Survivor - Heroes vs Villains

Chapter 38 - Day 33 Part 2

Well, after the next person leaves, down to seven. Sooner or later it would be time to prepare for the finale episode down the line. Sigh... This first All Star season is gonna be over soon.

Still got a bit of a way to go, though.

~KF

Darleem

Day 33

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

-/-

"Why is it a little weird that it was actually the strongest members of the tribe that struggled for once?"

Ryu and the rest of Darleem were now back together at the shelter. There were a few clouds in the sky, but thank goodness for them that there was no rain coming. Nobody wanted a repeat of what happened on the day Golden was sent home.

"I have no means to offend anyone, but the three members of the tribe that aren't known to be super physical were the front runners today." The black haired martial artist watched Plague Knight hanging up his immunity necklace. "Something different. But I'm happy for all three of you."

"Don't feel too bad, Ryu. I still can't seem to get the hang of these challenges no matter what I do." Yoshi chuckled.

"Well, for once I kind of underperformed. But it is a reminder of me that in some challenges, pretty much anyone can win. And ya know, I do feel good for people who feel like they aren't 'used to winning' or don't think that they can ever win an immunity necklace."

"Haha, I still feel like I've just won my first won." So that meant the thought of Plague Knight winning a second one did not exactly hit him at the time. "This is like a dream!"

"My challenge run in Heroes vs Villains is putting my challenge run in Mexico to shame. How do I go from winning zero challenges in my first to suddenly winning two of them now? Not that I'm complaining... No. I'm not complaining at all. I already get enough headaches being paranoid all the time, because at any moment people could just randomly decide to write me off just because they don't like me. But in this season, I have the luxury of what it feels like not having to worry about anything for the day. These people can scramble their heads off all they want. At least I'm not going anywhere."

Donkey Kong heaved a sigh, dropping everything but his canteen. "Well, gotta stay hydrated. I'm gonna get water. Anyone coming?"

"I'll help out. Y'all give me two canteens." Okay, obviously fans at home knew why Wolf volunteered.

The ape then turned to Ryu. "You coming?"

"Sure..."

"I'll get the fire started." It appeared Zelda was not going anywhere. And if she was not leaving the shelter, neither were Yoshi and Shovel Knight. The former was already heading her way to help.

"I'm heading over there and I'll probably be taking a dip." Springtrap already knew what was going on, so he took upon himself to separate from the rest of the tribe. And he even figured Plague Knight was going to follow in suit, and he was correct.

Okay so in the Hero Three's eyes,... everybody left. They all went away because other than each other, they had no friends and nobody liked them. How sad...

"..." Yoshi turned to the other two remaining contestants at the shelter. "Well, at least it'll be easier for us to communicate."

"It only took a single minute for everybody to clear off! The moment we got back to camp, everybody went everywhere. Hahaha! It's kinda funny! Everyone who plays this game knows that we have to be very careful of who we talk to or who we leave off with, but today nobody cared. Everybody already knows everything of what the alliances are, who's close with who, so... I guess there aren't any secrets anymore."

"This is the loved ones day all over again." Zelda sighed. "But I do not have any complaints. We probably just need to keep this short in the chance this is our first and last time talking to each other like this."

"Okay, but what if we suddenly change our minds before tribal and we need exchange sudden messages to each other?" Shovel Knight brought up a good point. "We should get word to each other in case something last minute comes up, especially since we literally just got back from the challenge."

"Alright, fair enough. Let's just discuss a little something right now before somebody rushes back over here. Now even though Plague Knight won the immunity challenge today keeping the necklace away from Donkey Kong and Ryu, but the reason to why I wanted one of the three of us to win is because that I thought it would be the best case scenario."

"Makes sense to me." Yoshi understood where she was going with it. "Obviously I can't trust anybody else on this tribe..."

"As far as the six is concerned, the vote is for Donkey Kong. 6-2. However, part of me is wondering if we should pull something else off today. I know that DK and Ryu combined is a mega threat. Getting rid of one of them will leave the other on their own. Though we just weakened SGA twice in a row, and one of them was someone that was never really in the running in a lot of the challenges this season in the first place."

