Review Time:

Demdrops - I'll appreciated you even making commissions based off the fic! Thanks!

Strange Toast - as it would XD

Anime Borat - I realize I've come such a long way, that there are scenes with character development/bonding. This fic really has become something more, something special. And technically, it's not a new game per SE...

Chapter 35 - AGDQ

Yukari Tanizaki's eyes shot open when her alarm went off.

"Today's the day….TODAY'S THE DAY!" She shot out of bed and stuffed stuff from her closet into a suitcase. After that, she ran around the house, getting ready. Her mother walked in on her brushing her teeth.

"Yukari dear, your trip is today?"

"Yeah Mom! I have to head to the airport. I'll be back in a few days."

"Well have fun. Where we will see you?"

Yukari spat into the sink. "I've tried to explain how to use the computer for weeks! Just wait when I come back." She grinned at her reflection. She was so excited!

XXXXX

Chiyo was slumbering peacefully when the very loud horn of Yukari's car made her gasp and wake up with a shout.

"Oh….Mr. Tadakichi, it's today!"

XXXXX

Tomo was already waiting outside, just as excited. She jumped in the passanger seat, not taking notice of how frazzled Chiyo already looked by Yukari's driving.

"C'mon Yukari! We're gonna be late!"

"Tomo…..your suitcase is empty."

"I need to fill it with gift shop stuff! C'mon, let's go to Yomi's!"

XXXXX

Yomi was eating her breakfast when she heard the door slam open. She didn't even need to look. She could hear Tomo's shoes squeak up the stairs, run into her room, grab all of her stuff, and then race to the kitchen.

"HURRY UP YOMI! WE NEED TO GO!"

"I'm eating, Tomo."

"You can pig out on America's food!" said the wildcat, throwing Yomi's breakfast into the trash. Tomo dragged Yomi of the chair without any chance to argue.

XXXXX

Sakaki was waiting on her home's front porch when Yukari pulled up.

"Sakaki! You ready?"

"Mm-hmm. Kaorin will watch Mayaa for me." She put her case of things in the back, and got inside the car….wincing on how pale Chiyo was and how green Yomi looked.

XXXXX

Kagura was sleepily rubbing her eyes outside when the Yukarimobile pulled up. Tomo honked the horn, of course.

"Alright stop! You'll wake my parents up! Argh…."

XXXXX

Then there was Osaka, whom was still sleeping when Yukari stopped. The Osakan thought she would have time to pack everything but she slept through her alarm.

SLAM

"OSAKA! WAKE UP!"

"Huh….?" Osaka blinked. "Oh no….sensei's in my room…..another nightmare again…sorry, Miss Yukari, I didn't study…."

Yukari yanked Osaka out of bed, ran out of the house, and threw her in the backseat. Right on top of Chiyo, Sakaki, Yomi, and Kagura.

"WE'RE HERE!" Yukari shouted once she pulled the car into the airport parking lot. One by one, her dizzy students got out of the car and got their luggage….except Osaka, who was still in her PJs. "Relax Osaka, we can buy you new stuff IN AMERICA!"

"Where's this thing again?" Kagura asked.

"Virginia! It's the eastern U.S so our flight's gonna be a little long….we'll arrive early so I can practice!" Yukari flashed the tickets at the front desk. "Right, the gate's that way….here's the plan! We'll go through security. Tomo, you're in charge with getting us snacks. Chiyo, you make sure I have a good seat on the plane. And OSAKA!"

The Osakan was snoring. "Guh, huh? Yeah, Miss Yukari?"

"You do not sit next to me. You drool in your sleep."

XXXX

Within the hour they had taken off, en route to the convention. Yukari sat next to the window with Chiyo on her left, while behind them was Tomo and Osaka. To Chiyo's right, in the middle aisle, was Yomi, Kagura, and Sakaki.

"Miss Yukari, are you nervous?"

"Nervous? Me? HA! I'm going to deliver a fantastic run. It's gonna be on the internet Chiyo, so you'll need to mind the others. You're in charge with chiming in with the most amount of info I can't explain."

"Right! As part of the…..um, what was it again?"

Yukari groaned. "The couch! In these things, the couch is the runner's crew, their backup, their support! The audience needs to be drawn to my every button press! Remember, we're going for Any% Glitchless. Quick tell me what that means!"

