The end...of Episode 3! Whaa!
Thanks for waiting everyone! I'm sorry for the delay Dx
I hope you guys enjoy this conclusion :) What surprises are revealed for THIS execution and end of the episode this time around? Enjoy!
Episode 3 (Final)
The storybook ends...and so does Episode 3. As some bonds between some players strengthen, others break apart. Then, upon the ocean's cliff, a third victim of the game is sent off saboteur's island.
Joker and Kazooie stared at the Yoshi visor in shock.
"But HOW?!" Kazooie exclaimed. "That was on DK's head!" Lucario nodded.
"I assure you, I did not take it from his head...I took it from the ground," Lucario told them with honesty. "It must have somehow fallen off his head when the land was changing to Page 3...when everyone was chaotically moving around. Or perhaps DK inadvertently dropped it. I took it before anyone else could steal it from him...and cheat him."
"You're sure you didn't steal that from his head in order to cheat him?" Joker said to Lucario suspiciously, smiling at him slightly. "After all, you are a stealthy martial arts master who can swipe even a feather off a player's head without them knowing."
"I have no use in stealing..or cheating...or swiping feathers off people's heads," Lucario said sternly.
"Why feathers?" Kazooie gulped.
"So what's the deal?" Joker asked, obviously interested in Lucario's plan of action.
Kazooie: What did he want?
"Perhaps DK getting his Plus 1 back...is not as important as preventing 35,000 coins from being removed from our pot by you malicious two," Lucario began with realization. "If you both work with me to successfully complete this last page…I will willingly give this Yoshi visor...to one of you." Both Joker and Kazooie turned to each other. For a second, neither of them spoke…until Joker finally did.
"Hmm...if you agree, Ms. Breegul...then I will agree," Joker said slowly, turning to Kazooie. The red bird's eyes widened. Kazooie herself was obviously still conflicted.
"Yeaaahhhh, a Plus 1 issss good, buuuut…" Kazooie replied thoughtfully, smiling, "an exemption is the real treasure in the game of 'The Mole'. That can't be denied. I say we both still go for the exemptions." The bird smiled at Joker, hoping he'd agree as well.
"35,000 coins is a lot to be lost," Joker considered, thinking about it heavier. Hearing his line, Kazooie frowned.
"Oh, don't tell me you're on his side now!" Kazooie moaned, frowning. But Joker shook his head, and then he looked at Lucario, nodding at him. Surprised but pleased, Lucario nodded back to him. It was now the two of them against her. Seeing and noticing this, Kazooie sighed.
"Then I guess we'll have to forfeit the cool exemptions...and one of us gets the visor then," Kazooie sighed in defeat, but she didn't sound completely sad. One of them...would receive the Plus 1 for Quiz 3.
"How do we settle this?" Joker began. He and Kazooie seemed tense...they were to fight for the final Plus 1.
"How about a nice game of Smash?" Kazooie suggested to him with a beaked grin.
"You're really kidding me," Joker responded.
"Nah, I'd beat you," Kazooie laughed. Before Joker could scoff, she came up with another suggestion.
"How about this...since you're so goody-goody on Lucario's side to save the money, and I'm not, how about you give the Plus 1 to me, in order to save 35,000 coins?"
"Ridiculous. That is even more undesirable than a Smash fight," Joker told her. His face was in refusal at her sentence.
"What?" Lucario also seemed at disagreement.
"I won't change my mind," Kazooie told them, hopping slyly towards her left. "But if you say no to giving me the visor...I'll open this box right now." And to the surprise and dismay of the other two, they realized the truth: her wing was on the box's edge already, and her body was closer to the metal box than the other two were. She had the edge.
Joker took a step towards Kazooie...and she lifted the metal lid a little more.
"If you move...I'll open it," Kazooie smiled. Joker and Lucario were silent.
Joker: Giving Kazooie a Plus 1 and sacrificing it...what a terrible move. But I guess I had to follow the principles of the Aura Pokemon in this case. It was for the team.
"Hm." Joker paused...thinking for a few seconds. He shook his head: he knew that his opponent standing before him was a stubborn one...and that she was set on her unfair decision...no matter what cost.
"Take it." Joker grabbed the Yoshi visor from Lucario's hand and then strongly tossed it to Kazooie. She reached out and grabbed it, her wings no longer near the metal chest but now holding the very important visor. Then, looking at it carefully, she carefully put it and positioned it on her head. She was Yoshi.
"I feel like an innocent creature with this on," she commented, looking at its floppy tongue hanging down.
"Happy?" Joker said, a little annoyed but at the same time a little satisfied. The game was over.
"Yep," said Kazooie.
"If you get executed with a Plus 1...that will be the funniest ending to an episode ever," Joker added with a laugh.
"Wouldn't it be?" Kazooie thought. Anything could happen in the game. Even possibly the curse of a past Mole.
"Well...before any more time runs out...I suppose we must pose for this final photo," Lucario told his teammates. Joker and Kazooie followed the Pokemon's directions as they all surrounded the chest. One of them would lie down in relaxation, one of them would wink at the camera, and the last player had to hold a peace sign.
Kazooie lied on the floor, lazy and relaxed.
Joker winked at the camera.
Lucario did a peace sign...and then he paused in realization. He stopped.
Lucario: A peace sign. A sign of keeping and retaining the peace in the game. The harmony in the team remained intact. By stopping the losing of 35,000 coins from the pot, we kept the harmony within the team among eight of us. This is how we must keep on battling the Mole from now on. By keeping the peace alive.
Joker: Couldn't believe Lucario was right. But we kept the integrity of the team after all. I guess the Mole is annoyed. He or she definitely must be.
Kazooie: Either Joker or Lucario could be the Mole...but it doesn't matter! I have the Plus 1.
Lucario's fingers formed a peace sign.
"We did it...yeah!" Kazooie, who now looked like a saboteur of the past, laid in front of them. The Yoshi on her head bounced, as if smiling itself.
"Great job...team," Joker couldn't help saying, winking right at the camera himself. The three of them were in perfect pose.
The camera clicked...and the Mole was defeated.
CLICK!
Tantamount to their level of kindness and politeness...the Fly Guys were also very hardworking and diligent. The rest of the players landed on the final island, their existences carried by the helpful Fly Guys themselves, as they settled upon the cardboard and paper land. The host, like always, had already previously found his own magical way of making it to the island and was waiting for all eight players to settle together.
"Welcome...to the end of the game," the host announced to all eight grandly. "Your story has finished."
"Thank goodness," Isabelle began. "It was a little dramatic!"
"And a little bit curtailed short for some people, if I might add..." Wii Fit added slowly, staring with cross eyes at another player in the group. She was looking at her very own coalition partner, Kazooie, the red-crested bird standing on the opposite end of the line from her. Kazooie purposely chose the spot on the opposite end of the crowd: she was trying to avoid her...and even nervously avoiding her look.
Kazooie: Umm...I knew she was mad.
Wii Fit: I...just could not imagine that of all people to remove me from the game, my own coalition partner had done it. I...really cannot speak at the moment right now. I am just that mad.
"I am going to reveal the results of each round, page by page," Smash Host explained to them.
DK: So...uhh...just how did we do?
"Page 1: the Super Happy Tree," the host began, and he opened the large book that was hoisted upon a pedestal. Next to it, a pedestal was there...and a large, framed photo of the players' very first snapshot from the game was present. They could easily compare them left and right. Their eyes glanced between the two photos.
"We're all holding the fruits in a circle order…" Lucario began, noticing the order. "Very good. Grapes, bananas, papaya, melon…"
"Oh no…" Everyone saw right away that something was off in the order. Joker, holding the melon to the camera, and Lucina, holding the peach...were not matching their order in the story book page. They were flipped.
Joker: Well...that is a shucks to us. For the record, however, I just happened to be passed the melon. So thus, we were out of order.
Lucina: We had just so little time. It all seemed like...a blur...an unfortunate blur of confusion. Twenty seconds in the end. We did not hurry enough in the beginning.
Lucario: In this case, we just had to look at Joker and Lucina as potential suspects for our first page going unfortunately wrong.
"Oh...two fruits were out of order," Smash Host confirmed. "Yep. Sorry. That was one error, I'm afraid to report." The words confirmed the failure. The players faced one another.
