Survivor - Heroes vs Villains
Chapter 41 - Day 36 Part 1
It's been a long time coming, but here we are at the penultimate episode. Ryu, Plague Knight, Donkey Kong, Zelda, Wolf, and Yoshi are all that is left as the other fourteen players have been unfortunately slaughters and loved ones had to unfortunately prepare for their funeral services... Just kidding of course.
Here goes...
~KF
SURVIVOR - HEROES VS VILLAINS
EPISODE 14: Tomorrow Is Just A Night Away
Darleem
Night 35
Donkey Kong, Yoshi, Zelda, Wolf, Ryu, Plague Knight
-/-
Now in the past when it came to idols, if an idol was played at tribal, it was subsequently bounced back into the game for other players to try to find one. Though the rules were updated since. In Heroes vs Villains, there were only three idols to be found. The Heroes tribe idol, the Villains tribe idol, and the merged tribe idol. If all three idols were played, nobody ever had to worry about idols for the rest of the game. The only exception to it was if say if Yoshi got blindsided with an idol in his possession, then the idol would have been hidden once again.
Supposedly production was trying to avoid potential overuse of immunity idols, which was understandable knowing of the history in real series surrounding idols... Seriously. The real show was definitely overkill at times, but that was another topic on its own.
"Nice play." Zelda commented upon everyone returning to the shelter. "You all have definitely outsmarted us back there."
"We knew that Yoshi was the safest option for us to vote for, but at the same time we felt that it was rather obvious. You all saw right through, so in preparation we went for Shovel instead." Ryu explained. "And we all know he was your number one. Sorry we had to take him out..."
"You do not have anything to apologize for. It is nothing but competition. I harmed the games of all of you before, too."
"Guess that makes all of us even, then." Wolf had his hands on his hips, him just not believing that he was still in the game in general. "Top six, guys. Top six."
"Heading into tribal, I thought there was no way I was not going out at seven again if I helped Bowser get ninth place just like how it was in Kodai. But I was spared. I was almost out by one vote, but we ended up listening to Plague's suggestion of not playing it safe by going for Yoshi. Writing his name down sounded great on paper because off the bat, he was the least likely to give the idol to. But at the same time, it ended up being something the heroes expected. Shovel Knight was our next best option, and we managed to dodge the idol saving my life. Got nothin' to thank but Lylat on that one."
"I am really shocked that I've made it this far myself." said Donkey Kong, scratching the top of his forehead. "I didn't even reach the top ten last time. Now I'm top six? So surreal..."
"I feel like my season is just getting started, knowing that Mexico began with only six people per tribe." Ryu commented. "Very interesting."
Just then, Yoshi out of nowhere turned on his heel and walked towards the water, without a care in the world that the entire tribe watched the whole way.
"And... he's upset." Ryu blinked in reaction. "He obviously feels guilty that Shovel is not here anymore... He was the very last person that I thought would actually have the idol."
"Um, I am pretty sure we all never expected him to have it." And Plague said before tribal that in the event Yoshi had the idol, he was going to get a name change. Now was he actually going to take that seriously, or just completely backtrack on that? ...The latter was of course more likely. "He's mad because he played his idol on the wrong person, but what can we do? You played your idol on the wrong person, and now you have to live with it."
"You damn well know this is Yoshi we're talking about." Wolf reminded. "Friendship clearly means a lot to him, and he feels like he let a great opportunity slip through his fingers and probably blaming himself for not reading the room correctly."
Zelda sighed and shook his head. She already felt terrible in her own way for Shovel Knight not being in the game anymore. Now she had to comfort Yoshi, too? That was just too much for one person. But knowing that she was his only ally now, it made sense for her to follow him alone. "I'll be back..."
"...It backfired. We had the idol, we used it, and it backfired. And this is a bigger blow to my game than Vector leaving, because our alliance was already smaller. Yoshi and I are only two people. Wolf, Ryu, Plague, and DK got their way. Though they did not exact predict Yoshi to be the one that had the idol with him, they still predicted that an idol was going to be played on him. And due to Yoshi being known to greatly value his relationships, he naturally takes full responsibility for Shovel Knight now being on the jury with Vector. He already took responsibility for apparently not playing the idol on Vector at his Tribal Council. Now him and I are officially on the bottom of this tribe... Oh Goddesses, have mercy."