"Uh, uh….you're going to race to the end of the game, but no glitches allowed!"

The teacher stood up and looked to her back. "Tomo, can you tell me what version we're going to play on?"

"Uhhh…..English?"

"NO! Japanese version because text loads faster! You need to save every literal second you can!" She looked to Osaka. "Tell me the code for the inverted song of time?"

"Uhhhh…pass!"

"C down, A, C right, C down, A, C right! THIS IS REQUIRED!"

"Geez, Yukari, you're really worried about messing up?" Kagura asked from the aisle.

"Well…this is my big break, girls!" Yukari sat back down. "I know I'll never be a professional gamer or whatever, but it's good to put my video game knowledge to something worthwhile….getting tons of e-fame and promotion…."

"Don't you mean earning money for cancer research?" Yomi asked.

"Yeah, yeah, that too!"

Unfortunately, everyone (but Yukari) was extremely groggy once they had gotten off the plane. Japan to the eastern U.S was a VERY long flight, and it had taken them 13 hours.

"Half a day on the freaking plane!" Tomo moaned. "Yukari, when does the fun of this trip start?" She looked back to the other girls; Sakaki and Kagura had to carry the sleeping Osaka.

"Don't worry, you girls will have time to unwind a bit. Let's take a rental car to the convention. I'll drive!"

"NO!" They all shouted.

"No?"

Pale as a ghost, Chiyo was already dialing the number of a taxi service.

XXXXX

"WE'RE HERE!"

"Upup!" Yukari grabbed Tomo's collar before she could get out of the car. "Remember, girls, we're representing Japanese society by coming here. Make sure you don't embarrass the country, and more importantly, me. Make sure your English is top notch!"

"Um, Miss Yukari…..i think the driver wants you to pay the fare."

"Right right." ["So how about them, uh….Yankees? Cowabunga!"] Yukari laughed as she pulled out her wallet. The driver just looked mystified. "Eh, must be a guy from Germany or something."

Eventually the gang got out and just looked at the hotel. It was big, and already the potential speedrunners were heading in.

"Oh my god…..alright, let's check in!"

Yukari and the girls were all given passes and room keys. Everyone looked excited once they stepped into their rooms. Chiyo shared one with Osaka, Tomo with Yomi, Sakaki with Kagura, and Yukari had a deluxe suite all to herself.

"Alright girls, rest up, do whatever you want to do. I'm gonna conk out for about nine hours or so."

"But Miss Yukari, don't you need to practice?"

"I have plenty of time to do that! I've got two days. Look…." Yukari showed off the game schedule. "You can even sit in and watch some of the other runs! Just be quiet Tomo."

"HEY! Why just me?"

"Because I'd rather not get banned! Now scram, I need some beauty sleep! ….Call me if you run into any trouble. ….or don't."

Yukari slammed her door and jumped onto her bed. It was relaxing, so comfortable….until she heard the door open and someone crawl in besides her.

"…..Osaka."

"Yeah Miss Yukari?"

"…touch the minibar and you're dead." She shut the light.

Because it was January, Tomo was disappointed she couldn't take a jump in the hotel pool….well, Sakaki had to stop her regardless. Chiyo patted her friend on the back.

"Why don't we watch a run, Tomo? They're running Mario 64, remember us playing that a while back?"

"Hmph….alright. But I'm stepping in if the runner is unable to perform."

Sakaki sweatdropped. "I think they have contingencies…."

Quickly they made their way into the room where it was being run. They took their seats in the back row, while the runner was about to start.

"Remember Tomo, no talking. It'll ruin the concentration!"

"I know! Geez…."

The trio watched the run begin, from the runner explaining the goals, his couchmates tuning in….and Mario was off to the races! It was an Any% run with glitches.

"Wha…."

"No way….."

Tomo looked like a fish. "HOW did he do that?! Mario just clipped through that wall! What, he's not playing the courses in order!"

["You girls speak English?"] asked someone next to them. ["You sound amazed."]

Now all three looked like a fish, but Chiyo cleared her throat. ["We do, we're visiting from Japan, someone we know is going to run Majora's Mask. How is the runner doing this?"]

