Ticket here! Welcome back to another episode of Second Chance. It's Top Ten Time, and this road to the end only gets hectic from here. This isn't Crazytown, but judging from how some of these players feel, you'd think they took a short trip before flying out.
Enjoy :)
Castaways: Chun-Li, Cyrax, Diana, Gordon, Little Mac, Princess Peach, Sackboy, Sektor, Slade, and T'Challa
Jury: Metal Sonic
EPISODE NINE: GOODNIGHT, MY SWEET PRINCE
Merged Tribe
Night 23
A roach has finally been eliminated from the competition. Now, with them gone, the game can open up a bit more. It's not a very hot beginning for one Gordon Ramsay, who looks so disappointed by the outcome.
"We're still here to play." Gordon comments, a little passive aggressive. First Tribal of the merge, an ally gets idoled out. Then, another alliance flips the script to keep his target safe. An unfortunate series of events for the chef.
Gordon: Getting blindsided is an everyday thing. This merge has been sh*t..but know what? I have an excuse to get the cyborgs out of here. Our golden boy thought it'd be fun to veto me. OK. Welcome back to the frontline jackass.
It's a miracle he hasn't ripped a tree from it's roots yet.
Speaking of a cyborg, Sektor decides to trash Metal after the attempted betrayal..in front of everyone. Some may say he's at least being honest. "Metal believed he was the puppet master. I am no one's puppet."
Diana drops in. "So you admit you used him."
"He used EVERYONE. I only pretended to be his pawn." Sektor reveals..
Judging from Diana's look, she's a skeptic. "Well at least you don't have that weight on your shoulders."
In confessional, the light in Sektor's eyes dim.
Sektor: I'm insulted that clone actually believed he could use me. That alliance was mutually beneficial, but when my trust is broken, you never get it back. Had he survived, I would have gone on a rampage.
Given that three names went out, Sektor, and yes Slade, meet up again. After Metal's efforts to pit them against each other failed, they have to prepare for island life after his departure. Slade starts by letting Sektor know about Metal's bus throwing.
"He told me TWO minutes before Tribal. He wanted us distracted." Slade comments. "Put me in a bad position too."
"He stated the same five minutes before Tribal." Another lie from Sektor. "I didn't have time to piece a plan together even if I wanted to."
Slade nods, pretending to be at peace with this. "He was good at manipulation."
"Did you vote for him too?"
"Of course."
Cut to Slade's confessional.
Slade:We're both lying here..but I'll never turn down an alliance again. I don't need pacifists, I need aggressors, I need to steal more dramatic people to shield me. Sektor is on an island by himself, but we can come back together and run through them all. Gordon. Cyrax. Prince. Everyone.
The two decide to shake on it. Shockingly, there's no fingers crossed. It's like business as usual to these people.
"No more double crossing?" Slade asks.
"It is only ok when we do it to others."
Slade can be heard exhaling. "I love this style."
Sektor: We are the outsiders moving forward. I WILL bring Slade to the finale, due to the fact anyone is a jury threat compared to us. Our best chance is against each other.
Sektor isn't the only one who's miffed about what happened. One Diana Prince KNOWS for a fact that Gordon wants some explaining. She decides to try some damage control, and tries the peaceful approach.
"If what i did bothered you, let me know now." She opens. "I'm ready to talk about it."
Gordon clicks his tongue. "Just a tad confused. Sektor's been a prick to us for weeks. He drags our names through the mud constantly. He can win challenges if they suit him. What changed your mind?"
"After the challenge, I remembered WHY everyone came in wary of him." Decent lying on her part. "If we kept him in, he could have gone on a serious immunity run. You said we can take him out later, but later may never have been."
Gordon nods, but still has a little sour look in his eyes. "I just wish you told me. I would have changed my vote."
She sets a hand on his shoulder. "I am genuinely sorry, Gordon. But you had tunnel vision.."
That chef can't even deny it. "I do.."
Gordon: I couldn't flip my shit. Shane tore his whole group apart because of how he acted. I NEED my group now because Cyrax pulled a fast one. Four votes went to Metal that shouldn't have. I'm feeling VERY petty, and I'm making sure a cyborg leaves tonight. Idol or not.
Given his confessional, Gordon backs his words up. "I get why you did it. I don't agree with it, but I don't have a problem with you. If I were you I'd have done it too."
Diana tenses down. "I'm glad bitterness isn't blinding us. Metal's gone. Cyrax is open. If you want to make a power move..I'm in."
"Wars back on." Gordon declares, putting a smile on both faces.
While Gordon decides to go on the offensive, Diana gets airtime to explain.
Diana: If Gordon blew up at me, we'd get into a shouting match then and there. It's good he knows how to compose himself. Even he knows that being angry all the time would screw him over. Even though we are still working together, i'm working in my own path to the end, and Metal isn't anywhere close to it. He had to go. I'm not playing the Gordon game, I'm playing mine, and if we are going back to war, I'll change things along the way.
Merged Tribe
Day 24
The crew captures an unlikely pair just sitting around: Deathstroke and Sackboy. Sackboy, being himself, decides to keep the topic lighthearted. "Any special days coming up?"
"Birthday was back in July. No time to celebrate it though."
His answer has the innocent sack confused. "Huh? You don't celebrate your birthday..at all? That's so sad…
Slade's eyes soften up, as if he's talking to a child. Well.. "Gotham is a sad place. There's so much going on that nobody has any time to celebrate anything. At least in my field."
Sackboy frowns at the confession. From the little he knows about this Deathstroke's place, is it's not fun. Why not make it better? "We aren't in Gotham, there's SOMETHING we can do right?"
That one question tips him off instantly. "..what are you planning?"
