Replies, flying away like the wind:
lordgemini- As always, thank you for the review! I am so glad you're enjoying Caia. She's a character that as I use her more, I find her so fun to write, because she's just the absolute worst. In Harumi's defense, Xena and Zena sound exactly the same. The reason she can't think of a nickname is because she's just so down bad.
Episode 3! Get ready for a real rough one today!
WARNING: This episode contains some portrayals of violence and mentioning of adult themes such as abuse, violence, and death. No death will happen to any person at any point.
Episode 3: Caw Patrol
The camera opened up to Chris standing on the beach of Diairesi Island, where the cleared out middle passage gave a small glimpse of the Deep Zone's cave and the Sky Zone's cliff. Chris had a giant grin on his face as he began the episode. "Last time, on Total Drama Diairesi Island, our thirteen remaining campers engaged in a little island-wide hide-and-seek. We stuffed one person in a spot and told the other team to find them!" The opening clips of the day were of Dante accidentally knocking Wade into the bush, and Oscar putting Ushi inside the cave's crevice. "Despite the teams being mostly separated, there were some mix-ups during the day." The next clips were of Oscar and Zena crashing into each other, waking Ushi up, and Trinity grabbing onto Dante.
"In an effort to oust her least favorite team member, Caia set Trinity up for success, which came crumbling down when Zena got involved." The next clip was of Zena hitting Trinity and knocking her out, and of Caia showing Trinity what 'best two out of three' was. "Despite all the effort the Falcons took to slow the Snakes down today, Yuri's quick thinking earned the Buried Snakes their second win of the season, and sent the Soaring Falcons back to elimination." The next clips were of Yuri using the torch to find Ushi, and Wade having a side conversation with Xerxes.
"Despite Caia's attempt to get rid of Ike, she ended up turning on her ally and making a near-unanimous vote against our resident gambling addict, sending her out of the game with relative ease…until that gambler flipped the script on Caia!" The final clips were of Trinity being announced to be eliminated and the coin flipper telling everyone that it was Caia's fault. "We are down to twelve! Can Caia lay low today? Can the Snakes keep their momentum going? Find out all of that today, on Total! Drama! Diairesi Island!"
OPENING SEQUENCE
*Opening Instrumental Music*
[A slew of cameras began to appear out of various locations on the island. The first shot out of a tree that was located in a rather dense part of Diairesi Jungle. The second camera appeared out of the roof of a cave, likely in the Deep Zone. The final camera dropped out of the sky, landing on the Falcon campsite and shattering into pieces.]
Hey what's up, I'm here to slay,
[A new camera started flying down that mountain of the Sky Zone, where at the very top Ushi could be seen taking a nap. Once it got to the ground, Ardella was using a punching bag while Wade openly observed the protective leader, taking notes on her form.]
Don't know why the rest even bother to stay.
[The camera moved a bit further into the jungle, where Zena was on the ground, splitting some huge logs with her bare arms. Meanwhile, Harumi and Xerxes were at the top of a tree, enjoying the much clearer view. Xerxes seemed to be observing a bird above them, while Harumi was watching Zena down on the ground.]
I know the game and I've brought the skills
[There was a cut to the beach of Diairesi Island, where a makeshift table had been set up. At it, Ike and Matt were seen discussing certain points of a contract. Matt appeared rather intimidated, while Ike was sitting there with pure excitement. Nearby, Vi could be seen digging up a potato from the ground at the edge of the beach, brushing off her suit and then taking a giant bite of the potato.]
Crushing player's dreams, yeah, you know the drill
[Trinity was near the cave of the Deep Zone, flipping her coin in the air and doing tricks. Nearby, Oscar and Caia watched on. Oscar looked seriously impressed with her coin tricks, but Caia seemed totally unimpressed by it. On the last trick, the coin missed, and Trinity knocked it into Dante, who also flung the coin into Yuri by accident.]
I wanna be, I wanna be, I wanna be famous
[Yuri checked their reflection in the mirror upon the impact, and whatever reflection the mirror showed them was enough to force them to run off and drop the mirror. The mirror dropped to the ground and shattered in half perfectly. The camera zoomed into the mirror, reflecting out the nighttime scene, where everyone including Ushi was awake, whistling the last few notes of the theme while 'Total Drama Diairesi Island' appeared over all of them.]
Night was in full swing on the island. The jungle was bad during the day in terms of density, but it was nearly untraversable at night for someone who was not used to the lack of sun. Luckily for Ushi, that was not even close to the problem. The nocturne had zero issues moving through the woods, swinging on branches and slashing things out of the way with ease. This was clearly something they were used to. "Day two, well, night two idol hunting," they said to themselves. "I got lucky and found one last night, here's hoping I can manage to grab another."
Ushi continued to navigate to the potential spots they had seen the night before, but with all of the prep work they needed to do to earn the team's trust back, there was not nearly the time. Tonight was different. They could prepare breakfast in only an hour, so that meant the remaining seven could be out in the jungle, hunting. They moved swiftly and quietly, hoping to not make any noise that would wake anyone nearby.
After some time, they arrived at a small divot in the ground. "This is clearly here to bait people out of the obvious," they analyzed, "but that means if this is the spot they did it, the real idol has to be nearby." They glanced up at the sky, pinpointing where they were. "It looks like I'm about twenty yards into the Deep Zone. That's not very fair to put an idol that close to them."
"Agreed, that does seem like it is skewed in our favor." Ushi froze in their tracks. They were not expecting anyone to be able to show up this late at night, but there they were anyway. The singular beady yellow eye was all Ushi could make out, as the person's hair covered the other one. Wade. "Apologies for the fright," they admitted. "My body does not allow for physical confrontation, and in such, I must seek out idols for my own benefit."
Ushi already did not like the way this person spoke. He seemed incredibly untrustworthy. "Well, this is my spot," Ushi snapped back, clearly agitated by someone else being in the way. "You can come back later after I leave, but I got here before you."
Wade chuckled. "Sadly, that is not the case. I have been here for quite some time. Evil strikes at night, so it is my duty to find it and snuff it out before it has a chance to fall- no, rise!" Wade smacked his forehead in embarrassment, having messed up the first impression with this new person.
The blunder was enough for Ushi to let down their guard a bit. "Well, if you are waiting for evil, you should wait in our half of the jungle. Our half is where Caia is, and your half has a lot of people that, from what I hear, are super good friends. You should track down the evil yourself, instead of waiting for it to expose itself."
That comment interested Wade immensely. "I may do just that, but while I have you, I would like to make an offer with the Soaring Falcons." Ushi raised an eyebrow at that statement. "To ensure this is a true offer, I will send someone in my place. You should do the same. Meet at the middle of the island tomorrow morning. This is an offer that will greatly benefit the Soaring Falcons, and myself."
Ushi looked extremely skeptical of Wade's request, but there was no reason not to send someone for just an offer. "Fine, I have someone who can go, but you're probably not gonna like them. He's a bit of a salesman." Wade quietly hummed to himself and wandered off. Ushi let out a sigh to themselves. "What a chore, but I guess I got him out of the way." They brushed around some areas of suspect near the divot, but found nothing. "Maybe I am overthinking it." Ushi walked over to the divot, and instead of looking down, they looked up. Right above it, was another idol, sitting in a tree branch. "Amazing."
They scaled the branch to see the second idol of the game. Just like before, this one had the hand showing the number three with the fingers. "Team swap again? That means I've snuffed out the fake…but is it the one I found yesterday, or this one? I need more info…maybe I need to bring a counterfeit expert into this."
Ushi grabbed the idol and escaped back to the Sky Zone, content with their search for the night. Meanwhile, from not far away, Wade was still around, hiding in a bush. "How interesting," he muttered.
Ushi: "I now have two team swap idols," they mentioned. "Problem is, there's only supposed to be one. That means one of them is the fake one that can put me out of the game instantly. The question isn't how to use the real one, but how can I plant the fake one onto someone that makes them use it? Wade's offer got way more interesting now."
Wade: "At the moment, all evil can be considered what we saw on the other team. The Soaring Falcons are our threat to success. So, in an effort to serve Lady Ardella, I have been…surveilling Ushi's recent nighttime exploits. My offer has gotten way more interesting now."
As morning hit, the Buried Snakes began to wake up. Zena was supposedly the first one up again, not accounting for Wade being out in the woods again. Shortly after Zena left her tent, Harumi promptly exited hers. "Oh, good morning, Zena!" the weather girl greeted cheerfully. "What're you up to?"
Zena laughed. "What do you think I'm up to? I'm just going to work out some more. Did you wanna come with me?" Despite the fact that Harumi basically collapsed last time, she still had the desire to give the weather girl another chance.
"Oh, yeah, for sure!" Harumi eagerly said back. By the time it left her mouth, her brain finally caught on that it was way too excited of a tone to take. "Um, I mean…yeah, sure thing. No biggie. Anyone else coming…or just us?" Harumi had already properly collapsed into a blubbering mess.
The counterplayer looked around the campsite. No one else was outside of their tent from a first glance. "Looks like it'll just be us. Is that okay? I know I might have been bad at setting the pace last time."
Harumi let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, I wasn't great at keeping up. I mean…I don't wanna mess up your pace. It'd be boring for you if you had to keep waiting for me, and I probably took away a lot of your time too."
Eventually, deciding to sever the stalemate, Zena sat down next to the weather girl. "Well, I'm sure I won't wither away and die after missing one day of running, and I worked out last night, so maybe I can afford to relax this morning. You should tell me about yourself. How'd you get so good at the weather thing?"
The weather girl looked excited to be having a regular conversation instead of a grueling workout. "Oh, my parents used to do a lot of outside jobs when I lived in Japan. My mom's a gardener and my dad does different sports announcer jobs, at least he did different sports announcer jobs."
Before Harumi could say much else, Zena cut in. "Oh, that's sad to hear, I'm sorry about your father…"
Harumi tilted her head. "What?" She finally realized what Zena thought she meant. "Oh, no! He's okay, he just got a full time job announcing baseball in Seattle now, which is why I ended up moving to the United States. He's totally fine, I think, unless something happened in the like, three days we've been here."
"That's a relief," Zena told her. "Sorry, I clearly misread that. But it's interesting to hear that you recently moved. Your English is astounding for someone who moved from another continent. I feel like a broken record saying that, since I told Xerxes the same thing."
"Thanks! Xerky is really good too," Harumi said to compliment the not-present falconer. "But yeah, I've spent most of my life outside, and since I'm not super interested in sports or gardening, I looked up, started watching weather patterns and all that. Over the years, I've just been able to feel what's coming. I don't know, I never think about it too hard."
Zena laughed. "That sounds like you. Regardless, that is an incredible skill to have. I suppose all I am good at is being strong and hitting stuff. That's sort of all I really know how to do."
Harumi gasped. "That's so not true! What about yesterday? You and Xerky found a way to get Coins off of Lucky! What about all of that? It seemed like whatever you did worked really well! Even The Della was calmer after hearing that you resolved it peacefully!"
"About that…" Zena muttered quietly. "We gave Ardella a different story to help her out. I can't share exactly what I did, but I don't want to lie to you. You did nothing to deserve that." She sighed. "Sorry for being dishonest up until now. I know that's never fun to hear."
The weather girl was quiet for a second. "I mean…you did what you had to do, I'm sure. We all have to turn on each other eventually." She shook her head, clearly upset by something. "Sorry, I'm, like, really bad at serious stuff. That's just not me. But, if you think a little fib to protect The Della is gonna stop me from liking you then you're dead wrong."
Zena caught something interesting at the end of that sentence. "What was that last part…that you said there?"
Harumi gasped again. She did exactly what she said she was going to do. "No, I mean, not like, I mean, I do, but…sorry, I need to go for a second." Harumi, with a very flustered face, scampered off into her tent, probably at a faster speed than she had ever run before.
Meanwhile, Zena sat there with a curious expression. "...Me? Really?"
Harumi: "I totally jinxed it! Lucky wasn't even around! I straight up said I like her to her face!" Her hands were covering her face in sheer embarrassment. "That's a million times worse than saying she's hot!" She sighed. "Well, this is probably it, she's gonna set up a campaign to eliminate me. I might as well double down and shoot my shot. But…not now."
Zena: The counterplayer was silent for quite some time. "I never even considered the fact that Harumi could be flirting with me. I genuinely thought she wanted to run with me yesterday, which is why I was confused that she wanted to do it again. She clearly didn't enjoy it." A slight blush appeared on her face. "Obviously, I've only known her for three days, but I won't say it didn't feel good to carry her around the cave yesterday. I'm sure she needs time to process her cute but definitely traumatizing blunder." She smirked. "I'll let her take her time. I have no plans to go anywhere."
By the other end of the campsite, Ardella knocked on the tents closest to the edge. "Dante, Yuri, I have breakfast prepared for both of you! I was hoping I could eat it with you two and check in on everything!"
With a silent groan, Yuri climbed out of their tent, holding onto the book that they had acquired from Dante yesterday. "Morning, Ardella," they said groggily. It was clear that when Ardella alerted them, it was their first time being awake. They let out a giant yawn as Ardella cheerfully handed the bookworm some breakfast.
"You seem more tired than usual," Ardella noticed. A look of great concern washed over the protective leader instantly. "Did you sleep okay?" She let out a gasp. "I hope that you're okay after everything that happened outside the cave yesterday!"
