Hey guys! :D
Ahhh! Sorry for not updating on the promised Wednesday! Dx I was a day off! Actually I had the whole chapter already finished, but I didn't have any quick or reliable access to a computer yesterday, haha xD Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the chapter before the end! :)
The mission plays out...some surprising elements in ittt!
Enjoy!
Episode 2 (Part 4)
Mountain slopes and blowing trees serve as obstacles for the team's money. Apples finally fly...into either the river, the paws of two canines, or into the hands of a calculating, scheming player.
"AHHHH! The BASKET!" DK was trying to scoop up, with his large, oversized hands, the numerous apples which had fallen into the river, some of them still floating and bobbing on its blue surface. Joker had his palm over his face, silent and sighing.
Joker: ….Why...just simply why...did I have an unsurprised feeling?
"They're...lost," Joker said, hand still over his face in disbelief.
"They're still floating!" DK pointed out with a yell, spotting a few of the fruit on the surface.
"If any apples touch the water...they are unusable," Joker reminded him. He sighed.
DK: Dang! This mission blew! If only I knew how dangerous the water was! I didn't know the apples would be instantly DISQUALIFIED if they touched a single drop of water…!
On the other side of the river, the two canines looked in stunned disappointment. They had just witnessed the healthy apple basket topple into the river water, all of its nine apples lost forever.
"Oh...well...I guess that's a shame…" Isabelle shrugged with wide eyes, but then turned around in surprise. Lucario was holding something in his hand, smooth and soft: it was a ball of clay he had improvised from the ground below them. As Isabelle's eyes widened, Lucario's mouth was curved into a little smile.
"Might as well practice," the Pokemon said, grinning a little. "Let me teach you." They would play ball.
40 Minutes Remaining...
Wii Fit and Lucina, shocked expressions, faced the unbelievable sight before them: an uphill, daunting slope upon one of the planet's immense mountains. The grey, rocky, and very slanted path was their second obstacle.
A single, poorly-placed sign post was at the beginning of the path: YOUR SECOND BASKET IS AT THE TOP OF THIS SLOPE.
"You don't say," Wii Fit said sarcastically, referring to the obvious message. Though still, the two ready women looked at each other, tensely yet strangely determined.
"Well, I suppose we won't stop running until we reach the top, right?" Wii Fit said to Lucina, taking in a deep breath. "I shall be counting on you." Lucina nodded to her statement.
"If this challenge were any easier…" Lucina pondered, "then...would not we certainly be complaining afterwards that the task was not challenging enough?" Wii Fit grinned, remembering her own statement from her first run. The two women then faced the intimidating slope.
"I'll slow down to whatever pace you're good with," Wii Fit decided. "As you know, I run everyday. I might be a bit faster in the end."
"And I train with a sword almost everyday," Lucina replied calmly. "I will be right behind you as well. Do not worry."
"Hmm." Wii Fit looked at the princess, an impressed look on her face.
Wii Fit: One of the first players to speak up against one of my patronizing comments...but in an effective way. I couldn't underestimate her.
"I'm right behind you, sister," Wii Fit winked to her. Lucina looked surprised, yet hearing her words, slightly smiled.
Lucina: I felt warmth from her sentence...though I knew, unfortunately...the friendliness of this trainer had potential for being dishonest.
And then, the two players began their heavy run up the steep slope...and against their uphill battle.
The gray-colored mountain slope seemed to stretch out for miles, and the two players didn't know exactly how far they had to run on the heavily-inclined land. They continued on, strongly but with difficulty. A long, tiring minute passed...but each second felt like a minute of enduring torture.
"I had always wondered …if you were ever worried that we knew your truth?"
"Oh, it had never truly mattered. To be honest...I had fun. I apologize for any deceit to anyone, however."
"My view of you did not change at all...I still viewed you at the highest…"
A minute turned into three minutes, and three minutes of continuous upwards running turned into five strenuous minutes. Up the grey Green Greens Mountain, the two strong women ran...tiredly, yet strongly.
Wii Fit: I was so pooped! How would have any other player completed this? We chose well, volunteering ourselves!
Lucina: To claim it was not a difficult climb to the top...would have been a statement of denial.
"Whew! My legs...are finally getting the workout that they needed!" Wii Fit huffed, almost pleased and smiling, running slightly ahead. "Imagine Dark Pit doing this...he'd be on the floor, sprawled, crying for his wings. But there's no Palutena here for him at all!"
"Yes…" Lucina slowed down her speed slightly as they started reaching the top of the mountain slope. She looked more tired and a bit troubled.
"Wii Fit...I ultimately find that I do not have as much stamina as you...may we slow down our communal pace?" Lucina realized after seven minutes of their uphill running, slowing down her pace just the tiniest of bit. In match, Wii Fit slowed down a bit as well.
"You can carry a heavy sword into battle," Wii Fit pointed out, grinning at her. "You have the strength of ten bears and can take down a king. That's admirable." Lucina looked at her, a surprised look on her face.