She sat down next to Yoshi in the sand with a comforting hand on his back?
"You know, Shovel completely understands that you had to think of saving yourself. What if you played the idol on Shovel Knight and all the votes were cast on you?"
"I know, I know..." He waved it off, still staring at the sea. "But,... imagine what could have been, Zelda? I didn't play my idol, Vector gets voted off. And now that I have played my idol, I still couldn't save Shovel Knight. Clearly I shouldn't have found the idol in the first place. Any one of you could have handled it better than me."
"Do not be so hard on yourself. Even though I have never found an idol before, I can say that the players who have found idols in the past, they have shown that playing the idol on the right person is not as easy as it sounds. In your own season, Meta Knight, Simon, and Springtrap all had idols. Not one of them played it correctly."
"Well Val did!"
"She did, yes. But she and Ken were the only ones of that group that knew exactly what was going to happen in that round. Val wanted to save Ken herself just because she had enough of Springtrap. Also, she was not even looked at as a target at the time." Yeah... Valery was acting on pure emotion on that one because for her game, it was not the best move at all. She low-key was the reason Ken almost won his way to the million dollar prize in the first place. "The point is that having an idol in general is not something a lot of people have the opportunity to hold. So the fact that you found one is not something to laugh at. You have perfectly valid reasons to why you chose to play it on yourself. And I know this may sound rather selfish to you, but sometimes in Survivor, you have to put yourself first... even when it comes to your own friends and allies. It was something you had to learn when you voted out K. Rool, so maybe tonight you needed to be reminded of that lesson, even though the circumstances are completely different."
"It's the same thing all over again. Forget plainly voting out the ones that I care about. I can't even save my friends when I have the chance. I know I can't take it back, but... now what? I have to face the consequences of not playing my idol on the right person. Zelda and I have our lives that are now on the line, and Shovel is not going to see past fifth place. When I saw his name came up for the first time, I knew that I messed up. Losing your friends in the game no matter the situation is always terrible, especially when you feel like you could have done something different to save them. Shovel Knight, I know you don't like seeing me pity myself over stuff like this, but I am apologizing anyway. am so sorry. I let you down and I screwed you over. Now Zelda and I have to find a way out of this."
"Though there is nothing we can do to get Shovel back at this point, the best thing we can do to move forward is to try whatever we can to break up those four. If they all stick together, it is not going to look good. And honestly, this is the most danger I felt for myself personally in a long while. ...I am not fond of it." For simple terms, she strongly felt like she was about to be voted out for the first time if something was not done immediately. "We need to try our best to win immunity and we would have to get those four on turn on each other."
"Well, whatever we have to do, I am with you. I have never been voted off either, and I'm doing anything but asking for it."
"We should probably rejoin the others."
"Okay."
"As much as I want to just quietly grieve Shovel Knight in my sleep, as always, I have to keep my head in the game. It is something that Link would be telling me to do, anyway. I am one of those people that feels that results could change depending on how you react to difficult situations. All I could do is just take it in, suck it up, and move on. It is human to have emotions, of course. But just because Shovel is out of the game does not mean that I am out of the game. The final three is approaching and I need to make sure I am there. For here on out, I need to go as hard as I can. Tomorrow is just a night away."
Darleem
Day 36
Well, 'tomorrow' arrived at the camp. Brand new day for Darleem.
There was a tree nearby which had thirty-five tally marks on it, and Ryu ended up marking the very next one.
"Getting closer and closer, guys. I don't know which of the three of us are leaving, but I know half of us are gonna make it. Almost there."
"I guess I'll be getting the tree mail. We all know we have a challenge coming up today." Donkey Kong got up on his feet. He was still tired, but he wished to get that chore over with as soon as possible. "Wanna come with me, Zel?"
Zelda? With DK though?
"Oh, um... okay I suppose." Even she herself was rather surprised he called on her of the remaining people at the camp. He could have simply called on Ryu or Wolf. Even Plague Knight made more sense. ...What did DK have in mind?
"Alright. We'll be back in ten."
Taking his time getting up from his spot from the shelter, he grabbed the princess's hand and pulled her up. "While we're at it, a couple of you could go retrieve water."
Wolf was confounded himself of Kong's choice of who he wanted to tag along with him to get the tree mail. But at the same time, he felt if those two were going to have a talk of their own, he might as well have took it upon himself to have his own conversation with another player.
