Heroes vs Villains - Ponderosa

Chapter 3 - Juror 3

Alright, so Vector is out of the game, his second shot at the million is over. And for right now, it is the end of Team Chaotix playing Survivor... until Charmy Bee is old enough to participate lol.

So Vector is joining Shadow and Ridley today, and all three have something in common. Ridley and Vector have played the same season before, and Shadow and Vector both come from the same planet. Though since all three of them are so different, it was definitely going to be interesting to see what does occur when Vector shows up.

~KF

HEROES VS VILLAINS

"'Sup? I'm Vector, juror number three, and this my Ponderosa!"

Night 27

It sucked... because not only Vector was out, but two Caribbean players got voted out in a row. Awful.

"Yoshi... the idol, man!" Vector shouted laughing while shaking his head. "You had one job! I mean,... I understand if he honestly felt like he didn't need to use it, because he really wanted to use it at a later time. Now even though I had the advantage of knowing he had it, I was trying to convince that if I felt like I was in danger, I would have made him play it on me. However,... as an actual friend of his, I didn't want to be too pushy, even though I had to be selfish in that moment. I didn't want to turn into another K. Rool, because we all know how that went. I may be a loud mouth but I ain't no bully, so I couldn't do that to him."

"Besides, if Yoshi honestly felt like I didn't need it today, that was his intuition and we needed to have mutual trust in each other. Maybe we thought we actually had the majority where Wolf was going home, so there was no point in wasting an idol, since that meant we would hvae used it for no reason. We... just read the room wrong, and now I can't press rewind and change it."

And part of Survivor was making sure the room was read correctly, especially when it came to idol plays. By far the closest someone has been to being blindsided with an idol in their pocket.

"Part of me wondered of what would have happened if I had the idol myself. Would I have played it? ...I... I actually doubt it, to be honest. It was an agreement between both parties to not play it. The fact that I was the only one who knew about what Yoshi had makes me just as guilty, so um... Community? Since you're all watching this, don't put all the blame on Yoshi on this one. I deserved at least half the criticism myself. It was our fault, not just his."

Hmm. Good for him, taking up for his friend like that.

"I really felt guilty for trying to take advantage of him like that, because I do like Yoshi as a friend. But in Survivor, you gotta be in total game mode. And the very moment where you don't have that mindset, you're being thrown under the bus. I, myself, wanted to have as much fun as possible. But at the same time I thought I was doing well, but what just happened is gonna throw a major fork in my alliance's plans. And Zelda has been working her ass off. I feel sorry for her as well, and I've been around Shovel Knight since day one. He has really learned a lot about how this game works, and now this messes everything up. ...I'm still gonna root for 'em."

"Funny thing is, I was the one that was expected to play in Mexico, not Espio. But he fit the brain type of player rather well, so they decided to have him on over me and have me play in the next season afterwards. And you know, it's probably for the best because if it wasn't for him, I don't think I would have even been an All Star. Hahaha! I took notes from him and he was the one who inspired me to play a strategic game back in the Caribbean. Him accidentally idoling himself out of the game like that really opened my eyes... Survivor ain't no joke. If you think it's a walk in the ballpark, you are the biggest fool out here and I hope to the Survivor Gods you get voted out first."

Time for his short meeting with Crazy Hand.

"'Sup, Crazy?"

"Hi, Vec." The hand let him inside, though something was on his mind. "Didn't you hear Springtrap and Master talk about me during the Tribal Council?"

He widened his eyes almost immediately and began to laugh. "Oh yeah, that. Master Hand couldn't think of many questions to ask us today and Springy told the master that he should have gotten fire and you should replace him."

"Yeah, and he threw me under the bus!"

"Bahahahaha!"

"Not funny! And you know what, the same way of how he says that I can't do his job, he can't do mine! Unlike him, I have a medical license! See?" He made the croc stop chuckling upon literally forcing said license right in front of his face. "Medical license! And I've been helping and working with people for all these years!"

"Okay, okay, I see it. Will you get it out of my face, please!?"

Nope. Instead he had the audacity to begin waving it around as if Vector really was blind.