Lucina: In the right circumstances, when you earn her respect...I suppose some genuine kindness can shine from her.
As the two strong players began to approach closer and closer to the final top of the mountain's rocky slope, they were at their slowest speed yet. To her own surprise, Wii Fit even found her own self struggling, huffing louder than ever before. Energy depleted, they could almost no longer continue. But finally, after nearly ten non-stop minutes of their torturous run, they had reached the top of their run. Before their eyes, against a rocky wall, a basket waited for them upon a green chair.
"We...did it," Lucina gasped, composing herself as quickly as she could. "We...are successful." Tiredly yet victoriously, they both saw the red apple goal at the top of the slope, and the two women turned to each other with satisfaction.
"Phew! A job well done," Wii Fit smiled, wiping sweat from her forehead. The two players, exhausted but feeling successful, seemed proud. Lucina took a second to look over the edge of their high spot. From the mountain, it was no less than breathtaking to see the orchards, rivers, and world combined into one beautiful view.
"Perhaps this beautiful view is the ultimate prize reward for completing such a climb," Lucina spoke softly, looking over the edge of the mountain slope they were upon. The sight of Green Greens from above in the air was a mesmerizing one.
"A...note?" Instead of looking at the wonderful sight, Wii Fit was instead looking down at a hidden piece of paper leaning against the side of the chair. Curiously, the two women turned to look at the message written upon the paper
Run to the hidden mountain cliff past this basket of apples, and a zipline awaits. Just make sure to hold tight to your ten beautiful apples.
30 Minutes Remaining...
Upon the floating land in the air, three players were waiting patiently. Their digital chalkboard was blank, empty except for three numbers present: 1, 2, and 3. Half an hour had gone by...but there was nothing.
And now, finally, something else had suddenly appeared on the screen.
"Look! Finally! Something appeared!" Now, Peach, Kazooie, and Dark Pit were looking at the board with alertness and interest. A single word had appeared next to the Number 1.
1. - - - - - - - - - apple
"What...the...?" Dark Pit began. "JUST ONE WORD?!"
"One word out of ten…" Kazooie nodded, not fully understanding. "For a ten-word sentence. Haha!" She went up to the board, curious.
"And this sentence...is a clue for us to which colored apple to eat?" Peach wondered. "But I don't understand...'apple'? Why is 'apple' written? Do we eat an apple? How curious." The princess pondered.
"But wait a minute..? Why did we get only one word?" Kazooie exclaimed in realization, flabbergasted and finally getting Dark Pit's feelings. "Did they only successfully transfer only one measly apple across the river? That blows! Something's weird..." Kazooie shrugged, peering off the edge of the land, trying to spot the Dedede River thousands of feet below them.
Kazooie: So you're telling me that out of a basket of ten apples...only ONE made it over the river? I can only guess someone did some apple eating or something.
"Yeah...weird indeed," Dark Pit said, but he was looking strangely at Peach, who was grabbing numerous apples into her hands, putting them down on the table, and then repeating the process over and over again. Just ten minutes ago...she had put an apple...the green apple...into her pocket.
Dark Pit: I needed to find out...what was her plan? She put the green apple into her pocket and was clearly hiding it from us. But why?
"Peach. I see you are picking up many apples," he began talking, slowly walking up to her. "What's your strategy?"
"Oh!" Peach stopped her actions, then smiled at him from the table of colorful apples.
"I am examining all of these colored apples...very, very closely... to see if I can spot any clues towards apples are valuable and which are not," Peach explained to him, looking at the indigo apple closely in her hand. "Perhaps a bruise, or a sparkle, or something sign. How interesting this all is." Dark Pit took in a deep breath.
"Where's the green apple?" he asked directly. At this, Peach turned silent. Then, after a second, she opened her mouth to reply to him.
"I put the green apple in my pocket because it might be irrelevant to our mission," Peach replied to him in a nonchalant voice. "I looked at it closely, believed that it may have been one of the rare ones we shouldn't eat, so I wanted to eliminate the green apple and hide it away. Therefore, we wouldn't accidentally choose it later mistakenly. I'm sure it is a wrong choice and we shouldn't bother." Dark Pit paused, then spoke.
"Cool. May I see it to make sure?" the angel asked. Peach turned quiet again. Dark Pit also seemed to take a cautious breath. The Mushroom Kingdom princess turned slowly around to face him directly.
"Dark Pit, there are many other apples on the table," she replied, frowning at him. "You can just examine one of those instead. Please try and help by studying one of the other apples." She then turned around, studying the other apples in her hands, ignoring Dark Pit and the rest of his questions. Dark Pit, suspiciously looking at the pink princess, was lost at what to do next.
Dark Pit: She was planning something secret. And I had to get that green apple from her. It was my mission.