Dark Pit: Isabelle gave the wrong order, or rather really confusing order, of the fruits when she spoke them out loud in the beginning, so she was sus. She was at fault to blame as well.
Wii Fit: Joker does little subtle things, like I said before...possible Mole potential.
"I may have maybe considered that permissible as a mistake...except, there was indeed another glaring error," the host continued, to everyone's dismay. "There is a papaya in your photo."
"So?" Kazooie said. "Papayas are delicious! Nothing wrong with them!"
"On the true story book page is indeed a pear," the host said, and the players were all surprised at the news.
DK: What?! That's ridiculous! They looked the same! I'm gonna throw a papaya at the host's head if he wasn't going to give us the money!
"That papaya...was a trick," Lucina realized. The princess' face looked riddled with guilt.
Joker: It was Lucina herself who spotted the papaya in the beginning of the round. An error that cost us in the end. Whether she knew it was so. It was her second sabotage.
Wii Fit: This was Kazooie's assigned page...so...why didn't my own partner help more?! I find her actions Moley.
Lucario: Unfortunately, there was so much confusion bustling about. It was too chaotic. We could blame the players, but also blame the timer and the elements of our fast game.
"Too many errors for that first page...so no money," the host concluded. 5,000 coins were gone.
Successful Story Pages: 0/1
"Page 2," he continued. "The Underground Cave."
"Uhh…oh..." DK gulped, the large ape turning to his mission partner. The two strongest players, Wii Fit and DK, looked a bit on the alert side...and so did Kazooie herself as well. They were all involved with the results of this spelunking page...but the two females eyed each other slyly.
"Let's see here…" Smash Host began in a scrutinizing voice. As they stared at the two photos, they saw similarity. The left, real page had fighting Yoshis in the cavern, the boney dragon before them towering high.
The players looked at the old, tattered book page first. On the story book page, four Yoshis fought gallantly. In the player photo...only three players held swords.
"Wrong...number of Yoshis," Smash Host said flatly. Some of the players were surprised...while others were less so. They all heard a loud sigh from the back of the group.
"Oh! I am in disbelief! That...is a very unfortunate error," Wii Fit spoke in a false voice of misfortune and regret.
"I had no idea!" DK shouted, looking at them. "I didn't know you guys got that part wrong! So I couldn't correct it or not!"
"How terrible…" Wii Fit spoke, her face looking sad.
"Yeah...totally an accident," Kazooie added, her voice not as convincing. At her bad acting, Wii Fit scowled at her partner from the other side. Everyone...was indeed suspicious of them. Nobody spoke...until Isabelle did.
"Umm, was that really an accident?" blurted Isabelle.
Dark Pit: Well. At least someone acknowledged the elephant in the room.
"Of course it was," Wii Fit spoke out loud, looking defensive.
"Pfft...you mean, 'Of course it wasn't! I sabotaged this page on purpose," Dark Pit sneered at her. Wii Fit shot him an angry stare.
Lucario: The results of this second page...were very interesting. We had two players who sabotaged, Wii Fit and Kazooie, and we're convinced they had done it on purpose. So it was up to us to decide whether the sabotage was a genuine player pretending to be the Mole...or a Mole pretending to be a genuine player.
"You guys didn't even get the number of Yoshis correct!" moaned DK, looking a little devastated.
DK: They are both definitely the Moles to me!
"This was your page...don't question anyone else, monkey," Dark Pit coughed to DK, who was standing beside him. DK made an angry face to him, as if he wanted to argue with him, but he only grumbled strongly.
Dark Pit: Putting the role and blame, of determining how many sword Yoshis there were, on the others instead of yourself? Good job deflecting sabotage, DK.
Lucina: It was definitely his page, yes ...so DK was partially responsible for sabotaging the team with his act of inaction.
"Also...Dark Pit..sorry...but your sword isn't up enough," the host noticed, using his long stick to point. "You penalized the team as well." Everyone looked at the story book, then the picture. It couldn't be denied.
DK: What?! Saboteur!
"HAH!" DK shot back to Dark Pit. "You sabotaged too! I'm not the only saboteur!"
"Oh, COME ON!" Dark Pit yelled, seeing his mistake.
Wii Fit: Hmm? What's this? Him sabotaging again?
"But that wasn't even purposeful sabotage," Dark Pit mumbled. "Like these other losers were doing!"
"What are you talking about?" Kazooie exclaimed in counter to his line, laughing.
Wii Fit: Well, well, well. So Dark Pit didn't have his sword up. Because he is the Mole, of course. Now we lost our entire page. Heavy suspicion on him.
"Well…I guess I messed up," Dark Pit sighed, shrugging and taking it. Everyone looked at the winged angel with suspicious eyes..
DK: I'm on his tail! I mean, wings! He could be the Mole!
Dark Pit: Guess I have one point for me. Go Dark Pit.
"A wrong number of Yoshis, and a wrong sword...this is ridiculous," Kazooie sighed, shaking her head. "Why is everyone the Mole? Me not included." Everyone looked a little angrily at Dark Pit. He was to blame in addition.
"Ergh!" DK groaned, slapping his head. "I wish we could have done better! Myself included! Sorry, guys for not being a better captain!" In the end, he was acknowledging his errors.
"This second page...ultimately...doesn't have any value either," Smash Host confirmed. "0 coins."
DK: Really, I was surprised everyone was sabotaging besides me! What?! Usually I mess up everything!
Successful Story Pages: 0/2
"Page 3: the Skies," the host continued. The difference was evident right away. The green and purple Yoshis were jumping in the story book...but two players weren't.
"Oi vey…" Joker covered his face.
"Hold on...what is this madness!" Wii Fit continued, hands on her hips and looking at Kazooie and Dark Pit.
"You Moles!" DK shouted, pointing at the non-jumping players in the photograph
DK: If only I continued on in this game and didn't get pushed off the island that second round...I would have policed these weird players from being saboteurs! I should have continued in the game! This really blows!
"Hold on...Kazooie..you said that only I MYSELF don't jump!" Dark Pit realized to her with incredulity, seeing Kazooie not jumping inthe photograph. "You're not jumping either, Kazooie! What the hecking heck!" Everyone turned to the red bird with surprise.
"Ummmm…" was all she said. She had nothing else to say...except smile awkwardly.
Kazooie: Well...I was really gonna become the most hated player in this game.
Isabelle: Wow. Everyone was the Mole! Wii Fit, Dark Pit, and Kazooie especially for this game so far. But why were they being so Moley? Was it real? Or acts?
"So...why... did you guys decide NOT to jump in the photo anyway?" Wii Fit continued, trying to compose her upset feelings. She seemed and attempted to take a yoga-like breath…but her face still appeared mad.
"I really didn't like the way Joker was being so bossy," Kazooie said slyly. And all of a sudden...Wii Fit turned to Joker instead with a mad face. The devious bird hid her smile.
"So YOU'RE the saboteur then?" Wii Fit shouted at him. Joker looked at her with a face of disagreement.
"A very strong accusation you're making," Joker replied to her, frowning, yet overall calm.
Lucario: Joker was the one who pressured Dark Pit and Kazooie into their roles. So he can be the Mole. He agitated them and made them refuse.
Lucina: It may have been a subtle sabotage by Joker himself.
"Anyways, overall, that's three pages down," the host finished. "But no money."
Successful Story Pages: 0/3
"We're doing horrible," said Kazooie, her face blank.
"I wonder whose fault that is," Joker added.
"I'd say yours," Kazooie replied. Joker didn't bother to reply.
Joker: So they accuse me as being the Mole. Fine with me. I just pray for their survival in the future. Are you suspecting the right person?
"Page 4...well...please look at this," the host said, but his tone of voice had changed in comparison to his voice before. It was the hut, with the vines and the giant Pirahna plant towering above it. The Yoshi storybook pictured the scenic shot of the jungle. When the players glanced and compared it to the photo snapped by the players...it was surprisingly accurate.
"Wow...almost too accurate!" Kazooie noticed. "Nice! We're not completely sucking, hehe."
"We did it!" Isabelle said happily. Lucina looked surprised, then pleased as she smiled at her partner. They had surprisingly done well.
"This, I can happily say...is worth something," the host said, grinning. "I can add for this correct fourth page...5,000 coins. Well done, Lucina and Isabelle." The players' spirits were lifted just a little bit up. Just finally...they had gotten something victorious.