"The biggest disappointment in the game for me was that I was not able to even hit the top ten or single digits. Outpeaking myself would have been the next step after that, but I've gotten out mid-season this time. I was making progress, but other than me finding out about Yoshi's idol, I don't feel like I really accomplished much... That's gonna bother me for a little bit. But at the end of the day, I was lucky enough to even make the merge. Some people such as Meta, Foxy, or Specter, they didn't even make it to this point this season and they were some of the most memorable players from our seasons. Foxy and Specter are two of the most notorious players of this generation of castways and they've gotten out because of that. I made the merge twice, so I can only complain so much."

Skipping him getting his blood pressure taken, his feet were on the scale.

"188.7..." His eyes enlargened again out of disbelief. "Damn... I was 180.9 when I was voted off last season."

"And coming into this season, you weighed at 206.1, which means you lost 17.4 pounds."

"Guess I'm not gonna be breaking my record any time soon..." He stepped off the scale to put his shoes back on. "Still need to eat, though. Hopefully Ridley hasn't already eaten all the meat up to leave Shadow to have nothing but salads."

Oh Chaos, if that actually happened, all of the fans would have been rolling on the floor laughing.

So now the Chaotix leader was glancing at the menu for options, just ready to start eating as soon as possible.

"Other than self-reflecting, the best thing to come out of being voted off is the food at Ponderosa. You ain't gotta pay for nothin', but you get to eat all you want. You can actually have it your way!" Yep. That was the slogan of a famous fast food joint in America. 'Have it your way!' "It's the perfect way to take your mind off the game for a little bit until... other players start talking about it. But ya know, sometimes it can be a healthy discussion. You get to have some closure of some things of the game you might have fully understood while you were still playing. And Shadow and Ridley are both huge gamers so I had to make sure I prepared myself enough to talk to them about everything."

But upon him exiting the boat and making his way to the cafe, there was something... odd.

"Uh..." He muttered as he continued to head for the steps. "Hi...?"

"What I didn't expect was the... whatever welcoming I had. When someone new joins you at Ponderosa, it's routine for the other eliminated players to come on out and greet them. Neither of them were standing around when I showed up. By the time I got inside, I ended up being the one to meet them! Talk about lack of common courtesy, but it's in character for both of them, so it's not really that surprising when you look at it that way..."

"Okay..." Vector blinked his eyes and simply rolled with it, finding his other two Ponderosa-mates sitting down at the table already eating. "'Sup fellas?"

Hearing his voice finally made the both of them look his way.

"Hi."

"Hello... So you finally got voted out?"

Ridley! Show some respect!

"I'm afraid so." Vector took a seat near the dragon. "Both core alliances in the majority targeted each other, neither side of it knew, and the strong guys were in the middle making the final decision. Did we know anything about it? No."

"So your plan was to take out Wolf today." Shadow concluded.

"Yeah. It was between him and Springy, though Wolf has more connections all around. Getting rid of him meant that Springtrap had nobody to fall back on except Plague. I was expecting it to be a big blindside on his end, but it completely backfired on me and now I'm sitting here."

"This is the second time Vector outlasted me in Survivor." And that alone irritated Ridley to the core, especially after he and several other jurors between both seasons tried to warn everybody else twice. "What is about this guy that makes people want to keep him around longer than needed? I don't know. But he did end up being sent here way earlier than last time, so that's something. Regardless, if I somehow have another shot at this, I don't need to be around Vector at all. Both times we played, he screwed me over. I have nothing against him personally, but in the game he's always been a pain in the tail. I shouldn't have to compete with him anymore, or else he's gonna become the bane of my entire existence in Survivor."

"Now if they were smart enough to take you out earlier in our season, you wouldn't have as high of a chance to come back and play again in the first place." He spoke. "You might not like the sound of that, but that's the truth. Say if you were taken out in... Meta Knight's spot, you wouldn't have had much of a chance."

What was Ridley trying to accomplish? To further dampen his mood? His dream was killed twice and since he was voted off not even about half an hour prior, now was not the time to wish he was less successful in the game just becuase he was an obstacle in both times Ridley played with him. That was... pretty selfish, even though he was probably correct to an extent.

Vector sighed at this. "Kickin' a man while he's down, huh?"

