Hi! I'm updating this at 5AM. Because this was my quota day to update for you guys. I want thank you guys for returning back, so this is it.
It was a great beginning to see many of you again! I miss everyone, so please make it your best to review the final few chapters of this story as it comes to its close!
Thank you all once again for not giving up on me, as I continue to update at "sooner" paces : ) well…at least for now…doh! Dx
The mission continues, and it reaches its dramatic heights. And mysteries...huge mysteries...unfold. I warn you, as some of them might hurt your head. And I'm serious about this.
Episode 7 (Part 2)
1 HOUR REMAINING
It was an odd place of the city.
"Huh? What is this area?" The desert-land setting within the metropolis that Snifit and Éclair entered left them puzzled. The streets seemed to vanish the further they went into the enigmatic terrain, and instead of black gravel and roads, the ground turned into a mixture of brown road and dusty sand. The buildings, once large and shining, had transformed into large canyon rocks that weighed at colossal masses.
"It's…a created Western world." A large portion of the architecture of the remaining buildings in the area had been transformed into to resemble likes of a Western town Western town.
Éclair: What was once a thriving city, was now a bleak but majestic land of western proportions.
"Get your free souvenirs here please!" shouted a small Noki, her van open and displaying a set of desert-themed items. The two players ran up to it, rummaging through the present items for possible items.
"Let's get something that might be on our list!" Snifit said with reminder. He peeked back at it.
A Stuffed Pair of Shoes that'll take a shot to lose,
A Glove that contains what it's meant to hold in game
"I will grab this…and this," Snifit said, picking up a pair of monocles and then a pair of sunglasses for purchase. "It is rather bright in this Western world, and I want to play safe." Éclair paused, spotting an old leather glove on the stand.
"A glove?" Éclair spotted, holding the item she had spotted. "Could it be?" As she pulled out money to pay, Snifit turned to explore more of the land, then let out a shout for shock as a van suddenly flew into his view.
"Hey, we're filming here!" a Koopa Troopa shouted, as Snifit moved to the side of the travelling with a startled face. As they walked on the town, they took a step back to realize what they had stumbled into. Before them, the two players saw a large creation that resembled even more of the themed land they were in. Wooden stands and cut-out pieces created the atmosphere of a small Wild West, and men with cameras seemed to be filming the scenery ahead of them with pedantic movements and detail. Before Éclair and Snifit could say another word to each other, a vest-wearing Shy Guy approached them with excited shouting.
"A police officer and a damsel in distress!" the Shy Guy exclaimed, almost tripping over his own feet as he walked to them. "Absolutely perfect! Would you guys care to audition for a 30-second segment on our next anthology TV series episode? All you have to do is shoot targets." Stunned, Snifit and Éclair turned to each other.
"We'll also give you some pristine custom Western boots as a prize to whoever shoots enough targets in our audition and gets a role, but other than that-"
"Boots?" Éclair jumped up. "I mean…what sort of boots do you speak of?"
"From the finest rabbit's foot quality!" the Shy Guy replied, pointing to a little table behind them. The boots were fuzzy, as if an animal had been the poor one to create the fancy pair of footwear. But never the less, both Snifit and Éclair nodded excitedly.
"Those boots are it," Snifit confirmed, "but, we have to audition and get a role to win them." Snifit nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed.
Snifit: This should be…daunting but exciting!
Éclair: Could it be that we would become movie stars in the process of our mission?
Piantissimo and Tiny were taken back by the person before them. The winner of Season 2 was paused in silence and stood upright, as if she was preparing a message to speak out loud for the two of them.
Tiny: I couldn't believe it was Vivian…and to make it even more confusing overall for us, none of us knew if it was the real Vivian or a fake Vivian. But something in me…made me think, "I think this is actually her."
"First of all, I congratulate you," Vivian spoke, her voice quiet but strong, "for being one of the final four in this tremendous and tough game. It is…an honor to meet you all and be here."
"It is an honor to meet you," Piantissimo said, almost respectfully to her. "But…why here, may I ask?"
"Thank you for deciding to enter this building in the middle of this chaos," Tiny said with a small laugh. "I would never enter this place if I didn't have to be here." Vivian smiled.
"Like most past players who appear, I will not remain long in this game," the past player stated with a sad and troubled countenance on her face, "but I will help you succeed further in this mission to my best ability." From her pocket, she pulled out an object that made both of the players stare with anticipation.
"This cell phone," Vivian told them, "can contact the others. Snifit has a phone in his pocket that was secretly placed there by McHallyboo in the beginning of the game. You can contact the other team." Piantissimo nodded, taking the phone from Vivian and looking at its green button.
Piantissimo: Why did we have to contact the other team though?
"Here is a small digital camera as well…take it." Piantissimo took the camera, looking at it carefully before pocketing it carefully.
"This is a clue for an item," Vivian added, taking out a paper card from her pocket and giving it to Tiny Kong. She looked at it, dumbfounded, but never the less nodded as she looked down to read it to herself.
"The high bright lights is where the game is at," Tiny read, then glanced at her own scavenger clues with a small second of puzzlement.
A Pair of Glasses that the moon never sees or passes
A Car That's Red and Bronze (a photo before it's gone)
And a Winning Lucky 7 Ticket, one of real or tricked
"Uh…where does this help?" Tiny began to wonder, but Vivian spoke up before Tiny could question further.
"I hope you all do well in the rest of this game," Vivian told them both. "You may be the winner in this game, or the loser in this game, but just remember that the most important thing of all is to end this game happy and satisfied…in yourself and who you are by the end of this game. Remember to end this game…gratified in satisfaction and true happiness in yourself. That is my lesson."
"Well, if you win, that already takes care of the happiness," Piantissimo stated with a disregarding smile. But Vivian shook her head.
"You can still win, but be left unsatisfied in the end and feel you've lost," Vivian told him, as Piantissimo's face turned from a smug smirk to that struck with silence and revelation. Tiny listened too.
"It wasn't until the very end that I realized I had to change myself, to become a stronger and more confident person, in order to be happy and satisfied as a winner. That was the real winning of the game. And if you do not end in a way that changes you for the better, then you won't be happy…even if you win. Do remember that." Piantissimo stood still, a blank expression on his face as his eyes fell to the sidewalk with heavy thought. Tiny nodded as well.
"Those are awesome words" Tiny smiled, looking appreciatively at Vivian. "But right now…uh…I don't think we have much time. I take the blame for that." Vivian looked over at the scavenger list in Tiny's hand inquisitively, with a little smile. Then, she pointed to the casino, as the three of them turned around.