"We didn't even have to worry about Donkey Kong or Ryu today at the challenge. Plague Knight was the main competitor we had to deal with." For the brunette princess, that further put things in perspective. "This shows that SGA is beatable. Sure, it was not a physical challenge. But Springtrap has beaten SGA before, so winning over them is not impossible. So out of anyone in the Villain Three, we would blindside him before he targets us."

"Well, there's one thing I can say." Shovel Knight got on his knees, getting ready to help Zelda with the fire. "We are just as tight of a three as those three villains are. They're probably saying the same thing."

Spot on.

"They're probably saying the same thing."

See?

"The same way of how we're thinking of getting rid of one of them, what if they're talking about getting rid of one of us?" Plague Knight voiced, a shirtless Springtrap rinsing himself off in the water. "I can't go home, Springy. And,... I can't have you or Wolf go home either. You two are all I have."

"Aww." The rabbit joked. "I'm feeling all of the Survivor love. Thank you so much for caring about me. I'm touched."

"Can you take this seriously!?"

"Shhh!" He glared holding a finger over his lip. "Do you want everybody to hear us? They're all right at the shelter."

"Look, we get rid of DK tonight, the Hero Three might be more provoked to vote one of us off. That's what happens when you wait too long to make a move. We have to strike while the iron is hot. And I don't even know what Wolf really thinks about us right now."

And that was something Springy grew concerned about too. "You're not wrong. I've noticed that myself. He has been spending a little more time with DK lately. He still talks to us, but... why is he talking to DK more all of a sudden? Of course he's going to go get water with them with Ryu joining in."

"I made Wolf get rid of Bowser yesterday, and now he's been having a couple more conversations with Donkey Kong which makes me give him the side-eye. Sure, I maybe starting to get paranoid, because I try my best to remain as calm as possible. That's how you keep a level head out here. They could be talking about being furries for all I know, since it's probably the only thing they have in common aside from them both being in the same alliance together before." Furries, furries, everywhere! "But what if they're not? Wolf could be trying to do some damage control because DK was Bowser and Ryu's ally, or... I dunno. Who knows what he's doing? So I do have a right to be concerned here."

Hanging his head down low, he heaved a sigh. "Looks like I need to have another conversation with him. Why do I feel I need to have him on all fours and be on a leash? That's what you do with non-anthropomorphic dogs anyway."

Well,... if Springtrap was an actual rabbit, he literally would not have been walking at all. Walking on all fours sounded better than just hopping everywhere.

"And you know what the worse thing is, Plague? In the back of my mind, I was actually considering on turning the tables on Zelda by writing her off. But now, I dunno." He hunched his shoulders aggressively. "I just don't. Now because of Wolf possibly strategizing with Donkey Kong a little too much, maybe this should further push him on the block. If DK actually goes home today, you know why. We'll just come up more reasons to Wolf to why he might be getting the boot, but you and I will both know the whole truth."

Plaguey blinked at this. "So... we're gonna basically low-key deceive our own ally?"

"...Yes."

"Oh. Okay."

Springtrap sighed, knowing that Plague felt rather odd about it. "Okay look, Wolf's a good friend. I like him. But this is just the game, man. You and I are both known to be willing to whatever it takes to make it far. Hey, I tried to manipulate and guilt-trip Val just to save my own fur. You were not afraid to speak your mind in your season, even if half the time you weren't really in the right. But one thing we have in common is that we both know that deception is a part of the game. Blindsides and not always telling the truth is a part of a game. If we have to hide our true intentions to protect ourselves, then all we have to do is own up to it if we reach the Final Tribal Council together."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm an All Star too, and we both started on the villains team. I of all people don't need to be lectured on that."

"We managed to knock Bowser out because Springtrap felt like he and Wolf were getting too close to each other. Now he wants me to help convince Wolf that DK has to go because he's the biggest threat of SGA, but a big part of it would be that Springtrap feels like the two of them are getting too close to each other... Anyone that gets too close each other out here is an inconvenience for Springtrap. I mean sure, all three of us would still be here. But,... this feels weird. For one, I feel like if we don't get Zelda out of here today, we are all going to pay the price for it. And second of all, Wolf is still part of our alliance. I can't believe I am saying this, but for this reason, it seems rather... unfair that Springtrap gets to have everything go his way in the alliance while Wolf has to basically be told what to do. And everyone knows me knows that I hate being told what to do. I'm the boss at my laboratory. I should be the one telling people what to do. And this game is no different."