Pushing his laziness to the side, he forced himself to stand. "Alright, I'm game. Ryu, ready to rock?"
So what was the conversation between the two heroes like? Was there anything interesting they discussed?
"I was debating to myself of whether or not I should start a fire, but I ended up deciding against it." Zelda spoke as she walked along the path with the 'beast'... Get it? Beauty and the beast? Zelda and Donkey Kong? Made sense, did it not? "No matter what happens at the challenge, it is best if we eat afterwards. Being strict on the rations is probably still a must, even though the competition is almost over."
"I agree with you." He nodded, staring straight ahead ignoring the couple birds in the trees eavesdropping on them. "Challenges at this point are gonna come day by day, so for now on it's best to always eat after we return to camp after the challenge. I know it's gonna be hard, but the rice is almost gone. We keep rationing the way we do, we'd probably barely make it in time for day thirty-nine."
"Do you honestly see yourself making it to that point?"
Donkey Kong hunched his shoulders. "Sure, if I win my way there. Otherwise, I can't say anything."
She sighed and hung her head down. "I don't think I could even do that. It's impressive that I have made it this far without winning immunity, but at the same time, I haven't won the necklace since my season. I guess I miss the feeling of guaranteed safety. And given the current circumstances, my days are numbered."
The furry animal frowned hearing that. He was already trying to build his way up to generally checking on Zelda of how she was doing overall, but she herself beat him to the punch.
"I was planning on practicing a bit more with Shovel Knight with fishing, but... he's not here anymore. Now I suppose I have to survive without having him around, but maybe it is opportunity for me to test my skills."
"Hey, if you still want to improve your fishing skills or when it comes to anything, I'm here for you." DK was really starting to feel bad for her. "You are always awesome when you start the campfire. But I suppose you want to improve in other areas, which is a good thing. Sharpening up your skills in survival training never hurts anything."
"Thanks. I appreciate it... Though now that I think about it, I might be a little exhausted depending on what the challenges are going to be. They will take place everyday at this point like you said."
Oh well. At least Kong was trying to cheer up a little. "I see what you mean. Sometimes after a challenge it's hard for someone like me to do anything too, knowing that these chores can't get done themselves. Though fishing is more of an option, not a chore that is actually required, unlike keeping a fire going."
"Zelda might not have been an interest of mine from a strategic point of view when I grabbed her to get tree mail with me. But I was just curious to know what she was feeling on the inside. We may have had our own plans the entire game, but we both still have some care for each other. And it all boils down to us being on the same starting tribe together, and we got along decently well. But the moment where our tribe became divided, our strategic difference really started to shine and we went on our own paths ever since. Still,... it does not mean that we flat out don't care for each other anymore. As someone who values friendship, when you do something in the game that harms someone else, you feel like you just took a guy like Shovel away from Zelda whom she cared deeply about. And it doesn't make me feel good at all, even though I did what I had to."
"You can't say that I don't feel bad for what happened back there. I voted out your friends, you voted out mine. But none of my relationships compare to the relationship you had with Shovel Knight. You two literally had two seasons together now."
"Well there was you and Bowser."
"Okay, sure. We had two seasons with each other too, but Bowser and I have butted heads in our first season so it doesn't hit the same. Bottom line is that no matter what happens, you're a good player, Zel. I am thankful for playing this game with you, even when we tried to vote each other out on numerous occasions just for our own benefit."
"..." She actually smiled warmly and eyed right his way. "I really do appreciate it. If you brought me out here just to have this conversation, it really means a lot to me. You really are a good man at heart, and I do apologize for all the harm I have caused you here."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous. It's all game and we both know it. Whatever challenge we have to do today, I wish you the best of luck. May the best player win, right?"
"...Right." She was in agreement with that. "May the best player win."
"If it makes the situation any better for both of us, my only close ally is Ryu, just how Zelda's only close ally is Yoshi so now we're even. You could argue that I also have Wolf and Plague Knight. They have both kept their word and voted with us the past couple Tribal Councils. And as much as I want to say that we're locked in for top four,... it is never easy to be certain about anything in this game. They are a duo of their own, and they know it. The best thing for me to do is to make sure they are on the same page as us and if we're on the same page as them. And if we are, Zelda might have to go. If that's gonna be the case for tonight, the least I can do is to have a genuine heart to heart to make sure we're both good no matter our positions in the game. I may be a strategic force in peoples' eyes, but it doesn't hurt to have your heart turned on and show compassion."