"Your winning 7 ticket is at the blackjack table in the casino," Vivian informed them, then pointed to the paper. "You have to earn it in a game to win it."
"Then let's-" But then something caught Piantissimo's corner of his eye, as he turned instinctively to the street besides them. The cars were not moving, stuck in place by a red traffic light, but Piantissimo tapped Tiny on the shoulder to look at the crowd of cars as well.
"That car…" The skin of the car Piantissimo had spotted seemed to shine more than the other surrounding vehicles, as the two players saw its two key color: red and bronze.
"Is that the car!" Piantissimo shouted with anticipation, turning to Vivian. For a second, Vivian remained silent, but then she spoke.
"Yes," she stated silently. "It is the car you need." Piantissimo turned to Tiny.
"We need a picture of it!" Piantissimo exclaimed, taking out the cell phone from his pocket. "We need to run! Let's go!" At first, Tiny smiled, but then she frowned with worry.
"But the winning ticket!" Tiny realized, startled and turning to the casino. "We have to get that! We're guaranteed to KNOW an object is in there!" Piantissimo also turned to the golden building in worry, then back at the bronze car away from them.
Piantissimo: If we didn't get the car now…we probably wouldn't see it again.
"But: when will we ever see that car again?" Piantissimo reasoned, turning to it with nervous eye. "We have to sacrifice this chance at the ticket, to get this car." At this, Tiny nodded with a small sigh.
"All right, fine, we'll go for the car," Tiny said, shaking her head with uncertainty, still looking at the casino. She sighed.
"But one of our items is RIGHT there. We are so close to getting it."
"We'll come back," Piantissimo said in a reassuring voice. "We have to, right?" The two players turned to Vivian.
"We have to go, but will we see you later?" Tiny asked her. Vivian looked back at the players, smiling a tiny bit and a bit sadly. But she shook her head.
"I won't be here when you come back…but I wish you all luck. Remember my words," the winner of Season 2 told them. Tiny and Piantissimo nodded, their faces displaying downhearted smiles as well.
"Thanks for your help," Tiny spoke to Vivian, smiling appreciatively at her.
"And your words…too," Piantissimo whispered. Vivian nodded back, a happy and light look on her face as well.
"Good luck…and I hope you succeed."
"As do we." As Piantissimo and Tiny turned back to the road, their eyes widened.
Brrrmmm…. The sound of starting engines began to fill the air, as if it was the beginning of the race and the traffic light of the intersection was the fictional starting signal for a race battle. As the cards got ready to speed off, Piantissimo and Tiny turned to each other in alarm.
Piantissimo: And now…the real race was going to begin.
"Oh no…run" The traffic light, now changed, was no longer glowing the color of red. A brilliant green sparkled from the metal traffic light as the cars suddenly dashed off, leaving a trail of smoke that blinded the two people behind it with surprise.
"RUN! Catch the car!" Tiny cried, as the two of them sped off in the direction of the second object on their list. The game was off to an unexpected speed.
50 MINUTES REMAINING
The stage was set. Snifit, wearing the outfit of a cowboy's hat on his head and the fuzzy boots on his feet, held a pop-gun in his hand and an unsure look on his face. Éclair watched from the sidelines with anticipation as the director approached Snifit slowly.
"Okay, so the goal of this scene is to shoot all the Koopa-kid images that fly across this scene!" the Shy Guy director told Snifit, leaning into his ear. "DON'T hit any Toads." Snifit nodded, a bit confidently.
"You get that, and you win a role in our next movie! And you get to keep that hat and those boots until next time we see you."
"I look forward to it," Snifit stated a little humbly, but turned to the western stage in confidence.
Snifit: Rifle shooting…it was my entire life. All I had to do was shoot enough and the boots would be mine.
"Ready…" The director jumped back, sitting in his tall movie-directing chair. Éclair held her breath.
"Set…ACTION!" All of a sudden, the wooden posts of character began to move their way across the screen. The first pong ball fired from Snifit's gun, but missed the first Koopa-Kid by several feet to its right.
"Drat…" Snifit steadied his gun again, and then took another shot. This time, the ball missed the figure target by mere inches, bouncing off of a wooden post on the side of the scenery instead.
"Hit the other one! Hit, hit, hit!" the director shouted. Snifit wiped his hands, trying to focus his eyes on the other moving target. The target ducked a bit, just as Snifit fired his gun, as the ball bounced off the wall behind it and into a fake bush.
"Oh…" Snifit groaned, sharpening his focus as much as he can as a third Koopa-kid came into view at faster speed. Then, before he could shoot, a fourth and fifth wooden character appeared. As the director face-palmed, Éclair watched with a bit of concern.
"Hit, aim carefully!" Éclair spoke encouragingly from the sidelines, as Snifit took another shot. It was a miss.
Snifit: As soon as a shot, a wooden figure moved to the side. It was a game of the hardest difficulty ever, and I was not prepared for this.
Éclair: I was hoping he would do well as a police officer, but he seemed to struggle with the pop-gun.
Snifit fired, this time in a blind rage as the ball hit the ultimate mark of doom: a toad.
"CUT!" the director yelled, hopping off from his chair. "Cut, cut cut!" The Shy Guy approached Snifit, as the two characters in red suits faced each other.
"You hit a toad!" the director exclaimed. "That's a wrap! You get nothing."
"A popgun is not the same as a real gun," Snifit huffed.
"I don't know why you auditioned, but at least you pretended to be a good shooter," the Shy Guy director said with a shake of his head. Snifit bowed his head a bit, both feeling and looking chastened.
"Well, now you're up," the Shy Guy continued, turning to Éclair. The princess' eyes widened.
"Oh, uh," Eclair stammered with open eyes. "I could never…well, perhaps, I could try…"
"Oh come on!" the director said, going up to Éclair and then pulling her against her will towards the center of the Western stage. "The damsel in distress needs to defend herself too! Give it a try!"
Snifit: Oh dear.
The princess was set for the scene. The director put a hat upon Éclair, similar to Snifit's but smaller and with a little flower at its top. He also took her shoes as she fit herself into a pair of the furry boots that the players ultimately needed for their list. A small popgun was put into Éclair's hands, as Snifit watched to the side. Shaking his head, he watched with scared anticipation with his hands over his eyes.
"Ready…set…" The Shy Guy director began to announce, as Éclair took her stance in the dusty ground.
Snifit: I couldn't dare to watch.
"Go!"
Bang! One of the Koopa-kid wooden posts fell straight back, having been hit by the pop-gun's pullet. Snifit uncovered his eyes, which were now wide with disbelief.