"Everybody's always fighting to get to the top, and Springtrap plotting everything just to make sure things go his way kind of annoys me..."

Well, perhaps Plague Knight for once was getting a taste of his own medicine. Not every little thing can go one's way.

So what exactly were Wolf and Donkey Kong talking about at the water well?

"You know, it really would have been interesting if one of y'all actually won that."

Y'all? ...Oh, that was right. Ryu Hoshi still existed. Sorry.

"Did you want us to?" Grouken's adopted son asked.

"Well,... only for the sake of how things would have played out. Say if DK won, you would have been on the hot seat. But my alliance of six would have been more provoked to turn on each other. And everyone already knows that the six aren't going to stick together forever."

"Alright, well if you guys turn on each other today, Ryu and I would be the swing votes and we would have to decide who to cut off." Donkey Kong drank water from his canteen. "And if that's gonna be the case, whichever side we would go, it'll be a five person alliance. We of course would be on the bottom of that, but... we don't have anything else to lose. I'd rather be on the bottom than be out of this game altogether."

"I know that's right." Wolf nodded in agreement, running his fingers through the fur on his head. "And if you're in a majority alliance, you have to actually see past six. I didn't even make it top six in my season. So if my core alliance has to turn on the other core alliance, why not go as far as you possibly can? And if I need you two to help me vote one of those heroes out, you guys are two votes."

"It's really humbling for me, knowing that I could slip up at any point in these challenges." Ryu admitted, finding it rather interesting that he did not perform nearly as well as he hoped. "Apparently I am not the best when it comes to stacking cards, but it all seems fair. I shine more in the punching and kicking department where I usually apply my strength to knock people to the ground. That's my specialty. Everyone's good at something, but no one's best at everything. It's something we all have to remind ourselves."

"But still, neither me nor DK got the job done and we're going home one after the other if we don't do something now. I know the entire camp is tired of the two of us constantly approaching everybody to find a way in, but we're gonna keep doing it until we both know that the six are turning on each other. And as of right now, the only person who's giving us hope is Wolf."

"We both already know that you were most likely not the main one wanting to get rid of Bowser in the first place." Well, that part was a hundred percent true. But DK just wanted the lupine to be well aware that they were not stupid. "That was probably a decision made by that whole group of yours. Was it all five of them or... certain people?"

"I actually had a strong feeling that it was going to be one of the two of us." said Ryu. "Bowser being the one picked to get his torch snuffed was eyebrow raising for me. And at first I thought it was due to you all being afraid that one of us had an idol and he was the safest person to vote for."

"Well, that ended up not being the case at all." O'Donnell confirmed. "There's no point in lying about that. And even if that was true, I think one of you would have played it by now."

"Exactly." Those words were taken right out of Donkey Kong's mouth. "It just doesn't make sense to me... Was Springtrap scared of the relationship between the two of you?"

"...Uh..." He turned away.

"You're hesitating." And that was enough to tell Ryu and his friend right there. "He was. Wasn't he?"

"Well,... yes. Bowser and I had history, and at that point it was starting to catch up with the both of us. Springtrap probably felt like I was being set up too nicely, so I'm over here thinking he wanted me to be closer to him." Alright, so not only Wolf was being plain honest about it. He was outright spilling the beans. "I mean, I knew sooner or later I wanted to get rid of him. But part of me was really getting comfortable of him possibly making it past nine, and it bit me on my tail. I should have been more prepared to let him go back then."

"So he used you for his personal gain." It was not hard for the only other remaining Kodai Island contestant to put two and two together. "That's something even you are realizing... Wolf, you do know what he's doing, right? Did you call him out on it?"

"I'm not stupid, DK. It was something I've been sniffed out before the tribal even started." Oh. So he definitely was no dummy. "I got to myself and thought about a few minutes before he left, and figured it was a possibility that was his intention. Aside from Plague, I'm the only closest ally he has. Now he's all that I have. Why would I throw him under the bus now when I'm in a crucial situation where I still need his vote? Even if I wanted to get rid of him, I don't think I have any other choice but remain loyal by his side."