25 Minutes Remaining...
"That was refreshing...and just what we needed! Flying and zip-lining through the air...who knew?!" Joker and DK heard the two women chattering as they ran towards their spot on the river.
"Over here!" DK called. The apples had been successfully delivered and in fast time. Lucina held out the basket to the two males.
"We have produced the second basket...please throw these apples across the river," Lucina ordered to them firmly. "We are depending on you to complete your part of the mission." Joker winked at her.
"Of course...anything for the princess." Joker smiled at her, did a quick bow, and took the second basket from her hands.
"Flirting gets you nowhere," Wii Fit sighed. Lucina blushed, but shook her head quickly.
"Here ya go!" DK gave them another slip of paper: it had directions for both Wii Fit and Lucina to their final location and final apple basket.
"So...the question is...how are you all doing by the river, huh?" Wii Fit chuckled. "Failing with the apples? I suppose you couldn't have been able to do our difficult running task, so hopefully you were able to do your simple apple task." Wii Fit had said it in a joking manner, but the two guys gulped. Remembering the events of their first basket, Joker and DK exchanged glances.
Joker: Should we tell them about the failed apple basket? Nah. We save that drama for after the game.
"Nothing happened with our first basket!" DK said with a grin. Wii Fit eyed him suspiciously. Joker slapped his forehead.
"We're running our butts off more than you could imagine...I hope you two men aren't just dilly-dallying the field, playing with butterflies," Wii Fit glared. As the two women ran off for their final basket, DK and Joker faced the river. The two males both looked ready and determined.
DK: Showtime.
"Uh...Lucario?" Joker spoke with disbelief, looking across the river. Lucario, quiet and meditating on the grass, was peacefully in peace. Joker sighed.
Joker: The runners took that long? Some of us were bored.
DK: But now...the fun part!
"We're gonna throw!" DK yelled, and it seemed to wake Lucario up. He opened his eyes.
"We got it!" Lucario shouted back loudly. "I am well-focused now! And we are very ready to begin catching!" Isabelle only gulped. The two dogs knew it was time to shine and for their section of the game to begin. However, they also knew that it was a challenge in itself. They faced each other apprehensively, and then nodding, looked across the flowing river.
"On the count of three!" DK and Joker both got ready.
"Two...one…" Isabelle and Lucario braced themselves, focusing their eyes on the apples their teammates were holding, fifty feet away.
"Go!"
Whoooosh! The two first apples flew into the air, glistening in the sunlight. They were a beautiful spectacle for anyone watching as they sailed over the blue, glistening river.
Lucario leapt for the first apple...but it had gone too far behind him. Jumping for it, he managed to barely touch the stem of the apple, but nothing else, as he ultimately missed the catch.
"Darn," was the only sound the Pokemon let out.
"Ahhhh!" Isabelle screamed...and she ran away from the exact spot of where the apple was going to land. Instead of being caught...the apple smashed into the ground into pieces.
Apples: 0/2
"Shoot! No apples?!" DK expressed. Both throws had failed.
"She was right where I had thrown the apple to," Joker lamented, "but she ran away from it."
Isabelle: I didn't expect the apples to be so frightening! Oh...they were just flying straight towards us! And apples are hard and sturdy, not soft! It was a scary mission, even almost as scary as flying on a warpstar itself.
"Shoot..." A third apple was missed, landing a little bit in front of Isabelle. Joker had misfired.
"I'm gonna throw again!" DK yelled, and once again, he ran forwards, the apple being released from his strong arm. His second apple as well flew high into the air, very high over the river. The red fruit was also too far once again above the head of his catching partner.
"Too...far!" Lucario shouted with a grunt, running back fast as he could with his eyes on the apple, but the apple had ultimately gone way over Lucario's head. It hit into the ground. far behind him. Lucario turned around: the apple was smashed, broken.
Apples: 0/4
Lucario: I didn't, at first, understand why the apples were flying too far...why were they soaring like birds so far into the horizon land? ...until it had hit me suddenly. DK...the player with the biggest arms in the Smash roster...muscles ahoy..was the one throwing. He was tossing the fruit too strongly.
"I believe you must throw with less power!" Lucario called to him, as their fifth apple smashed into the tree almost twenty feet behind him.
Apples: 0/5
"Less power?!" DK shouted back to him in incredulity. "That'll make it boring!" DK sighed, but began to listen.
"Ahh!" Isabelle ducked in fear as soon as her third apple was almost landing, directly towards her. As she stepped back, her apple landed only at her feet instead. Joker had a conflicted look on his face.
Apples: 0/6
Joker: Immediately already, I knew we had hit an error: making Isabelle one of the catchers. I wish we could switch, but we couldn't. The river made it impossible to do so.
"Isabelle...do remember," Lucario began, facing his teammate with a determined face. "It is just like how we were practicing with the clayball ten minutes ago. You can catch a ball; I saw you do it very well. You can catch these, certainly."
"But it's...scary!" Isabelle explained to him, wide-eyed. "An apple is heavier than a clay ball!"