Bang! Another Koopa-kid fell to its side, as Éclair took precision, shooting the moving post right in its speeding path. When another one came into the screen, Éclair took her aim carefully and pulled the trigger, as it hit a fourth Koopa-kid right in the imaginary temple.
"Wow!" Snifit exclaimed, his face twisted into happiness as he saw the princess shoot bullet after bullet at the right targets. As a wooden toad made its way across the western set, Éclair shifted her gun carefully as to not aim in its direction. Her final shot flew into the air, the popgun ball hitting the final Koopa-kid. With a thud, it fell backwards onto the desert floor. At the end, both director and Snifit had mouths that reached larger than they had ever reached before.
Snifit: I…did not expect anything.
"That's a wrap!" The Shy Guy had jumped off his chair again, but this time with a large grin. He walked up to the overwhelmed Éclair, and stuck his hand out.
"You get a contract as an extra in our episode tomorrow," the director shouted ecstatically. "You're a natural star! Take this!" He gave a signed paper to Éclair, who took it with a surprised and content face.
"You also get to keep the sombrero and shoes you're wearing," the director said with a wave of his hand. "Come back to us soon! You have shooting star potential!" As he walked away, Snifit walked up to Éclair with a dumbfounded face.
"Whoa…whoa!" Snifit said in stunned awe, stumbling in his own words. "How did you DO…what did you do-"
"My father had a shooting range in our first castle," Éclair stated. She smiled, blowing on her smoking gun.
Snifit: Never underestimate a princess, I suppose.
"Two items," Snifit proclaimed with realization. He held up two fingers, looking at Éclair's shoes.
"We are so close…I can almost taste victory," Snifit said, his smile still large. "I hope to actually win this game. It's so close…to the end. And we have to do our best to keep our money alive. Our will of life alive. He looked to the dark sky, thinking to himself a bit. Eclair switched her shoes, and were holding their second object in hand.
"We have little time left," Éclair reminded him. "And we must decipher this third riddle too. Let us go."
"Together…let us go to the end," Snifit stated. The two of them, cake in hand and bunny shoes at feet, sped on to the last portion of their game.
42 MINUTES REMAINING
Tiny: It was more than halfway into our game, and we didn't have our first item…well…at least we were chasing it.
"There!" shouted Piantissimo, jumping over a trash can and speeding off to the direction of the car they were in pursuit of. "There! The camera-" The vehicle, shiny with the key colors of red and bronze, was their goal.
SNAP! As the car sped off, Piantissimo paused to take a look at his photo. The picture was taken too far to the right, as only the rear bump of the photo could be seen in the photo. Piantissimo let out a groan of frustration.
"Drat!" Piantissimo crumpled the list in his hand, staring off at the leaving car as it disappeared from view.
"You have to aim better!" Tiny stated, disappointed too. Piantissimo glared at her.
"You think you can do better?" he retorted.
"In fact, yes," Tiny replied in a puffed-up voice. "In Episode 2, I had the mission of having to take snapshots of the past players on Isle Delfino." Piantissimo began running ahead, camera in hand, seeing the car stop a block ahead of him on the side of the road on another street.
"Also, what's with this clue?" wondered Tiny out loud, looking at the words on the piece of paper that Vivian had handed to them. "It has nothing to do with us…but…" Then, she suddenly stopped walking in her tracks.
"Maybe it's not for us...maybe?" continued Tiny, speaking to herself quietly. Piantissimo, who was jogging away, turned around to look at her.
"Come on!" Piantissimo shouted, still running. "We need to catch up to the car!"
"Just…go ahead!" Tiny called out, thinking quickly. "I'm going to stay behind and take care of this clue. It might be better if we split up anyway. You run ahead to get the car, and I think I MIGHT know what to do with these clues. I'll also stop by the casino while I'm at it." Piantissimo faced her with a perplexed look, but then shrugged.
"Okay," the jogging player replied loudly, "but I have the scavenger list and you don't! I hope you've memorized it!" Piantissimo sped off, the camera in his hand, as the car began to pick up its speed too. As one player left, Tiny remained by herself.
"Okay…let me think…if this clue doesn't make sense to us…" she began, speaking to herself and reciting the other lines from the clue paper to herself, "then there's only one answer." In her right hand, she had pulled out the walkie-talkie, the device holding the capability within it to contact the other team. She pressed the green button, still looking uncertain but slightly sure.
"I have shoes…and we have a cake…and glove?" Snifit and Eclair were sitting on the floor together, on an empty street corner. They had displayed their items before them on the city ground, looking at them carefully.
"Well, the cake is right," Snifit stated, thinking. "It is love…and a triangle. And the shoes…MUST be right." He turned to the shoes.
"And we have a glove from the western world," Snifit reasoned, picking it up. He nodded with a heavy beam. "I think we have all three!" Éclair silently put her hand on the glove she had bought.
"I don't think…we have the right item," Éclair said, closing her eyes. "It does not seem sufficient."
"Uh…let's bring it to McHallyboo to find out?" Snifit said, pointing to the Mario statue. "Though it's kind of far…" As they turned, they realized that the distance was indeed far, the hat top of the statue barely jutting out above the largeness of the buildings. Éclair looked at it, frowning and turning to Snifit.
"We must be more certain before we jump to conclusion," she concluded, and as soon as she said that, a ring filled the air. Both she and Snifit jumped in the air, stunned but alert.
"My pocket…" Snifit whispered, digging into his clothes and finding a phone, stuck in the back pocket of his pants and now in his hands. Éclair looked astounded.
"Did you know?" she asked, as Snifit shook his head with denial, and he pressed down on the green button of the phone. Nothing happened.
"He...hello?" he spoke slowly.
"Snifit!" It was Tiny's voice, ringing from the other side of the line.
"Oh!" Snifit looked at the phone. "Hi. Did you find a cell phone or something?"
"We were given it, but that doesn't matter, because right now…does this clue help?" Tiny went to uncrumple her paper, as Snifit and Éclair turned to each other in confusion.
"Okay! I found it…it's, The high bright lights is where the game is at," Tiny read, as she waited for a response. "Does…does that make sense? It's a clue I got from Vivian."
"Vivian?" Snifit questioned. Both Éclair and Snifit looked down at their paper list.
"A game…that is it," Éclair realized, pointing at the last line of their paper. "A glove that contains what it's meant to hold in game!" She grabbed the phone from Snifit, who gave it to her.
"Thank you!" Éclair exclaimed. "Thank you Tiny!" She hung up.
"That is it. I knew we were not done," Éclair stated excitedly to herself. Snifit looked confused.
"Well…bright lights…hmm, okay," Snifit repeated, having remembered the line, but he said it with uncertainty. "Bright lights?"