["Oh standard skips, he's done in a million times before on stream. He's shooting for a world record, sub 6 minutes and 40 seconds."]

["SIX MINUTES?!"] Tomo yelled embarrassingly loud in English. She didn't understand as much as Chiyo did but she got that part. Sensing some looks their way, Sakaki covered Tomo's mouth and mouthed an apology.

["Oh, you girls must be new to these types of things. Your runner is doing a what? Any%?"]

["Y-Yes, but there's no glitches!"] Chiyo whispered.

["I see. Well, best of luck to her!"]

Tomo groaned. "Yukari's taking the harder route, huh?"

"I wouldn't be so sure, Tomo." Sakaki was watching the run carefully. "It seems if you mess up on these glitches, you lose a lot of time in the run. Miss Yukari must not want to compromise that."

Then they heard a donation message:
["We have a $600 donation! I love Super Mario 64, and I'm happy to see this game get broken to pieces. Use this for the Majora's Mask name incentive!"]

"…..Incentive?" all three girls wondered.

Having finally rested, Osaka got up and snuck over to an open room…..where Yomi was sorting her luggage.

"Hiya Yomi."

"Here, Osaka." Yomi tossed her a shirt and pants. "Got you these from the gift shop."

Osaka cocked her head at the Doctors Without Borders T-Shirt. "Whoa…..ah gotta show this to my granddad. Hey Yomi, wanna check out a run?"

"Eh, I guess. It's a good thing Yukari's run isn't at the end of the week. Otherwise we'd be here for longer. But….where's Kagura….?"

XXXXX

Kagura was at the vending machine.

["Dunno what you want to get, huh?"]

Oh….oh CRAP! Someone's talking to me in English! What do I do? ["Uh…..i…not…know….?"]

["Oh, that's quite an accent. You're from Japan?"]

["YES!"] Kagura spun around. ["I…..from…..um…..Nippon?"]

Blank stare.

["U.S.A NUMBER ONE!"] Then she ran for dear life.

The next day, Yukari awoke bright and early….to order expensive room service. She even cracked upon a bottle of champagne when her breakfast arrived.

["Yo, just leave over there."] She told the guy. ["I need to practice my gaming."]

["Are you….a runner at the event?"]

["What?"] Yukari scowled. ["I HAVE a credit card, you know."]

Then the girls found Yukari in her room, practicing the run on the N64 she had brought from home. The bed was unmade and used plates and bottles were everywhere.

"Miss Yukari….?"

"Ssh! In the zone." She tossed a thick binder to Chiyo, which made the poor girl fall down. "Check my progress!"

The others crowded around Chiyo as she looked through the run guide. Through a combination of her quick typing skills and Yukari's blathering dictation, the two had crafted the exact route for her shortly before the trip had started. Chiyo had even used colorful sticky notes to timestamp certain points.

"Um….."

"Say it, Chiyo!"

"Y-You're 7 seconds below the target pace…."

"DAMN IT!" Yukari shut the N64 off and slammed it back on. "I'm starting over. I can do this!"

"Well, why don't we practice being the commentary?" Kagura asked.

"Yeah, I took care of that," said Yukari, who downed another Red Bull. "Chiyo and Yomi, the two of YOU will talk about specific strategies, since it seems only YOU two have gotten the lingo mastered!"

"Umm….alright?"

She pointed to Tomo and Kagura. "You two are gonna hype up the room for me. Got it?" The two boneheads high-fived. "Osaka!"

"Y-Yeah Miss Yukari?"

"You're gonna make funny drawings that show off parts of the run, audiences will eat up a cute Japanese girl being quirky."

"Ohhhhhhhh sounds fun!"

Sakaki frowned. "What about me, Miss Yukari?"

"Good question, Sakaki. This is VERY important. Whenever I have Link play the ocarina, you're going to sing to the exact tune of the song."

"W-What?"

"A tall, beautiful Japanese woman with a heavenly voice? I'll be the most popular run yet!"

"Miss Yukari…." Chiyo paused the game for her. "Please remember this is less about you and more about raising money for cancer research! You can't seem too boastful or egocentric. It'd look bad on all of us! This is a big cultural event!"