"After Bowser left, I sort of became a fill in for him in Wolf's eyes because I'm the closest thing to Bowser since we all come from the first season. And throughout the conversations that I've had with him today, I learned that Springtrap had Wolf vote out Bowser for his own benefit to which Wolf admitted himself that he was not okay with that. Springtrap was already considered to be a threat in my eyes to begin with, since my alliance tried to get rid of him before. Knowing what he's doing now, he's just as sneaky as he was in Caribbean. He likes to try to make people do his dirty work just so he could get his way, and if he keeps gaming like that to day thirty-nine, we're all gonna end up giving him the million dollars. And if even his own ally in Wolf is irritated about what he made him do, Ryu and I might need to take advantage of that."

Dinner time!

So judging by the look of the sky, the sun was going to be setting soon. The group of eight knew that they needed to hurry up and eat, getting anything else done before they were called to tribal.

They used fresh green leaves as bowls for their small portion of rice, which was how poor they reall were. But that was okay. It was all going to pass soon.

With the small talk going on around, certain castaways took it upon themselves to whisper to whoever was close to them in hopes to exchange information while they still had the chance.

Donkey Kong and Springtrap were sitting right next to each other for example and the latter already had to talk to Kong anyway, just for the sake of reassuring information to each other.

"So if we needed the votes of both of you today, our plan would still be set for Zelda. Right?"

"Yes. Ryu and I would work with you and help get her out. She's the smartest of her core alliance that has been helping Shovel and Yoshi the whole time."

In spite of the two of them having lowered voices, Yoshi (who was sitting next to Shovel Knight) could not have helped but stare.

"They're clearly whispering. Are they talking about us?"

"Who knows." Shovel Knight replied, knowing that there was nothing they could have done about it. "But we are being hypocrites by whispering ourselves. All we can do is hope the two of us and our friend over there will be coming back to this camp safe and sound."

Zelda herself at this time was having her own talk with Ryu.

"I... actually would find it rather entertaining if you and Link competed against each other in a wrestling match." Well, they were both Smashers for a reason. In Smash, anything was possible. "Link actually has some wrestling experience himself back in our world. Sure he might need a bit more training, but I bet he could handle it. It would be really interesting to see how he would do."

"Hmm... I never thought Link and wrestling would even be in the same sentence." ...Did Ryu mean any offense by that? Was he dragging Link now? "No offense of course. It's not that I don't take him seriously."

Ah okay.

"It's just that I would never picture of him being that type of guy, you know? But I suppose we all have our secret talents that us ourselves have no idea that we're good at until we get a certain thing a chance."

She chuckled in response. "I was just surprised as you were when he first told me. Maybe we could make plans for us to visit your world and I suppose Bowser's son Roy is really wanting you to train him."

"Life after Survivor is something I suppose we're all looking forward to... But I suppose if I'm gone today, we would have to continue this discussion later on. I hope I'm still here, Zel."

"You're not going anywhere." And even if Zelda's plan was weaken SGA even further, it was Donkey Kong who was on the line. Not him. The worst thing that needed to happen for Ryu's game was him being the only one left out of his entire alliance. All on his own. "Best case scenario, the five of us get together and send Springtrap to the jury."

"We were all sitting around the campfire eating our food and I think pretty much everyone was talking to each other about somebody." Yoshi shook his head, but kept his humorous smile on. "They would be talking normally one minute, and then suddenly they're whispering the next. This is what this game has come to. It's been done before around here, but I'm getting even more vibes of it happening this time. I'm thinking that everybody feels like the plan is gonna go their way tonight because we all are looking and fighting for the same thing. But like Shovel said, all we could do is hope that it's not one of us and that the plan goes our way tonight... I really wish either him or Zelda won the necklace. But I guess it is what it is..."

Alright. So everybody finished eating the little food they had for the day. The kitchen was officially closed. There was nothing else to do at that point except wait for the final bell of the day that will dismiss the group from their shelter.

It was best to make these last crucial minutes count. Wolf in particular had something to say to Plague Knight. And since he was not really good at telling time without a watch, he had no idea how much time he really had before it was too late.

The pilot had to motion the masked scientist to crawl his way closer to him, both players eyeing Yoshi and Donkey Kong near the fire.