"Fear is subjective...something is only scary if a person believes it to be scary," Lucario told her. "These are just little apples...look." Lucario took one of the unbroken fruits from the ground and threw it high into the air, to Isabelle's surprise. It flew upwards, high against the sun...and then, the apple started to plummet down to earth. But Lucario put his directly head under it.
Plunk! The apple hit the top of Lucario's head strongly, but Lucario's face remained still. Isabelle gasped. Lucario, however, seemed okay from the heavy apple's impact.
"See? It was...painless," Lucario said, his voice calm and unbothered. He nodded to her.
"Oh wow…really?" Isabelle said in surprise, smiling. "I feel much better! Okay.." Lucario smiled with another nod, clenching his teeth.
Lucario: It...had actually hurt quite a bit. But I could not tell her that.
They both saw DK and Joker getting ready for their next throw. Isabelle stared nervously. Lucario took a step back.
"Remember...it is just like catching a simple, clay ball," Lucario told her. "Do not be afraid." Isabelle nodded nervously.
"3...2...1…" The two throwers readied their arms. And, the two catchers readies their eyes and stances.
"Apple Number 4!" Simultaneously, Joker and DK threw their apples across the river.
"Hurry!" The fruit were thrown with force and determination, sailing grandly in the air and over the river at fast speed. The two catchers' eyes were focused on the red orbs, going closer and closer to them with every millisecond that passed. As they were approaching closer and almost to them, Isabelle let out a sound of panic.
Poooph! Finally, the two apples reached the other side.
"Ah!" Isabelle let out a shout as the apple reached her….and when it did, she closed her eyes instantly at the impact. Then, she opened them.
And she saw that caught with her outstretched arms, between her elbows, was an apple.
Apples: 2/8
"See? You are a natural." As she turned to Lucario with stunned, new excitement, he smiled back at her too. He had an apple in his hands too.
20 Minutes Remaining...
"Oh, bingo!" Peach exclaimed, as she saw a series of words appear upon the digital chalkboard. Kazooie and Dark Pit ran to her spot.
"What is it?" The second sentence on their board had revealed words, and new words next to the "2" upon the board were now present. Almost half a sentence had been revealed to them.
2. - at - ocean - - - person - sadness
"At...ocean...person...sadness," Kazooie read. "Okay, they got four apples! Let's try to work with what we have! Uh..."
"This sentence is trying to describe a color...which color?" Peach wondered. The three of them looked at the wooden screen harder.
"Ocean…a person," Then, Kazooie's eyes turned to the princess.
"Squirtle. He swims in the ocean." The princess' eyes widened.
"Oh! Could it be?" Peach wondered. "Hmm…" She thought further.
"Then it's blue..." Peach began with thought. "Or…perhaps orange because of the color of his shell?"
"Oh shoot! This could suck, but maybe it's also talking about Toon Link as well," Kazooie thought suddenly with a frown. "He's always sailing across water, right? Which would mean green! This is tougher than it seemed at first.." Dark Pit stared at them both incredulously.
"Guys...what? Squirtle? Toon Link?!" Dark Pit spoke up to them with a doubtful face. "When I think of the words 'ocean' and 'sadness'...I think blue. Don't those two words symbolize blue? Hello?!"
"Too obvious," Kazooie said flatly. Dark Pit's hands went up with disbelief.
"What do you mean, 'too obvious'?!" Dark Pit exclaimed. "That exactly makes sense!"
"Kazooie has a point," Peach spoke. "It just seems a bit too obvious. This game must be more difficult. They usually quite are."
Dark Pit: What?! They were definitely making up weird connections. All of a sudden, Peach and Kazooie were connecting it to two unrelated characters in the game. The clue was definitely not for Orange or Green.
"I vote orange," Kazooie laughed. "Because even if it's wrong, at least it'll be pretty cool eating an orange apple. When do you ever see a blue apple?" Dark Pit's eye twitched.
17 Minutes Remaining...
The final, narrow path laid before their eyes. Wii Fit and Lucina, at first, didn't seem bothered. But then, feeling something else...they turned to each other with strange expressions.
"Do you feel…" Wii Fit began. Lucina gasped, feeling a strange gust too.
"It is wind. Very...strong wind," she realized. The final path seemed like a normal, if not a little narrow, dirt road in the middle of the forest, but there was a strange feeling to it. Heavy air was pushing against them from afar, and as Lucina and Wii Fit looked ahead of them at the many trees and the path that lay ahead, they saw that not far in the distance, about several meters down the road...was an apple tree that was larger than all of the rest.
"I may be going unfortunately crazy...but does that tree...have a face?" Wii Fit whispered. She could make out a face on it. And they saw that once again, the hole opening on the tree's front had let out a strong puff of air, as the wind traveled down to them, down the path. It undoubtedly had a mouth.