"I'm fine," Yuri said back in a slightly snappy tone. "I got caught up reading the story Dante had lent me, that's all. "Lost track of time and probably fell asleep way later than I should have. I'll be fine by the time the challenge is here." They grabbed some of the berries and began eating them. "Thank you for breakfast, regardless."
After some time, Dante nervously removed himself from the tent as well. "G-good morning, everyone," he said cautiously as he wandered over to Ardella and Yuri. "Is everyone doing okay this morning?"
Ardella gave the harbinger a cheerful smile. "Everyone is doing okay!" she said back excitedly. "We have two wins under our belt, which means that we can easily get more. I do hope they removed that troublesome Trinity from their team. That would be ideal."
"I agree," Dante said quietly. "She was really strong, though. Even Zena struggled breaking her grip. I'm glad that we were able to still win the challenge anyway." He glanced at the bookworm. "Thank you, for that." He noticed that Yuri had his book in their hands. "Oh, did you finish it already?"
Yuri let out another yawn. "Yeah, by accident. Sometimes I get pulled into the books. I ended up re-reading another one of mine too after that, so I did not get as much sleep as I would've wanted." They stuffed more berries into their mouth. "How are you doing on the book I gave you?"
The harbinger shook his head. "I'm close, probably about three-quarters of the way through. I was so interested to learn that both of the main characters were actually some sort of saint-like person. Is it based on a specific culture?" He had a bit more energy in his voice now that there was something interesting to talk about.
"To an extent," Yuri responded excitedly. "It's an offshoot from Irish folklore, but even I had to do my own research on it when I first read it. I still found it rather interesting. What has been your favorite part of that story so far?"
Dante glanced at the book for a second like it would magically return a memory to his head. "Oh, probably the part where the army's general lifted up the immovable shield." He laughed. "I don't know, for some reason that part really spoke to me a lot. A shield that could only be used when its user was in danger. What if it could be used at all times?"
Yuri's tone instantly shifted back to their regular passive one. "I would imagine those consequences would be catastrophic," they spoke back plainly. Instantly, they looked over to Ardella. "Sorry, we've been leaving you out of the conversation. Do you have anything you'd like to add?"
Ardella noticed that Yuri was very much trying to move on from the topic, which Dante still looked rather confused. "Well, my big worry was that you two were concerned after yesterday, but it looks like you're still doing okay. I wanted to see if there was anything you needed before the challenge?"
The bookworm took this chance that they were given. "Well, if you don't mind, Ardella," they spoke bluntly, "I would be lying if you didn't interest me. I was wondering if you could tell us a bit about yourself. After all, you are the one leading us."
The protective leader looked surprised by that request, but tried her best not to let it show. "Of course!" she said in her usual chipper tone. "I'm from Baltimore, and you guessed it, I love crab. Um…I like to run, I'm the captain of my track team back home…I guess those are the big things about me. Does that help?"
Dante raised his hand like he was in school. "Um, I was wondering why you liked teams so much? You said you're on the track team, but that feels like more of an individual sport…is that okay to ask?"
Ardella laughed. "It's totally okay! Believe it or not, track is way more of a team sport. In a sport like soccer or basketball, while it's important to have a strong team out on the field or court, if someone is lagging behind, it's not over. There are ways to work around it. In a sport like track, every race is important. You can never afford to have someone who is not pulling their weight. I guess I just like being able to help others out."
Dante seemed to like that answer. "Oh, I get it. I guess that goes for us too. We all have to be good if we want to win." He gulped. "That's why…if we lose, I'm worried I'm gonna go home. I don't know if I'll ever be the person to help the team out the most."
"Dante, you got Wade in the hiding spot yesterday," Yuri reminded him. "If Wade was hidden poorly, then it would have been less time for us to find Ushi." They put a hand on his shoulder. "You are doing just fine. I don't think we would vote you off." Ardella smiled at how Yuri handled the situation.
Yuri: "That was no good," they admitted. "I still think Ardella is hiding something. She kept going on about what she does, not who she is. But…even studying her all morning, I still don't think she's being totally insincere." They put a hand to their chin. "Is Ardella lying? I don't think so, but she definitely is not telling the whole truth." They laughed to themselves. "I guess I can't blame her."
Ardella: "Yuri has grown so much in the past two days!" she gushed excitedly. "I was concerned that they would struggle a bit to make friends, but they and Dante are so fun to see together! I'm glad they both found a friend." Their tone shifted slightly. "Yuri seemed upset about the specific moment Dante liked in that book, though. Either that, or the comment he made afterward. I hope that ends up not being a big problem."
Dante: "I'm glad Yuri is a good friend," he said. "I don't think I've really made any real friends before, since I end up just hurting everyone. Well, I guess I hurt Yuri too, but they forgave me." He sighed and buried his face. "I just hope everything is okay today. Things normally go really bad for me once they are going well."
In the back of the cave, Wade was eerily standing in the shadow, watching as people walked around and interacted. "What an interesting morning this is," he said to himself with a light chuckle. He couldn't hear anything from where he was, but the reactions he got from things like Harumi running into her tent were more than enough for him to make some solid assumptions.
As the spooky hero observed around him, someone else came up. "Okay," Xerxes said with a very skeptical look on his face. "I am here for whatever offer you think you have to give me." He narrowed his eyes. "You should just know that if I don't like it, or I even think it's off for a second, I am not in. I personally do not trust you. I'm sorry if that is a misjudgement, but that is how I feel."
Wade was quiet for a second. He had to consider his reaction to what Xerxes had told him. "That's fair," Wade agreed. "I can see how some of my questions or actions can be misleading. You should know that for me, I am in the shadows to hunt down evil before it strikes, not to partake myself." He took a few steps forward to put himself into the light. "In order to confirm that this is a deal you would want, I actually will not be the one delivering it."
The falconer's trust stock had plummeted further. "I'm sorry, did you just tell me that you're not the one to actually let me hear the deal?"
The spooky hero nodded. "If I share the plan with you, you may be concerned that I am setting you up, much as I suspect such an event took place on the Falcons yesterday. So, in order to help maintain that trust, I will have you speak with someone who will be involved in this deal as well." He tilted his head innocently. "Would that help?"
"I guess hearing the plan from someone else would make it seem less suspicious," Xerxes admitted. "That way I know you're not setting me up for failure. May I ask who I am speaking to?"
Wade shook his head. "Regrettably, I do not know. I asked this person to send a representative as well. They said it was someone who was a bit of a salesman, so I can imagine it will likely be Ike who you speak to."
"Ike?" Xerxes asked. "That's a Falcon. Why are you striking deals with the Soaring Falcons? I thought you were like, 'Lady Ardella's right-hand-man'?" He used an obnoxious British voice to mimic Wade's usual manner of speaking.
"I assure you, you will only benefit from this deal," Wade reminded the falconer. "After all, why are you, of all people, concerned about someone betraying the team? You have mentioned it yourself that you would have liked to be on the Falcons."
The falconer shook his head. "In name alone, I wanted to be on the team with a bird in its name. After the past two days, that team is clearly a sinking ship. They kept Ushi around after the first day, and it seems that after the events that transpired yesterday, I think they'll stick around even longer. I think you're right too. Someone set Trinity up." He sighed. "Fine. I'll talk to Ike. At the very least I can report back what happened with Trinity from their end. Satisfied?"
"Quite," Wade responded. "You are doing quite the service to me. It may not look like I benefit much from this arrangement, but I assure you, quite the opposite is true. After all, I am here to win this game, just like everyone else." Xerxes scoffed and walked away from the spooky hero.
Xerxes: "Wade is…totally untrustworthy," he said. "But, going to a small peace summit to speak with someone is definitely not the worst thing in the world. I can't imagine what the deal is that is so important. I should be careful though. Ike is probably trying to get info out of me too. That won't work as well as he thinks."
Upon waking up in her tent, Caia had a giant scowl on her face from the moment she regained consciousness. "Crap," she muttered to herself in an upset tone. "I have so much work to do today. That nutjob gambling addict screwed me over right at the last second!" After punching her sleeping bag, the false apathetic lightly slapped her face a few times and shrugged out her shoulders. "Okay, let's rumble."
Adopting her typical public deadpan expression, Caia finally greeted the day, to see that Oscar was outside already, enjoying the breakfast that Ushi had prepared. "Hello, Oscar," Caia greeted formally. "It is a much quieter morning today. I think I will enjoy getting used to that."
Oscar was instantly on guard-up mode. "Mhm," he said back cautiously. "Any reason tha coin lady shot ya under tha busseroony when she got ousted?" Oscar wasted no time jumping right to his suspicious thoughts on the false apathetic.
Caia's expression stayed as unfazed as ever. "Ah, that," she spoke plainly. "I do not think that that was anything. I have racked my brain over what she meant, but I didn't even vote with her last night." She shrugged. "Perhaps she just wanted someone to blame."
"Yeah, but she picked you," Oscar reminded her. "If she was gonna ruin a person, I don't know, I woulda picked whoevs I was beefin' with. That woulda been Ikey." He stared right into Caia's black soulless eyes. "You ain't Ike."
The false apathetic nodded. "Indeed, I'm not, and thank goodness for that. I have heard a rumor circulating that he has the entire team around his finger. So much so that he's planning something big for today." Oscar raised an eyebrow in interest.
Caia: "Nah, I haven't heard a thing," she said with a laugh. "But if I can get Oscar's doubt up, he'll bring Vi in, and the three of us can split that obvious threat sitting right in front of us." She snickered. "I'm on defense today, and the best defense is a good offense."
Oscar took another bite of his breakfast. "You are really tryna sell this skissue to me, ain't ya?" He shrugged. "Sorry, I ain't bitin'. You better hope and pray we win a challenge ta-day, that's all I can say. I ain't sure anyone here trusts ya after Trinity put the finger on ya."
Caia shook her head. "Even if we lost, I would not be the one going home." Oscar again looked interested. "Sleep has evaded me slightly. All I'll tell you, is that if you vote for me, I'll vote for you. We'll see who comes out on top."
As she left, Oscar shook his head. "There's no way she found an idol so quickly," he muttered to himself. "Even still, it couldn't hurt to tell Vi that she should watch her back around Caia." He sighed. "I was going over there anyway."
Oscar: "I trust Caia about as far as I could throw her," he stated normally. "No, never mind. I can throw her quite far. I trust Caia about as far as Ike could throw her." He shook his head. "I have alliances with Ike and Vi though. Word around the team is that Ike has a big alliance with Ushi as well." He put a hand to his chin. "Maybe Caia's claim that Ike has the team around his finger wasn't unfounded."
Oscar made his way over to the farmer, who was in the middle of breakfast. She was facing the cliff, which was also away from everyone else. With each bite, she gushed a little bit about the food. "Tha's some good taters Ushi got us," Vi mumbled to herself.
"Wassup, Violet!" Oscar called out excitedly from a bit away, announcing his presence from enough of a distance for Vi to snap out of her potato trance. "I got a funny story for ya!"
Vi sighed as she put the potato down. "Soon," she said quietly, petting the potato like it was an animal. She turned to Oscar, whose face was a bit more serious than normal. "Ah, Oscar. Pleasant morning to you. I suppose I can indulge you long enough to tell a story, but please be quick, I want to finish my breakfast in time for the challenge."
Oscar tilted his head. "Ya can't do that while I'm tellin' ya a story?" Vi hesitated. It was very apparent that she did not want to eat the potato while in front of him. "Eh, whatevs. I had an odd thought about Caia and Ike, if ya wanted ta hear it."
The farmer continued to stare down at her potato, and then back up at Oscar, and then back at the potato. "Um…yes, I suppose I will listen for a second."
"Coolsies," Oscar said back. "Bottom line, Caia's been real threatenin' and stuffsies since the sun's been up. I think she ain't scared for a reason. She might have an idol already." He shook his head. "Can't think o' any otha reason to be stuck up like she is today."
"Caia does not have an idol," Vi assured the red-haired boy. "In the rare chance she has already found one, there is a one-in-four chance that she instantly eliminates herself." She put her hand to her chin. "Although, it could be fruitful to plan out votes in the case that she has the immunity idol and it is real. I do not see an issue for now, though."
Oscar nodded. "'Kay, that'll have to be okie-dokie-artichokie for now." He glanced back to double-check that no one was behind him. "My otha question is about Ike. Wassup with him? Are he and Ushi workin' togetha?"
"Ike has extended multiple deals with this team," Vi told him. "The first one was with me, however, I am not obligated to be allied with him. I merely completed a request. Ike is allied with Ushi in a contractual sense. They have a legally binding alliance."
"Woah," Oscar muttered. "And he made a peace deal with me yesterday, so, he's got alliances with…everyone? What about Caia?"
Vi couldn't help but let out a slight giggle. "Professionally speaking, Ike hates her guts. I believe that if he has extended deals with all of us with the exception of Caia, it is not for the purpose of controlling the team, rather, a pincer attack to close in on Caia from all sides. I believe we can let that be."
"I guess that'd work," Oscar said with a slow nod. "Cool, cool. Jus' wanted ta make sure we all had our heads on the rightio places." He cleared his throat. "And…if you want, I have a second ask." Vi took note of Oscar's tone change. "I have a second story to tell you, but I would rather wait until after the challenge. It's a bit more personal. Our resident bargainer suggested sharing might be useful."