"From there…that is where our glove is," said Éclair pointing. "From those lights…is our next path." And they both turned in direction to the bright lights shooting up into the sky, illuminating the night air from the ground of the baseball stadium.
TIME REMAINING: 37 MINUTES
"Almost…" Piantissimo huffed, turning to the new street in which the car had entered. It was an empty road in a vacant and uninhabited part of the city, and the multi-colored car had paused on the side of the street, almost as if it was fostering the game of cat and mouse with the player in a taunting way. Piantissimo narrowed his eyes, looking at it with determination.
Piantissimo: Eight snapshots, and each one drew blank and wasn't enough. This vehicle…I would not be outrun by it.
Suddenly, the engines rang again, and the empty street began to fill up with exhaust gas after just a few several seconds. The car sped off with speed, closer to Piantissimo's location. The player grinned, getting his camera ready.
"Yes, little car…come into view…"
Vrooom…. At first, it appeared as if the vehicle was going to continue down back the road it had come from, repeating its path to escape the player. But as its new path became apparent, the smile on Piantissimo's face suddenly vanished. He realized that the car, engine at full power and speed, was heading its force at him.
Piantissimo: And now, the tables had turned. It was after me.
"WHAT!" Piantissimo stumbling backwards, realizing that the car was now aimed at him for a deadly finish. With no time to move anymore, Piantissimo faced the camera's direction directly toward the view of the oncoming car as he screamed.
"AHH!" Piantissimo, backed against the wall of a brick building, held up his camera and took a shot of the car that flew towards him ruthlessly with boundless speed, right into his body.
TIME REMAINING: 35 MINUTES
Snifit and Éclair walked into the busy stands, taking their place and seats among a crowd of rustling folks and sports fans. The two of them looked at the large baseball field in the center of the stadium, bright lights shining the green of the field into a majestic and grand game. As they ducked to avoid the commotion around them, they looked back at their paper.
"Game…a glove…so that is a baseball glove," Snifit said, handling the object they had bought from the gift store at the stadium's front. Éclair looked at it, then at their paper.
"And the object it has to hold in game…" Snifit continued, reading the paper and scratching his head. "That is..." He paused, as Eclair looked at the field.
"It is a baseball," Éclair said, looking at him. As they turned back to the center of the bustling stadium, they realized they were watching the start of its game and its first inning. As a ball was thrown in the game by the pitcher, the baseball player swung at the first pitch of the game.
"IT SOARS!" an announcer bellowed, as everyone saw the potent of the home run before their eyes. The audience reacted immediately, cheering with the flying of the ball in the sky. Across their position in the stadium and far away from them, the crowd seemed to bustle into excitement as the ball landed in their area among the seats. Éclair's face turned white.
"We do not actually have to-" she began. Snifit face turned troubled as well.
"Catch a home run?" Snifit finished. The two players sat still in their seats, thinking for a second.
Snifit: An impossible task?
"Were there any baseballs at the souvenir store at the stadium's front?" Éclair asked, looking at Snifit. Snifit shook his head.
"No…there were not," Snifit said blankly.
"There must be an easier way to this…" Éclair thought, and as soon as she said that, a loud sound was heard from near them, and something in their sky began to plummet towards their section of the audience. A baseball, just a few feet away, had made its way into the audience.
"Already?!" Snifit shouted, looking right to his direction. The game had just experienced another home-run.
"I got it!" shouted a Pianta, holding the ball in the air, as an outbreak of excitement and uproar broke out. Immediately, Snifit and Éclair ran over to the individual.
Snifit: I had something in mind. An easy way to beat the mission.
"Whoa! Break it off!" By the time the two of them had reached the Pianta, the bustling commotion of the ball catch was over. Walking up to the ball-holding person, Snifit smiled at him with self-assurance.
Éclair: I did not know what Snifit's plan would be…but perhaps it would work?
"Oh wow, that's awesome!" Snifit began, and to the surprise of the Pianta, he pulled out a wallet. "Now, how much do you think you'd give that ball for?" The Pianta glared back at the player.
"What? No way! These balls are worth a fortune…at least 100,000 coins each!" The haughty man put the ball into his pocket, as Snifit shamefully turned back around. Éclair looked at him compassionately.
"On second thought, let's just catch one," Snifit concluded sheepishly.
"Or, you can be smart and know physics, instead of bribing people," came the smart voice of a person sitting on the stand seats besides them. Snifit and Éclair turned to face a little Noki, who was facing out into the baseball field with a compass in his hand.
"Uh…huh?" Snifit asked, a bit curious as he looked at the Noki. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple," continued the Noki, as he took off his glasses. "If you studied physics in this world, and been to previous games, you would know that with every second home-run, that certain baseball position lands thirty degrees right of where it landed previously." The faces of the two players looked amazed.
"If that is so…where would it land next?" Éclair asked with eagerness. The Noki looked into the field, holding up his thumb and index out as to measure the land before him with precision and mathematical accuracy.
"There…" he answered, pointing to the section of the stadium audience that was directly across from them. "It'll probably take…a good ten minutes just to walk to that place among these rowdy people. And I predict that the ball will hit right around then." The two players stared at the far distance before them.
"When is the next one after that?" Eclair asked, feeling unsure. "We might not make that one." The Noki shook his head.
"That's it…that's all," the Noki explained. "There won't be any homerun after that one for the next hour." Éclair turned to Snifit with alarm.
"Oh no," she exclaimed. "Then we must make that one!"
And, among the crowd, the two players left off to take a mission that border-lined levels of the impossible in their real world.
Eclair: It was a dire race against time. This was our last item.
Snifit: The challenge was hard enough, and I didn't want to mention to Éclair that even if we did make it there in time…we couldn't guarantee we would be the ones to catch the ball.
TIME REMAINING: 25 MINUTES
Tiny stopped in her running, coming across with surprise the casino that they had once been at before. She stared at it with relief, knowing that she had made it back to her goal destination.
Tiny: Time was running out. I needed to get it to prove the team that I was for them.
"Winning ticket…I hope I can get you," she stated, taking an unsure breath. She walked forwards onto the red carpet as she walked her way to the doors of the casino. As she reached out to grab the handle of the gold door, a Koopa-Troopa grabbed Tiny's hand instead strongly with a firm grip. She screamed.
Tiny: What? Who was he, and why was he stopping me?
"Whoa, hold it!" the person shouted, pointing to a sign at the side of the set of doors. "There's broken glass all over the inside floor. Look: It's not open." Tiny turned her eyes to see the newly-placed sign at the entrance of the building: Closed for Renovations. Tiny gasped.