Successful Story Pages: 1/4
"Now…" The finale of the game was on the back of everyone's minds. The fifth page was a mystery...but everyone was anxiously awaiting to see what the results held. No one but Lucario, Joker, and Kazooie knew the truth.
"Would you like to explain...what happened on this separate island?" the host began. "Did you open the metal box?" Everyone's eyes fell on the final three.
"Well…" began Kazooie, coughing.
"We decided...to help the team and not open the box for three exemptions," Lucario revealed. Everyone clapped, their faces showing relief, for it was really and nervewrackedly unknown to them what the results would have been. Victory was sealed.
Successful Story Pages: 2/5
"Thank youuuu!" DK said, kneeling down to Lucario in true DK-exaggerated fashion. "I knew I could trust you, Lucario! You're my best friend ever, besides Fox!" Suddenly...the three island players' faces became awkward.
"Err...I...wouldn't say thank you to us...yetttttt,, DK" Kazooie hinted to DK in a nervous tone.
"Why not?" The large ape stopped, his smile vanishing and instead turning to a look of puzzlement. "Of course I would!" DK laughed at them in response...until he noticed, after a few seconds, their serious faces. DK blinked with confusion.
"What are you guys talking about?!" DK asked, as clueless-appearing as ever.
"Feel your head," Joker revealed directly.
Dark Pit: How did he not even notice?
"Ha-ha...you're all just funn….wait..." The ape himself felt the hair upon his head….and froze.
Kazooie: Oh shoot. Now he knew.
"WHERE IS MY YOSHI VISOOOOORR?!" he raged in a yell, as some of the other players covered their ears.
Isabelle: Oh dear! He was completely mad.
"ARRRGHHH!" he bellowed, fuming at the three players before him. Lucario entered defensive mode, taking a step back. Kazooie hid behind her wings.
"Lucario took it to bribe us," Joker explained calmly, unbudged.
"What...wha...why…" The face of the large primate turned to one of devastation. His eyes become sad, and almost teary at Lucario.
"Whyyyyyyy Lucario!" DK shouted, falling to his knees.
Lucario: I had to make this as painless as possible.
"Because if Joker and Kazooie, who were originally planning to take the three exemptions in the box, took them," Lucario explained, speaking clearly and simply, "then the entire game, plus 10,000 coins in addition, would have been lost. I bribed them to change their minds...with the hat you inadvertedly dropped." Everyone looked surprised at the truth, and even more understanding of the scenario.
"What...that's crazy!" DK shouted in realization. He was still riled up, and the players could see and knew that.
"It is true that if Lucario didn't offer to give the Yoshi visor to one of us, Kazooie or I would have most definitely taken the exemptions and lost the money…"
"Think of it like this...DK," Lucina realized, stepping forwards. "If Lucario did not bribe your Plus 1, then three other players would have had an exemption for Episode 3. And your chances would have been extremely dangerous going into Episode 4." Everyone nodded. Even DK himself looked even just a little bit, slightly, tinily pacified.
"I agree!" Isabelle added, a hand to her mouth in shock. "An execution with three exemptions? Yikes! We all would have really been in super danger! Especially those five who weren't on the island!"
"I...I guess…hmmph!" DK still looked upset, his arms folded and looking a bit defeated. His face was mad...but he indeed appeared less angry as he had before.
"Oh...and one thing," the host added finally. "The transferring of the hat...from DK to Kazooie...ultimately ties in to the rules of the first game. The hat is no longer on its originally-assigned player that was assigned by Lucario, DK, but rather, on Kazooie. Since DK no longer has the hat...it is no longer in line with Lucario's order."
"What...are you saying?" Wii Fit asked slowly, her face horrified.
"So I'm sorry to say, but those 5,000 coins from the end of the Mushroomy Kingdom...are lost." Everyone...and especially Lucario, DK, and Kazooie themselves...seemed shocked.
"That's BULLCRAP!" Dark Pit shouted at the host.
"Watch your language, you young teenager!" Wii Fit snapped at him. But, she also sighed with frustration.
"That is, however, unfair," she admitted, looking annoyed. "I am upset. Host, that rule is very flawed. We'd all like a reconsideration. " The players seemed stunned.
"I would have never guessed a penalty would have occurred from that...little transfer," Joker began to them, an unsatisfied look on his face. "...Oh well."
"…this is awkward," Kazooie began, slowly and nervously glancing down at the very Yoshi visor which she was hiding behind her back.
Lucario: This was the sacrifice that came from good actions. I felt happy I had stopped 3 exemptions...but then, a penalty loss haunts me again.
Kazooie The Mole would have known that. That transferring the visor to another player would have cost a penalty. Lucario offering the hat...is really doing actions that a Mole would do. But it's also possible that DK could have dropped his visor on purpose, knowing that it would have cost a money penalty if someone else took it from the ground. Interesting theories. It could be either one of them.
Wii Fit: We could not take it out of consideration that Joker and Kazooie were the ones who desired the hat. And they maybe knew too. This is absolutely ridiculous.
"I need a summary of all our winnings!" Isabelle said, looking flustered. "So much had happened!"
"Not a problem at all," the host winked, looking with organized thoughts at a notepad he had written down into. "From the five pages of the story book...you got 2 pages only successful. That's 10,000 coins. Congrats." The players listened.
"However, from not opening the chest on the final story page...you got a bonus 10,000 coins. So in the end...we will count four pages out of the five as successful."
"Wow...nice." This sentence made the players the happiest. Everyone's mood lifted after all the bad news, and they felt a sense of victory. Their teamwork...was not gone. It had increased.
Successful Story Pages: 4/5
Total: 20,000 coins
"That would have been 20,000 to the pot. But sadly, with that hat visor penalty...5,000 coins is subtracted from the total winnings," the host claimed. Everyone turned to each other...and also looked at the Yoshi visor being held in Kazooie's wing. An item of sabotage.
"In total...you won 15,000 coins to the team pot," the host confirmed. "Compared to your results from the last game...a much better job, I can factually say. Well done." Everyone looked at each other, nodding and satisfied. Despite all the sabotage...they still won money.
Team Pot
72,000 coins
"I'd say that went indeed a lot better than last game's, which was a complete zero," Wii Fit said, nodding to everyone around her. "Win-wise."
"I suppose..." DK said, looking around suspiciously and still not satisfied.
Wii Fit: Despite all the saboteurs around me...I still say we've won. I've got the Mole under my very grasp. And I'm not letting them go.
Lucario: If I had not given the visor to Joker and Kazooie, we would have been at a terrible loss. I'm glad I had taken out the right actions. Good auras amuck.
"15,000 coins is a lot of money in the grand scheme of things," Lucario nodded. "On a personal level too. Every win counts, fortunately."
"Just remember...the Mole literally sabotaged all the money from the Mushroomy Kingdom game," Dark Pit pointed out. " 30,000 coins from that entire game...gone."
"That's a lot of money!" Isabelle said, a little surprised.
Isabelle: The Mole really won our first game. That was a disappointment. Maybe a bit frightening too.
Dark Pit: The Mole wins. Clap, clap.
"But...we must be thankful that we did well in this mission...," Lucina said, a little gratefully. "The story was not in vain. We are winners."
"Umm, I STILL lost my Plus 1," DK voiced suddenly with a little cry. He still looked the most melancholy over all the others. Despite the half-win of the game… he still looked the saddest of the eight.
"Hey...actually...I don't need it," Kazooie decided, passing the visor to him in the most nonchalant, at ease pass that anyone had seen so far in the game. Everyone's eyes widened. Joker and Lucario looked shocked.
Joker: What was the point of all that prior drama then?
Dark Pit: Is Kazooie actually a nice person? Hmm…after the Castle mission of Episode 1, I always suspected something.
And from receiving the visor back...the ape himself erupted into a world of excitement that almost shook the papery island into an assortment of scraps and dust itself.
"WHATTT?! YESSSSSSSS! THANK YOU!"
A conversation was inevitable.
"So..." the tall woman began to Kazooie crossly, arms folded and stare heavy. Upon saboteur's island, Wii Fit approached Kazooie. The bird herself was sitting on a fake rock near the edge of the island's jungle.
