making all sorts of crazy potions and experiments causing chaos. But really, we both believe that is quite rare for someone to match the same energy and chemistry as you. Sometimes in life, all you need is someone that is good company. And we both know what it feels like to be misunderstood by everyone."

"Careful not to get too soft here. I'm trying to keep a tough reputation."

"Oh, don't get your underwear twisted. I'm trying to help you out."

Hahaha!

"You know what, maybe I should let you have a say in this, too." She allowed him to go ahead and speak for himself. "Do you have anything to add?"

He sighed in defeat. "Fine... I suppose what she's saying is how I feel. She's the only one in this universe that I can really fall back on. She was the main one in charge of my lab since I'm out here. ...But since she's out here too, that means Percy of all people is trying to hold it down. That's a topic within itself, but to get to the point, I suppose it does feel nice to have at least one person that understands you. I'm obviously a workaholic when it comes to the business and everything, but it can get overwhelming sometimes and things can get quite stressful. I think without her I'd be going crazy half the time. And then on the other hand, sometimes she needs a pick-me-up from me."

She giggled in reply. "Now you're trying to make me look soft."

"We all have our moments, and anyone that tries to get between us would be a very fatal mistake... I don't think I have much more to say. Hopefully I win this challenge."

Okay. One person left.

"So Bowser, is Junior coming back out here again?"

He was already grinning. "It was a proud moment as a father to bring him on the show back in Kodai Island. But you know, all of my other kids like the show, too. So I um,... kinda had to pick a name out of a hat."

"Alright, let's bring him out."

Everyone watched another one of Bowser's kids dashed quickly to the other castaways. He was large, but not nearly as large as Bowser. But obviously with the pink sunglasses, it was not hard for the Mario fans to recognize who he was.

He slammed into his dad hugging him so hard he actually ended up stumbling a little.

"I made it, pops. I made it out here!"

"Welcome to the Caribbean, son!" Bowser was more than elated, feeling like a million bucks richer already as he kissed his boy on the cheek. "I'm still alive. ...Folks, this is my son, Roy. My third oldest."

"And you have eight kids." Yes, Master Hand. Koopa made it perfectly clear a couple times before. "All of them are fans of this show. Guess we are family friendly after all."

Family friendly? By that logic, this fanfiction would have earned itself a 'K' rating. ...God damn it! The fourth wall is broke. Oops.

"This game seems pretty awesome. I had to be a part of it somehow." Roy clapped his hands loudly. "Now I get to be here with my pops and make all of my siblings jealous, except for Junior of course because he was already brought out on the show."

"You think Wendy's throwing a tantrum right now?" Bowser turned to him.

"Meh. She probably is. But she'll live."

"Hey Bowser, your kids keep you going? I may not have any kids myself, but being a family of nine doesn't sound easy." ...Master Hand having kids? ...With who? A foot? An ear? A finger? This could be a good horror story for Halloween or something.

"It's anything but easy, but I sort got the hang of it. I'm gonna give you a guys little backstory here. Some may already know this as I told DK this on television in my last season, but I wasn't always parenting my kids alone. My wife Clawdia and I were in this together. But unfortunately, after she laid Junior's egg,... she didn't make it."

Aww...

"_..." Wolf cursed.

Donkey Kong frowned.

"That's awful." Ryu mumbled under his breath.

"Those poor children..." Shovel Knight could not have imagined what they all went through.

Roy curled his lips turning away. He decided that it was not the time to be too emotional. "My whole family was a mess for a while. I was a wreck and my emotions were all over the place. But then I thought to myself that I had two options to go about it. I could either stay broken or be the best father I could for all of my kids. Somebody needed to raise them and raise them right. I figured it was the best thing I could do. At the end of the day, it was probably what Clawdia would have wanted. I was, um... having a hard time raising them all on my own, but I learned as I went along. As hot headed as I am, my heart is with my family and it will always be that way."

That earned himself a round of applause from literally everyone.

"King Koopa, you're the man." Funky Kong said from the bench.

"And you know," Roy had a few words to say himself. "-all that 'big man, tough guy' stuff? It's obvious where I got it from. Pops and I have similar personalities and we tell each other everything. But,... one of the main things he's told me is that life isn't always about being strong and tough all the time."