The farmer sat quietly for a second as she considered Oscar's request. "That can be arranged," she told him. "If you do not mind, it sounds like you plan on being honest." Oscar nodded. "Very well. Bring more tat- bring more potatoes with you tonight then." Oscar gave Vi a thumbs up, and was on his way. As soon as Oscar left, Vi reached down for her own potato and took a giant bite out of it like an apple. "Yum…"
Vi: "Oscar has been an interesting person so far," she mentioned as she continued to eat her potato in the confessional. "However, in the spirit of honesty, I can offer up what I have been hiding from him as well. That is only fair."
Meanwhile, Ike and Ushi were inside Ike's tent, sitting now with both idols. Both of them looked exactly the same. Ike examined them constantly. "This is freaky," he said. "One of these is super powerful, and one of them instantly eliminates us. I guess it would make sense to have that fake idol as this one. Chris probably wants it used early."
"And…I can't tell them apart," Ushi said with a scowl. "This is extremely risky to use. How can we be certain that we survive if we use it?"
Ike chuckled with an extremely smug tone. "Oh, Ushi, these idols are not for us," he explained. "They're for other people. As of today, I have extended olive branches with the entire team except for Caia. That means I hand her the idol and force her to use it, and just like her gambling addict friend, we flip to see if she goes home from it."
Ushi sat in silence for a bit as Ike laughed to himself haughtily. "Ike," Ushi said bluntly, grabbing the bargainer's attention. "You realize that if Caia uses that idol and she wins the coin toss, someone else goes. It could be one of us. It could be me."
The bargainer shook his head. "Nah, we'll figure out the fake in time. Besides, it won't be you. If that little weasel sets up a second place vote, it will be for me." He continued to inspect the two idols. "I can't believe how freakishly similar they are."
The strategic nocturne let out a dejected sigh. "Fine, I guess I'm going to do this. I, Ushi Abel, enact my right to preserve myself in a situation I have deemed dangerous." Ike perked up at the mentioning of their initial deal. "That's right, I had Vi look at my contract. She said I can save myself over you. This strategy is stupid and will get you eliminated, thus endangering me."
"If you want, we can always negotiate the terms of the deal!" Ike stated happily. "I don't have a pen on me, but even just some friendly banter about the terms would-"
"Ike, we need to bring other people into this." Ushi held up the two idols. "We can't tell the difference. Only someone who is trained to spot counterfeits could do that. We have someone who will help us if we ask. Additionally, I have an errand for you to go on this morning, actually, pretty soon." He glanced outside. "I will have a meeting with Vi, you'll have a meeting with someone from the Snakes."
Ike tilted his head. "Okay…the first part tracks. If you want Vi to look, be my guest. She's proven to be useful. But what about the Snakes? I thought that they were a big happy family or whatever."
"Not quite," Ushi explained. "We have someone over there who might want this, and might be able to make better use of it." They smirked. "In a situation where the second place vote doesn't fall to us, we can use your initial strategy. We don't need to use these idols. We're safe right now. If you've really set up this Caia snare, we're fine."
The bargainer laughed. "Oh, I've set it up." He let out a grunt as he stood up. "Okay, let's bring Purple in. I've got a grade-A plan to keep out the other ears." He peeked his head out of the tent. "Vi! Could we see you for a second?"
As Ike screamed across camp, it alerted everyone who was there. Oscar opened an eye for a second before closing it, while Caia got ready to eavesdrop again. The false apathetic snuck behind the tent where she could avoid detection.
Once the farmer made it, Ushi stood in front of the tent, blocking the view inside. "How were the potatoes this morning?" they asked. "I know that was your one critique on my breakfast from the previous day."
"They were exemplary, thank you," Vi complimented. "But I can assume you did not call me over exclusively for potato feedback." She narrowed her eyes. "What do you need from me?"
As Caia leaned in for a response, Ike emerged from the tent. "Nope, that was all they needed. I'm hunting for idols in the jungle, so don't follow me." Caia gaped as she watched Ike just leave what was clearly something important. Not wanting him to get anything, Caia followed him into the woods instead.
Ike: "Caia's smart," he admitted with a smirk on his face. "She set up a plan to single-handedly ruin the Buried Snakes yesterday and got off scot free by pinning the blame on Trinity and voting with us." He shrugged. "Credit where it's due, and I lose nothing by letting that happen. But, I'm way smarter, and by putting her in like three different traps today, she's as good as gone the first chance I get."
Ushi: "By deflecting the conversation and making it seem like something more interesting was happening somewhere else, we've gotten Caia out from behind the tent and into the woods to make sure Ike doesn't find anything." They had a smug look on their face. "And this is all in the roughly five hours I get where we're all awake at the same time. Imagine what I could do if I was normal."
Once Ushi saw Ike and Caia leave, they turned back to Vi. "Okay, now that our little pest is gone, I have a more serious situation for you in that tent. How good are you at identifying counterfeits?"
"Considering I am top in my class, I would hope I am good at it," Vi bragged humbly. "I can only think of one thing that you might need inspected. Are my suspicions correct?"
Ushi opened the tent flap and revealed the idols. "You tell me." They picked the two up and handed them to the farmer. "We want to know which one is real and which one isn't. This is a play designed to help out the whole team, not just me."
Vi took a second to investigate the two idols. She said nearly nothing the entire time she did so. "This one is false," she eventually proclaimed to one of them. She handed the allegedly false idol to Ushi. "The craftsmanship on it is not the same. While the first one was clearly done by an artist, the second one uses mimicry. It is not designed to be an idol, it is designed to be a replica." She shook her head. "How did you find two already? That seems unconscionable."
Ushi nervously laughed and gave an indifferent shrug. "You know, I have a lot of time at night, and no one else is looking as long as me." They held up the fake idol. "You're certain that this is the fake one?" Vi nodded. "Okay, thank you. I might ask for your help later as well. Ike and I have a big plan for today, and if it works, the Soaring Falcons might actually be soaring for once."
That comment seemed to garner some favor with the aspiring lawyer. "I appreciate your efforts, then," Vi commended them. "I will be off to prepare for the challenge." Vi disappeared into her tent, and Ushi watched as Caia came back up from the jungle empty handed.
Caia: "I'm gonna get whatever they did," she said with an angered face. "Obviously something is going on. No one wants to speak with me. Trinity really did a number on my game plan. Maybe I need to find the team swapper." She grinned. "If I'm over with the big happy family instead of this one, I could take out Ike without even lifting a finger!"
Ike made his way to the middle of the jungle, where to his surprise, there actually was someone sitting there, waiting for him. "Ah, you must be the person sent to negotiate with me," the bargainer gloated. "I'll have you know that I'm no pushover." He extended his hand for a greeting to the other person. "Ike Sorranna, King of Deals."
The other person simply looked at Ike's right hand, which was extended. He finally stood up and agreed to accept the handshake in a very peculiar way. "Xerxes Siska," he finally introduced himself. The falconer used his left hand to shake Ike's right, which made for a very weird interaction. "Apologies, I only shake hands with my left."
The bargainer retracted his hand pretty quickly after that. "Sure. Let's get down to business." The shorter boy pulled out a pen and paper and sat on a log. "My understanding from Ushi is that you want something that I have, and I'm prepared to hand it over for the right price."
Xerxes tilted his head. Ike spoke in an odd code that was not as clear as he was expecting. "Wait a second, do…do you not know what Wade's plan was?" Ike sat quietly for a second. He clearly did not want to reveal the truth to that, but the silence was enough for Xerxes to know that Ike had no clue what was actually going on.
Ike was now interested, because Xerxes was not offering up any information either. "Did Wade share this masterful plan of his with you before coming here? Because if he did not, then we are two suckers in the woods, and nothing else but that." Silence from Xerxes's side. "That settles it. This is a pointless negotiation. I thought we could make a solid deal, but you don't know what terms you're operating under."
The bargainer began to walk back to his campsite in preparation for the challenge that was on its way, but he got stopped by Xerxes who asked a question.
"What is your team like?"
Those short words caught Ike. "Well, well, well, looks like there is something you want!" Now excited, he skipped back down to Xerxes. "I'll be honest, it's not happy camping up there. Everyone's on edge, especially after the elimination, we don't trust one person, and everyone sort of looks out for themselves. We aren't your happy family that you have now."
Xerxes sat in silence, thinking about Ike's brutally honest statements about his team. "Maybe there is something I want," the falconer admitted. "I would like time to think about a proper agreement. Can we postpone this deal? Find me during the challenge if you can. I will bring Wade, you can bring Ushi or whoever sent you, if they're awake."
"That sounds wonderful," Ike said with a happy grin. "I'll draft up some copies. I think I know exactly what you want, but I want to have other things ready in case I have read this situation wrong."
"Good for me, at least for now," Xerxes decided. "See you at the challenge then." As he turned to walk away, Xerxes needed to guarantee one last thing. "Bring the idol with you to the challenge."
Unfortunately, the bargainer was a bit more prepared than that. "Sorry, I do my deals when they're happening. We'll pick this up when we meet next. Bye!" Without a second handshake, Ike went back up the hill to his team, and Xerxes trekked back down the cave to his.
Xerxes: "Is it crazy?" he asked. "Maybe. Moving to a team that is definitely a sinking ship seems stupid. But…I have a feeling I can turn the tides on everything in this game with one move. I trust a team that is outright with their shiftiness more than…whatever I'm on now."
"Attention, schmucks!" Chris announced over the speakers. "It is time to get down to the beach, we have another challenge to do! It's time to get wild!"
Over with the Buried Snakes, the challenge announcement meant it was time to be ready. "Has everyone drunk enough water?" Ardella asked genuinely. "Is everyone well fed? I can bring some extra food, but water might need to be someone else." She began to count up the people on her team to make sure they were all there. "Has anyone seen Xerxes or Harumi?"
"I think Xerky- sorry, Xerxes left for something earlier," Zena told the protective leader, having to correct herself mid-sentence. "Wow, maybe I've spent more time with Harumi than I thought." Ardella now looked panicked that two team members were missing. Zena stepped in to handle the problem. "I'll take care of Harumi, if you can find Xerxes."
Ardella looked overly-grateful for the small favor Zena had done. "Thank you so much," Ardella said graciously. She began to rush through the cave to find Xerxes, but the falconer had appeared at the entrance anyway. "Where have you been?" the strawberry blonde asked slightly accusingly.
The falconer seemed to have no fear against Ardella. "Sorry, I was out looking for an idol." To an extent, that really wasn't a lie. "Any advantage is a good advantage, and if I need to save someone else on this team, it could be a good tool."
"That's very admirable," Ardella told him, but she still was not fully convinced it seemed. "How would you save someone else with an idol? Someone else always goes in their place."
Xerxes sighed. "Would you rather I use it selfishly? Look, us having an idol just means the Falcons don't. Let's just do this challenge." Upset that Ardella chose now of all times to think rationally, he made his way over ahead of everyone else.
Meanwhile, the tallest cast member was busy trying to convince Harumi to come out. "Harumi, we have to go to the challenge," Zena told her. No response. "Ardella won't be happy with you if you stay in there. Don't make me come in there and carry you over."
Harumi slowly emerged from her tent, her face in her hands. "Sorry, Zena," the weather girl said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to say anything like I did earlier, it totally slipped out and-"
Zena put her hand up to Harumi's mouth to stop her from rambling further. "You look mentally exhausted," the counterplayer told Harumi. "How about I carry you over to the challenge?" Harumi wasn't going to just let that opportunity go away. She climbed on almost instantly. Ardella sighed in relief, seeing Harumi ready to go.
Ardella: "Things are going fine!" she said over-enthusiastically. "Everyone's getting along, and we have nothing to worry about!" Her eye twitched slightly. "If we can win this challenge, nothing else matters. We just need to win. Xerxes struggling to get along won't matter…Harumi running off won't matter…we just need to win."
Zena: "Hopefully I can fix things with Harumi," she said to herself. "She's just a nervous wreck now, so I figured I could do something that was nice for her. I still haven't decided how I want to respond."
By the time the Snakes got to the beach, the Soaring Falcons had already been there. Vi, Oscar, and Ike stood with intimidating looks, Caia stood behind the three, observing everything, and Ushi had once again fallen asleep for the day. "Snakes, here again after the Falcons, you're definitely confident," Chris noticed. "Regardless, the Falcons are here, without Trinity today." No one seemed surprised by that.
"We're fine!" Ardella snapped back with a cheerful tone, but that cheerfulness did not come close to her face. "A small hiccup gathering everyone, but we're going to win again!"
Chris laughed. "Alright! Falcons, they're going for three in a row, you don't want your team to be totally decimated before the merge!" The Falcons did not look happy at that remark. "Well, whatever, onto the challenge for the day." He looked around to ask a question to someone. "Oscar, tell us about the wildlife that you've seen here so far."
"Uh…" Oscar muttered to himself, trying to recall any wildlife he's seen. "I uh…I don't think the O-man has seen a single critter, creature, or character in the woods. But, Ushi's been cookin' some sorta ba-ba-bacon that's been supa yums."