"…ARGH!" Yukari threw the controller. "You're right. I'm REALLY nervous, okay? The worst thing that can happen is my age catches up to me and I can't play as sharpely as these college age Americans! I need you girls to make me feel better. I can't do this alone. So….will you help me?"

"Of course we will!"

"GREAT!" Yukari hugged them all. "Now get me more Red Bull. We NEED this stuff at home!"

The day of the run had arrived. The girls made sure Yukari woke up on time, had a good breakfast, and practiced a bit on some TVs downstairs. Yukari was tilling around with the section in Great Bay when Tomo had nudged her shoulder.

"It's time, Yukari. We'd better take our places!"

"Uh….right."

They made their way into the room, where Yukari sat at the front. She picked up the controller and looked up at the camera. Right near her foot was the pedal to start and end the time for the run. Behind her, on a comfortable looking couch, her students all sat down. Osaka waved at Yukari and held up her notepad and crayons.

["Alright, the donation incentive for the Link name has been met! Thanks to everyone who participated!"]

"What….WHAT?!" Yukari was shaking. "H-How did the name NYAMO win?! CHIYO, what did they do?!"

"Miss Yukari, please! It's just a coincidence! You can't let it get you frazzled! And no more Japanese, we have to speak in English for the whole run!"

"Y-Yes!" She glanced to the side; the person announcing the donation messages was giving her the signal to start the run. ["Alright, everyone ready?"] She looked back at her students. They all gave her a smile and a thumbs up. ["Great! Uhh….let's do it!"]

Yukari pressed the pedal, and the clock started.

["Hello everyone, I'm the runner Yutai, and forgive the accent, but English isn't my first language. Uhh as I'm entering the donation name here, I'm joined by my couch….left to right, that's Chiyo, Yomi, Sakaki, Kagura, Tomo, and Osaka. And we are playing Majora's Mask Any%, with no glitches!"]

["Go Yutai!"] Tomo exclaimed.

The file started, with the familiar cutscene of a young Link on his horse through the Lost Woods. He was ambushed by Tatl, Tael, and the Skull Kid, who hijacked the horse. Already Osaka was sketching.

["So we're gonna be playing on a Japanese cart, since the text loads faster. I can even read the text fluently, so bit of a language mix here. Uhhh can't this skip this scene…but you see Link getting turned into a Deku Scrub here…."]

["In this form, Link can't use his sword or any of the familiar Zelda weapons."] Yomi said. ["So we need to change ourselves back, but Yutai needs to do a few things first."]

Yukari's heart was beating fast. She traversed the cave as Deku Link into the real starting point, with the Mask Salesman.

["You heard that whistle? Tatl will be trying to speak to Link but I need to avoid it all, checking her text boxes just burns a lot of time."]

And eventually, Link stepped into Clock Town.

["Alright, so we need to get to Day 3, end of the cycle to get the Ocarina, but there's a pretty easy way to get there."]

Link launched himself from a Deku Flower in East Clock Town to get into the inn. He made his way downstairs to chat up an old woman.

["Anju's grandmother will tell us a story, and it's pretty interesting, but Yutai just has to skip all of it."] Chiyo said. ["We will wake up in Day 3!"]

Osaka held up a drawing of the number 3.

["Next Yutai's gonna talk to the scarecrow, Link's gonna dance, and it'll be nighttime."] said Yomi.

["Dance Fever!"] Tomo said randomly.

["See? It's almost the end. But we still need some stuff."] Yukari ended to North Clock Town. ["We'll visit the Fairy Queen to get a magic meter, then it's off for the bomb bag…simple stuff. Any donations?"]

["Yes, we have a $350 donation. Majora's Mask was an amazing game, and I wish the runner good luck!"]

Yukari smiled. Once she got her items, she shot down Skull Kid to get back the Ocarina. It would be the first Song of Time of the run. On cue….Sakaki hummed along to the notes. And it sounded divine.

In a normal run of Majora's Mask, it would take the player many cycles to finish the game. For Yukari, she had to cram a lot into just one cycle….hitting up the Swamp area for the first boss was the goal. Of course, she could NOT waste any time in wrong inputs. She gave the red potion to Koume, followed the monkey, and got two songs: Sonata of Awakening and Song of Soaring.