"It really isn't." Bowser nodded in agreement. "It may be a part of my personality, but that's just how I am. But yeah, I did tell him that. And sometimes there are moments where I need to remember my own advice. You can even look at my first season. Maybe I was a little too harsh on Mario back there and I lost my patience with DK a couple times."

"Those outbursts did happen." The ape recalled. "I definitely had to learn how to deal with you when we were in Japan."

"But at the end of the day, people go through some things all the time and you don't even know. So I suppose whoever you love out there, family or somebody else you're close too, don't be afraid to be open with them and tell them how you're feeling. If you need help, they're there for you."

"I think that has to be the most well spoken thing you've ever sad." Link folded his arms smiling.

"Meh... I still wouldn't call myself good at public speaking, so that was the best I could do."

With Roy hugging his dad one more time, he was told to head on over to join the other loved ones.

"Alright. So now that we're all here, we have a challenge to get to. Are you guys ready for it?"

The crowd erupted in anticipation, the survivors feeling more motivated than ever before.

"I thought so. For today's challenge, you will must race across a series of obstacles, while untying and grabbing a sandbag along the way. You must then attempt to throw the sandbag on a narrow table. First castaway to get their sandbag on their table wins reward. Wanna know what you're playing for? Nice time away from camp with your loved one and enjoy an afternoon picnic where you feast on subs, chips, and iced tea."

Perhaps the whole thing was more focused on the fact that the survivors were spending time with their loved ones. But hey, subs were nice.

"This challenge was done in Survivor - Mexico. Plague Knight was the only one who has done this challenge, didn't win. We're gonna draw for spots and get started."

-/-

"Alright, here we go. For reward and a nice time to spend with your loved one. Survivors ready?"

The nine castaways all stood side by side starting in the water. Without a doubt, they were all more ready than anything.

"...GO!"

Immediately racing off and splashing water all over the place, all of the players' loved ones cheered them on as loud as humanly possible.

"Tear it up, DK!"

"You can do it this, Shovel!"

"You have it in you, Plague. I know you can do it!"

Within no time they were all heading towards a balance beam as a first obstacle. Being the fastest out of the gate, Springtrap was the first to go for it followed by Bowser.

"Come on, Springy!"

But Ryan's friend had to quickly get his balancing act together as he was already wobbling all over the place, giving Bowser enough time to catch up with him. Though with Koopa actually falling off the beam it did not even matter.

So Ryu had to take the lead instead, Grouken simply watching from the bench.

"Keep your concentration."

And he was doing just that, almost as if he speed-walking his way across.

"Ryu flying across the balance beam. That's gonna give him an early lead off the bat. Everybody else is still looking good to hopefully snatch that lead from him. You all should be more than motivated to perform well today!"

Yoshi was seen fallng off the beam by the time he got to it making him start over.

"It's okay, Yoshi. No need to panic!"

"Wolf's good! DK's good! Plague and Shovel are both through!"

Ryu was going to be the first to get on a second beam. This one in particular was lying flat in the ground with a tied up sandbag lying right in the middle. It was a matter of not falling off while untying at the same time.

"Yoshi's good. Everybody through the first obstacle!"

"Come on, Shovel! Concentrate!

"They are all working on getting their sandbags. Every last person here has a shot at winning this huge reward to spend time with the people they love the most! Everybody needs that extra push sometimes. Show what you're made of right here!"

Ryu successfully retrieved his sandbag.

"Ryu's first out! Now approaching the high step obstacle."

It appeared that he was going to be the one to beat at the moment. Acing the high step with ease, the last obstacle he need to conquer was the dig under. There was a small bar lying in the sand and he had to dig a big hole to come out on the other side. ...No, he could not have just stepped across. That was not a part of the challenge rules, people.

"Wolf has his sandbag!"

Panther clapped loudly. "You got this!"

"Shovel has his bag! DK and Plague Knight have theirs!"

Wolf was now at the dig under. And he was blessed enough to have claws. Meaning...

"Wow!" It was definitely something for Master Hand everyone to watch, eyes looking at the man digging like crazy. A really similar way of how a real life contestant dug to retrieve a bag in one of the challenges of Survivor - Game Changers.