Splash... All the players were flown to a collosal, ocean-encapsulated island within Yoshi's universe. The sea-surrounded land was immense, big enough to fit a small civilization upon its green world if it could. Blue, false water could be seen all around them and seagulls soared high in the sky. And surprisingly, the place felt and smelled even tropical. But the mood...wasn't as relaxed and carefree as one would be if they were vacationing on an island.
"Umm...so...?" Kazooie was both nervous yet not entirely certain of what Wii Fit was going to say next. It was the two of them in the cool-air land, the sun gently in the sky. The land seemed nice. But the aura between them was not...not one bit.
"I am just so VERY curious...as to why you had sent me off the island first yesterday in the beginning of the Story Book mission," Wii Fit asked her. "Out of all eight players, you sent your VERY own coalition partner off the island." She did not look the least bit happy.
Wii Fit: So, I wanted answers.
Kazooie: Uh-oh.
"You see...I just wanted one of us to get off the island so they wouldn't be so suspicious of us both working together! Duh!" Kazooie answered as quickly as she could. "If the other players saw us both together for too long, they'd be suspicious of us!" She gave a little laugh.
"Really? ...is that so?" Wii Fit eyed her carefully.
"Then why did you send me off instead when I suggested earlier you to go off first? If you wanted us to not be seen together...why didn't you go off then?" Kazooie was silent.
Kazooie: Oh crap.
"I...well..."
"I hope this has nothing to do with even the slightest remote possibility of you suspecting me as the Mole," Wii Fit laughed to her, speaking carefully. "You do know I'm not the Mole, right? I was sabotaging as a player in a mission...not as the saboteur of this land at all. I do hope you're certain of that."
"Suspect you...as the Mole!?" Kazooie chortled. "Why...why would I? That's really ridiculous! Haha!"
"In your head...I do hope that's a ridiculous notion indeed," Wii Fit continued, eyeing her carefully. "I would hate to think otherwise." Kazooie was silent.
"Yeah! That is...completely not what I think," Kazooie replied, shaking her head. "I...don't think you could ever be the Mole at all. Never!" Wii Fit raised an eyebrow at her.
Wii Fit: I suppose I had to realize and answer the true answer for myself.
"Well...off I go...and your demeanor and tone of voice already gave me the answer I was looking for," Wii Fit finished, to Kazooie's surprise. She tossed her head.
"Two people being in a coalition with one thinking the other is the Mole...just does not work," Wii Fit said to her, tossing her head and already facing away. "And if that's the case...then maybe it's best they end it. Just don't forget, at the time when I win this game or when one of us gets executed: our teamwork would have been vital." And then, she walked off at light pace into the land's distance, leaving Kazooie alone and almost lost on the rock.
Kazooie: Well. Oh gee. That was both expected but unexpected. I guess this coalition is officially dead. And hopefully, one of us won't be too at the end of this episode.
Wii Fit: If she ends executed...well, that's no concern to me.
"Lucina!" As the princess turned around, she saw Lucario, running up to her. It was by the shore that the Pokemon had found her.
"Hello," she replied, happy to see someone that she considered her friend.
Lucina: In a game where you are not supposed to trust people...I was happy to have one. Whether they are the Mole or not, however...you just do not know for certain. We all had to make judgements. Hard, painful judgements.
"You ran at such speed….but why?" she noticed, a bit surprised. The Pokemon took a quick second to catch his breath.
"I was off to meditate...but wanted to talk to you as well...allow me to..." Lucario began to her. "First of all, I am sorry." The princess' eyes turned a little confused.
"Oh...sorry...for what are you referring to?" Lucina replied, even more surprised.
"For this particular third episode. The act of making you wear a crown of Peach...the dishonor of it all...what a terrible thing," Lucario shook his head, remembering.
Lucina: Why was he sorry? If there was one thing I felt...it was nothing near anger. It was respect and pride.
"Oh….Lucario...none of it was your fault," the princess replied in a reassuring tone. "It was the elements of the game."
"Are you not upset?" Lucario asked, still in a half-bow position.
"I was a little upset at the elements of the game...but not at you," Lucina replied. Hearing this, Lucario seemed to be a little relieved.
"I felt a darkness in your aura...as if you were mad," Lucario confessed. "But did you know that my aura powers are not always entirely accurate? My mind, insecurities, and other opinions sometimes take over and skew my aura senses. They are sometimes incorrect." Lucina bowed back to him with a smile.
"I assure you...I see you in good light…over all the others here in this deceitful game," Lucina replied. The Pokemon couldn't help but give a little smile.
Lucario: To have a clear conscience is a feeling of peace. To be at peace of mind is happiness. We just both had to make sure to continue. Episode 4 awaited us.
Lucina: We both must continue in this game. It is the only way to defeat some of the others who...may seem more evil than good. Other evil players.
"Well...now I have to apologize to DK for causing him undue worry," Lucario realized.
"Oh...do not worry," Lucina reassured, almost hiding her laugh. "He seems much happier when I saw him talking to some other Yoshis on the other side of the land...with his very own Yoshi visor upon his head."
"What a sight." Lucario chuckled at the thought. The air was calm...and they smiled.
"Thank you, host!" Smash Host, the skilled cutter of all fruit that night, took a little bow. The players seemed delighted.
Dinner had finished. The players got to enjoy not papery, but genuine fruit from the island. The sun was still out, surprisingly, as the players had eaten early enough. And they all knew...that the third quiz was in three hours.
The players were more or less separated upon the island. The sun was setting, and so was the stay of one of them in the game. Dark Pit, holding his leftover fruit pastry from the sweet-filled aftermath, was looking up at the seagulls that wanted his very food. He sighed in frustration.
"Thinking of sabotaging again like you did in the storybook game, Pit?" Joker chuckled to him, passing by behind the angel. The masked man had just finished dinner.
"Hey! Shut it! That was totally you taking the saboteur wheel and screwing everyone up when you made us pose as seagulls!" Dark Pit snapped at him. He was more annoyed by Joker's laughing and name-calling than anything, however.
"Sabotaging isn't necessarily a bad thing," Joker added. Dark Pit turned to him, still confused.
"Why are you encouraging others to sabotage anyway?" Dark Pit asked him. "I don't get your strategy at all, Joker." He shook his head.
Dark Pit: But...I was interested in it.
"Because if fake non-Moles sabotage...then other people will suspect them," Joker continued. "And the established fake non-Moles like us will continue on, not being deceived by the other fake non-Moles. We'll trust each other."
"Sure. Really? And how do I even know you're one of the fake non-Moles and not the actual Mole?" Dark Pit countered back. Joker was silent.
"Now that...is a tricky question," Joker answered slyly. He looked away, a smile evident on his face too.
Joker: In this game…you have to deceive everyone else. So am I the Mole...or am I not?
"Heh...there is one way to know if you aren't the Mole...though," Dark Pit realized, smiling a bit evilly.
Joker turned to him, a bit intrigued. "Oh? Just how?"
"If you get executed next!" Dark Pit laughed. Joker chuckled: it was true.
"True…very true. Clever one." Joker took a second to reflect on his own mortality in the game.
Joker: Perhaps I will one day regret not taking those three exemptions. Will I? But...alas...I will end on a good note in the eyes of the others if I go. Perhaps not all has to be evil in the game of The Mole.
Dark Pit: If I get executed...will I care? Nah. No way. I won't care. Nope. I don't like this game nor the people in it anyway. Goodbye. See ya. I don't care...maybe.
The seagulls started to vanish one by one. Near the cliff, the two teenagers saw them fly off.
And later that night...a player would be vanishing as well.
It was time for the quiz. Half the players were sequestered to seats and chairs near the shore, the water just feet away from them, so close that they could hear its waves and splashes. The other half took their quizzes on the other side of the island by papery trees, almost lost in a jungle. It made no difference where a player took the quiz, however: the same ten fateful questions displayed themselves on every computer screen. It was time for the third quiz...and one of them to forever leave the game.
By the fake water, Wii Fit started her first question.
1. The Mole is:
-Male
-Female
Wii Fit sighed, shaking her head and remembering the events of the third episode. But after that, she blinked twice. With a little laugh, she changed her attitude completely. She posed herself confidently...and continued.