["So uh with this second song, we'll need it a LOT to warp around Termina. The first one is just for Woodfall."] Yukari made her way to the temple site and played the Sonata. Sakaki hummed again.

It was all incredibly easy for Yukari; the first dungeon of a Zelda game often was. But she could sense the anticipation in the crowd when she left the dungeon after getting the bow, a key item.

["Oh noooo, we're not fighting the boss? That's weird. Yomi, why is that?"]

["Yutai plans to come back when she has more items, to clear it even faster. Now we have to head to the north and get the Goron Lullaby."]

The Song of Soaring brought her back to Clock Town, where she headed towards Snowhead.

["To access the final boss, Yutai needs the remains of each of the cardinal bosses, so you can do it all in a clean sweep if you're quick enough."] Chiyo explained.

It was a mental checklist. Link hit the Owl Statue to warp, found the Lens of Truth, obtained Goron form from the hero Darmani, and learned the Goron Lullaby from the Elder. The Goron baby provided Link with rest of the song. Osaka held up a sketch of the crying Goron baby.

Yukari played the Song of Time to begin a new cycle.

["A $400 donation. Majora's Mask filled me with so much joy, especially when I played it with my grandpa. Miss you, grandpa."]

Showtime. Yukari would make the grandpa proud. She left the talking up to Chiyo and Yomi as she traversed the dangerous Snowhead Temple, all without a single mistake. She had to get the small keys in a specific order, get the Fire Arrows, use Goron form to punch the central tower…and before she knew it, she was up against Goht.

["Go Yutai go! That Goht's gotta go!"] Kagura chanted.

The normal way to beat him was to ram into him as a Goron ball. Yutai simply waited and shot him down with well-timed arrows as regular Link. The audience clapped.

["Good finish, good finish. But we're not done just yet…."] Yukari's mind raced to remember the sequence of items. She had to get the Gold Dust, then the Powder Keg, access to Epona, then the Garo Mask. She had to do a specific sidequest at the Romani Ranch.

["Yutai needs all the bottles she can get her hands on, it's very required to speed up the Great Bay section."] Song of Soaring took her Link back, where he headed to the coast. The dying Mikau allowed him to use the Zora mask. At this point, the audience was captivated every time Sakaki had to hum to a song.

Next up was the Pirate's Fortress to get the hookshot. "Nyamo" snuck around but when Yukari wanted to have some fun, she purposely paralyzed some of the guards.

["We'll be coming back to get all the Zora eggs, and since a bottle can only hold one at a time, we save so much time have multiple bottles."]

["Yutai, how are we getting a third bottle?"] Yomi wondered out loud.

["That'll be coming up very soon!"] Yukari's favorite side quest in the game. But with the Hookshot in tow, she was able to cross into Ikana Canyon without the Ice Arrows.

The atmosphere was grim and destute in the warren Ikana Canyon. Filled to the brim with Gibdos and Redeads, Sakaki and Osaka were both too scared to sing or draw. Chiyo clinged to Yomi. But it wasn't a setback for Yukari - the audience ate it up.

["We just need the Gibdo mask…."] She healed young Pamela's father with the Song of Healing, and she got it as thanks. ["Don't worry girls, we're about to do something even more creepy."] She smirked at her streamer sense of humor. ["Tomo, Kagura, you two know what to do?"]

["Yep!"]
["Roger roger!"]

Yukari headed back to Romani Ranch so she could help Romani fend off the alien-ghosts that were abducting the cows. The music turned decidedly ominous as strange apparitions appeared to attack the ranch. Tomo and Kagura both got up and made spooky noises near Yukari.

["So we gotta kill a bunch of aliens, or ghosts, or maybe they're like, alien ghosts. We could use Epona but it's much much faster to have Link run around and shoot these things."]

["W-What happens to poor Romani if we fail?"]

["Oh we lose that third bottle and a LOT of time."] Yukari said, and the audience laughed. In reality, they abduct the poor girl. But sunrise eventually came, and the strange creatures were destroyed. Everyone clapped. Yukari bowed. ["Let's get some milk from Cremia."]

Thanks to the Hookshot, Yukari was able to complete Woodfall even faster than a normal playthrough, and Odolwa was a simple boss to destroy. The swamp region was saved like Snowhead was, but curiously, Yukari had to stop and get some magic beans before she left.