"You don't have to take it personal." He stated. "It's just that for me personally, if you were out of the picture, I would have had a slightly easier time even though I was inevitable going home, anyway. You are a good player. Don't take this the wrong way. If you were able to outlast some of those other players in spite of us constantly warning them about you, that's more power to your game. More congratulations to you for managing to convince your peers to keep you around for longer, but for the ones that are against you, it is frustrating. It really is."

"Heh..." He hunched his shoulders. "Sorry you feel that way."

Hahahaha!

His steak, potatoes, and slices of hawaiian pizza arrived. And for some reason, that made Shadow give him a major side-eye. "Vector..."

"Yeah...?" He asked, his grin remaining on his face as he began to eat away.

"...Why in the name of Mobius do you eat pineapple on your pizza?"

Oh Lord... Wait a minute, why did people do that? Pineapple was a fruit. What sense did it make for a sane person to put a fruit on their pizza? Whoever did that was probably dropped on the head as a child.

Ridley stared at it as if it was alive getting ready to eat the space pirate himself. "Uhh,... do people actually do that? Last time I checked, pizza is supposed to be salty type of dish."

"Exactly. Fruit and pizza don't mix." Shadow shook his head. "Simple as that."

"Aw come on, guys!" Now it was time for Vector to defend his precious pizza. Just because they did not like it, did not mean bash him for doing so. It was his pizza, not theirs. "Where's your sense of adventure? Besides, ninety-nine percent of the people who claim they don't like pineapple on their pizza are the same ones who never even tried it. And I guarantee that the both of you are a statistic. You know what? Here. Try it."

Giving Ridley a slice, suddenly the dragon grew curious, especially hearing Vector's point. And so, he took a bit, taking his time to focus on the taste.

"Well...?" Vector smiled, Shadow staring with his mouth hanging.

"Hmm..." Unexpectedly, a smirk was forming. "You know, it's really not that bad. Differnt, but not in a terrible way. Here..."

When he offered it to the hedgehog, however, he immediately declined.

"I'd rather rip my tongue out. No thanks."

"Okay, fair enough." But the other Mobian was rather impressed with Ridley. "But you, you're gonna order Hawaiian pizza tomorrow night and you're gonna enjoy every bite of it. Mark my words."

"Me seeing Ridley again, I knew he was just going to do his Ridley thing. That's just the way it is. But surprisingly, him and I are having a couple conversations with one another even though I directly screwed him over twice. So I suppose me going home right after him satisfies him a little bit, but he's still pissed that I beat him aagain. Though because he doesn't take the game personally, everything that comes out of his mouth regarding me out here, I don't take it personally. We all have our enemies out here and I suppose I was his arch-rival in Caribbean and Heroes vs Villains. But hey, this is all gonna be on the show, so it don't matter."

"Hey, at least I can finally say that you're a part of the Reptile Runaways crew now."

"Oh, that?" Ridley responded between bites. "I guess so... The whole thing is still going on by the way? I feel like K. Rool and I haven't talked enough outside of the game yet."

"The Reptile Runaways have gotten popular to the point where it became a hot topic on social media, and now you're finally being introduced as a member. So at this point, the fans could do what they want."

Unbeknowst to all three of them, there was something else going on inside the minds of players Foxy, Wolf, and Springtrap. That was right. They never told anyone about the Cool Kids... Or at least, not at the time.

Perhaps they were waiting for just the right opportunity.

Getting back on topic, Vector was seen exiting the cafe with a heavy sigh.

"Well,... I'm voted off... again. And I don't even know if I'll ever even play anymore. If this is the end for me, then... I've learned a lot about myself. But it was really worth the adventure. Seems like just yesterday where I started day one of Caribbean, and now I have sixty-three days under my belt with an All Star title... Who would've thought?"

Aww. So it was at that moment things were really hitting full circle in his mind.

Day 28

It was a bright sunny day by the time day twenty-eight rolled around. Vector was already outside of his room stretching out his arms. He wore a pair of black shades with an unbottoned, blue shirt with lighter blue flowers all over it.

"Body and mind well rested, I'm ready for the day. Twelve days left in the Caribbean, better enjoy moment while it lasts."