Wii Fit: Well, I suppose you can't. Trust. Anyone. I suppose Ms. Breegul doesn't trust me anymore and our teamwork is gone. How ridiculous that she thinks I'm the Mole. It's definitely Dark Pit or Joker who is. So I'm voting for one of the two boys.
2. What game did the Mole play in during Jump for the Flag?
-Mushroom Mania
-Coin Me Down
-One Up, One Down
-The Mole was the jumper
Kazooie clicked her question. She glanced at another player situated at the end of the beach strip; Wii Fit sat, taking her own quiz. Kazooie thought hard.
Kazooie: But since Wii Fit and I aren't really in a coalition anymore, I suppose I can suspect her now! So if Wii Fit is the Mole, then why would a Mole even form a coalition? To trick others? Hmm. She was definitely tricking and sabotaging everyone in both the Mushroomy Kingdom Flag and Storybook games, so she couldddd be the Mole.
3. Who did the Mole roleplay as or was assigned to roleplay as at any moment in this episode, regardless if they took the role or not?
-Mario
-Peach
-Yoshi
-The Mole didn't roleplay or was never assigned to roleplay
Near the water as well, Lucario didn't bother to look at anyone around him. The strong Pokemon only focused on his laptop screen, on his third question.
Lucario: Of course, Lucina's action of refusing Peach's crown put my own confidence down. And of course...if she is the Mole, it was an act of sabotage by her. My aura says she is innocent. But how correct is it? Do I follow aura...or something else? Intuition...or even heart?
4. What did the Mole touch during the Mushroomy Kingdom games?
-A Mushroom
-A Coin only
-A Hat only
-A Coin and a Hat
-None of the above
Not too far from the Pokemon, Lucina herself was taking her quiz with as much precision and speed as she could.
Lucina: I need to assess my opponents. DK is disregarded by the other players as a possible suspect on most occasions. He does small acts of sabotage which have large effects and costs games. Like entering the warp pipe too early...or losing his visor on the storybook island...these are very much like a covertly-clever person. And possibly the Mole.
5. When did the Mole lift off from the roof of Bowser's Castle when being carried by the Fly Guys?
-Among the first three
-The second three
-The last two
The other four players were located on the other end of the island. Among island-like trees and flowers, the papery forest didn't seem like paper at all: they felt deep, lost in a jungle.
6. What page did the Mole get informally assigned to memorize during the Picture Book mission?
-The 1st page
-The 2nd page
-The 3rd page
-the 4th page
-The 5th page
Dark Pit looked at the sixth quiz question. Though he was an angel of darkness, it was still difficult for him to concentrate or even see in the jungle's own dark.
Dark Pit: Joker always seems like he might be scheming something. So then he could be the Mole...okay, sure, that's fine and makes sense. But then he's been winning a lot of games recently too. So maybe he can't be the Mole. I don't get it. Could the Mole be good?
7. When did the Mole leave the Story Book game?
-During Page 2
-During Page 3
-During Page 4
-After Page 4 finished
-The Mole never left the storybook game.
Amidst the fictional jungle-like setting, DK felt right and exactly at home. He rapidly clicked his answers to the quiz, almost as if he was racing. He thought hard about the quiz's seventh question.
DK: Hurmph... I KNOW Kazooie gave me back the Yoshi visor, BUT! She wanted it in the first place, so hmm: that's suspicious...that she was going to ruin the entire story book game in the end and cost all the money! She also sabotaged the storybook game by forgetting a lot of stuff! Kazooie's on my list of "Could be the Mole" people for sure. Heck, I need to start using my journal more! Where'd I put it?!
8. Did the Mole have a chance to gain an exemption this episode?
-Yes
-No
Joker clicked his eighth answer. He carefully and confidently chose it as he did, then looked around to see the others surrounding him. They could be seen just faintly in the jungle dark.
Joker: I suppose I need to hone down and choose a suspect. Right now, I'm focusing on Wii Fit and Lucario. Wii Fit is going under people's radar for being too suspicious. Lucario assigned the pages in the Story Book. He caused the chaos that led to a loss of money...even though he persuaded us in the end to not take the exemptions. But if he's not the Mole...voila. I'm gone.
9. Where was the Mole sent to take the third quiz of the game?
-Near the shore
-In the jungle
Isabelle was a little unnerved by her odd, heavy surroundings, but among the dark jungle flora, she was able to finish her last question of her quiz.
Isabelle: We're ending this episode in a really strange land. Maybe the strangest of all! Again, I'm surrounded by all paper, typing on a computer. Just like home. But...yikes...will I be actually going home? Who will go?
The tenth question was answered by all eight players, regardless of where they were located. Regardless of what they believed. And also...regardless if they were truly the Mole or not.
10. Who is the Mole?
-Lucario
-Joker
-Wii Fit
-Isabelle
-DK
-Kazooie
-Dark Pit
-Lucina
At the edge of Yoshi's island, a tall precipice existed that looked over the ocean of Yoshi's universe. Episode 3 would end upon the top of a cliff.
Making their way to the next execution setting, the players walked closer and closer up the mountain, and each felt dread...as if one of them was walking closer and closer to their impending, unavoidable doom. The players could hear the splashing of waves from far down below them as they got closer to the cliff's top, and it only heightened the feeling of one thing: the fear of falling. Falling out of the game.
"Episode 3...finished...we end here," Lucina said quietly. Sitting down on the green chairs at the cliff's edge, the players all waited. They felt a chill that was unlike one usually would feel on the usually-warm tropical island. It was a chill of night air...and approaching dread.
The host trudged his way to the cliff top as well; luckily, the heavy monitor, keyboard, and table were already brought up and all waiting for him. All they needed was their typer.
"Welcome…" Smash Host began. He nodded, taking a second to look over the edge of the precipice.
"This is Execution 3." The eight players only listened.
"Here at a top of a cliff...one of you will fall," he continued, and it was a statement that players didn't need. The atmosphere...was already tense enough.
"Fall...very, very hard," Wii Fit thought distastefully with an unfortunate shake of her head.
"Let's not follow Fox," DK gulped, remembering his comrade's fateful castle stumble.
"I will enter your names one by one for this third execution," the host explained. "If it turns green...you remain. A color of safety, or saboteur. But if it turns red…" He closed his mouth.
"You are executed. Let us begin." The host sat down. The players became ready.
"DK," he started, and everyone turned to the disguised player. DK shifted in his seat nervously, the Yoshi visor bobbing upon his head as well with fidgets of unexpected panic. He was first to be entered.
"No...not with my Plus 1! No..." DK moaned, his eyes showing last-second fear. But despite this, the host typed his name into the computer as DK himself saw each letter. The six letters clicked slowly, but it wasn't long until the name, 'Donkey' was fully typed in.
There was a click...and DK's eyes widened.
D-O-N-K-E-Y
…
…
...
…
GREEN
The color matched his visor. He was safe, and DK's emotions seemed to have changed. He was grinning from ear to ear in loud, visible relief.
"Isabelle," the host moved on. The little dog seemed to duck her head at the hearing of her name and also at the sight of her name being typed in slowly. She didn't seem comfortable.
"Isabelle," the host said again, and her name was clicked in. Isabelle herself opened an eye to peek in fear.
I-S-A-B-E-L-L-E
…
…
…
…
GREEN
Her face showed full relief and no longer afraid of any impending doom, both eyes now opened fully. She smiled...but still seemed overwhelmed.
"Wii Fit," the host called out. The tall trainer tensed up a little at hearing her name. She seemed confident overall, poised, as the others looked at her...but there was some uncertainty in her eyes that couldn't be denied.
"Are you ready?" the host asked her.
"Yes...readier than ever," Wii Fit replied calmly. She only nodded slightly in approval for the host's next actions, and Smash Host nodded back. The host entered her name into the computer...then pressed 'Enter'
W-I-I F-I-T
…
…
…
…
GREEN
"That is...quite a relief," she said with a quick breath. She quickly composed herself again. The host moved on.
"Dark Pit," the host announced. The young player turned to the host. His face showed annoyance for being picked next...but he also seemed afraid: afraid to leave the game.
"I don't care," Dark Pit said, but right after he said his statement...there was regret. The others saw him tremble just a bit as the host had finished entering his name. Then, Smash Host pressed, 'Enter'. His fate was revealed.
D-A-R-K P-I-T
…
…
…
…
GREEN
"Phew..I'm safe," Dark Pit breathed. "I...knew it." Joker leaned into his ear.