Well, all this sounded like Donkey Kong's heart was in the right place.
Now what were Ryu Hoshi and Wolf O'Donnell talking about?
"Plague and I did have a little talk yesterday, and... long story short, no beef." Oh, yeah. Ryu and Plague had a bit of a dialogue the previous day. "We both know that we were literally never on the same path. This season, it is in our best interest to keep voting together. I ended up telling him that whatever the relationship between the two of us is supposed to be, I'm acknowledging it for what it is. We were never seeing eye to eye, but we always kept things civil... Unless Plague threw me under the bus to some of the others during his rants."
"He never complained about you to me. I could literally only think of you taking out Specter and him being upset by it. But since I was not there when it happened, only the Survivor Gods know what came out of his mouth when you weren't around."
True.
"Well no matter what he said, he took the time to have that conversation with me and I respect him for it. And if the two of us are good, and if you and DK are cool with each other, the four of us stay strong and send Zelda home... We might just have to pray hard that she does not win the necklace."
So Wolf decided to outright ask about it if the worst case scenario was to occur. "What do we do if she does? Vote out Yoshi?"
"Look, I already know that we just weakened her by voting out Shovel Knight. But even further limiting her options if she does win immunity reassures us that she has no power. For all we know, she could plotting to pit us against each other to save her own skin." To be fair, it did make absolute sense for her game. Other than Yoshi, she had nothing else to lose. It was something better than just sitting at camp like a dud. "Yoshi does sound like a waste, but he's hooked up with Zelda. And if it is that serious, it should give us all the more reason to beat Zelda at the challenge. Even if Yoshi himself wins it, it is not going to be all bad because he's not Zelda."
"Okay, then I'll do my damnest to actually win a challenge for once. They don't have any more idols, so we could pull this off and hopefully make the final four. The only one of us that has touched the final four before is Plague Knight, so it'll be good for the rest of us. Just as long as we all stick to the plan."
"Even though Plague Knight and Wolf are part of our four and we're throwing a final four deal out there, Donkey Kong and I know that their game plan isn't going to be exactly the same as ours. If anything, I'll be surprised if Wolf and Plague does not see us as possible threats, whether it'd be because of how physical the two of us are in challenges or generally him losing to us at the end. Realistically speaking,... everyone has a high chance of beating Yoshi." Damn... A brutal comment made by Ryu, but... was he honestly wrong, or was he exaggerating? "Zelda is the only one of that Hero alliance that we have to worry about. But because of her not being nearly as physical as DK and I, what if the other two villains want to blindside us and take one of us out all of a sudden? People could make a big move at any moment. They would immediately pick Zelda and Yoshi back up, and either me or DK would go home. ...Maybe it would be best if one of the two of us win today's challenge just to be on the safe side."
Day 36
"Come on in!"
The all stars all entered the challenge area. There were reasons for any one of them to win immunity that day, so it was going to be rather interesting of how day thirty-six's challenge was going to play out. Whoever won the necklace was going to affect everyone else.
"You guys ready to get to today's immunity challenge? First things first, I gotta take the necklace back from Plague for a third time."
"It has just now hit me that I have won three immunities." He chortled a bit as he made his way over for said necklace to be removed.
"You think you can go for a fourth?"
"Well,... I'd rather not get too ahead of myself here. Maybe I'll just do the best that I can."
That was all one could have done. The average Survivor contestant always strived to be as close to perfect as possible, but being straight up perfect altogether was impossible. If a certain player's best efforts failed to achieve satisfactory results, it was okay... even though the immunity necklace would slip right through their fingers.
Perhaps the best thing to do was to pray, pray, and pray...
"Once again, immunity is back for grabs. For today's challenge, you are going to be competing in rounds. For the first round, the six of you will use a baseball bat to swing at a soccer ball that will be standing on a large wooden peg. The soccer ball will be used in attempt to break a large, sturdy target. The first three will move onto the second round where they will then untie a bag of puzzle pieces. Only the first two that solves the puzzle will then move onto the final round, where they will smash wooden containers to find three different numbers. Once you have them all, you will then use them as a combination lock. First person to unlock their box to pull the large key out of the socket will have their flag raised winning immunity. With immunity, you are guaranteed a spot in the final five. Losers, Tribal Council where someone will be the fifteenth person voted out of Survivor and will become the eighth member of our jury. Big stakes here..."