"I think I'm gonna let you in on what's really gonna go down at tribal, since I don't think there's any reason for you to be out of this vote..." Cool, so at the least the audience now had the expectation that Wolf and his ally Plague were going to be voting together. "Unless we both end up being on the wrong side of the numbers in the event something else happens."

"Okay, so what's the plan then?"

"Hold up. Lemme make sure nobody's coming over here. Don't turn around." He was right. Since Plague's back was facing the dinosaur and the gorilla, it was best to not give the both of them away. And Wolf sort of had to face in a random direction, while making sure the potion master heard every word he was going to say at the same time.

"Ryu's coming..."

Ugh. That meant the two of them had to be patient before they started talking. But luckily for them, he was shown to be joining DK and Yoshi's by the fire. Hopefully that meant the two players Wolf kept his good eye on were even more likely to be distracted. "Okay, we're good. Listen carefully..."

"Honestly if anything, what happened last tribal has probably further motivated me to play hard. Not saying that I gotta play super aggressively if there's no need for it." Wolf honestly just did not see himself to be that kind of player, even though he made a couple flash moves such as playing his first idol on Bowser and turning against Ganon with Mewtwo. "There is a way to get what you want while being subtle about it, since it's been done before and it worked out certain players. And there's still a bit of game out there, so I have to put whatever emotions I have to the side even though last tribal did humanize me. You just gotta take a deep breath, think about it, and find your way."

The music then suddenly paused. "...And if I'm all of a sudden taken out of the game without my knowledge, I'm _ed. There's no more of a blunt way to put it."

Tribal Council

Night 33

This was probably going to be one of the more interesting votes of the season. There were a number of possibilities that could have occurred that night. No matter what was going to happen though, somebody was going to regret something...

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

All eight of the remaining castaways had amusing expressions on their faces realizing what they were witnessing. Ridley, Vector, and Bowser were all wearing black shades with white unbuttoned shirts as if they were trying to look cool or something.

Maybe that was their whole thing.

"What the hell did we miss?" Ryu chuckled, Ridley in particular turned away as if he wanted to give a sign that the whole thing was not his idea. Vector was the mastermind behind it all.

Bowser simply clocked his head upwards as if he was trying to say 'what's up' to the contestants. Wolf O'Donnell not holding back with his laughter, making some of his fellow players laugh with him.

Springtrap on the other hand was really trying to hold back as he was curling his lips. Taking note of the three jurors that were showing off, he knew exactly what happened at Ponderosa.

But it was best for him to hang tight for the time being...

"Shovel Knight." Master Hand called on the shovel wielder first. "It seems like the jurors are having a good time over there. Wouldn't you say?"

"I think they are. And I don't blame them. Not one bit. It always hurts me inside to know that we single-handedly murdered their dreams and now they have to literally watch us still be in the running to get to the end. Whatever they're doing at Ponderosa, they're making the most out of it. I remember when I was voted off myself in Emperors vs Knights. I felt horrible, but... in my mind I had to make the most out of it. And it appears that's what those five people are doing over there."

"Springtrap, you were voted off before too." Yep. After he got on Val's nerves so much, she literally used her idol to save Ken of all people (who was the one in bigger trouble at the time after getting rid of his own ally in Simon) and in the end get Springy out despite it not being the right time. Thus, it literally ruined her game. "On one hand, you're glad for them as Shovel Knight has stated. But on the other, perhaps one would feel like at the end of the day, you're still sitting here and not them."

"Those are the facts, correct. I sat over there myself and I was literally jealous of other people being in the game while I was already out. You can't say that I don't know how they feel. But at the same time, I lost fair and square in the Caribbean. And I have made it to this point in this season fair and square. Sorry to the five of them that aren't here anymore, but the winner isn't one of them. That's just how it is. And if I was voted out next, I'd be saying the same thing."

Fair enough...

"And Wolf, you just voted off Bowser after a rather honest, open Tribal Council last time." No, that did not happen. Somebody else did it... Sarcasm by the way. "If the shirt and shades were any indication, he's also trying to make the best out of the situation."

"I'm happy for him." By the facial expression and tone of voice, it easy to tell that he was genuinely pleased. "Last tribal was hard for the both of us, and he's already finding some happiness knowing what his reality is."