"Don't take your existence in this game for granted," Joker whispered to him, smiling. A bit trembling and wide-eyed from just being cleared safe, Dark Pit just gulped and nodded quietly.
"Lucina," called the host. The princess was up next, and she faced the host with an understanding face. She knew she was to be entered next...into the determining computer that would soon be executing one player soon. It would take someone...and possibly her.
"I am next," she said with confirmation. Lucina looked at her name being typed into the computer, and although it was difficult for the princess, and they saw that she had as much fear as any other player, she held a brave face. The host pressed 'Enter'.
L-U-C-I-N-A
…
…
…
…
GREEN
She was relieved, closing her eyes.
"Three players remain," Lucario realized quietly. Joker nodded with full understanding.
"Kazooie," the host called next. The red bird stared at the screen, focused. She had a conflicted arrangement of emotions as she waited for her name to be entered. Part of her was nervous...but part of her was accepting. She seemed to almost shrug.
"Giving that Plus 1 away is gonna bite my feathers away in the future...one day…" she grimaced. Then, not a second later, the host pressed 'Enter'.
K-A-Z-O-O-I-E
…
…
…
…
GREEN
"Huh? I'm safe?" Kazooie stated, wide-eyed. "Oh wow. Wow!"
Two players remained: Lucario and Joker. Everyone else gasped silently.
"This is the end..." Their faces mixed with a foreboding dread...but they seemed ready to accept their fates.
"I suppose...it is the end of the line for one of us," Lucario nodded to the person not far from him, his face mixed. "I appreciate the games we have played together." Joker grinned, giving out a sigh at the same time.
"An unfortunate truth, indeed, Lucario...but yes," Joker replied, a knowing expression on his face. "Let us find out the next victim together."
"Best of luck," Lucario said earnestly. He bowed his head slightly to him.
"And same to you, powerful Pokemon," Joker replied, grinning slightly.
"Oh no…" Isabelle ducked her head. The other six players watched with horror and wide eyes.
Then, the host began entering one of their names. After the letter 'J'...they knew who was being entered next.
J-O-K-E-R
…
…
…
…
GREEN
The players all gasped. The executed player was finally known.
"Oh no!" Isabelle squealed, her eyes shocked and sad.
"No way!" DK fumed. His eyes were agape as he took off his visor with shock. Everyone sadly turned slowly to Lucario himself. The Pokemon only nodded again with full understanding: he was to be the eliminated player, the Mole's very third victim of the game. All players were shocked.
"Oh...Lucario…no..." Lucina let out a sound of disheartened emotion.
"Lucario." The host, with nothing left to do, entered the Pokemon's name.
L-U-C-A-R-I-O
…
…
…
…
RED
"Lucario...you have been executed as the third victim of this game," Smash Host said in a voice that seemed a bit sorry himself. "You are...the Mole's third victim."
"Oh snap.." Kazooie said quietly, not knowing how to feel.
"You must leave the game," the host finished. Lucario stood up, having an expression that seemed disappointed, but at the same time, a countenance also completely accepting of his fate. He was accepting of the fact that he had been caught: caught by the deceitful Mole.
"Dang it," was Joker's only sound. He looked mixed in emotions, shaking his head and watching him walk away.
"I leave this game...content and pleased," Lucario told them all, as everyone faced him. "I am a bit sad, and disappointed, but those emotions will surely pass. I cannot complain. I am grateful to have played in this wonderful game. My last request is that you all work together to find the Mole. Thank you." The players themselves looked within a mixture of disbelief and understanding at his words.
"Lucario…please follow me," the host directed, and Lucario did so. Slowly, after grabbing his belongings, Lucario and the host began walking away, away from the execution chair's and down the large cliff. After a few seconds...the group took in to realize that they had just lost one more person.
Seven players were left alone on the cliff. The Pokemon was not one of them.
Together, step by step down the island cliff, the host and Lucario made their way down to the safe surface of the island ground. Episode 3 was over….and so was Lucario's journey in the adventurous game of the Mole.
"Lucario...I am very sorry to see you leaving," the host said grandly, yet with a soft sadness still in his voice. Lucario and the hatted host had already reached the base of the cliff; they had walked down the papery mountain together...as if having exited the very game of "The Mole".
"Indeed...yes," Lucario replied, face still and calm. Now, next to the water, the two of them were silent.
"But, you see, Smash Host...I believe in fate. Things do not happen if they are not meant to happen." The host turned to him in surprise, face skeptical.
"Are you trying to tell me...that the ridiculous notion that you were meant to be executed from the game...was fate?" Smash Host asked him, shaking his head and scoffing politely. "A respected player like you? Unbelievable. I don't believe that one bit."
"Being executed...it may seem cruel...but it may be for the better," Lucario spoke, wisely and sadly. "Bad things may seem unfavorable at the time they happen...but as time passes...you may one day look back and realize it was surprisingly something that was favorable and good. Maybe becoming executed at this stage...will one day be a positive thing for me to look back on."
At the top of the cliff, there was a collective mood of silence, heaviness...and overall, downheartedness. High in the air on the island's cliff...the happiness was low. Lucario had departed as the third victim of the game.
Joker: I did not expect it one bit...
Kazooie: Yikes! And to be honest, I don't think anyone was happy with Lucario leaving.
"...this is almost as terrible as when Peach left..." Isabelle whispered quietly amidst the group. "I just don't feel happy at all…" She looked emotional. Everyone else did too...remembering the fallen player.
"Why did HE go?" DK groaned. "He saved me from losing my Yoshi visor! He deserved to go farther!" Wii Fit gave out a sigh of unfortunate feelings.
"That...was not a good execution," Wii Fit sighed. "We lost one of the only players whom most of us could even trust. It is truly a loss." The others around her nodded, agreeing with the truth.
Wii Fit: If I had to choose just one player I could have relied my faith on….it was him. He indeed was a good, strong player. Our chosen Mario hero.
"Phew...though, that execution was NERVE-WRACKING!" Kazooie commented, shaking her head at its unnecessary length. Indeed, all of their names had been called. And almost each of them could have gone. But in the end...it was the aura Pokemon who fell.
"Yeah...we lost a good guy," Kazooie concluded, clearing her voice and realizing that Lucario's fate was the unfortunate result. "He saved Episode 3..." Overall...the red bird looked a bit guilty, and the others noticed her face.
"We were the bad ones...but Lucario saved this episode," Joker nodded, agreeing and reflecting. "The end of our last mission was saved by him, no doubt."
"And at the end of it...we lost a noble player…" Lucina voiced, her voice soft and quivering as she said her line. The princess was obviously affected by the execution, and the others saw clearly that the princess seemed sadder, more desolate than any of the others. The air on the island was still.
"Gone…" Joker said, shaking his head. Lucina herself looked towards the base of the cliff, nearly a hundred feet away, at Lucario's silhouette. He was walking far away...and after a few second in the dark of the land...he could no longer could be seen.
"As the execution began...I already felt something peculiar in the air...as if I was going to be the one to go," Lucario divulged suddenly as he and the host were walking across the island's expanse of flora and grass. The host almost jumped at hearing Lucario's line.
"Did you really?!" Smash Host asked him with heavy interest. Their conversation continued. Eventually, more secrets would be revealed.
"Yes," Lucario said calmly. "The air was more negative than usual. Even more so than it had been the first two executions. I sensed...something awful would happen. But..then again..." Lucario also shook his head, a slight grin present.
"Then again, on second thought, perhaps it wasn't any aura or power at all," Lucario added, smiling admittingly as he spoke his line. "Perhaps it was just...natural intuition...which is something all living creatures have."
"Well, in honesty, Lucario, my intuition didn't see you getting executed tonight," Smash Host expressed with a shake of his head. "What a pity. You were one of the wisest and calmest players in this game. The game will become less wise...and less calm...now that you're gone. It will indeed." And at this line, Lucario nodded, thinking deeply about the remaining players...and just how much more difficult it would become for them.
"They will be fine," he spoke in a confident voice, glancing at the cliff where the remaining sat high.