"And you know what?" Oh, was there a catch or something? "Maybe I will give you guys a break today. You are also playing for a reward."
Ooh! That was definitely more motivations the players all needed.
"Wanna know what you're playing for?"
"Yes!" They all replied in unison.
"The winner of today's challenge will enjoy a nice Jamaican beef stew... with a glass of wine."
"Oh man... I'm just hungry for anything." Wolf commented. A nice beef stew sounded delicious. And Shovel Knight literally had a fish stew the night he made it to the Ponderosa, so whoever was going to win the challenge did not have to worry about fish at all since it was already one of the few options the tribe had for food. Though if they were tired of the fish, imagine how outright done they were with the rice.
"Now the stakes are even higher. Could be extra fuel that would be needed at tomorrow's immunity challenge, especially if you feel like you need to be safe today. And this time, this is a challenge that is a first for all of you. It was done in Kodai Island, but both Donkey Kong and Wolf were long gone. Nobody has ever performed at this challenge before, so somebody will be the very first person to win it. We'll all draw for spots and we'll get started."
-/-
"Alright, here we go. The first three that finishes this round will move onto the next round. Survivors ready? ...GO!"
Wolf, Yoshi, Plague Knight, Zelda, Ryu, and Donkey Kong all raced off from their starting points, promptly grabbing their baseball bat to start swinging. By the way, since this challenge was called 'Super Smash', it was obviously inspired by the 'Target Smash' mode in the games. In fact, this very series had its own challenge titled 'Target Smash.' Perhaps it was good idea to create even more Smash based challenges in future seasons.
With great force, the soccer balls slammed themselves against everyone's respective targets. There were immediate cracks, but it was going to take more than one hit for the targets to completely shatter. A few more attempts with a bit of muscle was enough to do the trick.
"I want you all to use all the strength you got!" Damn... Who did Master Hand think he was? A captain at a Survivor boot camp or something? "A little light hit is not going to cut it! I know it's day thirty-six, but use whatever is left in that tank and put it to good use!"
The only positive thing to take away from that was that he was simply trying to motivate his castaways to perform within the best of their abilities. Their own lives were on the line in the game after all.
One thing was for certain, though. They were all causing quite the ruckus. Imagine a baseball to a glass window. And eye witnesses would have been going, 'Oooh. You in trouble.'
SMASH!
SMASH!
SMASH!
"This is without a doubt going to be the most exhausting part of the challenge!"
Off the bat, Wolf, Yoshi, Ryu, and Donkey Kong were all doing a decent job causing as much damage as possible. Though Zelda and Yoshi were trying their best, they were simply not as strong enough as the other four. So if early predictions were made, they were two people that were most likely going to be unable to make it to the second round.
"Batter up!" shouted Master Hand as even larger cracks were showing on the targets, and with another bang being heard, somebody was already finished. "And just like that, Donkey Kong is moving onto the second round. We have two more spots open. Let's, go!"
Sure, if yelling at them all was going to make things any easier. ...Perhaps it was the case since it added more pressure onto them. It was either giving the challenge at all, or just plain not trying. One or the other.
"Ryu moving onto the second round. One spot left. Who wants it!?"
Wolf shot a quick glance at Yoshi's target, already being aware that he was his main competition at that point. He was physically stronger, though the dinosaur was more quick at getting the soccer ball back onto the peg. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.
The one thing they both had in common was that neither of them had a rather strong habit of never winning any challenges. But one of them was guaranteed to have a shot at winning based on whoever was going to advance.
"Yoshi and Wolf are getting very close."
Zelda sighed as she wiped sweat from her forehead while Plague Knight literally had to stop to catch his breath.
...SMASH!
"Wolf moves on with Donkey Kong and Ryu!"
"Phew..." Now it was he that needed to take a breath for a moment, his hands falling to his knees. "I feel like I'm in one of my training sessions."
"You guys can go on ahead." Plague shook his head, already heading towards the sit out bench with Zelda. "I'll just drink some of my water."