"It's…not open?" she whispered with incredulity. "But..the casino was just open thirty minutes ago!"
"Another fight broke out around ten minutes ago, and now it's shut down until next week," the Koopa-Troopa explained, shrugging. "The casino…just got closed five minutes ago actually." Tiny opened her mouth to speak.
"But I need to get inside in the next thirty minutes, or else we'll be penalized for not having an item!" she exclaimed with urgency. The Koopa-Troopa shook his head.
"Sorry. You'll have to face McHallyboo with an empty hand. No can do," he replied, straightening his bow tie. He walked off with a whistle, as Tiny stared forwards with a distressed face.
"Well, that's that," Tiny muttered. Then, she stopped to recite their first clue out loud, reminding herself of its contents. She narrowed her eyes in confusion, trying to understand it.
"A pair of glasses that the sun never passes…will I ever get its meaning?"
TIME REMAINING: 20 MINUTES
"Excuse me, excuse me!" Snifit ran passed a woman carrying a large bag of popcorn as the numerous snacks flew into the air with the sound of several screams.
"I don't think this is the best way to execute this!" Éclair shouted, dodging pieces of popcorn from getting stuck in her hair.
"It's the only way!" Snifit shouted back with determination, turning to an open space among the stand as he ran on top of a set of bleachers. Éclair followed, running after him.
Éclair: To not feel bad during this part of the mission, I continually reminded myself, "Why, everyone here is fake. It is okay if you step on them"…but then it did not seem okay either.
"I am so sorry!" Éclair pleaded, bowing and apologizing to a Koopa-Troopa whose head she had stepped upon. She continued to run, bowing backwards as she did so.
"Almost there!" Snifit shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. "The home run is about to hit soon!" The two of them continued to run, approaching closer and closer to their area of seats in mind that the Noki had directed to them just nine minutes ago. Soon, the ball was to fly into the air, and Snifit and Éclair were racing to its spot. Snifit pointed his finger out.
"That's it!" Snifit said with excitement, pointing to the crowded seats just ahead of them. "We just stand there…"
"And that is the batter," Éclair gasped with wide eyes, as they turned to the large baseball field. A baseball player, now making his way to bat, was heavy-set and large in mass size compared to all of his other teammates. His arms, having the potential to knock a baseball up into the high night skies, pulled back his arms to ready his hit. Snifit and Éclair gasped.
"Run, to the audience spot…now!" Snifit shouted. He and Éclair dashed forwards, into the crowd of people and running to dodge as many people as they could to the ideal spot. As soon as they began their dash, the baseball in the grand field was thrown by the pitcher. The set of the events that occurred took place in a flash, as the ball was hit with a garish thunk and sailed right into the sky.
SWOOSH! As they finally reached their positions and stood in place, they both saw the ball fly in the dark sky like a rocket, making its way closer and closer to their area. Éclair froze, seeing the ball head right towards Snifit's spot.
Snifit: It was heading RIGHT towards us. Towards me. It was crazy. And I didn't know what to do.
"Snifit!" Éclair screamed, as the ball flew right towards the player in the audience. There was a small scuffle as stadium watchers fell on top of each other all over, and Snifit disappeared from the princess' view. The ball had landed, but its final destination was uncertain to everyone surrounding its area. The audience appeared to become silent.
Éclair: I was afraid that he was hurt, but…was the ball in his hand?
"Oohmp." Snifit suddenly arose, rubbing his head from the fall as audience members backed up away from the player in astonishment. His hand was in the air, away from the fallen food, stands, and people around him, as he held a smile on his face that sparkled as much as the ball in his hand.
"He got it!" an audience member from nearby shouted. "That Shy Guy got the ball!"
"That was a fun sight," a woman nodded, and everyone seemed to settle back into their own seats as if the catch never happened. Snifit ran up to Éclair, and with a jump and a shout, the two of them hugged with victory.
"We did it!" Snifit exclaimed with heavy enthusiasm and shock, the glove in on hand and ball in the other. "We got it!" With ecstasy, he and Éclair smiled, then stepped back to look at the baseball.
"I had to do this one…" Snifit began, turning to Éclair. "You solved the cake. And won the shoes. And now…I got the ball." Snifit bowed, giving the ball to the princess. She took it gently into her hand.
"It is beautiful," the princess said with a smile, moving it in her hands. "It is…" Suddenly, she turned to the feeling of a tug at the bottom of her dress. As she turned around in surprise, she saw a small red-colored toad on the ground, having pulled on her dress and was now looking up at her.
Éclair: And then, a little toad child came to me.
"I am sorry to bother you miss… l…" the boy toad spoke in a little voice, facing her shyly, "but I have always been looking for a stadium baseball." He paused for a second, as the two players faced him with confusion.
"I hope it is not too much to ask, but…may I please have the ball?" Éclair's face turned troubled, as she turned to Snifit beside her. Snifit only faced her with a shrug of his shoulders, and mouthing a single phrase silently from his mouth: What?!
"I…do not think so," Éclair said, gripping the baseball more tightly in her hands. "I'm sorry." The little toad kept his smile, but this time, it was with lessened in joy.
"It's okay," the little toad replied, and though his voice seemed down and saddened, his face still held a little grin. "Maybe I can catch one tomorrow." Éclair closed her eyes, turning back to Snifit. The player only replied with a shrug of his shoulders again, and a countenance of uncertainty this time.
"It's…up to you," Snifit replied, looking irresolute himself. Éclair's face remained unsure, but then after a few seconds, she nodded with certainty.
"Here…it is yours!" Éclair said, her voice in enthusiasm as she knelt down and held out the stadium baseball to the little toad with a smile. "It's yours to keep. But please keep one promise to me...please treasure it." The toad took it, a look of ecstasy on his face as he stared at the gift in his hands.
"Thank you!" He looked up and smiled at the princess.
"I will definitely treasure this!" he shouted, and the toad boy ran off, disappearing into the rest of the crowd. Éclair stood where she was, looking with a confused face after the toad who had disappeared. Snifit came to stand next to her, as they both, among the loud ruckus of yelling people, stood in a small silence together.
"Did we just give away 5,000 coins?" Snifit wondered, looking out into the distance of thousands of people. But Éclair's eyes remained fixed, on the little red-colored toad who made his way slowly into the distance of the baseball crowd.
"I feel like…I have seen that little toad once before," Éclair said softly, her face scrunched with perplexed feelings. "In this game. I...I think I did." She turned to Snifit, now her voice in reflection.
"Do you think…some things in this game that we believe are fake…are not actually fictional?" she asked him, looking out into the expanse of the world before them and beyond the stadium. Snifit was silent at her statement, but then decided to reply.