"Would you trade places with him if you were given the option?"

"...Not at all, unfortunately." And he was shaking his head rather rapidly, too. "If it was me that was over there right now and if he was asked that question, I'd be surprised if he said yes to that. I've been thinking about him for at least a little bit, and he's blindsided me before. We were both wondering what to do with each other, and it all ended when I had to vote him out last time we were here. We're both gamers, we both know what we signed up for, hopefully we're both good by the end of it all. Only thing is I can't directly tell how he's feeling at the moment."

"Well I am aware that at this point, this entire group lost friends and allies." The master's words did ring true as the big group was shown into view. "Zelda, Yoshi, and Shovel Knight lost Vector, DK and Ryu lost Golden, Ridley, and Bowser with Wolf of course also being upset about it, and Wolf, Plague Knight, and Springtrap were aligned with Shadow who is also on the jury. All of their dreams are crushed, and at the same time, you know you need their vote to win this game."

"As far as the three core alliances are concerned," He continued. "-due to Bowser being eliminated at the last Tribal Council, Donkey Kong and Ryu are dead men walking if things are remaining the same. Ryu, you know this completely frustrates you."

"It really does frustrate the both of us." He was getting tired of it. Just tired of it! "The weird thing is that in my season, it was my alliance that was actually on the top and running the show. This time it's the exact opposite."

"Well, I'm pretty sure _ hits the fan sometimes." Springtrap commented. "My alliance was the bottom alliance and my season, so to being in the majority this time around is a new experience for me."

"You and I were both also party of the majority alliance back in the pre-merge of our first season." Yoshi brought up. "Chrom? Corrin? Robin? Shield Knight?"

Shovel Knight looked down, knowing that it was their alliance that directly screwed his partner over before the swap even happened.

"Okay, post-merge to clarify."

"Plague Knight, I don't think the conversations of the six of you staying together are ever gonna be put the rest unless something happens between all of you." Okay, that did not sound too farfetched. "You guys voted together at the Golden vote, the Bowser vote, and now there's a possibility you all would vote together again tonight leaving either DK or Ryu on his own at the bottom. ...Is there at least a little bit of tension going on?"

"Even if there was, all I can do is hope that the blindside is not going to be on me. There's still a bit of game left for me to get to at this point. I can't just go home."

"Well, right now you do have the immunity necklace."

Staring down at it, he gave it a couple pats with his hands. "Oh yeah. Maybe I need to be reminded that I have it on. I'm not really used to winning challenges. But you know, I could still be blindsided if there is any idea or plan that I didn't know prior to coming here."

"Walk me through this. Zelda, three heroes, three villains. Is there a certain communication system you guys have? For example, if you, Yoshi, and Shovel Knight have an idea, do you guys talk to each other about it first before you approach Wolf, Plague Knight, and Springtrap? Or do you mention your ideas to just anyone in the six and all of you come to an agreement?"

Now she knew she had to have a certain type of answer for this one. "Pretty much anything goes, I suppose. Say if Plague Knight wants to vote out this person and he mentions that to me, I could probably go over to Wolf or Springtrap and see what they think about it. And of course I can mention this to Shovel and Yoshi to see what they think about it. And if we're lucky enough to have conversations together featuring all six of us, we would come to an agreement of what our next move is."

"I do pretty much believe you have your private conversations with Shovel and Yoshi alone." Donkey Kong if anything would have been surprised if that actually never happened. "You all maybe talk to each other no matter who it is, but tell me you talk to Shovel and Yoshi alone without telling me you talk to Shovel and Yoshi alone."

OOH!

The jurors were all quietly laughing, trying their best to hold themselves back knowing they were limited of what they were allowed to do over there.

"Springtrap, Wolf, and Plague Knight, same thing. Plague Knight can have an idea, and he can discuss it to the other two on his own and you all wouldn't even know what they're talking about."

Ryu nodded, agreeing with him a thousand percent.

"Well no matter what we do, as an alliance of six, we have to talk to each other as a group anyway." Zelda had a point. "The six wouldn't be a six if we never have full conversations as a group. It's not about just us being two sets of three. It's about forming a majority. You can't expect all three alliances to randomly for whoever and hope and see which one is not going to be on the right side of the numbers. Say if we didn't vote together at the Golden tribal, it would have been a 4-3-3 vote with your alliance having the majority voting one of us off. And we all would have looked foolish by not voting together for something that could have easily been prevented."