The host seemed interested in that response. "Ah, Ushi found the bacon tree. Good to hear they're still cooking that, they are raw." That response shocked everyone. "But, that means Oscar's got a point. Other than the bacon trees we've placed throughout the island so you don't starve to death, the only meat in this place is you. Wildlife was cleared out a long time ago…except for these two."
Chris then turned on his monitor, and two images appeared. One was of Petra, Xerxes's bird, and one was of a small Snake. "Today, your challenge is super simple. Find the animal that matches your team. Falcons, you're looking for a falcon, and Snakes, you're looking for a snake. Again, we've got cameras, as soon as one team has control over the animal they need to find, they win."
"Woah, woah, woah," Xerxes objected, "I never cleared you to use Petra for a challenge. She's my bird."
Chris shook his head. "We told you not to bring the bird. You brought the bird. We can use her for challenges." Without much to argue on, Xerxes stood down. "Good, now that we're clear, let's get moving. First team that has caught their animal wins the challenge and immunity for their team. Go!"
Just like that, the teams broke off to try and find something. The Snakes quickly gather up to try and strategize. "We've gotta find a tiny little snake over the entire island?" Harumi asked with a bit of an annoyed tone. "It's freakin' huge!"
"Then we probably should split up," Xerxes suggested. "We clearly have the numbers. They can afford to basically send one pair to each zone. Let's finally use our numbers. Everyone should group with someone that can wrangle a snake."
Ardella shook her head. "I don't like the idea of splitting up the team, if we aren't together and someone gets hurt then-"
"Someone got hurt yesterday," Xerxes reminded her, "but after we split up, it was fixed. If we stay as a giant herd we'll get nothing done and lose. Do you really want to lose?"
The protective leader was upset over the falconer's response toward her, and it was showing on her face very clearly. Wade was the one to step in and handle things. "Ardella, if I may, I agree with Xerxes. It really only takes two people to get a snake. Four different groups beat their maximum three they can make."
After a bit of silence where everyone had their eyes on Ardella, she sighed. "Okay. We can try your plan. I will volunteer to look by myself, so you six can do whatever you need to do." I can search the Deep Zone outside of the cave. Who wants to look in there?"
"I should be able to manage it," Yuri offered. "I guess if there's anything I can do, it's find things in a cave. But I would like to have someone who might curse me into being bit by that snake, because then we find it. I will take Dante." The harbinger looked surprised to hear that he was selected first.
Harumi looked like she wanted to pick a place next, but got beat out by someone else, Wade. "Xerxes and I will be just fine searching the top of the Sky Zone. That would leave you two for the jungle." He looked at Harumi and Zena. "Will that suffice as adequate pairings?"
"Um…yeah, that'll be fine," Harumi agreed reluctantly. It looked like she was not fully recovered. "Zena and I will handle it." She looked up at the Greek girl. "Um…ready to go?"
Zena laughed. "You'll be fine. C'mon, let's do it." With that, all of the Snakes began their hunt in different directions.
As everyone split up, Xerxes grabbed Wade. "Well played," he told the spooky hero. "I admit I was a bit heated. Ardella just seems way more focused on togetherness than actually winning, which is weird, because she also wants that." He shook his head. "I still don't know why you're helping me with this plan."
Wade chuckled. "Evil's intentions are often clouded. I must do the same to fight it. However, be assured that I am benefitting from this exchange just as much as you are." The two continued to walk up the hill. "It was quite convenient that the pairings worked out the way that they did."
"Clearly that was all your doing," Xerxes observed. "I mean, you were the one who set that up." He sighed. "Whatever. I just need this negotiation to go well, and hopefully it will."
Meanwhile, Dante and Yuri continued to head into the cave. "Honestly…I'm surprised you picked me after this morning," the harbinger admitted. "I mean, I'm glad you did, but it looked like you were upset about something." He sighed. "Am…am I allowed to ask what it is?"
The bookworm was quiet for a second. "I know you hate when I say this, but…no, you can't." Dante was surprised by their response. He was expecting at least a little honestly. "All I can say is I am glad you are enjoying that book. I have some others that might be of interest to you." Dante was quiet as he continued to move up the hill.
Dante: "I know Yuri is a cautious person," he analyzed. "They keep their secrets close to their chest, and I guess I can understand where that's coming from, but I guess I'm also a bit sad they won't tell me anything at all." He shook his head. "Finally, one person who my luck doesn't seem to ruin at all times, and they don't open up at all."
Ardella raced through the top of the Deep Zone on her own, constantly climbing up rocks with great ease and jumping over gaps in the top of the cave. While most of it was smooth, the protective leader was able to spot several divots that had collapsed into spots in the cave.
Despite her amazing progress of scanning the area, she still looked distraught. "Why are we still so divided?" she asked herself, letting the openness of the area hear all of her problems. "Why doesn't everyone just fall in line? We can win every challenge if they let me handle it."
Upon reaching the edge of the top of the cave, Ardella had located a cliff. She froze for a second as she saw the height difference. "Macey, what would you have done just now?" she asked the sky. "Would you have cut him loose? Or…would you have forgiven him?" She sighed. "I guess I wouldn't know. It turned out that I didn't know you as well as I thought I did."
After sitting in silence for some time, the protective leader seemed to regain some of her stamina. "Okay…day three, and all seven of us are still here. I can keep that going by finding that snake and winning the challenge today. That means that we can keep our momentum." With some newfound strength and confidence, Ardella continued to race across the upper part of the Deep Zone.
In the jungle, Harumi and Zena were hunting in a much quieter environment than normal. "They really gave us the short end of the stick, huh?" Zena asked, hoping to break the silence. "I mean, they got three people at the cave, and we got the whole jungle? That is not fair."
Harumi just wasn't responding anymore. It was too awkward for her to do so. After some more silence, Zena couldn't take it anymore. "Harumi, yesterday, in the challenge, I knocked Trinity out. That's how we freed Dante. Him and Xerxes are lying about it too. I said I'd put her on the ground for thirty minutes, and ran up, forced Dante to duck, and knocked her out."
The sudden reveal about yesterday's events caused Harumi to snap out of her fog. "Wait, you actually knocked her out? But the Xerky's bird story was-"
"Totally made up," the counterplayer told her. She sighed. "Look, you shared something super personal with me this morning, so I figured I didn't want to have any big secrets. That's how I've always worked, I've always been a big fan of balance."
The offering of that information seemed to be enough to calm Harumi down. "Wow…I just didn't think that you would do that."
Zena gritted her teeth. "I'm sorry that I lied to you, but you've been so close to Ardella, and we really didn't want her to learn about what we did. If that changes your perception of me, I get it. I'm sure Dante and Xerxes will be upset that I told someone, but I would rather tell you than keep you out of the loop."
Harumi was quiet for a bit again. "Zena, I'm not mad that you did any of that, in fact, that just shows how honest you are. If I'm being honest, I think the way yesterday ended was either Coins getting knocked out by The Della, or by you. I guess The Della was right, there was no peaceful solution, but you still let her leave that situation clean. That's a really cool thing to do." She blushed as she spoke in such high praise. "If anything my perception of you has only gotten way better."
"That's nice to hear," Zena admitted. "So, I want you to be back to your regular cheerful self. I like you better that way." Harumi giggled at that comment. "I honestly don't have an answer for you yet…it's only been three days. Even if we've lived together for that time, it's not a lot. So…how about once both of us are eliminated, we can go on a trial date, and see how that goes?"
Harumi gasped. "You…you mean it?" She grinned. "Okay, then cheerful me is back! Oh, and I promise not to like, eliminate you instantly and then myself. That would be bad. Also, I have no clue how to even do that." Zena laughed as Harumi began rambling again and their search continued more peacefully.
Harumi: "Zena is really awesome, not many people would share that, especially with the threat of what happens if she does. Plus, we're on a super winning streak, I bet it's either Ush or Wall Street that goes home next."
The Soaring Falcons clearly had opted to stay together in this challenge. All five of them were making their way through the jungle, heading up to the Sky Zone. "Well, it could be worse," Ike told the five, with Oscar carrying Ushi again like normal. "At least they've got the snake. If they got to hunt for the falcon, this challenge would be over."
"We are wasting time bunched together," Caia suggested, a mundane look over her face as she moved through a bush. She glanced over at Vi, who was aimlessly wandering as well. A devious smirk appeared on her face for a second, then vanished again. "Maybe we need to split up. Some of us stay in the jungle, and some of us check the Sky Zone for a falcon."
Despite all the backlash the false apathetic had received throughout the day, this suggestion went over quite well. "I agree wholeheartedly with that idea," Vi answered, much to Caia's delight. "However, realistically, we only have four of us at the moment. Going alone would mean that if danger were to approach any of you, we would not be able to save you."
"Fair 'nuff," Oscar agreed. "Ushi ain't doin' a thing right now." He walked over to Caia. "How about you n' me get ourselves a bird? I wanna look in that cave again!"
Caia shook her head. "The falcon won't be in a cave. I also was hoping that I could pair up with-"
The false apathetic was shot down. "I think Oscar should take you," Ike chimed in. "Plus, this challenge had very few rules. Maybe Chris was deceiving us by hiding a falcon somewhere it couldn't be found. Plus, if you end up seeing Xerxes, try asking him."
Oscar chuckled. "That's a gaff, ain't it? He ain't helpin' any-o-us. Totally cooked if that happens." He grabbed Caia's arm and began walking to the cave. "We'll see ya's later. Are you sure you'll let me drop Ushi here?"
Ike snickered. "They'll be fine. I know where they are, so I can easily bring them back at the end of the day like we've been doing."
"'Kay, boss, you da man." Oscar and Caia made their way to the cave, disappearing from sight. Vi watched Ike, who was careful looking at the two Falcons leaving, like he was waiting for them to be gone.
Once they had vanished from sight, Ike turned to Vi. "We have a change of plans," he told the farmer. "You and I are going up that hill back to our campsite. If we did this right, we should have two Snakes waiting for us up there. I have a deal to make."
Vi sighed. "Ike, I hope this deal is not what I believe it to be. I spoke with Ushi earlier about something that, contractually, you should have knowledge of. I disapprove of the idea."
"Vi, it's foolproof," Ike told her. "We have two, and why risk one of us using it? We either get a free teammate or put a giant dent into the Snakes. We just need a way to watch them hold up their end of the bargain, and if things don't pan out, and we lose an idol, no need to worry." He snickered. "Besides, I just didn't want Oscar or Caia coming with me. You're coming solely because I'm gonna need help getting Ushi up the hill."
Vi looked up at Ike, one of the many people Vi had to look up to see. "Ike, I am five feet and an inch in height. Do you expect me to be able to be of much assistance?" The stare from Ike was enough for her to comply. "Fine, I will assist and witness this deal you make. If it fails, I will target you next."
Ike nodded. "That's fair, I accept those terms. Now, lift with your knees." Vi grunted as she picked up half of Ushi, while Ike handled the other half. "I can't believe that they don't wake up from any of this," the bargainer muttered.
The hike up the hill was grueling, and for the two shorter Falcons, this was not even close to fun. But, everything seemed to work out for everyone. Once the campsite was in view, Vi and Ike saw Wade and Xerxes waiting for them. "Hello!" Wade called cheerfully as the two made their way up.
The farmer leaned into Ike as they put Ushi down. "If you would like a second person to negotiate, I am available. I do not trust the looks of these two," she whispered.
Ike laughed. "Vi, I have a second person. What do you think we were doing lifting Ushi up here?" The bargainer twiddled his fingers as he reached for the sleeping person's neck. "Okay, they said it was a pressure point around…here!"
As the bargainer lodged his fingers into Ushi's neck, it was no time at all before they shot awake. "Huh? What's going on?" They got their bearings to see Vi, Ike, Wade, and Xerxes, all at the top of the Sky Zone. "Oh, is it time to go?"
Ike nodded, not moving his fingers from Ushi's neck. "You two should be happy," he told them with a sly smirk. "I do most of my talking with my hands, so I'm at a total disadvantage since I have to do this all the time." He gestured to their third person. "This is Vi, she's here to watch this all unfold. She is also the person who examined our bargaining chip and confirmed its authenticity." He had the most excited grin on his face yet. "Well, should we get going?"
Ike: "If my deal with Ushi was like eating a chocolate bar," the bargainer said excitedly, "this is gonna be like eating twenty chocolate bars. I am so excited to totally make the biggest play of the entire game!"
Wade: "This is Ike's arena," he said eerily. "That means that it is a dangerous place to be for all that is good. Evil lurks more than one thinks. We ought to move with caution."
Vi: "I do not like any of this," she said defiantly. "But, if it works, it will be the boost our team needs. At this point, a risk this big might be necessary, because while Caia is an easy vote, what happens if we lose her and lose again?"
Ushi: "This deal could be one that changes the entire course of this game," they stated. "So, I'm here for it. I have to be. If it fails, I need that to not fall on me for not being there. If it works, I need to be there to reap all of the benefits. It really was Vi's best advice."
Xerxes: "And now, everything is in my court," he said with a nervous look. "Ardella won't even like the fact that I am talking to the Falcons, but if this goes well, it won't really matter."
Xerxes was the first to get things moving. "I want to be absolutely clear with everyone right now, and state my terms. You should also do the same. My intel has told me that you are in possession of a team swap idol. I am able to grant your team a win, and in exchange, you give that idol to me. Whether or not I use it after is not something I need to disclose."