"Yes…and I also think that many things believed to be real in this game…are also not real at all."
TIME REMAINING: 14 MINUTES
"Piantissimo!" The athlete player stopped in running, hearing his name among the crowd of the bustling city. He turned around, seeing the other player waving her arms in the air strongly.
"Tiny!" Spotting the female player a small distance away, he ran up to her spot with both a camera and list in his hands. As he finally made it to her, he looked at her with confusion, seeing a look of dismay on her face.
"I couldn't enter the casino…" she explained, looking backwards at its direction. "It closed…just when I got there actually."
Tiny: If Piantissimo didn't convince us to go for the car instead earlier, we would have gotten the lottery ticket. That was an act of sabotage.
"Oh man," Piantissimo groaned. His face immediately showed disappointment, but he kept his eye on the camera in his hand.
"All in all, I didn't make much progress on my own journey alone," Tiny said slowly. "Uh…you?" Piantissimo stuck out his digital camera to her slowly, grinning and showing Tiny his achieved possession from a few minutes ago in the game.
"Look what I got…the car." On the camera screen, the car was merely the only object to be seen in the photo that was taken. Its windshield was just several feet from the position taken from the camera, and as Tiny looked at it more, her face turned baffled.
"Was it…right in front of you?" Tiny asked.
"Yeah, and it almost got me," Piantissimo said, almost proudly but shuddering with horror. "Luckily, it disappeared at the last second before it could smash me to a pulp, and even more luckily for me, the snapshot was able to take it fully." Hearing this, Tiny sighed with relief.
"Then we didn't completely fail this mission," she concluded with a small smile. "And we have one item down."
"Actually, two," Piantissimo spoke with confidence suddenly, taking out the list and showing it to her. He pointed to the first line on their list.
"What are you talking about?" asked Tiny with confusion. "How do we have two items? The casino is closed, and we barely even got one."
"Don't you see it?" he explained. "A Pair of Glasses that the moon never sees or passes…it's easy! Think…what glasses do you use when only the sun is out?" For a second, Tiny stood still, blinking blankly at the paper. Then she looked up at Piantissimo slowly.
"Sun…glasses?" she uttered. She looked at the clue again, and then a smile crept up on her face.
"Wow, that's it!" Tiny shouted. "I mean, it was so easy…how didn't we see it?" She shook her head, looking at the clue over.
"Sunglasses." Her face lit up.
"Hold it…" Tiny reached into her red backpack, feeling the back pocket as she fumbled with the objects in her first pouch. "I have…a pair of sunglasses right in my bag!" Piantissimo nodded, pointing a finger and making a little clucking sound.
"Righta-mundo," he clucked. He faced the empty road before them.
"Then let's go!" Piantissimo exclaimed, looking at a nearby clock. "We only have fifteen minutes to make it to the Mario tower!" The two of them began to run momentarily, but then Tiny stopped in her tracks, her face suddenly alarmed.
"Wait…don't we have to find the objects, instead of us just having them?" she questioned with eyes of concern. Piantissimo looked at her, unbothered.
"I have no idea…but are we going to argue now and waste time trying to find a pair of sunglasses, risking our total money and not making it?" Piantissimo said with urgency, "or are we going to run right now to the final location to guarantee cash?" Tiny sighed, nodding and admitting to his statement.
"You're right…let's just get this game over with and win it all." No longer looking backwards, Tiny nodded with agreement and continued to run too, as Piantissimo and her raced down the street in hurry. Their mission of the city was about to come to its end. The hunt was approaching its deadline.
TIME REMAINING: 8 MINUTES
"Where are we to go?" Éclair gasped, as a large Wiggler bus blocked their way from crossing an intersection. Snifit glanced ahead at the blocked path nervously, but then turned to their side.
Snifit: Were we going to make it? This was the biggest question of the game.
"This way! I think it's quicker!" he shouted, and he and Éclair continued to run along the side of the sidewalk. They were running, past the people of the street and to another intersection that was free of any form of traffic. In their distance, the Mario tower loomed, and they made their running progress to the statue. Only a few minutes remained until their time limit was over.
"Oomph!" Snifit fell, his foot missing the edge of a sidewalk. As soon as he did, the walk signal for their crossing disappeared.
Éclair: I saw him fall. And in quick thought, I needed to save him. Like we had for each other in the mission.
"Snifit!" Éclair shouted, turning around. With two arms, she lifted the player up, just as the green lights of the traffic light shined. Snifit hopped onto his own feet and carried himself off the street with her aid, and as he made it off the middle of the road, cars had already begun speeding its middle.
"I…was almost toast," he said with wide eyes, looking at the cars and at the princess gratefully.
"We do not have much time to make it," Éclair reminded him urgently, and the two of them continued their hurried dash with only minutes left on their timer.
TIME REMAINING: 3 MINUTES
"There…the statue!" Tiny and Piantissimo spotted the grand structure come into view from behind a building. As they ran towards it with feelings of victory, they could also make out the shape of the figure and his top hat that was waiting for them at its base.
"Run!" It took a whole minute for them to finally mark their place with the host, but as they did, they knew the look on the host's calm face meant they had made it before the time limit.
"Did we make it?" Piantissimo wanted to confirm, breathing heavily. Tiny too seemed out of breath, standing straight to maintain her composure. She also turned to McHallyboo anxiously.
"Yes," McHallyboo announced to them, as the two players let out sighs of success. Nodding, they held their important items from their game tightly in their hands.
"Where is…the other team?" Tiny said with a worried face. McHallyboo looked at his pocketwatch.
"I do not know where they are," he told them, looking back up at the first team. Piantissimo looked out into the distance of the city, worried.
"Well, I would not be surprised if they didn't make it here," the player spoke, shrugging with a bit of doubt. "Snifit isn't exactly the most athletic, and a princess is never taught to run messily-"
"We are here!" came a booming voice, as Snifit hurriedly on his two feet turned the corner and into view. Behind him, Éclair had taken off her own shoes and was wearing a pair of more comfortable furry foot ware, her hair tangled with popcorn and holding onto her own precious items carefully and still with delicacy. Tiny and Piantissimo were flabbergasted with awe.
"We…are here," gasped Snifit, falling to the hard marble floor at the bottom of the statue. As they both approached McHallyboo and the others, they were both sweating, but smiling among their tired panting. All four players had reached the base in time.
"Congratulations…you have made it, all four of you," the host announced, as both teams faced each other with looks of communal happiness and satisfaction.
Eclair: I thought we wouldn't make it…and all of our items would have gone to an effort of defeat and waste. But it didn't. We were doing better as a team.