"In the forest, I...I could have never caught those apples without his support during the Apple game!" Isabelle remembered emotionally. "He went out of his way to help me...I only realize it now…"
Flashback Lucario (in Episode 2 of the Apple game): "Fear is subjective...something is only scary if a person believes it to be scary. These are just little apples...look!" (Lucario takes one of the apples and throws it high into the air, to Isabelle's surprise)
(Plunk! The apple hits Lucario, and Isabelle gasps) Flashback Lucario: "See? It was...painless." (As Isabelle smiles with relief, Lucario clenches his teeth, hiding his pain)
"There were so many times where he tried to keep our peace," Wii Fit realized. "But we overshadowed them with our foolishness and hastiness. Such a shame."
"Like at the breakfast table beginning Episode 2, or assigning the roles in our Story Book mission!" Kazooie realized. "Oh yeah! He totally did!"
Flashback Lucario (at the breakfast table at the start of Episode 2): "We should not argue. Let us take a deep breath...together. In...and-"
Flashback DK (iumping up and interrupting): "Then who's gonna be the new leader now that Fox is out of this game?" (As the players continue to argue, Lucario sighs)
"Hey, don't look at me for all that trouble!" DK complained, seeing everyone turn to him. The group managed a soft chuckle. They were remembering the good moments of Lucario's stay.
Joker: I suppose it was a tragic loss that each of us felt personally.
"We were quite the contrast to each other...him and I," Joker realized. "Lucario was a person of light and good auras...and I was seeking to destroy that. Regrettably, I look back and wish I had stepped back a bit in my attacking of him."
"Pfft," Wii Fit spoke to him, folding her arms and staring at Joker with interest. "I find it hard to believe you have any remorse for your actions."
"Try me," Joker winked. Wii Fit glared, still skeptical.
"Still...seriously though...we've got to thank Lucario," Kazooie chirped in. "He saved the pot that 35,000 coin loss by getting the exemptions away from us at the end of our Storybook game. I guess the winner in the end will be happy."
Kazooie: I hate to admit it...maybe Lucario was playing this game correctly?! I was playing wrong?
"He deserved this stupid Yoshi hat more than me!" DK moaned, clutching the visor in visible regret, looking emotional himself. "Maybe if he kept that visor during the Story game instead of giving it to Kazooie or me…!"
"He...could have...survived?" Lucina whispered, her eyes opening with realization. Everyone pondered the possibility in silence. The game of the Mole...was full of unpredictability and consequences.
"No, Smash Host; I believe in fate," Lucario answered, shaking his head at the host's question.
"If I had instead kept that Yoshi hat from Kazooie or DK, I am certain I would have been executed in some other sort of way."
"You are a strong believer in fate," Smash Host stated, listening to him carefully and reflecting on the player's beliefs. "Do you believe it is already aligned in the stars who the winner of this game will be?"
"I do," Lucario nodded heavily. "Perhaps we will be satisfied with the overall winner...or perhaps we will be very unsatisfied with the winner in the end. But there is no contesting and denying it. It had already been decided from the start."
"As if someone was creating this very story," Smash Host said with a shake of his head.
"Our lives in different mediums...from the beginnings to our ends...are our stories," Lucario said softly and wisely. "And as for my story in the game of The Mole: Deceiver's World...it is finished."
Wii Fit sighed, not pleased with the execution results. "He was a very self-aware player," she realized. "Speaking about fate in the beginning of this episode. He knew anyone's time could have been up...including his."
"Indeed…" Everyone took a second to think about something else: about their own mortalities in the game.
Dark Pit: When would each of us be leaving?
DK: Ah! I don't want to think about it!
"The seven of us go on...seven players remain," Joker spoke, folding his arms. "I suppose we all wish Lucario was one of them." The mood was still melancholy.
Isabelle: I...couldn't believe it. He was such a good person. I'm going to be so sad with Lucario gone. I just...can't.
"We continue without Lucario," Isabelle spoke sadly, tears in her eyes. Lucina nodded. She herself also had tears. She remained silent.
Lucina: I will never forget...our close times of teamwork together in the first missions of Episode 1. And how he comforted me during the Castle mission. Lucario...his soul was pure. And kind. Just like Peach, I hope we keep his memory, even if just a little.
"Our very own Pokemon," Kazooie joked lightly. "Gone. Released into the wild. I guess we'll miss him as we continue to our dooms, huh, guys?"
"Yeah, I'll miss him for sure!" DK said, sadly looking down at his visor.
"Our aura guide," Wii Fit added. Everyone smiled.
"Our...Mario," Lucina finished softly. Everyone nodded in realization and agreement. The cliff air was still, but instead of being completely sad, it was now a little different. It was full of hope and inspiration….and full of memories of their caught player. His aura would live on.
The ocean was calm in the night air and under the moon. They saw the endless water before them: for a papery ocean, it was resplendent, and even glistened well under the moon that was yellow in the dark sky. Lucario and the host had reached the other end of Yoshi's Island; they traveled to the finish line. It was here that the sand met the sea: a line that seemed to symbolize the edge of the game.
Splash… A floating boat awaited Lucario, constructed of paper and ready to take a player upon it and out of the game. Lucario was soon to leave. The endless sea awaited.
"As fictional as this ocean is...it is nothing short of beautiful," Lucario said with reflection. "How grand and elegant." The host nodded.
"Once you step into the boat...you will be brought out of this game," Smash Host informed him. With complete understanding, the Pokemon nodded. He knew that his fate would be to board the vessel.
"You will leave, peacefully..." the host stated. "Out of this papery world…" Lucario's feet were on the sand. He stepped forwards...slightly touching the water.
"Smash Host," Lucario spoke politely, before the host could say anything else. "Apologies for mentioning this to you...but at the beginning of this episode...I stated a confessional. I stated that I was 'picking up some strange auras from several of the others around my own self'." Lucario closed his eyes.
"I sensed...fictional auras. Of dishonesty. Of concealed truth from those individuals around me." The host nodded with a smile at his line.
"Of course," Smash Host grinned. "The other players! Full of lies and concealed truths. Some of the other Mole players must have given you quite the oddest, most mysterious vibes and auras. It is the game of 'The Mole', after all." Lucario paused.
"I was not talking about just the other players," Lucario spoke. "I was talking about you." At this line...the expression of the host changed dramatically.
"...pardon?" was all Smash Host could utter.
"Since the beginning, and augmented more and more as this third episode had gone by...I sensed something untruthful...false-hearted...from your aura," Lucario divulged slowly. "As if you were hiding something. Concealing a truth...with lies. The identity you've been portraying to us...does not match your aura." The silence from the host was longer than any pause he had made before.
"...I'm not certain how to respond" Smash Host blinked. But Lucario was already on the boat.
"I leave you with those words," Lucario spoke. There was a very faint smile on the Pokemon's face...still visible as the boat began to drift away.
Shhhhhssh...
The sailboat went further into the horizon, an image that was magically constructed out of cardboard, linen, yarn, and other materials that made up the creative, mysterious land. A mysterious individual himself was leaving the land too, ready to go back to his own world. Lucario, sailing under the moon's light, left peacefully.
Smash Host remained on the shore. He stared out at the shining water.
"A beautiful ocean indeed," the host realized himself, looking outwards at the water. He took in a deep breath...one of self-reflection.
"Even if it's all fake."
AND THATTTTT...ISS...THE END!
Episode 3 is finished! Wow...what an ending. Not only was Lucario's execution the surprise...but another surprise involving the host? The heck? What the heck is up with this game?
Thank you for reaching up to this point :D I thank you readers so much!
If you haven't reviewed to this point, I'd appreciate it if you gave your Top 3 Suspects list! Or favorite characters list :) Who do YOU think is the Mole? WHY?!
I….forgot to do a poll.
LOL.
That...is tragic. I will surely post a poll for Episode 4's end :)
Next update: I am going to hop off the update schedule train! I feel too bad making promises and not fulfilling them ;( Starting some side work, I'll be just a bit sliiiightly more busy than before! So I can't promise update dates! :( I love you all so much and thank you for continuing to support me! Feel free to put this story under Alerts so you get emailed when the next chapter comes :D
Plus, I am starting …. *drumroll* my Youtube channel :D There's a link on my profile.! Please support and subscribe if you can ! :) I'll be hosting weekly Nintendo Riddle challenge videos and giving out free money! So if you want to test your riddle skills, do join! :)
Episode 3 is over...and soon enough...the 4th episode will come ;) Stay tuned!