Now Wolf already had plenty of room to get his body through... hopefully.

"Just like that, Wolf takes the lead. He's gonna be the first to give this a go."

Springtrap had his bag around that time, but Bowser, Zelda, and Yoshi needed to hurry up if they wanted a decent shot to win.

"Gah! Come on..."

"Wolf working that tail trying to get it under. Ryu's gonna give it a go, now!"

"Come on, come on." Panther was nearly standing. "Yes, yes! Go!"

"Wolf is through. Now he has to toss his sandbag onto a very small table. Others might still have a shot at."

As Shovel and Plague Knight were both trying their best to dig, Ryu had a problem of his own.

"Grrrr! Come on..."

"Ryu might be a little stuck. He can't get that bootie under."

Wow. How embarrassing. Even his master could not have helped but snicker a little, and it was unknown if he was the type to laugh at all. Ryu was going to have to pull himself back out unless he wanted his ass to be trapped like that forever.

"Wolf tosses... Just misses!"

Donkey Kong was also a great digger. Though the big problem with him was how large he was. Equal pros and cons.

"Come on, Spring. You're still in this!" Ryan was now watching Springtrap digging himself. Shovel Knight was attempting at his best, yet of course he was a much better digger when it came to his shovel. Plague Knight was really trying, as his was digging so hard his arms were quickly growing exhausted.

"Zelda and Yoshi bringing up the rear! Everybody has their sandbags now!"

"Just keep going, Zel! Focus on yourself!"

"Ughhh!" With a big push, Ryu was finally out.

"Ryu's through! It's going to be him and Wolf now! Wolf's still trying to land that sandbag! ...And it's on and off."

"You can still catch them, DK! Let's go!"

"Ryu tosses... On and off!"

Grouken folded his arms, just waiting for the outcome to occur.

"Wolf tosses! ...And he's short!"

Panther was fully standing at this point, Donkey Kong now racing to his fellow competitors to start tossing himself.

"Can Ryu land with this one..."

...He did.

"RYU WINS REWARD!"

"Yes..." From not making it the loved ones visit in his first season, to winning this one. Ryu held both fists in the air feeling a big sense of accomplishment, his master standing up clapping his hands with pride.

"Good job."

Making his way over to his surrogate son, they both wrapped arms around each other.

"I needed this..." Ryu mumbled to him under his breath. "This is probably my best moment across both my seasons."

"We'll talk at the reward."

"Alright, Ryu. You earned a nice reward with Master Grouken. Fulfilling moment for you. He took you in as a son, trained you up to become the man you are today. ...Do you feel like this is a full circle moment for you? Playing this game twice, performing better than your first season, now you've won this challenge. ...What are you feeling?"

Suddenly holding his head down,... wait a minute. Was he...?

"Oh, Ryu." Zelda and the others watched.

"This is interesting." Wolf curled his lips.

"How unusual." Plague shook his head. "I know I'm not one for shedding tears, but Ryu doesn't cry at all."

Well a few tears were shedding in that moment. Grouken of course found no reason to bash him for being open about his feelings.

"It's okay, son. Everything you've done and been through has lead you to this very moment." The legendary figure had a hand on his shoulder in full support. "I am proud of you, and you should be proud of yourself."

"All I have to say is that I can't even imagine what my life would be like if it wasn't for him. He may have a straight face and I may have gotten it from him, but you can tell he means well and just wants the best for Ken and I so that we could both thrive. I couldn't have asked for a better master and father figure to me. So at the very least, this is what I can do in return."

"Well done, Ryu."

"Nice work."

"You did great."

The survivors and all the loved ones clapped their hands together.

"Unfortunately,... I know what have to do." The man heaved a sigh, recognizing the tough call he had to make. "We all have our stories out here with the ones we love the most, and we're all deserving of spending more time with them before they head out until we're done here. But some of you just aren't going to have that and I do apologize in advance."

"I suppose we'll just get through this, then. Choose one person."

"Okay." He actually already had his first pick on lock. "Of course I'm going to choose the only other father-son duo here, and they're actually blood. Bowser and Roy. I want you two to come with us."

"Yes!" Roy walked over with his dad almost immediately. "Come on, pops."