"That's fair," Ushi told him. "It also sounds like you know for sure that we have it, so I guess that's fine. Ike, produce it." The bargainer reached into the pocket of his dress pants and produced the small idol, the wooden statue of a hand holding the number '3'. "We agree, whether or not you use it on yourself, or are simply a carrier for someone else, it does not affect us."
As Vi got a closer look at the idol, a small gasp escaped her system. Ike spoke up next, his hands still on Ushi's neck to keep them awake. "If you get us a win today," Ike offered, "the Soaring Falcons are also willing to openly accept you onto our team and make you one of us. Obviously, we hope it does not come down to it, but we also agree that the three of us here will not target you upon our first loss."
Vi was now involved and chose to speak up. "Hold on one second," the farmer stated harshly. "I agreed to come and observe as a witness. I made no such remarks about refusing to target the potentially transferred person onto our team."
"Reasonable," Ike admitted. "We never did confront you on that, so that's on us." He looked Vi right in the eyes. "But, with someone useful like Xerxes, would you really choose to eliminate him over someone like Caia, or even me?" Vi was quiet for a second, which gave Ike his answer. "Sorry for assuming, but that's my thought process. Xerxes would be a valuable asset to our team, and while preparing for a merge is a thing, we are way too early to think about that now."
"I have a question," Ushi stated, their eyes drifting to another place in the group. "Obviously Ike, Vi, and I benefit from gaining a team member and winning a challenge. An outcome like that puts at six members over your five if everything goes perfectly." They narrowed their eyes at Wade. "So, where does he benefit from any of this? I only see downsides to staying on a crumbling team."
All eyes now shifted to Wade. "I'd like to know this answer too," Xerxes stated, earning surprised looks from the three Falcons. "You've insisted that it will help you out, but I fail to see how it would. How could this help both you and me?"
Wade sighed. "Xerxes, you are a valuable member of the Buried Snakes. However, in an event we lose, they are likely to target those with weaker physical abilities. Unfortunately for me, I have struggled to make friends, unlike Dante, Harumi, and Yuri. It is no secret that you, Zena, and Ardella are indispensable. Removing one of you from the equation simply helps my chances. I need to ensure my safety just as much as you."
The falconer sat in silence as the reasoning sank in with him. "I believe that your personal feelings on this matter should be removed," Vi advised the other four. "If you all are truly seeking a transactional deal, then I believe it best to proceed in a way that allows it to happen quickly. Do remember that we are on the clock. If the Buried Snakes secure their animal, this deal session promptly comes to an end." She handed a piece of paper to Ike. "This is your draft of the idol transfer contract. I am unable to make copies of it, so I invite the others to take a look."
The others gathered around Ike and inspected the contract. "It all looks to be in order," Xerxes agreed. "But, I do have one extra question. There is a chance that this idol is fake, and that I am eliminated instantly for using it. Nothing in the contract protects me from that."
"Not a problem," Ushi argued. "Vi inspected the idol this morning and confirmed its authenticity." Vi looked surprised to hear that statement come out from Ushi's mouth. "She stated that the idol appeared to be an original craft, while the fake idol would be designed after the original, making the sloppiness much more apparent." They shrugged. "Obviously, we have no way of knowing for sure. That part, you will have to trust us."
Ike locked eyes with the falconer. "This is the best deal you are going to get," the bargainer admitted. "We're giving up a huge chip for this. Having that idol could save us from being eliminated if we use it pre-merge. Losing it hurts, so I hope that you realize how much of a highway robbery you've got here."
"Yeah, I get it," Xerxes told him. He looked at Ike, Ushi, and Vi. "Okay, so I get the idol, I win you guys the challenge, and then if I'm in danger tonight, I use this? I think that's everything we've covered." He sat quietly for a minute as he considered his options.
Xerxes: "Honestly, today is intimidating," he admitted. "I have to handle working with Ike and Ushi, who are definitely scary when in this kind of situation. Vi is level-headed but very competent, and even Wade was speaking way more eloquently than he normally does." He sighed. "It doesn't matter. I pretty much made my choice as soon as she interrogated me this morning."
"Let's do it," he decided. He put his left arm out again for a handshake to seal the deal. Ike looked offended again at first, but eventually just caved and used his left hand as well.
"Wait."
Everyone turned to see Wade staring at all of them. "Ushi," the spooky hero said with an eerie tone. "Could you perhaps produce the real idol instead of this one? This is obviously the fake one."
The Falcons all seemed to freeze. Ushi glanced over at Vi, who merely gave them a nod. Before anything could happen Ike seemed to want answers. "And how exactly do you think we managed to find two identical idols in the two nights we have had? We sort of sleep at night, and do challenges during the day. The hide-and-seek challenge literally took the whole day."
"I do surveillance at night," Wade informed everyone. "Night one, Ushi located the idol that is not here at the moment. Night two, they located that one." Wade pointed to the idol in front of Ike and Ushi. "We would prefer to not be ripped off."
Ushi sighed. "I know you saw me the second night, I must have missed you on the first." They turned to Ike. "It doesn't matter. We get what we want no matter what. Giving away the real one might even be better."
The bargainer sat in silence for a bit. "Fine," he relented eventually. "I appreciate you trying to pass off the fake one. That was my idea." He looked over at Vi. "Sorry, we sort of tricked you because we wanted to get rid of the fake idol before the merge."
"I knew it was the fake one the whole time," Vi deadpanned.
"Whatever," Ike sneered. With a loud groan, he fished the other team swap idol out of his other pocket. "If you want, you are free to inspect the two and make your guess on which one is real. We get to keep whichever you do not take."
As Ike placed the idol down next to the other one, Xerxes and Wade approached the two wooden objects. "You seem to think you're sharper than we are, so we'll leave it in your hands." He took a step back. "Take whatever one you want, and then hand over the bird."
All of the decisions rested with Xerxes and Wade, who took their time looking over the two idols. "Which one do you think it is?" Xerxes asked the spooky hero.
Without skipping a beat, Wade grabbed the idol that Ike took out second, the one that they hid until a few minutes ago. "This is the one we seek." He handed it over to Xerxes. "Trust me, that will be quite the boon for yourself." He turned to the Falcons. "Thank you for this. We will now fulfill our end of the bargain."
Xerxes stood blankly there for a second before seeing Ike with a bored expression, pointing up at the sky. "Oh, right, I totally forgot there was still a challenge going on." He glanced around the sky himself for a second before calling out- "Pétra, éla edó káto, se parakaló."
After about another minute, Petra appeared in the sky, descending on Xerxes's right arm, where she perched very roughly. Despite that, Xerxes's arm didn't flinch at all. Everyone seemed impressed with how well the falconer was able to command her. The falconer reached into a pocket with his other arm, and pulled out some treats for the bird, which she ate excitedly.
Xerxes pointed over to Ike. "Hold your arm out. She's gonna be there for a second, she knows how to be gentle with other people. I'm an exception." He turned to the bird and gave her another command, directing the falcon's attention to Ike. "Meínete mazí tou gia líga leptá."
Petra jumped off of Xerxes's arm, and over to Ike, landing on the bargainer's arm for a bit. Ike looked nervous at first, since the falcon was a bit larger than he had initially thought it would be. "So…I guess we just wait here until Chris calls it, huh?" Ike asked. Then began their waiting game.
Ike: "I'm annoyed we didn't pawn off the fake idol," he said with a shrug. "But, I appreciate Ushi for staying quiet on it, and Vi for not saying anything either." He flung himself back in the confessional. "So many deals! Coming here is literally the best decision I've ever made!"
Further down with the Falcons, Oscar and Caia had reached the cave. "This place is yucky," the spiky-haired boy mentioned. "Lotta dank schtuff and whatnot, yanno?"
"Mhm," Caia said back plainly. She had to think about her angle of attack. Oscar was such an ambiguous person that it was impossible to get a real read on him. "What were you up to before coming on the show, Oscar?" the false apathetic finally decided to ask.
"Not-o-thang," Oscar said back quickly. "Did a job but decided I didn't wanna do it no more, no how, no way. So, I dipped and then, badaboomaroony, I was here." He laughed. "Didn't know ya had it in ya to be nice to people."
Caia rolled her eyes. "I'm not some ice princess," she told the taller boy. Under her breath, she muttered, "I'm a much better princess than that." Clearing her throat, she went back to full volume. "I find it interesting to take an interest in what others do. Even if I am poor at showing that."
Oscar laughed. "You gotta smile mor-e-o," he told her. "People'll be nice to ya if you show them you can be nice back! If I wasn't so chipper, you'd be runnin' away from me 'bout now probs."
The false apathetic made an attempt to speak more cheerfully. She put slightly more inflection in her voice to deceive Oscar. "How's this?" she asked, using a bit more energy to speak. As she heard the words escape her mouth, she almost gagged at how happy they sounded.
"Woah!" Oscar cheered, clearly excited to hear Caia speak out of her normal dull tone. "Ya like a totally different person! You gotta keep that up! Tell ya what!" He gave the Russian teen a goofy thumbs-up. "I can be ya first friend. Now ya need a few more though." Caia smirked to herself once Oscar said that. "C'mon, let's get ourselves a cave bird. Wooo!"
Caia: "Damage control is going to be harder than I thought," she groaned out. "Everyone's gonna have something different they want. Oscar was a piece of cake though. Ike will probably forgive me for a deal, and Ushi probably just wants information." She shook her head. "Vi's the tough one. I need her to trust me fast. She's the vote I need to tear Ike to shreds."
Oscar: "Maybe Caia ain't so terrible," he decided. "I mean, she did that real good, maybe a few more smiles and the team'll forgive 'er."
Most of the Snakes were still looking diligently. "Anyway, I won a hundred bucks that day," Harumi told Zena, who was actively listening to the weather girl's stories now. "As soon as the first piece of hail fell, he coughed up the money. I don't even think it's that weird of a skill, and like, he could have just checked his phone!"
"That's nuts," Zena laughed. The counterplayer pushed a tree aside to inspect the bushes around it. "Finding a snake in the jungle is not going to be fun, there's just so much stuff in here. I think maybe Wade and Xerxes should be down here with us to look."
"I mean, I get it," Harumi defended them. "They probably want us to look where we'd least expect it. I mean what if the falcon was in the cave or something?"
Zena put a hand to her chin. "Maybe, but I wouldn't be worried about it. We're at a giant advantage for this challenge. Ushi can't go anywhere, so even if they all go at it alone, it's the same number of groups as us. Any pairs at all and we're covering more of the island."
"I guess so," Harumi responded. "I'm just worried that we haven't seen anyone yet. I feel like we would have run into Briefcase or Silent Treatment, really anyone. If they're not looking in the jungle, where are they looking?"
Harumi: "I know I was sort of out of it this morning," she admitted, "but something's been off all day. The pair argument, and Xerky and The Della were disagreeing…I don't know, something's off. But, I guess if it's not affecting me, I shouldn't do anything about it."
Down in the cave, Dante and Yuri were now in total silence as they tried to find a snake. Both of them had torches in hand, Dante being extra careful with his so it wouldn't go anywhere near Yuri. Things were super quiet the whole time. Even one of them accidentally kicking a rock was the loudest thing that had happened.
Dante stayed far behind the bookworm. He continued to think of various things in his head. Why did Yuri constantly reject any sort of opening up? Why were they refusing to share anything? There was clearly something going on, and they could tell he wanted to help, so why was Yuri still refusing this offer? Maybe Yuri was still scared of his curse. He had to find a way to keep them from running off.
Yuri, meanwhile, stayed a bit ahead of Dante. In all honesty, the curse wasn't in their brain at all at the moment. Instead their mind was racing with various other thoughts. "Dante," they eventually spoke up, "Can I ask why you are still here?"
"Um…Dante said nervously, unsure of how to answer that. "Honestly, you're one of the only people who my bad luck hasn't totally ruined. So, I decided you're the safest person to be around, and so far that seems true. I'm sorry if I'm getting on your nerves. I can go if you want."
"I never said that was what I wanted," Yuri told him. "It was just a question I was curious about. New people make me very nervous, so I appreciate that you have been nice to me. I don't believe you are cursed. I don't think anyone does." That statement seemed to reassure Dante a lot more.
Yuri: "Things look bad for me," they analyzed. "I have definitely been pushing Dante away, so I just wanted to make sure he knew that I was still looking out for him. I just hope things can stay this way, but I don't think they will."
At the top of the cave, Ardella paced around to find any semblance of a snake. "I am getting a little stressed," she said aloud to herself. "It's been a while, and no one else has found anything. Maybe we all should have stayed in the jungle." She continued to look around the top of the cave, but found nothing. Staring at the jungle that was not too far from her, she made the move.
The protective leader entered the opposite side of the jungle that Harumi and Zena were in at the time. She felt like she could hear the faint laughter of the two girls from far away. "I hope everyone's doing okay still…" she said to herself. "I hope Xerxes is doing okay too, I feel like he didn't deserve that interrogation I did to him."