["Chiyo, can you explain what's gonna happen?"]

["Yes! Yutai needs a whole bunch of items for this upcoming side quest in Ikana. She has to do a trade chain to get a very important item."]

["You can read out another donation,"] Yukari said to the announcer.

["Well sure. We have a $600 donation. Good luck Yutai, it's your friend….the actual Nyamo.]

Yukari nearly froze up on the controller but she chose to wipe the sweat from her head and continue on. In the well within Ikana Canyon, Link traded the beans, milk, bombs, fish, and a big poe to a series to Gibdos to get the Mirror Shield. Unlike most in the series, it had a haunted face on the back.

["Um….right, so this saves us some time before we tackle Stone Tower. But we need to head back to the coast and take on Great Bay."]

Sakaki hummed Song of Soaring once more. She blushed when it became apparent people were whistling at her.

["Since we have three bottles, we can save 3 Zora eggs at a time."] Yomi said.

Yukari focused as she navigated both Pirates' Fortress again for the first set of eggs. Now the next stop was Pinnacle Rock.

["Really important I don't mess up the path or else we'll be sent back by the currents. And…..got it!"]

Soon the remaining eggs were hers. Together they taught her the New Wave Bossa Nova, the Great Bay equivalent of Sonata of Awakening/Goron's Lullaby. Soon Link hookshoted his way onto a giant turtle, and the dungeon began.

["So this dungeon can make you lose a LOT of time if you're not careful with the Zora's controls. We'll be changing currents and stuff."] Yukari said. She kept an eye on her magic meter. She would be getting the ice arrows, and like the fire arrows, they drained her magic. ["Osaka, can you show a picture of Zora Link to everyone?"]

Osaka held up the sketch, earning some claps.

["Cool."] Yukari left most of the explanations to Chiyo and Yomi, as she really needed to focus. One move required falling into the water as a Goron to reset her position faster. But soon she arrived at Gyorg, the boss. ["So we're gonna use arrows to stun him, then use the Zora barrier to hurt him."]

["Why not the fins?"] Yomi asked, to educate the crowd.

["They're not accurate and Link is helpless if I miss."]

Everyone clapped once Gyorg fell, earning Yukari the third remain. The only thing left to tackle was Stone Tower Temple for Twinmold.

Yukari finished her business in Ikana Canyon - to earn the Elegy of Emptiness. As she began her path into the dungeon, Chiyo was there to explain.

["So this is a very difficult dungeon, and Yutai's time will be ruined completely if she wastes too much time moving up and down. Another time sink is the song itself, as she needs to play Elegy every time to make a statue."]

The first time she played it, Sakaki hummed it, but the tall girl recoiled at how creepy the Link statue was. This was a running theme for each transformation - they all looked so grotesque and in pain. But their extra weight was needed to hold down switches.

["The gimmick of Stone Tower is inverting the temple to get around."] Chiyo continued. ["Although like in Great Bay, Yutai will get the boss key early to save some time."]

Her heart was beating faster than it had even been. She had practice runs ruined by screwing up this dungeon, by inverting the temple at the wrong point, by playing the song at incorrect spots. Yukari looked down with dismay and saw the beats of sweat down her hand, but she focused. She had to. She could NOT make a fool of herself now.

["Wow, uh….Yutai's in the zone!"] Tomo said. ["So…..how about more donations?"]

["Alright. A $1000 donation! This is from your father, Yukari. Me and your mother….we're very proud of you. You've always been very good at video games, and it's heartwarming to see you do it for a good cause. Good luck, and remember…..even if you slip up, we still love you."]

["Awww….."] said the whole couch.

Yukari, on the other hand, was operating on pure adrelaine now. She could not make a single mistake. She slipped through puzzles, kept playing the Elegy at every turn, and soon….very soon…..she was face to face with Twinmold, the boss.

"Oh no," said Chiyo in Japanese, "Miss Yukari never got the Giant's Mask!"

"It's okay! It's not required to win!" Yomi assured her.

The beast surged around the sandy arena, towering over Link's small size. Yukari was kicking herself for making such a bad mistake, but she knew she could still win. She had done it this way one time before. She had to hit Red Mold with ice arrows, and Blue Mold with fire arrows.