Smart woman.

"The six of us just so happened to have more common goals with one another, and unfortunately you two are paying the price for it. I know how it feels to be on the bottom of a vote, and you both have my sincerest apologies. The both of you are good people and it's a shame things have come to this."

"Ryu, you and DK are trying your best to break them apart aren't you?"

"I mean, why wouldn't we?" Maybe it was right for him to own up to it. "We don't know what else to do, except for maybe sitting here and get picked off one after the other. At least the two of us have nothing to hide. But I do know that the mini-alliances in that six have conversations by themselves all the time of how they're gonna handle each other. I bet there is even talk of them taking each other out. DK and I just haven't heard anything about it. But if there's anything last minute somebody could say to us, we're right here. We're two crucial votes and we could help you do whatever you want."

"Alright." Master Hand decided to test his castaways. "Let's see. Is there anything any one of you have anything last minute to say to Donkey Kong and Ryu?"

All of the jurors stared at the remaining players.

...

Plague? Zelda? Shovel?

...

Nothing. Wolf? Yoshi?

...

Nothing. And they were all eyeing each other too. Springtrap? Did he have anything he wanted to get off his chest?

...Nope. Nothing at all from anyone.

"Well," Donkey Kong lifted his hands before dropping them. It was best to imagine that Smash taunt of his again. "-we tried. If one of us are getting the boot tonight, there's nothing we can do."

"Alright. Let's see if the six managed to come to an agreement today. It is time to vote. Zelda, you're up."

Okay, so overall not nearly as emotional as the previous Tribal Council. But that was okay, as not every single tribal in the history of Survivor was just as memorable as the next.

Was Zelda's vote going to be shown? ...Nope. She just had a few words to say.

"Let's just hope that this idea right here plays out."

Ooh, good one.

Wolf was shown uncapping the pen before the scene quickly faded to Shovel writing a name down, Plague being the one called to vote next.

Once Yoshi and Ryu were done, Springtrap was next up. Was his vote going to be shown?

...Nope.

"Once again, this move is being made for the sake of my best interest and nobody else's."

Zelda stared his way without saying a word.

And what about Donkey Kong? Was his vote going to be revealed?

...No. What in the world. So the audience pretty much had no idea what was going to occur once Master Hand read the votes.

"I'll go tally the votes."

But first, he had to count them really quick.

"If DK or Ryu get voted off here, I'm going to automatically tell them who is really running the show here..." Bowser commented. "That'll be ridiculous."

Well, who was running the show Bowser? What was holding him back from him outright saying it?

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

Anything from Plague Knight or Yoshi today? Those were the only two players that had advantages and Plague was already immune anyway.

...But neither of them got up to do anything. And even if Plague wanted to, the rules for the advantage was that he had to play before the master tallied the votes.

"Okay. Once the votes are read, the decision is final. Person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I'll read the votes."

Big question of the night: did the majority alliance of six finally turn on each other?

Time to see...

"First vote..."

Zelda, Donkey Kong, and Springtrap were all briefly shown on camera right before the first vote was revealed.

"Zelda."

"Oh my..."

Goodness gracious. Things were already getting interested and he was only at the first of up to eight votes. From the current players to the jurors, there were immediate glances everywhere, the eliminated players in particular appearing a bit shocked.

"That's one way to start it." mumbled Golden.

"Springtrap."

Cocking his head to his left, he felt that he knew right then and there what was happening. There were two possibilities on the table. Either the vote came one of the two SGA people, or from one of the heroes.

More votes needed to be revealed in order for people to take a bigger hint.

"Springtrap. Two votes Springtrap, one vote Zelda."

Alright. So the concern was still there. However, there were two remaining members in the Strong Guys Alliance. It easily could have been both of them, and there was the chance his name was not going to come up for the rest of the night. Patience was the best way to go for him.

Zelda also had to remind herself the importance of having patience.

"...Springtrap."

"Oh no..."

"That's three votes Springtrap, one vote Zelda."

"And here we go..." Vector mumbled from the jury. "It's happening."