Just then, she spotted it. The snake was just crawling across the ground, about one hundred feet from her. Ardella pushed through the dense jungle, ignoring the thorn bushes that were scraping across her face. Victory was right there, and she could save her team from going to elimination again. She reached her hand out to grab the snake-
"Attention, everyone!" Chris called out. "The Soaring Falcons have gained control of…" the speakers cut out for a second. "Chef, what's the bird's name?" came out even quieter. After some more silence. "Petra, the bird! That means the Soaring Falcons have won their first challenge! The five of them are safe from the vote. Buried Snakes, the seven of you are facing your first elimination of the game. Meet me and Chef at the beach in four hours!" Silence for a quick second again. "Four hours? Wow, yeah, fast challenge today."
After hearing the results of the challenge, Ardella froze in place for a second. She was so close. All the protective leader could do was collapse to her knees and sit in silence for a while.
Ardella: "We…we lost," she said softly. "What…what happens now?"
The Soaring Falcons returned to their campsite in high spirits. Well, most of them were already back since they were there for most of the challenge. Ushi seemed to be catching up on missed sleep, but Ike and Vi were sitting there waiting for the others to return.
Suddenly, the other two appeared on the other side of the hill. "Woo!" Oscar cheered with excitement all over his face. "We got one! Well, I guess y'all did." He looked at the two Falcons who were there. "Which one o' ya caught the falcon?"
The two awake Falcons from the hilltop deal exchanged glances. "I did," Ike told him. "Honestly, we saw it in the sky, and just sort of called for it to come down. We figured it would listen to some commands. It apparently did."
Vi let out a sigh as she heard Ike's lie. "We were lucky to have the three of us here," Vi stated. "Even Ushi contributed slightly. I think we may have finally found our rhythm."
"Good to hear," Caia stated mundanely. "I was concerned for my safety, after Trinity decided to blame me for her elimination. I thought you would harbor ill-will against me for that." Oscar grinned at how honest Caia was allegedly being.
Oscar high-fived the false apathetic, who unpleasantly returned the gesture. Ike watched the two interact and instantly became suspicious of the Russian teen again. "So…you just stopped being miserable?" he asked her as Oscar went off to go speak with Vi.
"Eh, I am attempting some empathy," Caia lied. "Oscar called me an ice princess and I decided I did not want to be that."
Ike snickered. "Yeah, I'm not buying that. But, you're in luck. Not only do I really not care, but I did you a huge favor today." He shrugged. "You'll find out later. But anyway, it's awesome."
Caia raised an eyebrow. "You did me a favor? Without asking me for anything first? I thought that wasn't how you operated. You are now contradicting yourself."
"Nah, it just helped me out way more than it helped you," Ike told her. "You got table scraps compared to what I'm walking away with." With that, Ike made his way back into the tent Ushi was in, deciding that they had slept late enough.
Ushi was already awake by the time Ike had made it there. "I know you can't knock on a tent," they said bluntly, "but the least you can do is say you're coming in. Have a little bit of dignity."
Ike chuckled at the sleeping person's comment. "Sorry, just totally excited about that deal. Xerxes was the perfect bartering partner. He asked all the questions, and the big twist with Wade noticing the fake idol! Wow, it's hard to beat a negotiation as tense as that one!"
The nocturnal teen seemed interested in Ike's ramblings. "So…you sound way more excited about the deal itself rather than what we're getting out of it. What's up with that?"
"If that deal collapsed on its face at the end of everything, or if one of the Snakes won the challenge before we had a chance to do anything, I would have still enjoyed every second of it." Ike pulled out the contract he had made with Ushi. "That's why this was so much more fun than yours. With you, I sort of had a single goal, and that was to keep you in, because you seemed interesting. For the deal today, all I wanted was to do a giant negotiation. That's why I brought Vi. I knew she would interject even when I told her not to."
Ushi rolled their eyes. "Sounds like you had quite the day," they told the bargainer. "Let's just hope Vi's appraisal was correct. I honestly think Xerxes would be a good addition to our team. If she was wrong and that wasn't the real idol, we're making way more enemies off of this than we were originally going to."
Ike laughed. "Won't happen. We've made our enemies no matter what. But my final goal with this deal wasn't to get Xerxes, it was to eliminate Ardella." Ushi raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Once they lose, Ardella will likely blame herself for the failure. It's not like Xerxes or Wade will rat themselves out, so they got an idol. Whatever. Ardella is so going to get rid of herself tonight."
Ushi: "Clever tactic," they complimented Ike, who was not in the confessional. "I don't think that's going to be how it goes. Even if Ardella does blame herself, I saw that boy's face. We're not getting the result we think we are."
Oscar went to the food area in the campsite, grabbed a handful of potatoes, and made his way to the campsite's edge, where Vi was, looking over the cliff. "I got ya yo tatos," Oscar mentioned as he tossed one to Vi.
Vi cautiously grabbed one, the look of excitement unable to hide on her face. "Good, thank you," she said. "I wonder what could be in that enigmatic mind of yours that you needed this much secrecy to share?" She took a giant bite out of the first potato, excited to have her favorite food back again.
"I decided you need to be the one who knows who I am," Oscar stated, his goofy tone completely vanishing. "How familiar are you with inner-city gangs? Is that something that gets covered in your stuffy law school?"
The aspiring lawyer shook her head. "It is not. I have very limited knowledge of how an inner-city functions other than laws and codes established in writing. Any unspoken rules or anything of the like, I am in the dark for."
"Heh, this is gonna freak ya out a lil'" Oscar commented, a goofy grin coming on his face. "Anyway, you get my life story, because I trust you way more than Caia or Ike. Ike suggested I share more, so…here I am, sharing." He sighed. "My mom died when I was around seven. Got super sick, but apparently we had no ties to anything she owned. Never got a will done in time. So, my dad and I had to move to the inner-city. It was a rough start, but eventually I learned that I can really do anything I want there, my dad learned that too. He was…big into crime."
"This is a story you are sharing with me?" Vi asked, slightly concerned. "No offense, but I think I would be the last person you share that with."
Oscar shrugged. "You can't arrest me, and you definitely can't arrest my dad. He made me complete…errands for him. By age eleven, I was robbing people and mugging them. I was the strongest fighter anyone had ever seen for my age. Honestly, I like to think I still am. But, things took a turn for the worst about three years after that."
The fighter hesitated for a bit. "My dad gave me my toughest job yet at age fourteen- I was to find a gang leader that was crossing him, and take him out, you know…slit his throat." Vi gasped upon hearing that. "I told him I didn't want to do it, but he tried to fight me until I left. I'm a good fighter, but my dad was way stronger. He told me I couldn't come back until I did it."
"So, I went to the gang leader's house, I go up, and I sit in silence for a while. He's asleep, I could have killed him in an instant if I wanted. But I still didn't want to." Oscar shook his head. "What kind of psycho sends his son in as an assassin? I decided I wanted out. I woke up the gang leader unarmed, told him my situation. Thankfully, he was reasonable. He gave me enough money to get to a different city, and sent me on my way."
"That is why you were speculating what a dead body looked like on the first day," Vi pointed out. "You were so close to creating one yourself, and I am sure that is a haunting memory for you."
Oscar nodded. "For sure. I later learned that the gang hunted my dad down, I got a letter from the guy that did it. By then I was moved on with my life. I got a regular job at a daycare and live well-off enough. That's where the goofy words come from. A lot of them are just words those kids say incorrectly. But, throw enough of them in a sentence, and you've created a perfect mask for someone who has had an unspeakable past."
"Well, I suppose if no one pressed charges on your initial crimes, and it was not technically your fault that your father passed, I have no reason to persecute you." She shook her head. "Perhaps…there is a chance you and I can continue to correspond after the show. I believe your insight could be quite valuable for cases I take on."
Oscar grinned. "Now ya talkin'!" he said, with his goofy tone returning. "Now, it's time fa you! Why'd ya need tatoes for somethin' where I'm talkin' 'bout killarooning?"
Vi let out a small giggle. "They are my favorite food. My family grows them at their…our farm. I am regrettably as redneck as they get."
"Oh, ya are, huh?" Oscar asked excitedly. "I get one more payment for that info-ma-shionay. You gotta say one thing in ya regular accent."
The farmer reddened for a second before shaking her head. "You don't getta hur nothin' from me!" The two of them continued to laugh and eat some more potatoes, moving on to much more pleasant topics.
Oscar: "Sharing that story does make me feel way better," the fighter mentioned. "Vi was very understanding of my situation. I guess no one's family is perfect. Mine was a freakin' nutcase, but it's nice to hear everyone's got some secrets."
Vi: "The story Oscar told enlightened me immensely," she stated. "Much like Ushi on the first day, perhaps I am far too quick to judge others. But I have learned that everyone here is quite crafty. I will have no choice but to step things up from here on out."
The Buried Snakes were having a much less enjoyable time. Ardella was sitting in the middle of the campsite, completely emotionally drained. She did not move, she did not speak, like she was completely blocking everything out. Yuri and Dante had already made it back, but there was so little to talk about, and everything felt awkward as Ardella sat in her stunned silence.
"I-I'm going to talk to her," Dante finally decided. Yuri didn't look up from their book, just continued to read as Dante went over. "Um, Ardella?" Dante asked nervously. "I-I'm sorry we didn't find anything. I wish I could have been more helpful."
Surprisingly, Ardella did respond. "It's not your fault," she said with a hung head. "I saw the snake. I was so close to getting it, and then Chris announced that the Falcons won. We were so close to winning a third time, and I couldn't get us there…" She sighed. "I failed…all of you."
At that moment, all Dante could do was sit there quietly with her. Not long after that happened, Harumi and Zena were the next to return to the cave. "Hey, everyone…" Harumi said with an awkward laugh. "Guess things didn't go so great today, huh?"
The two girls saw Ardella sitting in the middle of the cave. Not knowing whether or not to approach her and talk to her or leave her be, they decided that they were going to leave her be for the time being. Zena and Harumi went to their tents and sat in silence for a bit.
That silence was now beginning to fill up the cave. Only the pages of Yuri's book could be heard at this point. Zena and Harumi decided not to interrupt everyone's bad day with their happy one, and now it was just Yuri reading, Dante sitting next to Ardella, and Ardella sulking a lot. "What do we do now?" Ardella mumbled quietly. The look of absolute despair on her face was hard for Dante to look at.
Further up in the cave, Wade and Xerxes were finally on their way back down. The falconer had the idol hidden inside his pocket. "This is going to be a rather interesting scene we return to," Wade pointed out. "I wonder what it will be like."
"I'd rather not know," Xerxes admitted. "But I have an idol now. If all goes well, Ardella votes herself off after being unable to choose someone to go instead." He looked closely at Wade. "You know better than to say anything about that deal today, right?"
Wade laughed. "Xerxes, what I lack in strength, I make up for in smarts. I understand how foolish of a position I would be in if I were to say anything." The two returned to the cave. Wade instantly took notice of Ardella's downtrodden expression. "Lady Ardella! What can I do to assist you?"
Xerxes watched as the spooky hero ran to their leader's side. The falconer had no interest in that drama, and returned to the tent to relax for a bit until the elimination. Unbeknownst to him, that would be interrupted quickly. "Hey, Xerky," Harumi greeted the falconer.
"Oh, you appear to be in higher spirits," the falconer said to her. "Guess it's not a good time to go flaunting that around, huh?" He decided to just ask the question that was on his mind. "Who do you plan on voting for?"
Harumi shook her head. "No clue. I like everyone here, and the past few days, everyone's been really helpful in some way or another in challenges. What about you? Are you planning on turning on The Della? I got the feeling you might."
Xerxes shook his head. "No, I really haven't decided either. Ardella and I have our differences, but at the end of the day, she's just way too valuable to lose yet. What I want to know is who she's voting for. She has to know that whoever she says she wants gone is gone. So why hasn't she said anything yet? She holds all the power."
"Probably doesn't wanna lose anyone," Harumi mentioned. "We're all really good friends, so I bet it's hard for her to take someone out of this family she's created."
Xerxes sighed. "I have my doubts. If Ardella wasn't here to win this game and eventually beat all of us, she would have offered herself up the instant we lost. She didn't do that. She plans on staying. Now we have to decide if we follow her or not. I don't plan on it."
The two wandered out to the center of the cave. Everyone was sitting in the middle now, but no one was saying anything. "We should have this conversation eventually," Zena mentioned. "It pains me to say it, but I think anyone who is going home would like to know."
"None of us want to do that just yet," Yuri countered. "Besides, I believe voting with our own decisions in mind is much better. The instant we start accusing each other, then we see everything collapse that we've built up."
Xerxes shrugged. "It sucks that we lost, but we still have a few hours to think. I'm still mad one of them handled Petra without me knowing."
Ardella raised her head for only a second. "Sorry, everyone," she said with tears falling out of her eyes. "I wish it didn't come to this. I wish we were still winning. I can't believe that I had such a silly idea of getting us all to the end."
As Ardella's sobs became louder and louder, Wade stood up. "I am not sitting by idly anymore," he decided. "Ardella, I have something that you desperately need to hear." Wade glanced over at Xerxes, who was already adopting a very threatening stance. "We had someone today throw the challenge. They let the other team win on purpose."
The sobs stopped. Instantly. "W-what?" Ardella asked, still in shock that Wade said that.
Xerxes glared right at Wade, but the spooky hero appeared to be without fear at the time. "Earlier today, Xerxes ran off from me and captured the falcon for the other team. I saw him handing it off to Ike as soon as I caught up with him!"