["Go Yutai! You can beat him!"] Tomo shouted.

["This is the hardest part of the run! After this, it's easy!"] Kagura shouted.

["Squash that bug!"] Osaka shouted, thinking it was an insect and not a worm.

["Please be careful!"] Chiyo shouted.

Normally a couch wasn't supposed to make this amount of noise, but Yukari didn't mind. She scrambled between moving Link, hitting C-right to aim the arrow, opening the menu to change arrow type, and rolling out of Twinmold's way. Luckily the beast kept dropping magic vials.

["We're coming up on time VERY quickly!"] Yukari said. ["Just a few more…."]

And finally, she vaporized Twinmold with arrows alone. She knew she had lost some valuable time, but the run was almost over. She nodded at all the applause.

["Now we kill Majora and save Termina."]

Yukari returned to Clock Town and doubled time speed to get the clock closer to midnight. As it was the third day of the cycle, the festival began, and Link was able to confront the Skull Kid again.

["Just gonna play the Oath to Order….."]

Sakaki hummed along as the four giants - North, South, West, and East - arrived just in time to stop the demonic moon from crashing into Termina and killing everyone. But now Link was sucked into the moon as Majora's Mask took a life of its own.

["Sooooo normally we could talk to all these moon kids, but we only have like 10 masks. We're gonna finish this once and for all, WITHOUT Fierce Deity."]

["Yeah, so that's the last mask in the game and the reward for getting all the others. It would make the final fight over in no time, but we obviously can't do that."] Yomi explained.

Soon Link was face to face with Majora itself in a sinister chamber. It sprouted tentacles as the remains of the other bosses flew around to attack Link. Through a combination of Zora Link's offense and arrows, Yukari picked off each one and aimed for Majora. The Mirror Shield deflected its malicious beams.

["So now we're on the second phase…."]

Majora's Incarnation had limbs and an eye sprout from the mask. It made haunting sounds as it moonwalked around the arena, leaving Link to punish it with arrows and cut it when it fell.

["Our Gold Dust quest paying off, since Link really needed that sword upgrade. Coming up on time right now…."]

Majora's Wrath traded arms for demonic whips and horrifying shrieks. Zora Link blocked with his own shield, and then Regular Link would close in for the slashes. Yukari used Light Arrows to stun the monster.

["And we're almost…..TIME!"]
Yukari slammed the pedal just as Majora's Wrath screamed and fell forever to Link's final attack. The room applauded and her couch cheered.

["Just…..shy….of 3 hours."] Yukari exhaled. ["We did it! This was a fantastic run! Couch, I have to thank every one of you. Donators, thank you for supporting the run! And…..honestly, I was really glad I got to do this."]

Yukari removed her headset…..got up…..and bowed in deep respect to the camera.

"THANK YOU!" She shouted, tears falling. "THANK YOU FOR PICKING ME!"

She felt the embrace of her students…and all seemed content.

"HUH?!"

Yukari awoke covered in sweat. She took one look at her clock and realized…..she was not in America. No, she was in Japan. She made her way to the breakfast table with a rather haunted look in her eyes.

"Oh Yukari dear, your skin is so pale…" said her mother. "What happened?"

"M-Mom…..what day is it?"

"Why it's…..February 2nd, dear."

"…..I had that dream again….."

"Oh dear, about that speedrun thing? You can always try again in the summer if you really want. So what if they rejected you. They don't know what they're missing!"

This was of little consolation to Yukari. The experience had felt so real, so vivid….and in this version of the dream, she had actually BEATEN her record. It was enough to make a person cry in agony…..but she took a minute….and exhaled.

"Yeah…..sometimes, things never go how you want them to. I'm not a speedrunner. I am an English teacher. And right now…..I've got some really great students to teach."

FIN

Ending notes: Yep. I hated to make it a dream BUT the scheduling of AGDQ simply doesn't allow a teacher like Yukari to realistically join in. It was all for fun, and I knew I wanted to write something like this the second I teased it. AGDQ and SGDQ have a lot of really great runs and they've entertained me for hours, so this was my homage to it. I didn't copy any specific run, rather I followed a guide to generally speedrunning it and made it from there.

Next chapter shall be Arcade Games to reset the girls' order ;)