It really was happening. And Donkey Kong's name was not shown once. Was it right for him to already assume he was not going anywhere?

Shovel Knight was feeling rather confident of how things were going thus far. Just a few more votes to see, though...

"Springtrap."

"Oh my God." He brought a hand to his face in disbelief.

"That's four votes Springtrap, one vote Zelda."

"Hmm..." Ridley grew confused. "That's already four votes to his name and Master just read five votes covering more than half the tribe."

...Oh. That was something to note. If there were five votes were already read and four of them were for Springtrap, there were a couple things that were set to play out at that point. Either there was gonna somehow be a 4-4 tie, or... wait a minute. Neither Plague Knight nor Wolf were showing any kind of concern or emotion at all. Not one bit. And people were noticing that.

Which meant that...

"Thirteenth person voted out of Survivor and the sixth member of our jury." Oh man. Wolf and Plague turned on him. Their own ally. "Springtrap. That's five, that's enough. You need to bring me your torch."

#Blindside

Bowser nodded in complete satisfaction. So that was who he was talking about.

Kevin Davis sighed, gradually rising from his seat to head to the torches.

"Y'all got me. I suppose you all decided I was a big threat. One spot lower than last time."

...Heh. No words.

"Wolf, Plague, you both got guts for doing this. I wonder how are you both gonna get out of it, though."

Yeah, that was actually a legitimate question due to the Villain Three now becoming the Villain Two where all three members of the Hero Three still being intact.

O'Donnell never stared away. His eyes locked on him the whole time with no hint of remorse in his face whatsoever. In his mind, that was what he got. The man got what he deserved. Karma was really real.

"Springtrap, the tribe has spoken."

With his torch being taken out, the anthropomorphic bunny turned on his feet to say his final words to the other players.

"It's gonna be a wild ride to the finish folks. One of you's gonna win. Good luck and nice play."

Alright. Down the stairs he went.

Plague turned Wolf's way. Though he did not know what kind of look he had on his face, he had vibes that he was a bit worried.

"Stay confident. We'll talk when we head back."

"Well, the six has finally cracked it seems. Ryu and DK might have finally found a way in. What I honestly didn't expect was for him to be blindsided by his own allies. May the war continue. Grab your torches, head back to camp. Goodnight."

Things were probably going to get just a little more complicated in a minute.

Votes:

Donkey Kong - Springtrap

Yoshi - Springtrap

Zelda - Springtrap

Wolf - Springtrap

Ryu - Springtrap

Shovel Knight - Springtrap

Plague Knight - Springtrap

Springtrap - Zelda

Final Result: 7-1

8th Place: Springtrap

Total Votes Received: 11

Confessional Run: 3-0-1-2-3-1-2-3-3-2-4-2 (26)

Castaways Remaining:

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

"I tried to play harder and smarter. I really wanted to make a higher rank for myself this time, but it was probably my time to go. The main thing that I have in my mind right now is that people saw me as such a big threat in this game, Wolf and Plague Knight were willing to sacrifice their own ally, knowingly weakening themselves against the Hero Three. ...Maybe it's a good thing I get to sit at the jury bench at the next Tribal Council. Now I get to have my popcorn ready so I can see what's gonna happen to them from here on out."

Character Confessional Count:

34: Donkey Kong (+3)

28: Wolf (+3), Ryu (+2), Plague Knight (+3)

26: Springtrap (+2)

27: Zelda (+3)

25: Bowser

24: Shovel Knight (+1)

22: Yoshi (+2), Ridley, Golden

19: Vector

12: Shadow, Specter Knight, Sonic

11: Foxy, Meta Knight

6: Sheik

5: Mario

3: Isabelle

Pretty much one of, if not the biggest gamer of the whole season so far. I can say that Springtrap pretty much had the same gameplay style from his last season, with the same kind of manipulative gaming tactics just to satisfy his own self. He's selfish and he knows it because it's the nature of the game, and he uses that to his advantage.

Regarding the whole thing with Bowser and Wolf, he had it coming.

Next time, you know the drill. Ponderosa coming up!

Dimtri Alexandre Blaiddyd from Fire Emblem - Three Houses is going to compete in Survivor - India! (Is this a surprising choice for some of you?)

Characters Revealed So Far: 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)