All eyes shifted to Xerxes. The falconer stood with a shocked expression. "That was your plan you made up!" he shot back instantly. "You sent me to meet with Ike earlier! This was all your doing!"
Wade shook his head. "I would gain nothing from a deal like that. You have shown opposition to Lady Ardella for quite some time now."
Xerxes looked around. Suddenly, things have shifted to a very poor situation. "Wait, you actually threw the challenge?" Zena asked.
"Xerky…is that true?"
Harumi had a sad expression as well. The only one who was not staring right at him was Yuri, who continued to read, their eyes doing everything they could to stay focused on the book. "Wade…you set me up…" was all Xerxes could get out. The spooky hero had joined in the scornful eyes around him.
There was one last person to take note of. He finally had the courage to look down at Ardella. "So…it really happened then?" Ardella asked, her voice shaking as she asked the question. "You…you're the reason we lost? You tried to hurt me and my team?" Her voice was getting bitter now, frightening even.
"Ardella…there's got to be a peaceful solution here," Xerxes said as he took a few steps back. He adjusted the gloves on his hands as he did so. "Like yesterday, we found a peaceful solution there too."
Wade shook his head. "He lied about that too! Zena punched Trinity and knocked her out! He lied about the story he told you!"
Dante hung his head, knowing that he had that lie too.
Yuri continued to read, their eyes twitching back and forth as they tried to ignore what was brewing.
Zena also took a step back, shielding Harumi.
Ardella stared right at Xerxes. He was the reason they lost. He sabotaged her team. He took her down. She was going to forgive him for his actions prior, even apologize for being so overly-nosy. But instead, there was one sentence that she could think of saying, and one thing only.
"I'M GOING TO TEAR YOU TO SHREDS!"
The venom practically dripped from the protective leader's mouth as she lunged herself at Xerxes, throwing a very open punch to his head. The falconer noticed it instantly. She was out for blood, maybe more. He blocked the very obvious attack with his left arm. "Ardella, stop before someone gets hurt," he said calmly as he easily blocked her attacks with just the left arm.
"Oh, screw talking," Ardella shot back. "You had your chance. I'm making sure someone gets hurt." She took a few steps back and analyzed her situation. Xerxes was not an average person. He had the height advantage and the strength. She'd have to be more cunning.
Ardella reached down and picked up some dirt and rocks from the ground, and flung all of it at the falconer. Xerxes spat out the bit that got in his mouth and went back to blocking blows. His only job at the moment was to tire her out. "Ardella, stop, this isn't a good idea."
The rage in her eyes didn't simmer for a second. She went for a harsh kick to the stomach, which ended up connecting. Xerxes stumbled back for a second, shaking off having the wind knocked out of him. Before he could fully get back, Ardella rushed forward again, making sure that she would get him down this time. She landed a few punches, but the falconer managed to turn and block them with his left side.
At this point, all of the violence in their fight was starting to startle people in the cave. Yuri could no longer ignore what was happening right in front of them. "I…I need to go!" they shouted desperately, rushing out of the main campsite area.
No one knew where they had run off to. Dante looked around. Zena was protecting Harumi, and Wade was…doing nothing. "I'm going to go after them!" Dante said heroically, and rushed out of the cave as well to stop Yuri from doing anything drastic.
Meanwhile, Ardella was still furiously clawing at Xerxes, her motor not stopping a bit. The falconer thought she would be tired by now, but it simply wasn't the case. Ardella went for another flurry of punches, this time to Xerxes's face. Again, using just his left arm, he blocked them. Ardella let off a cheeky grin as she delivered a swift kick to the falconer's shin.
The slight injury caused Xerxes to pause for a second, and that pause was all Ardella needed. "I GOT YOU!" she shouted furiously, rushing to Xerxes's arm. She grabbed the falconer's right arm and tried to snap it like a pencil.
But, nothing happened.
She kept trying the same motion multiple times. "This is enough force to break a bone!" the protective leader shouted furiously. "Why isn't it working?"
Xerxes sighed. "Because it's not enough force to break a prosthetic." Using his right arm, he pushed Ardella off of him with ease. As she got shoved back, she grabbed a hold of his right glove, pulling it off. Sure enough, instead of a flesh hand, Xerxes's right hand was completely metal.
"Fine, I'll just shatter your legs then!" Ardella decided, going for a huge attack to his knee. Xerxes used his right arm and grabbed Ardella by the neck, stopping her right where she was. "Unhand me, you monster!"
The falconer shook his head. "I tried to get through this without hurting you, but you've crossed the line. Sorry, this ends here." Xerxes tossed Ardella into the cave's wall, leaving her there.
Despite the massive injury she had taken from that, Ardella stood up like there was nothing wrong. The throw did manage to tear a bit of her sweater sleeve, where a bunch of scars could be seen on her upper arm. "I'm…not…done..." She rushed right at Xerxes, who rolled his eyes as he prepared to strike back.
"That's enough."
Zena stepped in the middle of the fight, stopping both of them in their tracks. She shoved both of them on the ground. "Ardella, hurting him does nothing. We can vote him off." She turned to Xerxes. "Sorry, but I'm siding with her on this. You messed up."
Xerxes sighed. "Fair enough. I guess I had that coming." As Xerxes got up and brushed himself off from the scene, he went over to Wade. "What was that about? You set me up!"
Wade shook his head. "My apologies, but did you lose any aspects of your deal? You can easily move teams."
Ardella: "This isn't over," she said with a spiteful tone. "I'm making sure he suffers as long as possible!"
Xerxes: "Clever…by creating a situation where I'm guaranteed to be eliminated, Wade is forcing me to play the idol he selected. I basically have a fifty-fifty shot of being eliminated." He shook his head. "And, to top it off, everyone on my team knows about the arm…oh, except for Dante and Yuri. I wonder where those two went."
Up near the surface of the cave, Yuri just kept running. Far, far, away from that incident that was happening down there. They were sick of it. Sick of the arguing, sick of the fighting, sick of the violence. Maybe a little actual sickness from the violence.
"Why does it always end like this?" they said as they clutched their head. "What do I do to deserve any of this?" They leaned down against the wall at the exit to the cave. "I…I can't do this on my own anymore…"
Put me in.
Despite the hesitation and total stress that was happening at the time, Yuri shook their head. "No…I-I'm fine, just let me be me!"
I'm still you. That's so messed up. Put me in.
"I have to do this on my own!" Yuri shouted, clearly to no one. There was no audible response. Yuri was basically crying at this point. It was clear they couldn't do it. "Fine," Yuri relented. "Get me away from here."
Thought you'd never ask. Let me handle it.
A voice could be heard far away from her. "Yuri?" Dante shouted as loud as he could. "Yuri? I'm worried about you! Please come back!" The harbinger rushed up and down the cave and found nothing. It wasn't until he reached the top that he finally found who he thought he was looking for.
"There you are!" Dante called out desperately. "Yuri, please come back, we can go down and handle things once everyone's cooled off a little."
Dante hesitated for a second when he saw the bookworm lying on the ground. He took a deep breath and reached his arm out to try and get her attention. He figured Yuri just needed to be rattled awake.
Then, his arm was grabbed. "W-what are you doing?"
Dante's face looked up to see who he thought was Yuri, except this was not the same Yuri he was used to. This one had wide eyes that sharply contrasted Yuri's glossy ones, and most notably of all, a very sinister grin. "Putting your hands on me?" she asked with an extremely seductive tone. "This quickly? I thought you were a better person than that." She put on a very fake frown. "I don't know if Yuri would like that very much. I don't care though."
The harbinger couldn't grasp what was happening. "Yuri, w-what's going on?"
The silver-haired person retracted her arm, a look of disgust appearing on her face. "Yuri? You think I'm…" 'Yuri' began to laugh for a bit, until that laugh erupted into some freakish mix between a howl and a cackle. "Oh my god! The little squirt didn't tell you about me! How rude!"
Dante was in complete disbelief. His brain at the time just was not functioning. Nothing looked real. His mind was freezing up.
'Yuri' tossed off her red cardigan and unbuttoned the top button of her purple shirt. "And here I thought Yuri really liked you!" she taunted, standing up and walking right toward Dante. "Didn't my little friend give you any hints? C'mon, I bet you even know my name. I'm Yuri's shield that they call on when they need me."
Dante thought as much as he could for a second. "The Irish folklore shield that can be called upon…Ochain."
Ochain giggled. "Aww, look at you, you little smarty pants!" By this point, Dante had backed all the way into the wall, where Ochain had him pinned up. She ruffled his hair. "I changed my mind. I'll head back down. If they're still fighting, maybe they'll get a few hits in on me before it's over!"
"W-what?" Dante asked, confused. "But why would you want to get hit?"
Ochain deadpanned at Dante. "C'mon, what do shields do? They take hits! It's literally my job! When little ol' Yuri can't handle it no more, I go up to bat and take the hits they can't!" Unlike Yuri, Ochain's Texan accent was a bit more apparent. She finally gave Dante a second to breathe. "Alright, let's head down!"
"No!" Dante called out, stopping Ochain for just a second. "Yuri-" As soon as he said that name, the dazzling nymph shot him a dirty look. "S-sorry, Ochain. You can't go down there yet. The others…they don't know about you either, and I don't want to see you get hurt!"
The dazzling nymph sighed. "Well, pumpkin', I don't know what to tell you. Yuri's not ready to come back out. Odds are I will probably get to vote tonight!" She sighed. "But, while I love to cause chaos, I'm not hurting Yuri. Lemme know when they do introduce me though, cutie."
Ochain walked over to the cave entrance again and threw on the cardigan again. "There. Now I at least look like them enough. Slap a book in my hand, and I can talk all boring, or not at all." She adopted Yuri's typical glossy expression and let out an exasperated sigh. "Can we go back now? I'm making no promises on whether or not I get hit. That's like, my favorite thing to do."
At this point, Dante was just happy that Yuri wasn't going to be out in the dark by themselves, even if someone else was taking over for now. "Yeah, thank you…"
Dante: "That was really scary…" Dante said. "I guess that's why Yuri was so mad at me. I basically said it would be cool if Ochain was always around. They just…never told me! I guess I would be hesitant to tell people about that too." He sighed. "I don't know what to do. Yuri is my friend, they really are. But…Ochain scares me. She said she likes getting hit."
Ochain: "Oooh, this is exciting!" she gushed. "My first confessional! Let me make one thing very clear. If anyone tries to touch Yuri, I'll ruin them. That much I can say for certain. If people try to touch me, things might go way better for them. I'm gonna take some of these people and put them through as much pain as possible!" she laughed hysterically. "Not Dante, though. He's too much of a cutie."
Back at the campsite, by the time Dante and Ochain arrived back, no one had anything to say. Ardella had shut herself in her tent, Wade sat outside, observing, and Zena was off on her own too. It was clear the chaos from the fight broke everyone's spirits. "This is boring," Ochain quietly pouted. "I was hoping they'd still be hitting each other."
Dante shot her a harsh look, which let Ochain snap back into focus. "Whatever," she said. "I'm hanging out in my tent until we vote someone off, unless you wanna come in?" Dante shook his head. "Fine. Oh! I wanted to ask. Who actually hit Trinity? Was it really Xerxes?"
Dante shook his head. "No, it actually wasn't. I think he really did what happened today though." He shook his head. "I have no clue who I'm voting for."
Dante: "I think I have to vote Ochain off," he mentioned. "I don't want to vote off Yuri, but Ochain's going to be a huge problem…we have enough of those already."
Wade was still attentively outside Ardella's tent. "Lady Ardella, I wish to speak with you."
"You can't," Ardella sulked. "Unless you are here to tell me that Xerxes is going to go home."
"I assure you that it will happen," Wade confirmed. "I heard that you were not his actual target. He had other intentions to eliminate someone else. I am afraid those may have changed." He sighed. "Regardless, know that you have my loyalty. I can be your sword that vanquishes evil."
Ardella scoffed. "I'm my own sword. I'm taking out that metal-armed brat and making him pay for causing my team so much suffering. I can't believe he even lied about the Trinity incident!" She buried her face in her pillow. "Thank you, Wade. I know that you are honest. It's nice to have at least one person who's actually on my side."
"I appreciate the compliment," Wade said gracefully. "You should know that I will stay on your side. I will remove any threat you say. All you have to do is ask." Ardella gave off a dark smirk. "But first," Wade continued, "let's exterminate that pest from our team once and for all."
Wade: "I had an interesting day," Wade mused. "Today, I set up Xerxes to flip a coin, much like the girl he lied about. I have no clue which idol I selected. That will be fun to see. Then, I exposed him. I made him everyone's enemy. Learning about that arm was a special treat too. Yuri also seemed out-of-sorts. Another investigation." He chuckled. "Finally, Ardella depends on me, and only me. She has lost everything else in her head. Whoever I say goes, she gets rid of me. I'm not so much her sword as she is mine. I basically own her."
"Make no mistake," Wade said. "I am a friend- sorry, force of habit. I am a fiend to good. By hearing me 'mess up' those heroic lines, they felt safe. They think they see through me. By shedding one layer, I concealed myself even better." He laughed. "I am the best strategist this game has ever seen. All because I stayed up late two nights to see Ushi with some idols. These fools will crumble beneath me. I swear to Satan himself that I can do it."