Yoshi hung his head down turning his head side to side before Wolf was seen slapping a hand on his back in acknowledgement.
-/-
Now it was time for the front runners to put some of that brain power in. Luckily, neither Plague nor Zelda were going to take part of it. Both of them automatically had a good shot at winning.
"Alright. Time for the second round. Wolf vs Ryu vs Donkey Kong. First two will move onto the third and final round. Survivors ready? ...GO!"
The trio of survivors dashed off towards their bag of puzzle pieces that was hanging on a hook.
"This is going to be a thirty piece puzzle, so it might take a little bit of time."
And it appeared that it was going to take a little more time for DK to even get his bad loose with those big, meaty fingers of his.
On the other hand, a certain lupine was seen whipping through the knots.
"Wolf already has his bag untied. He's gonna have a head start on his puzzle!"
The pilot dumped all of his pieces out on the nearby table, grabbing a couple of them that fell to the ground before he began working.
"Ryu has his bag. DK needs to move it if he wants to finish his puzzle early..."
And... okay. There it was. He had his bag now and dashed along to join the others.
"The sooner you figure out what this puzzle is supposed to be, the sooner you can get something going, and the sooner you'll finish."
Interestingly enough, none of them were really known for excelling at puzzles. So it really was rather up in the air of who was going to win the whole challenge at that point.
"Hmm..." Ryu sounded, trying his best to figure out what the puzzle was going to be as he experimented with different pieces.
Perhaps it was appropriate for the fans themselves to get a hint: the only two relevant colors were black and white. ...Did it ring any bells? No?
Okay. How about thinking of the theme of the season?
"...I got it." Donkey Kong suddenly snapped his fingers.
"DK seems to have an idea."
"Oh... duh."
"Wolf seems to have figured it out."
And with Ryu suddenly moving pieces around quickly, he likely got the gist of it as well. Now it was simply a matter of which two were going to finish the puzzle the fastest.
"You'd better have quick hands and a sharp mind to get this done as fast as possible."
"...Done!"
Master Hand took a quick look at Ryu's puzzle. And yes, it was the yin-yang symbol. So whoever guessed correctly won free cookies. Maybe production needed to make an arrangement with the hand for that.
"Ryu's puzzle is completed! He's moving onto the second round. One spot left! Who's gonna get there first?"
"...I am. I got it."
Quickly floating over to double check, Kong indeed had it. No errors anywhere.
"Donkey Kong has it! Wolf is now out of the challenge."
Groaning in annoyance, he shook his head and went on his way to the sit out bench. Him and Yoshi were literally screwed no matter what challenge they were a part of. Freaking ridiculous.
In contrast, the two remaining members of SGA high-fived each other.
"Haha, guess it's me versus you, then." Ryu was already ready to see who was going to come on top in the final round.
"Sounds good to me. And no matter which one of us win this, it's still a win anyway."
-/-
"Alright. Here we are at the final round. We have a showdown going on here. Ryu versus Donkey Kong. Let's see how this plays out."
Both big guys were at their final starting mat.
"Here we go. Survivors ready? ...GO!"
With the two of grabbing a large black hammer, it was obvious that this challenge was a direct tribute to the Super Smash Brothers games. Even the boxed containers that held the numbered tiles had the Smash Ball symbols on them. No complaints of course, as the fans needed to be reminded that the Survivor series was based off of Smash somehow.
SMASH!
SMASH!
SMASH!
Ugh! More noise!
"Gotta break all three crates to retrieve your numbered tiles for the combination lock at the finish."
Supposedly that was another reason why the challenge was called 'Super Smash.'
Very quickly, the martial artist and the king of the jungle all grabbed their number tiles before dashing right to their respective combination lock. ...Remember back in high school and how embarrassed it felt when one was unable to get their locker opened? How were the students supposed to get to their stuff? If neither of the current competitors got it right the first time, they would have been humiliated in front of the whole universe.
What were the numbers in no particular order?
11 03 12
Oh, okay.
Observing the two front runners of the challenge, flipping through their numbers on their locks, Master Hand and the others knew the winner could have been either of them.
"Everyone is well aware of Ryu and DK being in a very strong alliance. The two of them have already won, but who's gonna end up getting the immunity necklace?"
Well, Donkey Kong was going to attempt to pull the handle first.