Someone appeared to be in a rather optimistic mood that day.

"It's a bummer that I didn't get to do everything I wanted to this season, as well as being voted off twice. Survivor does take a toll on you, and when you feel like you finally found your footing in the game, you're gone just like that." Within the snap of a finger. "This is actually my first time being blindsided this way since last time I knew what was coming, but... you could either be down in the dumps or find something to take your mind off of it and just not think about the game. A sweet distraction is just what I need. I know some people handle the whole 'day after' thing differently, but in my view, you get all the food you want, all the waves you want, and just chill. There are no missions for me at the Chaotix agency, I no longer have to be paranoid and watch my every move. Why not just take the time to just enjoy yourself in a place like this out here? You're still part of the Survivor experience at this stage, and I'm squeeze the juice out of it until it's really over."

He was having his breakfast with the other two jurors.

"Finding something to distract yourself from it all works for me." And it appeared he was discussing the topic at that moment with Shadow and Ridley. "How are you two feeling right now?"

"Hmph..." Not much coming from Shadow.

"Just tolerating the fact that I didn't go far enough again." Ridley hunched his shoulders. "Each day I try to think of some things that I could have done differently, but... no matter what I think, it all leads to the same conclusion. I was going home no matter what unless I won that challenge."

"There are some things that I considered on doing differently as well." Shadow figured. "I could have... talked to people more. But at the same time, I wasn't really attending that many Tribal Councils to actually play the game like that."

"Ah, so the two of you are still going through the motions. But at least you two have gone through the 'anger' phase it seems... Until whoever comes here next. But look, we have twelve days out here. Not everybody has the Survivor blessing of making it to this stage of the game. And we actually have the luxury of all this! I'm gonna be having fun in the sun for a little while. Now,... if either of you need help with taking your mind off the game, I'm your guy here. We may have different personalities, but we have been through a lot."

"Hmm..." Shadow basically said nothing again while Ridley did not even make a sound.

"..." The green reptile glanced away, further digging in his mind on what to do with his fellow castaways.

"Maybe it's becaus of my more outgoing personality, because me sitting here with Shadow and Ridley,... it's a weird trio of former players. They're gonna be harder to get through, especially since we all come from three completely different backgrounds. But hey, I have no hard feelings towards them and they seem to be okay around me right now. They're just... being a little difficult to work with. It's a little frustrating, but I gotta think outside the box a little bit. What do they like to do?"

Well in the following scene, he found himself working out and lifting weights with Ridley, Shadow the Hedgehog watching them nearby. Okay, so supposedly Vector had to come up with something.

There was even a showing of him spotting Ridley as he stood behind him coaching the dragon as he lifted up his bar.

"Ugh!" He bared his teeth.

"Come on, big boy. Your minions need their leader. They can't lead themselves. Just do it!"

Knowing Ridley, he possibly would have told Vector he did not need the extra coaching, yet due to his situation, it was not the best time to argue with him. Besides, he knew he did not mean any harm regardless.

"That's it! Keep it up! We're gonna swtich afterwards."

And upon doing so, Ridley stood behind him folding his arms. He was most likely wondering what the hell was becoming of the situation as well as Vector in general.

"I really didn't know what to make of it, but it seemed to me that Vector was either trying to lift my spirits up, or trying really hard to be friends with me. ...I believe it is more of the latter. Maybe we'll have a conversation soon, but we bumped heads both seasons, especially the first time we played together. As of right now, we're just acquaintances, or... co-workers. Just co-workers. I feel like we still need to address whatever issue there is between the two of us, and maybe I'll think about it. ...I still don't wanna play with him again, though. But I can say that he does care, and... that is one positive thing I can say about him."

And in the next scene, he was jogging along with Shadow doing laps around the whole Ponderosa.

"Whew..." He wiped sweat as he exercised. "You definitely rival Sonic, that's for sure."

"I don't know him."

Mic. DROP.

"Well thanks for slowing down for me. I wouldn't have known how to keep up with you."

Oh yeah, Shadow actually had the common deceny to slow down for Vector, knowing his speed did not match his.