"And because you all have all made it, all of the items you have with you will be counted," McHallyboo began, then added, "but, only if they pass my scavenger list requirements." He pulled out a piece of paper, as the players noticed it was a list almost twice the size as the ones they had been given.
"One by one, I will demand the items that this scavenger hunt asked of you. Please produce it, and I will award the money." The players listened carefully, as McHallyboo opened his mouth.
"A Triangle of Love that in you will be inside of," McHallyboo began. Standing up, Éclair carefully brought the closed cake box up to McHallyboo. The host took it, and then opened its lid for him to see inside the contents himself. As Éclair stood with apprehension, the host peered inside it in a judging manner. He looked up, as Éclair and Snifit held their breaths.
Snifit: This was the moment…if we had been unsuccessful, or successful as a team.
"This item passes," McHallyboo announced, as Éclair breathed out with relief.
"Yes!" Snifit beamed and shouted, as McHallyboo checked off the item on his list.
"Next: A Stuffed Pair of Shoes that'll take a shot to lose…," he announced, pointing to the fur-covered boots on the princess' feet.
"That is also correct." Éclair and Snifit both jumped and smiled, clasping hands with looks of victory. As the other team also celebrated, McHallyboo checked the item off.
"The last item… A Glove that contains what it's meant to hold in game…I am afraid that you do not have it, no?" the host confirmed. Snifit and Éclair looked at each other slowly.
"Well, we DID have it," Snifit began, looking at Éclair and unsure what to say.
"But…we lost it to a small boy," the princess concluded, and Snifit seemed to giggle at the shocked and perplexed looks of Tiny and Piantissimo. As McHallyboo moved to the other side of the list, Piantissimo's mouth was open in shock as Éclair and Snifit explained their story.
Piantissimo: The last thing we needed was to lose money to the act of some kindness…well, right? Some things MIGHT be more important than money, which Eclair didn't see. Getting money was better than making a boy happy…at least that is what I personally believed in this case.
"And now we move on to the second list…and the fourth item…a Winning Lucky Ticket, one of real or tricked," read McHallyboo, and both Tiny nodded with a sense of defeat at the host's reading of the item.
"We were close," Tiny explained, facing both the host at the other team. "We KNEW where the item was…it's just…never mind."
"That's an X," McHallyboo explained, as Piantissimo also nodded with a shake of his head. "5,000 coins down." Then, he pulled out his camera.
"But, I suppose we got the second item," Piantissimo began, his proud smile appearing again as McHallyboo looked down at his list.
"A Car That's Red and Bronze: a photo before it's gone?" the host asked to confirm, and Piantissimo handed the digital camera to the host. McHallyboo looked at the screen for a moment, analyzing the photo carefully, then turning it at different angles to judge it from different views.
"Yes…this passes," McHallyboo confirmed, putting the camera in his pocket. Piantissimo folded his arms with a triumphant grin at the announcement of the victory.
"That's a check…and now, it comes to the sixth and last item," the host said, as he looked down to read the line on the piece of paper in his hand. "A Pair of Glasses that the moon never sees or passes."
"And those were sunglasses, right?" Tiny asked, crossing her fingers and holding her breath.
"Yes," the host replied, as Piantissimo and Tiny smiled. "May I see them?" Immediately, Tiny took out the pair of sunglasses that she had retrieved from her bag. Handing them to McHallyboo, the host took the pair of sunglasses and held them to the night sky. Then, he handed them back to Tiny.
"You were close," the host stated in a confirming voice, "but these do not pass." Both Tiny and Piantissimo's faces were suddenly astounded.
"The point of this game was for it to be a city scavenger hunt…a hunt within the city," the host explained, his hands spreading out to the metropolis' expanse. He turned to the both of them with a stern look.
"And these glasses…were found in your backpack, Tiny." Hearing this, Tiny gasped and Piantissimo's mouth opened with realization.
Tiny: We..failed. We could have passed. If it wasn't for Piantissimo's action.
"We technically had enough time to get new sunglasses," Tiny replied, shaking her head. "But…we…didn't. We decided to run ahead."
Piantissimo: Why did Tiny have sunglasses in her backpack to begin with? It just made us susceptible to this error. These little things fall into place that make us lose: they just happen to fall into place.
Suddenly, Snifit made a sound.
"Wait…sunglasses…?" Snifit began, as the other three players turned to him with alert looks. He shuffled his pockets, emptying out numerous pieces of paper and other things he had collected on the way of his city journey. Then, a pair of sunglasses fell to the black marble, as everyone turned to it with astonishment. Snifit picked it up, holding it to McHallyboo as the host took it.
"Hmm…" The host only took a few seconds to examine, then pocketed the item.
"It passes. That's 5,000 coins for your item." Piantissimo burst with disbelief.
"That counts?!" he asked with incredulity. "It wasn't even their item!"
"Nothing required the four of you to split up from each other in the first place, correct?" McHallyboo said in a deep voice. "You could have all roamed together in search of the six items." The two sentences made all four players look at each other in a moment of silent awe. They realized all at once their folly.
Tiny: All of a sudden, we realized…maybe we didn't use teamwork to the max.
Piantissimo: Why did we not think of that? Now that I look back, we all ran off in the beginning…not stopping to think.
"Snifit, how did you know you had to buy sunglasses in the first place for us?" Eclair asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "Was it a guess?" Snifit turned to Éclair at that statement, and then at Piantissimo and Tiny's wondering eyes.
"I grabbed whatever I could during the game," Snifit replied back. "You could say that it was."
Piantissimo: He just so happened to grab the item we needed in the game. And that…was the most suspicious part of all.
"This game falls under the C.C. Ordinate of sabotage...from cold to hot, the act of sabotage is the same. You cannot point a single finger." The host coughed, catching their attention.
"I think I am happy to say, that in the final end of the hunt…you brought me…" The players turned to the host's final announcement.
"Four correct items. And that brings the pot up 20,000 coins. Congratulations." All four players took the time to smile, turning to both their teammates and then to each other as a whole to take the victory together with satisfied faces. In the end, they were a success as a team.
"Take that…Mole," Tiny whispered, feeling a little content herself.
Team Pot
135,000 coins
"With a total of 135,000 coins, your pot still shines from the happenings of last episode…" McHallyboo grinned a bit.
"Since when Dashell took most of your money, you've recovered quite a lot! Yes?" the host informed them all, as they all paused to think back in memory.