11 03 12
"...No! DK is not right!
Amusingly, Ryu actually tried the lock, unknowingly using the numbers in the same order as DK. Undoubtedly it was never going to work.
"Ryu is not right! Gotta try something else!"
So they were both humiliated.
"Move something around. You already have the right numbers. It's just a matter of what order the numbers are supposed to go."
03 12 11
"Ryu is gonna give it another go. Is he right?
...
"...No! Wrong again!"
Sighing in frustration, he immediately began switching the numbers around.
"DK is going to try it. Is he going to be the winner?"
03 11 12
"He's wrong again!"
Goodness. There were only so many combinations they could have tried, given that they only had three numbered blocks.
"Will Ryu get it this time?"
11 12 03
"Still not right!"
"What in the world!" He chuckled in disbelief, knowing there was probably only one more possible combination left.
...But Donkey Kong was already ahead of him.
12 03 11
"DK is gonna pull it. Will it work?"
"...Got it!" With succession, he pulled the large key out of the socket. Smashing the tile with it, his flag was raised.
"DONKEY KONG WINS IMMUNITY AND REWARD!"
"Man..." He wiped sweat off his forehead. "I thought I wasn't gonna get it after all."
"We tried every damn one." Ryu went over to shake his hand before they both friendly embraced each other. "Nice job."
"You too."
The gorilla banged on his own chest out of satisfaction, honoring the Survivor Gods' blessing that he now had a guaranteed spot at the final five.
-/-
With Ryu and the other four losers all standing with Donkey Kong, they all watched the ape heading over to the master to accept his necklace.
"Wearing this for a third time now. And like Plague, you never won immunity at all until this season."
"Keep this in mind, Plague." DK stared at him nodding. "This is probably something we have in common."
"Haha!" The scientist laughed. "Right back at ya."
"You are safe from Tribal Council, you have no chance of going home tonight."
Zelda curled her lips in reaction.
"But now only you are going to wake up tomorrow, you now have a good reward waiting for you to capitalize off of your victory. Only catch is that you can't go alone... You must choose somebody."
Oof. Who was going to be the one?
"Choose one person."
"Hmm..." Placing his hands on his thighs, he took his time eyeing the other survivors from left to right. "Wish I choose all of them, but I can't. But you know, I gotta bring my good friend Ryu along."
Surprise, surprise!
"Looks like I'll actually be getting something meaningful in my stomach today." He was well relieved and headed right his way to stand by his side. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"Alright, I would tell you two to go off and enjoy. ...But you gotta choose one more person first and that'll be it."
"Oookay..." Now things were a little more difficult. What was left on the table was a lupine who acted like he was scared of winning immunity, a potion master who was somehow still in the game after everything, a real princess that for some reason decided to play Survivor twice instead of continuing to live her glamorous lifestyle, and a dinosaur that blew multiple opportunities to save his friends when they needed him the most.
...Who was going to be DK's choice?
"...Zelda."
Oh!
"Okay, then. I appreciate it." She took her time making her way over to the other reward seekers.
Plague Knight popped an eyebrow underneath his mask. He was not upset at all, but rather confused. Yoshi appeared to be very happy for her, though Wolf simply shrugged his shoulders not really caring.
"Alright. DK, Ryu, Zelda, you all have a nice reward out there that is waiting for you. Go out and enjoy it."
With them all turning around chatting among themselves, the other half of Darleem were all on their own with absolutely nothing.
"Plague Knight, Yoshi, Wolf, got nothing for you. I'll see all six of you at tribal where somebody will be joining the jury. Head back to camp."
Sorry. No stew for them.
"DK really had no choice but to bring Zelda along now that I think of it. I am pretty sure he did not want to pull off an Incineroar by bringing most of his alliance with him and I don't really see the point of bringing Yoshi with him." Mmph. Plague was throwing shade his way and he was not even Vector nor Shovel Knight. "So with Zelda going to tribal with a hot meal in her belly, it is nothing but a whatever for me. She's going home, anyway... I hope."
Alright. So obviously next chapter is going to contain the elimination so stay tuned. And by the way, the final combination DK put in to solve the lock was the date of my oldest fanfic on this site with it being published on December 3, 2011.
Oh how time flies... Allofmyoldficsarepurecringesopleasedonotreadthem.
Thank you.