"With consistent training, you'll get the hang of it." He turned to his right to face him. "Besides, it'd probably be good for you given your profession."

"True... I suppose Espio woulld be okay with it even though he meditates every time I turn around... Whew." He wiped sweat off his head for a second time. "How many laps have we done so far? ...And when did it get so hot out here?"

"We're only on the second lap..."

"Only on lap two!? I feel like we've done five already!"

"Yeah, you definitely need more consistent training."

"There is so little I have in common with Vector, I'm surprised we were able to sit at the same table together. He is everything that I'm not. Loud, obnoxious, too outgoing, and he's the type that acts like everybody he sees is his friend." Just by the thought alone made Shadow harshly roll his eyes. He really did not have the strength to deal with people like that... Take away the loud mouth bit, he sounded a bit like Sonic, though. Perhaps that was why Shadow claimed to 'not know him'. He was definitely not afraid of being shady. "I wasn't born yesterday. I get what he was trying to do. He was trying to get me to mentally block out anything that had to do with Survivor and... maybe trying to get me to open up. I acknolwedge his efforts, but honestly,... Vector is someone I only tolerate. Not everybody is meant to cross paths, and some people just don't click. But I have no ill will towards him, so he's okay."

Perhaps he had a better chance with Knuckles, probably the first ever castaway in Survivor Shadow considered to actually be somewhat of a friend of his.

Now Vector came out the Ponderosa cafe with a surfboard in his right hand... Wait... He was a surfer!?

"Time to hit the waves, baby!"

Music: Escape from the City (SSBU/Sonic Adventure 2)

Sweet. There was going to be music in the Ponderosa series, too. And it was rather fitting for one of the most famous songs in the Sonic franchise.

But the main focus was set on Vector. Yes, at first glance he did not seem like the type of surfer guy. But hey, his stomach was laying flat on the board as he paddled along before getting on his feet.

From a distance, Shadow and Ridley watched as the crocodile rode along. And from the looks of it, it might not have been his first rodeo.

"I feel like I'm looking at Ken's stepbrother." Ridley commented.

"He is like, a slightly more loudmouthed version of Sonic..."

"Heh. That too." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Haha! YEAH!" Well Vector was making it a mission to enjoy himself as much as possible.

"I can go surfing sometimes. I don't consider myself to be a pro-surfer or something. Just one activity I like to do in my past time. It's fun, it's chilling, and come on? Who wouldn't want to be in the water? Nice breeze, the rush is good, as well as every little thing in between. And I have been around Ken a lot lately before I was called back here. He was right. Sometimes you just gotta get out and ride that wave, baby! You know when times are rough, you just gotta find a way to escape. He's forever gonna be my surfing buddy now."

Oh, Ken. How the Survivor fans already missed you... Most beloved final juror at the time. Caribbean really had the best characters.

Vector just so happened to be one of them, too. It was such a shame he was not really explored to his fullest on his second run.

But for the time being, it was obvious that he was pushing those thoughts to the side as much as he could have. And there was not going to be anything or anyone to stop him for simply having fun.

Maybe Ponderosa itself was a double-edged sword. There was the obvous negative in being voted out, but at least there was less to worry about.

"Survivor is literally the game to play. There is no other game like this. It exposes the positives and negatives about you, and you learn some new things about yourself. There are some things about you that you can be amazed about, and maybe some things you need to work on. However, I grew because of Survivor, both as a player and a person. I've come to realize that you don't get to do everything you want to out here, but it's always a humbling experience no matter who you are. ...I'm really proud of myself."

Pausing to curl his lips, he shook his head. The man did not one tear to escape his eyes. "Thank you, Espio. I wouldn't have learned nearly as much out of this if it wasn't for you."

This Ponderosa chapter was definitely more light-hearted given the character.

But yeah, Vector was a major character for those who remember Caribbean. Though like I said,... he wasn't really explored as much this time. Sure, he was getting away with aligning Yoshi again, but he seemed to never really a priority in the character department as much as other players. Even with strategy when it came to his own alliance, Zelda kinda took that spot.

Though he wasn't too bad this season, so you could vote for him on my poll if you want and I'll come back next week for the next chapter to the main story.