"So many players have cost you money in the past, and it's your job to bring it all back up again," the host continued to talk on, smiling to them. "To Dashell uncovering the last fish aquarium, to Mimi taking the bribe, to…to…"
"What?" As the host's voice faded off, the four players looked at McHallyboo with puzzled looks and strange eyes. The host's own eyes were strange themselves, and his mouth was open, as if he was caught off guard and alarmed in his own speaking. He closed his mouth quickly.
"…Mimi?" Eclair spoke, perplexed. The other players took in the sentence the host had said.
"What...?" began Piantissimo with an equally-confused look. "What did you say-"
"I said…we will continue the game tomorrow," the host said quickly and sternly, and with that, he was finished talking. He turned away, his coat fluttering behind him as if covering the secrets that he had mistakenly let out to them in his sentence. With only them left alone in the middle of the now-quiet city, the four players turned to each other in a moment of confusion, looking at the host with puzzled but watchful eyes.
Snifit: And for the first time in the game, or even for the first time in the series itself...it seemed like McHallyboo had messed something up. The biggest secret of all.
So…yeah. That's a strange way to end the chapter. But I'll leave it.
I'm happy I got to update today, and "soon" this time around. I was glad that I didn't fall back in writing the next part of this episode.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! : ) It was a great beginning to this episode because of your words. And, YES! I will reply to you all! Thank you so much. I'm happy to get back into this roll of replying back to my reviewers, because it's my way of thanking you.
Shibuya Nobody: Ah, how are ya! And no it's awesome, times have changed me too! I am a die-hard Mole and Mario nerd fan now…wait, no, nothing's different on second thought. But your new username is awesome and I look forward to getting used to it! : ) And ah, I like your vehemence in your Mole accusation and pick! What is the evidence exactly, may I ask?
Dark Punxysaur: Nice to see you back! Haha. I can always count on you for your vulgar-worded but hilarious reviews that make me snort out Dr. Pepper from my nose.
fiction idea: Ooh, good ideas and guesses on the final level! In fact, the final floor isn't yet determined by me in full 100 percent…it still needs brainstorming. So your idea of a "dark palace" kind of theme actually gave me shivers. I like it and it definitely has potential to be awesome if it was. Good guess on the carnival game for the shoes too! And ah, little tricks of the Mole? It would be quite nice if you elaborated; )
rufure: Ding! You got the sunglasses! Probably way faster than any of the players did. So kudos to you, and perhaps if you were on their team, you could have helped them immensely haha. And thanks, a great Christmas wishes to you too!
The Smart One 64: Hello, oh mighty one! It is grand to see you. In fact, I feel smarter in my own head just whenever I see your name, because it reminds me of all your smartness in the reviews and my game. It must radiate or something. Heh anyways, I've been looking at the past Spy Among Authors footage just this past week in a long time, and the memories have been killing me because they are so fresh and I MISS IT and cherish it so much! I'm happy everything is there to thrive and never expire, and look back it. Anyways, to your review, your statements on who the Mole is so so full of passion! I love it : ) please continue to keep that vigor and enthusiasm forever! You did good analyzing and I can only assume you have stumbled upon some cool clues I put out there! You are indeed the watchful eye. I like how you analyzed some of the players, and even determined some game rivalry that exists between some of the people still left. And if you're wrong about the Mole, please promise me: don't cry for months! Lol well, if you do, I'll cry with you, hehe.
wendychristensen: Wow! First of all, you bring a lot of good points. You seemed to be trained in argument making, so I kind of backed off from your review a bit xD But seriously, you did a great break down on the intro of the Episode 7. Well done! You also make a very important point about the "clues", and how they are not always reliable in my story. And truth is…some of that may hold water. The obvious clues in my story are obviously fake. Acronyms and number clues are often the ones that hold fak e water and are put in by me to get unsuspecting people…but then again, I think most of my readers should know that by now, haha.
Perianth: Ah, pleasure to see you again! How have you been? Well, it's good to see you back, and all in a new location too! Hehe, I'm a bit surprised that in Episode 3, I didn't take advantage of the Mario Party boards. Some that I wanted to include were Mario Party 3's Creepy Cavern, Spiny Desert, Mario Party 2's Mystery Land even, but I always knew I wanted to do a haunted map stage so made sure to do that. I think the players enjoyed being there (jk, they probably want to murder me for putting them there LOL). Anyways, wow! Your mention of the Mole's Modus operandi being different this time around is so compelling. I would love to hear more some time : )
FireKai: Pfft! As if I would ever consider you "late" : ) Anyways, I just wanted to express my thanks for being there since the beginning : ) Even when time flies, I feel like a lot still stays the same here, and it's kinda awesome that way actually! Anyways, when you mentioned Éclair and Dashell…you reminded me of the common angst trope and put it in my head of one lover following the other into death. I won't say if you're right or wrong of this happening, but thanks for making me remember literature and making me travel to TV tropes to confirm that trope again, haha. Anyways, you also made me remember about the chests in Neon Heights, and ooh! I should have incorporated that somewhere in the mission. Maybe it's not too late for the next one? Hehe. And good clues analyzing and realizing small details that may have importance! I can always count on you for sharp eyes.
Luigenius: First of all, GREETINGS! It's quite nice to see your name : ) and second, yowza! You're totally right about college. How's it treating ya? Hehe, though some times I want to hit myself with bob-omb, it's not been too bad on my boat. Ah, your clue searching always makes me smile, because they pick at the details and at many times you are right on them! And now, mentioning the clues in the scavenger hunt…whoa. You definitely got more than ONE right. You were wrong about the car, but that explanation was AWESOME! I'm actually sad it wasn't another vehicle, and wish I could have changed it back to a trolley just so you would be right, haha. But you getting the stadium field is the kick on the winner, and you deserve money (and a glove!) for that. Congrats! : ) Anyways, always look forward to seeing your words!
Guest: And hahaha! You are so right, beginning your words with "NEW YORK"! I think it's because I live in such close proximity to New York City, and travel there often. I actually got a lot of my inspiration from this chapter from my walks in the Big Apple! Anyways, always good to see you! Thanks for reviewing : ) You did a nice and summarizing job analyzing the possibilities of each player being the Mole! Suspicion levels were stated for each person too. You did a good job gauging their "Mole" levels based on their personalities (e.g. Is Piantissimo cunning? Does a Mole have to be cunning? Etc) And I'm happy that Vivian was back too! But sad that it was so short…the funny part is, I created her appearance, and made her stay short, yet I'm disappointed that her stay was short? Some things don't make sense. Anyways, awesome to see ya!
Anyways, that's the end of Part 2! The largest mission of the episode is over, but that does not mean that even more intense games, and twists…yes, large twists...are in the store for the rest of this episode. The best, and the worst, is yet to come.
Stay tuned for Part 3!