"God's creations are indeed...unique," Lucina stated, wide-eyed. "However, I will not question it. I cannot imagine how that tree down this path is breathing and alive...but we should not question such things. We must go forwards." She held onto her flowing cape to stop its billowing, ready to go forwards.
"So this is the true king of the forest," Wii Fit smiled. "Not that strong, loud Donkey Kong." The two players then started running down the path towards the tree.
WHOOSH! The tree blew a gust of wind towards the two players, stronger than it had been blowing before. Surprised, the two of them were stopped by it, the wind having pushed against their own force of running successfully.
"Whoa, I hate to admit it...but that king of the forest is really strong!" Wii Fit yelled in surprise.
"Indeed…" Lucina regained her own composure and the two of them began to run again. They both were able to make it several meters forwards more….until they stopped.
And then the tree blew wind again...but this time...stronger.
WHOOOOOOOSH! It was enough to send Lucina and Wii Fit back on their feet as they skid across the dirt, and they gasped, shocked at the tree's increased strength. The rest of the path before them did not seem so far ahead...yet they realized that it still would not be easy; they were up against a strong, unexpected opponent.
Wii Fit: Well, I had to admit, this tree was truly a Mole to us...and I could not wait to beat its woody butt.
"Wow, this tree is brutal!" Wii Fit exclaimed, huffing. Once again however, the blowing stopped, and she and Lucina ran on. The apple basket...they could now see...was right past the tree's sturdy body. They quickly ran, as fast as they could, towards the basket on the chair..
Lucina: And at that precise second, the glistening apples seemed right in our reach.
And then, right before they could run past its body, the tree made its final blow.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH! Both Lucina and Wii Fit were thrown backwards suddenly, the wind so strong suddenly that it had incredibly picked up their bodies a few feet from the very ground and thrown them backwards onto the ground. They let out surprised shouts as they both fell violently to the dirt ground.
"Oomph!" Lucina and Wii Fit fell to the floor, shocked. Trying to regain themselves from the heavy hit, their eyes looked up at the tree: it was staring at them, as if angry at them both. And the wind...was still blowing.
"No...way!" Wii Fit gasped, looking at the windy air ahead of them. "This is crazy!" The wind was howling to them, menacingly delivering its message to them both. The two of them were grabbing onto the ground, and even so, they were sliding backwards.
"We must stand up!" Lucina shouted over the wind. Wii Fit nodded, as they both struggled. They faced each other.
"On three! Ready" Wii Fit yelled. The two women grasped a hand together for support.
"One...two...three!" Holding each other against the terrible wind, they stood up, supporting one another as they continued on down the path, proceeding slowly. They were slowly making their way to the tree, inch by inch.
"Slowly...no big steps!" Lucina realized, knowing she would lose her balance on one foot.
"We must...go further…" Wii Fit winced. "We can...do this!" Leaves were flying into their faces and hair, and small branches as well made their way through the air. A big pile of leaves fell the windstorm towards them, attacking them like a swirling whirlwind, as they tried to cover their faces.
They faced on...and were just a few feet from the blowing, violent tree.
Lucina: We could undoubtedly feel the tree's rage towards us. It was the nature of God that was attacking its gust upon us.
"Watch out!" Wii Fit screamed, as a large, disconnected tree branch came towards their heads. They both ducked, just as the branch at full speed flew over their bodies. They faced forwards again: they were right before the tree, just five feet away...and the power was at its strongest. The wind blew into their eyes.
"We jump!" Lucina ordered. The basket was right past the tree, an area of peace where the wind was absent and no longer present. If they made it past the dreadful tree...they would be safe.
"On three…" Wii Fit directed, and they faced each other, then at the basket.
"One…two…"
"Three!" The two women gave their last bit of energy against the soaring, powerful wind...and jumped past the body of the terrible tree. And in doing so, they landed on the ground, on the other side of the tree, at peace and no longer in danger. They looked around them, stunned and overwhelmed. The wind was no more. It was as if a malicious hurricane had ended.
"The apples...we did it." The two women spotted the basket of apples on the chair before them, then turned to each other, smiling. They had done their last leg of the race.
6 Minutes Remaining...
Only a few minutes remained. DK was pacing the ground impatiently, worried.
"There's just five minutes...and fifty seconds left!" he said loudly and panickedly. On the other side of the river, the catchers waited as well.
"Oh no…" Isabelle moaned. "Will they make it? Lucina and Wii Fit? I hope they will."
"Hmm," Lucario was closing his eyes, a strange look on his face.
"I do not know why," he responded, "but I feel an energy…"
On the other side of the river, across from Lucario and Isabelle, Joker was leaning over the river to survey the distance between them and the catchers. But he looked up: just faintly, he could hear the conversation across from him. Joker froze...hearing Lucario's words.
"What energy?" Isabelle asked curiously.