Koopa slapping a hand on his shoulder as a thanks, Ryu was already thinking of who to choose next.

"Go ahead and choose another."

"Alright. Now because of them being blood and me wanting to catch up on Funky Kong to see how he's doing, I think I should take the Kongs with me."

"You are one good man." Donkey Kong commented, both experienced Survivor players heading right his way.

"We're gonna have a mean feast over here." said Funky. "I can already taste it."

"Okay, Ryu. You can go ahead and choose another."

A big sigh escape from his mouth. "This is where it really gets tough here... And you know, I think it would be fair to choose folks who have never went on the loved ones reward before. Wolf, Springtrap, and Yoshi. ...Okay. So this is what I'm gonna do. Wolf and Panther, you have been part of this three times now and never went. Zelda and Link has been a part of the Loved Ones visit three times as well, but Link actually won the challenge and his season. So for you two, it wouldn't be right for you both lasting long enough to make it to the family visit and never actually going on the reward. That alone is enough for me to pick you both. Come on over."

Panther looked rather surprised, turning to the lupine in reaction.

"We're going?" He widened his eyes, but wasted no time making his way over with Panther to join the other reward seekers. "Alrighty, then. No complaints over here."

Plague was already looking away. He was not bitter to why he was not getting picked, but he did not want Mona to go. Not just yet. They were both literally hand in hand.

Shovel Knight felt similar, but he had no hard feelings.

"Choose one more person."

"Oh boy..." Grouken's son knew this was never going to be easy, and everyone around him knew it. Take Springtrap or take Yoshi? They all had to hope really hard to get chosen. Fifty-fifty shot.

...

"You know what, let's not overthink is." He exhaled. "He was further into the challenge than the other two, I'm going with Springtrap and Ryan."

Springtrap dropped his jaw. "Oh my God."

"Come on, man!" Ryan hit him in the arm. "Let's go!"

"Oh my God, Ryu, I owe you one."

"You're welcome."

Rex slapped Yoshi on the back, knowing he was saddened by him not being chosen, and now being the only castaway of the group never attending the loved ones reward. "Don't give up. Keep going."

"I will."

Shield Knight kissed Shovel on his helmet. "We'll see each other again soon."

"Okay." Shovel blushed in reply. ...Why was it giving vibes of whenever Peach kissed Mario in the games after being saved from Bowser's grasp?

"Alright. Plague, Shovel, Yoshi, Zelda, save goodbye to your loved ones."

"Just keep it up, Yoshi!"

"Keep going, Zel."

"Bye, Plaguey!"

"I'll be waiting for you, Shovel!"

Plague Knight stared at the ground. What a shame the game had to take Mona away from him. And Master Hand having the audacity telling him to say goodbye? ...Well honestly, if there was a chance at saying goodbye to his loved one before she was taken away, maybe the master was actually being generous.

"As for you four, I've got nothing for you. Head back to camp."

"I'm sorry guys." Just seeing them turn away and begin their journey back to the shelter with nothing made Ryu feel guilty. But he knew there was not a chance of him taking everybody. All he could have done was hope he made the right decisions.

"Okay. As for everyone else, head out and enjoy! You all deserve it!"

Master Hand showing compassion here was also something to make note of. They all celebrated before Ryu was selected to have the final confessional before the upcoming commercial break.

"My Survivor life suddenly has a whole new meaning. I owe Grouken my life,-" Bold statement. "-and now I brought him out here to get the full experience with this. But as a consequence, I had to send some people back to camp. I thought about the options for smart gameplay here, but... I couldn't help but to be fair. Some people have already experienced the visit, some didn't. Only person who never got to go on this reward at all was Yoshi, so I've done all I can to make as many people happy as possible. Conveniently, Bowser and Donkey Kong are what's left of my alliance, anyway. Maybe that's a good thing that'll hopefully not bite me in the butt later on. I'm not trying to pull off an Incineroar here."

Sigh... It's done.

Tell me what you all think and everything. I would say more here and include another Survivor "what-if" scenario, but... I just want to get this chapter out man.

And if you had trouble accessing Golden's Ponderosa chapter, you should have no issues now. The site was having problems the day I posted it.