Xerxes sat alone in the cave, well, almost alone. There was only one person cheery enough to stand by him, even now. "You really screwed this one up, Xerky," Harumi said, a neutral expression on her face. "Still, I'm sorry The Della lashed out at you. I don't know if you deserve to be torn to shreds."
"Eh, she still made a solid scratch on my coat," the falconer mentioned. Harumi glanced over to see Xerxes's metal arm now exposed through the torn coat. "Sorry I lied about this, and sorry I lied about the arm, and for what it's worth, sorry for lying about the Trinity incident."
Harumi giggled. "Zena shared that with me already, I know it wasn't really you who did that." She sighed. "But…I'm sorry, I think I'm siding with Zena and The Della on this one. I gotta vote you out." She couldn't stop looking at the metal arm. "Can…can I ask? Was it a bird-related incident or like, a regular one?"
That question ended up making Xerxes let out a small chuckle. "What a weird way to ask that, but it actually was bird-related." Harumi looked surprised. She was just joking. "I had an accident commanding a newer bird to take off my arm, and it quite literally took off my arm. And, I used her to throw the challenge today."
"I guess we all get to let her take an arm off of us," Harumi said with a giggle. "Well, I'll miss ya, Xerky. You're the only other person who moved to America recently to know what it's like. It'll be way grumpier without ya here."
Xerxes smiled. "I appreciate that. I really thought that Wade wouldn't sell me out, but I guess that's that."
"Attention, happy family known as the Buried Snakes!" Chris announced, completely unaware of how false that statement was now. "It's officially time to vote out your first member! Head on down to the beach, make your vote, and we'll get this show on the road!"
Harumi: "Xerky seems a little too complacent. I hope he just accepted he's losing and he doesn't have an idol. How crazy would that be?" She gasped. "What if I go home? That won't happen…I hope." Her confidence disappeared at the end of that sentence.
Xerxes: "My original plan was to try and vote Zena off since she's a threat," the falconer stated bluntly. "But Harumi is my friend, and Zena is her…I think they're just friends, at least." He scoffed. "Plus, screw that. Ardella tried to kill me. She's gone."
The Buried Snakes appeared at the beach at night for the first time since they had arrived. They were in complete shambles. Wade was still hard to read, but there was a definitive smirk underneath the mask. Xerxes had a neutral expression, while Zena and Harumi looked more nervous than anything. Dante seemed to be a nervous wreck. Ochain had a big grin of excitement, and Ardella could barely hold her face up.
Once they all sat down, Chris got out six marshmallows. "Welcome, Buried Snakes, to your first elimination ceremony. Before we begin, let's talk a bit, because you all look like you're a mess." He turned to the worst-looking member of the Snakes. "Ardella, what's up with your team?"
"What's up is that we have a filthy traitor who's only in one piece now because he had a part ripped off a while ago," Ardella spat. None of it was pretty.
Harumi giggled to try and break the tension. "We had a little issue today, but I think we worked out a solution. We won't have this issue tomorrow, and we'll be right back to winning!"
Chris glanced over to Xerxes. "Looks like they know about the arm now, huh?" Xerxes gave off a shrug. Dante and Ochain looked pretty surprised to see the metal arm. They hadn't seen it before. Chris shifted his attention. "Yuri, how were things today?"
Ochain snapped out of trance mode for a quick second. "Huh? Um…I don't know, I just read and stuff, like I normally do." Some people seemed to not believe that act, especially Dante. Luckily, there were other fish to fry..
Chris laughed. "Well, that's fun. All of you have had an interesting day. Let me remind you how this works. I'm gonna read out the names of who is safe, and once they start being read, we're silent. Once I stop, whoever does not get a marshmallow is sent to the Submarine of Shame, where Chef will send you off of the island."
Chris looked around. "Before I start reading, if anyone has any idol they would like to play, you play it now. If you have the vote steal idol, you announce whose vote you are stealing and what name you are replacing it with."
Silence filled the space for a second before someone stood up.
"I have an idol I'd like to play."
Xerxes held up the idol that was shaped like a hand holding the number '3'. Chris looked very interested in that play. "Xerxes has handed over a team swap idol! The question is, is the idol real? If it is fake, the vote stops instantly, and Xerxes goes home." He took a second to investigate the idol behind a curtain. Chris then returned with the verdict. "This is…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…a real idol!"
"You can't be serious!" Ardella spat. "He needs to go! He deserves it!"
Xerxes glared at her. "You sit there like you don't want to win. If you really wanted this 'happy family' to survive, you would have eliminated yourself. See you soon." Out of options, Ardella hung her head in shame.
Chris grinned. "Xerxes, well played. Grab your things and head up to the Sky Zone. You're a Soaring Falcon now. You can take Matt or Trinity's tent." Without another word, Xerxes disappeared into the jungle, safe from the vote.
Chris looked at the six marshmallows on the plate. "Well, one of these has to go now." He picked the first marshmallow up and tossed it into the fire. "So, now one of you will go home, because I think we all saw the Xerxes elimination coming. "Out of the six of you, the first person to get a marshmallow will be Wade!"
The satanist grabbed his marshmallow with a sinister grin. Ardella had a sigh of relief seeing that at least he was safe. "Also safe, without any votes against them are Dante and Harumi!" The harbinger looked a bit unimpressed to get a marshmallow. As it flew in his direction, he instinctively swatted it away, sending it right at Ochain.
Ochain grabbed it in the air and flung it back. "Save the fun for later, cutie," she whispered seductively. Meanwhile, Harumi got her marshmallow, happy to hear she was still safe.
Three marshmallows went out, and only two were left to have, and by the way Chris put it, it sounded like everyone got votes. Ochain, Zena, and Ardella sat and waited to hear what happened. Ochain looked shocked to be there, as did Zena. Ardella did not look surprised, and seemed to be ready for a loss. "Yuri, you're safe." Ochain caught the marshmallow and smirked, taking a needlessly big bite to eat the whole thing.
Suddenly, it was down to two. Zena looked apprehensive about her survival. Ardella looked so sad just being there. "Zena, we heard you caused quite the incident yesterday, and Ardella, we heard you caused quite the incident today. Who's it gonna be?" Chris held up the final marshmallow. "The third person eliminated from Total Drama Diairesi Island…
…
…
…
…
…
…
…Zena." Harumi gasped at the result, and Ardella just looked absolutely crushed. She couldn't even move at that point.
"Wow, I really didn't think I'd go this early," Zena mentioned. "Huh." She looked at Harumi. "Sorry I couldn't stay longer. I'll see you soon, okay? Win for me."
The weather girl held back a tear. "Yeah…I can keep going. Can…I have a hug before you go?" Zena instantly embraced the Japanese teen. "That's nice…I'm gonna need another one of those soon."
With that, Zena made her way to the submarine and gave one final wave to Harumi before disappearing from the game. "Well, that looks like it was a shocker," Chris mused. "Head on back. You're all safe, for now." The Buried Snakes, now down two members, made their hike back. Wade smirked behind all of them.
Wade: "I guess it was a real idol," he mused. "I suppose that is fine. Xerxes and Zena were the two largest physical threats in the game. Xerxes will surely be voted out when the Falcons lose next, Zena is now gone. But…I can only assume that Xerxes did not vote for Zena like he originally planned. I needed at least two votes if she didn't tie with Ardella. Who could have done it?"
Ochain: "Big strong girl is outta here!" she cheered. "So didn't know that she and Harumi were a thing. Cool reveal. Anyway, I'm quite the little schemer myself. But who could have joined me?"
After a grueling hike up the hill of the Sky Zone, Xerxes encountered the Soaring Falcons all relaxing by the fire. They seemed in total peace. "Um," he said, clearing his throat and making them all look his way. "I'm…I'm over here now. I used an idol."
"Woah," was all Oscar had to say. "Talk about a wackoroony event! Ya scurd bein' one o' us, or ya gonna be cool?"
Xerxes laughed. "I'll be fine. You can't possibly be worse than the team I was just on." He walked over and joined them all at the fire, which illuminated the tear on his sleeve.
"What happened over there?" Caia asked inquisitively "I thought you were all a happy family over there. Also, what's up with the arm? Who got eliminated?"
Vi sighed. "Caia, do not pester him after his long hike here. I am sure our new teammate is tired."
"You can ignore Caia most of the time, she's gonna pester you with questions no matter what," Ushi commented. This was the first time Xerxes had seen the Filipino teen awake without any assistance.
Xerxes rolled up the torn sleeve to reveal the metal arm for those who couldn't see it. "I told Harumi the story, if you want it, ask her. But…I don't know who got eliminated. I voted for Ardella, since she's the reason my coat's all shredded."
Ike sighed. "Well, it looks like you got exposed," he pointed out. "Shame. My plan was to try and knock her out. Maybe it still happened." He shrugged. "But, look at you! You finally got on the Falcons. Welcome home."
"Things are heating up for our Snakes!" Chris said with a devious grin. "How will Yuri handle Ochain's appearance? How will Dante recover from Ochain's appearance? How will Ardella recover…period? And can the Snakes really win after they were beaten down this badly? Find out next time, on Total! Drama! Diairesi Island!"
Votes:
Ardella: "He earned this. If I can't snap his legs, I'll snap his chances of winning. I vote for Xerxes."
Dante: "This is so stressful…I sort of want to vote Xerxes since he threw the challenge, but Ochain scares me too much. I have to vote for Yuri…I'm sorry."
Harumi: "Yeowch…what a day. I guess this one's pretty easy. Sorry, Xerky, you did lose us the game. The Della's sad now because of you. Doesn't excuse what she did, but no way am I not siding with her. I can't fight her."
Wade: "A flawless execution today. I didn't expect Ardella to crumble so well. She has a rocky past, and I'll extract that from her. For now, I eliminate a threat while I can. I vote for Zena."
Xerxes: "This plan was stupid, this whole day was stupid. Screw strategy. Ardella, you're gone."
Yuri (Ochain): "Ain't this a fun twist? I get to vote! Well, Yuri needs threats gone, and Zena, that's you! Sorry, well, not really. Bye-bye!"
Zena: "I thought we'd get along better, and I guess we did. But, you messed up today. Sorry, Xerxes, may the best Greek win."
Total: Xerxes (3), Zena (2), Ardella (1), Yuri (1)
Eliminated:
Zenovia "Zena" Exitium, The Counterplayer (12th)
Current Teams:
Buried Snakes: Ardella, Dante, Harumi, Wade, Yuri/Ochain
Soaring Falcons: Caia, Ike, Oscar, Ushi, Vi, Xerxes
Okay, get a snack or something, there is a lot to unpack in this episode, and I'm here to guide you through it. Somehow the episode with the Harumi confession and Oscar's backstory has like eight more important things going on. But, just like I predicted, this chapter is longer than before! We finished at 23k for this one! I thought it'd be longer honestly, but I guess throwing the challenge made it end abruptly.
Today's episode featured the elimination of Zena Exitium: The Counterplayer. While I think it was pretty obvious that the idol would be real, the real twist was who got the second most amount of votes. We see Xerxes vote for Ardella, and Dante vote for Yuri, so obviously it's led to believe that it would be one of those two. If you look closely, Ochain asks about who caused the incident with Trinity. In the end, Zena takes the fall. If you felt like the Zena/Harumi plot was rushed, that's because it needed to be, since Zena is gone now. She was always a character who would not get far. I think in a very early draft, she made it to 10th, but there were so many other things going around.
Unlike before, this episode had THREE major scenes instead of just the one. The first was the easiest to write, which was the Hilltop Deal. I wanted Ushi involved in this one to show that they were cunning too. This one was just fun. Four of the smartest characters this season were negotiating around Xerxes, who the deal was about in the first place.
Scene two was the toughest to write from a narrative standpoint, and that was the Xerxes / Ardella fight. Unlike other fights I have written like the first Power Peak challenge, or the Wrath Challenge fight in that season's final three, this one was hostile. Ardella was angry. So despite her being a really good fighter, I had her movements way more erratic and vicious. We also learn that Xerxes has a metal arm. This isn't hinted anywhere before, but on my server, I do use a robot arm emoji in one of his indexes.
Finally, the final scene was the introduction to Ochain. A proper DID character was something I always wanted to try my hand at, and Yuri ended up being the one who earned that spot in the end. Naturally, this means that their backstory is littered with trauma, and we'll get it eventually. This was hinted at. Ochain's trigger is when there is violence or the result of violence, and the fight was more than enough to trigger her. In episode 1, Yuri notices the injury on their head and then asks Dante to leave. In episode 2, Yuri leaves the scene before witnessing anything, and tells Ardella "I'm still me". For narrative clarity, Yuri uses they/she pronouns, and Ochain uses she/her, so while I am writing Yuri, I will always use "they", and while I am writing Ochain, I will always use "she", just for clarity's sake. I will talk more about the name's etymology in a later episode where there's less to say.
So…with all that out of the way, what did you think of today? I know some of the scenes were pretty heavy, but things will definitely be a bit lighter next time. What did you think of Zena? Who do you think is going to be eliminated next? I would love to hear your thoughts in the reviews, especially on this episode specifically. Thank you so much if you made it through all those notes. I will see you next time!