"An energy," Lucario continued to her, "As if two bodies will be here soon. As if…"
"Hey!" Wii Fit and Lucina appeared from around the forest edge, and the four Catch 'n' Throwers turned to their voices: they were all relieved. As the two Runners came to them, Joker and DK looked at the two women, noticing that tremendous wind had thrown their hair in all sorts of directions. They were stunned.
"Your...hair!" DK laughed loudly.
"OH? Would you like to say more?" As Wii Fit put her hands on her hips, face silent and eyes piercing, DK shut up immediately.
"This is the final basket," Lucina gasped, still overwhelmed from the windy attack they had just experienced.
"Looked like a strong hit...but still pretty nonetheless," Joker shrugged. Lucina looked at him weirdly, but never the less, held the basket out to them.
"We went through a terrible windstorm to get these...so I hope you are able to perform successfully as well. Win these for us all."
"And that we will," Joker nodded, grabbing the basket. He made his way towards the river, and DK followed him. Lucario and Isabelle immediately got ready in position on the other side of the river, stepping back.
'Are you ready?" Lucario barked, readying himself as well. Isabelle, though still nervous, was not as scared as she had been before.
Isabelle: Lucario had made me feel better...oh, I really, truly owe it to him!
"Go!" The first two apples soared in the air, flying over the blue river in a spectacular way towards the two catchers. Lucario and Isabelle eyed them both, running to their landing spots on the ground. Isabelle jumped up, and caught hers.
"I...got it!" Isabelle screamed, catching the apple in her hands.
"And I can happily say the same." Lucario had a smile. He had caught his apple easily, raising it in the air to show the others. "Let's make this game worth it, shall we?"
Apples: 2/2
"Yes!" DK shouted. "We're doing good!"
DK: And one by one, it was a miracle! They kept on catching apples one after the other.
"Oomph!" The fifth apple sailed to Isabelle, and she caught it as well. Lucario, with no trouble, caught his sixth.
Apples: 6/6
Isabelle: All of a sudden, it became easier. And I was really, really happy!
"Won't believe my eyes sometimes, but I'm believing these apples," Joker smirked, seeing the apple he had just thrown over the river being caught by Isabelle. "She's catching them." He looked at the timer clock by the river.
"Oh shoot...one minute left. We gotta hurry."
"Yeah, we're the bomb!" DK yelled happily, and he stepped back, drew his arm back all the way, and excitedly threw the eight apple over the river. Too hard.
"Coming...got it...got it…no...don't got it," Lucario called out disappointedly, seeing the seventh apple soar over his own head and smash into a tree behind him, the poor apple's insides now smeared all over the tree's bark. Isabelle almost caught hers, her hands having touched the fruit, but she dropped hers at the last second.
"No time! Just a few seconds left!" Joker shouted hurriedly.
"Incoming!" DK yelled, throwing the tenth apple way too soon. Lucario's eyes widened, as he tried to run towards the last apple. It was just in his reach. He leapt for it.
Lucario: I was close. Just so, so, very close.
The apple bounced on his hands, before falling away and into the river with a plop. Lucario was still, in a moment of disappointment on his face. He sighed with a shrug of acceptance, then turned next to him.
"Yay!" A bit further away, Isabelle was looking at the apple in her hands she had just recently caught, and she was smiling widely. And in seeing her success...Lucario smiled as well.
Apples: 7/10
Lucario: Give someone an apple, feed them for a day. But teach them how to catch and apple...and feed them for a lifetime…and I suppose 30,000 coins too is a plus.
45 seconds remaining...
The three Food Experts were studying the apples upon the table anxiously, pacing around. Less than a minute remained.
"There's almost no time left!" Dark Pit realized, looking anxious. "We'll have to decide before we know it!"
"Sheesh...can we just eat one for fun?" Kazooie said, looking at the red apple. "I'm willing to pay 10,000 coins for a yummy snack."
"Kazooie, when we are done, I will gorgeously bake us all a delicious apple pie for tonight," Peach said reassuringly with a smile. But more reassuring than the princess' promise for baked dessert that night, the final series of words appeared on their digital chalkboard. As they all gasped with both surprise and relief, they saw that their third sentence had mostly appeared...and it was almost completed.
3. When - moon is gone, another circle - - sky.
"Whoa! Yes! They got a lot of apples!" Kazooie realized.
"Finally: a sentence that actually sounds like a sentence," Dark Pit said, frustrated, but at least overall satisfied at the board.
"And I'm happy to say...they made it just in time." Smash Host came around the corner, now on their platform, holding a pocketwatch in his hands. They saw that their timer had expired.
"Congratulations. Now, it's time to eat. The conclusion of this game will take place once the others have arrived upon this platform as well. In about...five minutes from now. Relax: the game is almost over." The host appeared as if he was going to turn around again and walk off...but then he stopped suddenly. He turned around.