Sackboy covers his mouth. "Can't tell."
Sackboy: A lot of people care about the game, but no one should feel lonely because of it. He just lost someone but he's not mean about it. Everyone deserves to feel included. Everytime someone cried about feeling alone, I just wanted to jump through the screen and hug them.
Given how there's no reward challenge that day, Sackboy decides to scramble around the island and get planning. It doesn't take long for the cool-headed folks to just go along with it. There's no game to it, so why not?
They all, even Sektor, gather by the shore. It's actually Sektor's job to fetch him. Once Slade sees the surprise..he doesn't even know how to react. "What is all this?"
Sackboy holds up a mud cake. "We're up for lost time!" He has the most genuine smile on that Slade has ever seen. He could never see anything happy in Gotham.
Sackboy: Seeing how shocked he was..made me even happier :D . I love birthdays, even if they're four months late!
Slade sits in front his all new mud cake, with little sticks made out to be candles. He just looks completely out of it as Sackboy shouts "hooray."
"It's gourmet." Slade comments, dipping a finger in it.
Chun-Li smiles at this whole situation. "Bless your heart, Sackboy."
"Bless the lack of mine." Slade adds.
Oh stop being dark." Chun retorts. "Ogle the mud-cake."
Slade: A sentient sack threw me a party…
He just throws his hands up.
Slade: If there's one thing I can say about him: He would be perfect for the hosting industry. Surprised he hasn't gotten many offers. Keep him away from Gotham and he'll be fine.
There's more confessionals to go around from this little party, including another from Chun-Li.
Chun-Li: I would love to see his reaction to Craftworld. When I first saw it, i described it as cartoony. Deadpool would love it. Maybe that's why Deathstroke won't.
Speaking of the woman who just got a confessional, she's on the move today as well. She and Peach are making beads at the shelter, having that space for themselves. Peach smiles at her work, a head covered in a pink/white color scheme.
"I can sell these around town. A different color for each Toad.." Peach fantasizes, always keeping her people in mind.
"That would be a great business model." Chun-Li adds. She's casual for now, but her intentions are made clear in another confession.
Chun-Li: Cyrax just lead a big move against the-bot-previously-known-as "the biggest threat." He's number one on hitlists inside, AND outside the game. Those bullets will richochet to me eventually, so I need to strengthen my alliances that don't involve him. I'd love to work with Cyrax deep into this game, but he'll sink me if I stay too loyal.
She takes basically those exact words, and gives the spiel to Peach. She frowns, but doesn't go ballistic. "I understand..as kind as he is, we can't afford to stand by him forever. What will come of Sackboy?"
"He'll stay with us after I explain it to him." Chun-Li reassures. "He's stuck by my side longer."
Peach ties some string up, bending her creation. "It's a shame we can't stay a four forever..but the alliances have gotten more, how do I say: fluid recently."
Princess Peach: I don't like betraying people who haven't wronged me. Cyrax hasn't done anything wrong to me, but if what Li's saying is correct: staying attached to him forever will wrong us. It's not fun being in this situation. I've lost countless allies! I want stability in this game. At least I will get tokeep Sackboy and Li around though. Ones an open book, the other more closed, but both are sweet when you get to know them.
Their peace is interrupted when Gordon walks in, and sees them at work. He doesn't open with an insult though, which is rare for a betrayed Chef. "Looks nice."
"We've tried to find a string long enough, but luckily Li has them." Peach explains. "Would you like one?"
"My daughter would love one."
Peach smiles at the request, and Li actually gets to work on it. She does see Gordon glimpse at her, but there's not much friendliness in the eyes. Guy composes himself though. It's just that she can see through his mask.
Chun-Li: Gordon doesn't forget if you wrong him. We were in charge of Loabi, I've been around him enough to know. When he tried to be cordial with the Black Dragon, I could see how he really felt. He doesn't trust me anymore, and if Cyrax wins immunity, I'm feeling the pressure for the first time this season.
Her intuition would be correct, because the SECOND they leave..Gordon pounces on Cyrax's bag like a hyena. He's READY to take that cyborg down.
"Gotta have somethin'.." he mutters, digging through what remains in there.
Gordon: I woke up and said "fuck it", let's see what he's got. He's gotten the jump on me too much.
No matter where Gordon digs, he can't find anything of substance. No idols to snitch about. No hidden advantages to spread everywhere. "Nothing? Thought he'd have at least a paper in here.." There is a less than zero percent chance of luck in his search.
With nothing else to do, the chef accepts it and just sets the bag back where it was. "Damn shame that." Gordon wipes his hands clean, and leaves the shelter. No dice for his search. Footsteps make Gordon scurry away.
Before the source is revealed, Gordon gets another confessional.
Gordon: If he doesn't have an idol NOW, he'll get one later. If Cyrax thinks four steps ahead, I'll think five. You don't get off the hook.
After Gordon's sudden disappearance, CYRAX notices his bag tilted a little to the left. Taking precautions, he opens it up and just stares. His next words sum up his thoughts on the discovery perfectly.
"You are not subtle."
Cyrax: Chef Ramsay has gone feral. You understand how desperate he is when he goes through my belongings…or lack thereof. If this island wants to go against me, I will power through like I always have.
The Gordon vs Cyrax rivalry is BACK on, after a hiatus due to certain moments, and they've wasted no time escalating this. From Cyrax's calculated betrayal last time, to Gordon breathing down the cyborg's neck. This island isn't big enough for the both of them, but there's still a lot of big threats, and pariah's around. This island is overcrowded lol.
The next episode features more conspiracy, a small reward challenge, and new targets getting pinned on the board. The bloodbath has not stopped yet :)