"Peach…the exemption in your pocket?" Smash Host asked her slowly. "May I have it?" And as Dark Pit and Kazooie's faces dropped with shock, the princess only remained quiet. Her face was ambiguous, and her mouth was closed, her elegant lipstick as red as a sparkling apple itself...not unlike the mysterious, green apple that was in her possession. She reached into her dress pocket, retrieving the green apple as she held it up for everyone to see.
'"Indeed, this green apple...is Episode 2's exemption," she spoke, and the game seemed to become even more dire, and even less sweet, than it had been before.
Again with the DUN DUN DUN! I cannot let go off these cliffhangers xD
Anyways, thanks for bearing with me all! You're all the best :)
The next update will come...in 2 weeks! The final chapter of Episode 2!
You guessed it...one of our cherished players will be eliminated! Another will follow as the Mole's next victim...but who will it be? Stay tuned for next next Wednesday :) !
And on my profile, please check out...THE POLL! New poll! :D Please vote if you can! Up to three choices, you can target the Mole ; ) So the question is...Who...is...the...Mole?
Masking What Remains: HALLO HALLO! :D I missed you millions! Aww, things must be hitting you these days, sorry if they are! But I'm just soooo so happy to see your name! :D made my day! Please just catch up and review on the latest chapters that you can :) Do not review anything before Chapter 8 please! It'll be fun to see your thoughts on the second half of Episode 2 as a lot of action and exciting things happen then! XD ah yes! The apples and perfect apples in Animal Crossing! I remember seeing a perfect orange for the first time and freaking out at it's weird design xD bahahaha. Anyways so good to see you again! :D
Princess Toady: Omg thanks for being so gracious and reviewing twice! You're just so great! :D Aww I'm sad the language barrier makes me reading your Mole story a bit difficult but I am without any bone of doubt in my body sure your new fic is AMAZINGGGG! :D I mean your incredible first two Mole fics were so well-written, and by the way with English not being your first language...I couldn't even guess that with how stellar your writing is in English :O so it must be even better in French! About the chapter, yes! Existential questions really make intriguing topic and I'm glad you liked the host and Peach's exchange :) Also very astute observation and theory with Lucario never having a one-on-one convo with another player! Where is the production team located anyway in all this? Where does the host sleep?! Nice observing with penalties, indeed many many! And also nice observing with trying to figure out which apples are the common ones :) and lastly, your pointing to Isabelle with her Neutral B is such a clever pick! You were the one who picked out Isabelle's down smash resembling the water in the Castle Mole mission, no? I remember you well ;)
Derick Lindsey: Haha yess! "Damn some weird stuff going on" is exactly how I felt after reading this chapter xD So that's an interesting take on eliminating Lucina as the Mole, based on what she philosiphized. DK hitting the basket, was it an accident or on purpose? For the journal take, spoiler but there's no penalty! It's weird xD but if a player neglects their journal and it's taken, it's completely fair game :) however if someone sneaks into their room and steals it THAT'S definitely against the rules xD Yes the references to the past stories:) I'm happy you got them! It's so interesting how you stated that Peach encouraging Isabelle was a reference to Traitor Aboard because although not directly intentional, maybe subconsciously I intended that because it sounds SO much like it! The Bell of Endurance game with the keys and Toadette right? Wow, I'm sure part of me reflected the Peach personality from before! :D I'm so glad you remember!
Darksymphony777: Haha! Wait a second, why is Toadette yelling Wii Fit's name? Did she tease her for being too small and short?! Omg...I never got back to you about your message! I'm the worst Dx forgive me. Nice analyzing of the Peach and Smash Host scene and the fact that you theorize that the host could still perhaps in fact be McHallyboo is just you not wanting the top-hatted Mario Party man to leave forever, huh?! Interesting theory on Lucina and the gondola connection! And also, bahaha! Yes yes yes! I am living for that final Piantissimo and Tiny convo! Indeed...what EXACTLY DID Piantissimo spend his money winnings on?! I'm dead because Neon Heights with the rocket is perfect reference and sense xD bahaha. And wow, unique thinking with thinking the apples connect to players! Personally I'd choose the pink apple...how many times a year do you see a pink apple?!
Dark Punxysaur: I'm glad I got you questioning and thinking about any things! :D Nice job catching the (is it true?!) meaning of the Peach analogy talking about different games! So many mysteries! :O And also, you're spot on realizing some potential sabotages by the princess too! Suggesting Isabelle and pickpocketing an apple? (Just kidding, she's not that unlawful bahahaa) and Whoa whoa! You remember the apples from Super Paper Mario? :D that is where I got some inspiration for this game! Just the appeal of the colorful apples and unique colors made me inspired...you might be onto something? ;) Also have you seen the trailer for the new Paper Mario? Any thoughts?! I heard fans are divided :) haha! Interesting execution theory too! I did realize how much heavy screentime Fox got...and then bam, thrown off the edge of a hundred-foot wall xD
Cavin856: Least 2 favorite players xD I understand because I wouldn't want to be friends with either of them lol. I love your 50-50 suspicion mindset! :) Going by both clues and also in-story genuine analyzing! :) Interesting thinking that Lucina might be the next executed due to focus on her. But I loved your layout of both Lucina's and Isabelle's sabotages! So organized and you even got the chapters written out?! I cant T.T your detective hunting and writing layout are great. I love also how you wrote put your apple color theorizing xD it was like looking into your head, and then suddenly...maybe it doesn't match up as well as we initially thought about the colors to players baha xD Tbh, I just went for the rainbow, then opposite black and white, and pink cause I like pink :) And lastly, you saying you are not good at clue hunting, IS ABSURD! :D I greatly respect you! I would say that you have made many clue claims up to this point, so the chances you've found one may be pretty up there :) but some select clues are stupid and ridiculous so don't feel too bad because I expect no one to find like one or two of them haha. But seriously you're doing at the maximum a clue sleuther can get so you're seriously up there, don't ever say that you're lower than you are! :)))
The Wise Zora: Ahhh I feel so bad not replying to your previous review! :( I'll reply to some parts :D You nailed UK Season 2's Mole?! No way! :D congrats and I do agree Episode 2 with the bomb mission made her suspicious but then her genuineness and weakness slowly after that episode made me not look at her ahhhh, you're great xD Okay wait...21...21 PAGES!? I have so many happy emotions about that! :'') to know a reader has that many note pages about a Mole story I've written...my happiness goes into overdrive, thanks so much :'))) Your symbolism theory with the "Lucina, you're missing a star!" is so eye-opening! :o whether it's true or not, very interesting thinking! The "fast quiz" strategy is very interesting because it indeed is very blind and bad! ...but knowingly that Kathy Griffin from US3 and other players used that strategy to make it far makes me look at the strategy very strongly and even positively! :o I love your Peach edit and understanding suddenly! XD Coalition between Wii Fit and Kazooie was even surprising for ME! They are different personalities … but somewhat similar :o Joker choosing the biggest group is indeed a good strategy! I would play the same way :) I like how you already know the game is gonna fail xD Interesting theory about the sun salute clue...and how it may tie more accurately to Wii Fit than Isabelle! If hypothetically Wii Fit was the Mole...what a very different personality from other Moles right?! And….very very VERY astute observation and analysis about the mysterious "speedy flash of light" line by Fox. I commend you for putting so much focus on it and I'm amazed yet not amazed :) Your detective work skills are always on par and YESSSS that was me on Youtube! :D Why is this world so small and interconnected?! FYI I will be praising your detective skills as this story goes so don't worry xD It won't be stopping. P.S. You were making strange mentions about profile clues but I'm not following them...sorry.
FFWF: I always love multi-step missions! :D For example, in the real Mole, the Pool Mission in Season 2 was so multi-leveled! When the contestants had to run around locations of Italy to solve riddles while others had to tread water! Anyways, so true! The sign being missed, the apples falling to the river...whether these are genuine mistakes or sabotage are always to be questioned...LOL I laugh at, "Do you think Peach is tired of Isabelle?" because the possibility does exist xD They're always together and she's always following her like...a dog. Nice conclusion on Peach and you really nail a lot of things! Good theory on who the "other person" might be who wanted to know her origins! Was it the Mole? And true! If the past seasons were canon, would not DK know about his relatives past adventures and Peach being a player?! DK hasn't made a single mention of his past...hmm. Wii Fit really is an interesting character and speaking if she isn't the Mole, I wonder what her incentives are? Especially with Kazooie. Wow, such interesting theory with Dark Pit! Indeed, his attitude has changed a bit since his Kid Icarus days. I think a twist on these character personality changes is due to the fact that they're surrounded by completely new people! We are more ourselves around friends and familiar environments but meeting intimidating strangers for the first time, our personalities might change...that's what happened to some of the players! For example, Kazooie and Wii Fit: since Wii Fit took the more assertive, cocky role, perhaps Kazooie decided it was okay to sit back and let her do most of the work. Then again...one's true personality can't be blocked forever xD
LuiasyLover: Haha! Glad I'm not the only person who's a fan of the name, "Green Greens". WOW, congrats! :D Yay! :) I'm so happy you'll be making a new Mole story! Hmm! Let me try to use my meh-so-so Detective Skills and guess the characters! :) T is Toon Link, M is Marth or Mewtwo, B is Bayonetta, S is Samus, B is Bowser, F is Falco, K is K Rool? DP is Dark Pit (I hope I got at least this one correct xD) E is ...huh?! And S is Shiek! I tried to balance out gender in my guesses :)! But I'm so stumped on the E! What a mystery! Hmmm! Interesting theory on Peach's apple being an exemption! I wonder what the truth is about that! Coalition can either bring 2 people to the end or be the death of them both early! You're so right on that xD bahaha. Haha, I loved your Number 7 on your list! Anyways, good luck with your Mole story :) And remember, slow and steady is okay!