Dark Punxysaur: Yes indeed! If Wii Fit is the Mole, that is for SURE a kind of Mole we have never seen before. Brazen, confident, and sassy...and now sabotaging on purpose purposely...just what concoction has she become? Is there truly a formula of who a Mole is or could be? There is definitely a schism and dichotomy between the players of Deceiver's World. There's the "good" people vs. and then there's the "evil" people. I think that's a subtle theme that's going in as a splitting division between the group as a whole. I love how you're almost a real player yourself and already preparing for the quiz! I do know firsthand that you're quite an expert Mole player yourself so hehe ;). Nice execution predictions! Even with a Plus 1, I suppose you can leave anyway and that would be a cool twist of things! Kazooie due to her cracking coalition is another good guess! And interesting logic with Lucario as having the most screentime, in comparison to Fox and Peach! We'll see the true victim soon! So you picked up the dialogue near the chapter's end, and whether these are clues or not, we'll discover at the very end :)
Masking What Remains: The possibilities, right?! What would have changed in fate? Had Lucina taken Peach's crown? Could she or someone else have used it as a Plus 1 to save themself from execution? We will see. But it's very fascinating to think of these alternate timelines, isn't it? Ahaha.
Cavin856: Hello tharrr! Coming in with the analyses and theories! :) first, good theory of Lucina wanting to jump both her and Isabelle out of the story game, for an honorable image and to not get her or Isabelle involved with exemptions! And once again...you are delving into MOLE CONSPIRACY THEORIES! I loveee them :D Your analysis on the storybook pages gives me goosebumps when I read them! Ahhhh! I like how you're like "Maybe this is all irrelevant" when realizing the 5th page is the Ocean, cause that's what good detectives do: go back, cross a theory, and retrack and find another path! You're an expert :D About the italicized conversation...whoa! Awesome theories too! Disguises? Only I would know if this was true. The possibilities. Also I'm dying at your phrase "crackpot theory" by the way, haha. But the possibility of Yoshi or the Host himself being one of the italicized voices...is indeed something that can't be confirmed or denied, so it is possible :) I looked up your Mole Minecraft series! INCREDIBLE! :D So much effort and I love the spy feel in it! That intro music is awesomeeee! What is it? :D it's so Mole perfect! I watched some of the first episode and I love how you go in-depth for some of the players in the beginning and also your first mission playout :) After all, the players are important. And also, your missions being taking place within the Minecraft game itself: genius and well-performed! :D If I was a minecraft player I could have totally played! (I only did a clueless Smash reaction in my insta haha). Glad to have another Mole friend! :)
Derick Lindsey: Dysfunctional might be the perfect word here xD ! I like how you stated the possibility of Isabelle as the Mole sitting back and watching the group crumble and tumble: the real Moles in the US TV versions LOVED doing that xD Wow, so I believe you got all the potential sabotages in the bucket :o Nice eye in seeing how Lucina sending herself and Isabelle off and leaving the greed-hungry people could potentially have been sabotage! And Kazooie showing intelligence for other pages other than hers could be counted as suspicious, huh, right? Even a helping Mole could seem shifty... *shifty eyes* YEAHHH! The Fountain of Dreams trio callback! :D I knew when it came down to three players in the storybook...I could not help but make it our familiar trio. You spotted the Joker line too :) I made it subtle...but you caught it! You have eyes of a laserbeam hawk, I tell ya ;) Yeah, for poetic justice, we need Dark Pit to beat Wii Fit, right? I guess we'll wait and see :O!
FFWF: Oh thank you for your kind words about the mission! :) It's so funny that you complimented that it was still exciting even though it's a mental mission...because that's EXACTLY where the reforms and recorrections came in! After writing the base concept for the mission, I thought, "...What else could I add to make the mission more exciting?" Thus the player eliminations and the final island elements were born :) Very great theories on the cutaway dialogues! And that they may be Wii Fit/Lucina and Lucario/Joker. I like how you state that the natures of these might even be deceiving...and whether they actually include the Mole or whether they don't include the Mole at all, is the true mystery here :O I'm glad you like the Wii Fit and Kazooie dynamic and I truly liked your analyses on them! :) I like how Kazooie's intelligence somehow expands past the basics of this show and realizes "Maybe the Mole might pretend not to be the Mole by sabotaging too much". Wii Fit's competitive trainer personality makes her a potential suspect, so there's one reason it might be her! And shining so brightly, our blue Mari, Lucario! Is it a curse for players to excel too much in the Mole? Maybe it means death in the end xD Thank you for your great review! :)
D4 Ghostwriter: Throwing curveballs! Maybe this story is like a terrible pitcher xD The motives of Wii Fit and Kazooie are indeed suspicious and questionable! One could argue they're exhibiting the quite popular strategy, among Mole players in past seasons, of getting others to think you're the Mole, thus, if people think you're the Mole, they are more likely to become executed choosing the wrong target on the whiz! But you're right: you goal is to also add money to the pot so it IS counterintuitive and costly for sure :o I like how Lucario's intentions at the end of Part 4 look messed up and screwed! But luckily for Part 5 we see he only had good team intentions in mind :) Interesting theory with the dialogue! It is true that Lucario and Lucina have been close but also suspicious of each other. Nice logical analysis by you on this part :) Your execution prediction for Dark Pit is such a unique one! I like how you're predicting his elimination on the fact that he's flat and enjoyable and might not have more to offer lol; that has def happened in the past. I absolutely love and laughed when you called the potential of Isabelle being the Mole as nightmarish xDD
LuiasyLover: Cute and conniving?! AWWww, I'll take it! :D Prob. the most flattering adjectives to describe me, hahaha. Wow, you looking for clues in my story and making your head bigger makes me so happy :) I'm so honored that my story has propelled such from you! And I am always, always thankful for your continuous reviews :) Okay so bahaha, you are so right about Wii Fit xD She is literally making enemies with people who don't even affect her. This is LITERALLY what dramatic, drama-starting people do even in the real world, so it's funny seeing it in a character like her apply this non-logic xD. Lolol! I am laughing so much seeing you rant about the Dark Pit/Kazooie/Joker fiasco xD. You're like "Dark Pit, okay, I understand his angst, but KAZOOIE?! No reason!" Very very cool theory about Dark Pit "joining" and "respecting" the Mole, who he believes is Isabelle. It all works out like a puzzle, huh... Is this just a theory or could this also be the truth?! Nice analyses of the mysterious dialogues! You got a lot of possibilities down :) Interesting that you believe Lucina appeared twice in these dialogues. Lol at you censored curse word cause Lucario has the visor, and LOL at your "Someone's gonna die!" exclamation; it's funny cause this is exactly how I feel before every execution chapter, bahaha. And SUPER lol at Lucario in your suspects list with you saying, "I don't understand him! One second he says 'I want honor!' and the next second he steals DK's visor!" Bahaha. Cool to see your consistent top 3 of Isabelle, Kazooie, and Lucina! You have stability of sorts :) Okay, so why did Luigi make it so ominous and scary with "Maybe she won't be my girlfriend anymore…" before proposing? Who proposes like that?! And realizing that two of the Koopa children have played in the Mole series before makes me only wonder how jealous the other Koopalings must be, ahaha.
Mr. Rainbow Dude: Interesting theory! I like how you're getting patterns in this story, but even more, you also acknowledge that these patterns may NOT continue forever in the game :) Going by your theory of people refusing exemptions becoming eliminated, if you apply that to Episode 3, the fact that THREE players were offered an exemption but refused makes it still a mystery :o Which of those three will get the boot? And your "leader" theory: very valid as well! :) I just think part of me subconsciously wants me to give the executed players as much screentime and importance before they're executed *sniff* Is that not a sensible and valid reason? Anyways again, thank you for your review! :)
Darksymphony777: It continues! What?! It's a conspiracy! Wario...was just a pawn in a game!? There was a mastermind behind his existence?! Carpaccio is clearly a clever guy, and I wonder just how skewed the television results are and the economy/politics in terms of these Mole games. We only see the TELEVISED happy stuff...but what happens in the Mushroom Kingdom and other worlds? How are they affected once they view these games on television? What happens after these tales? Off topic since she didn't appear, I am very happy to see memories of Tiny Kong again. I am glad she's a character you really enjoyed from Agent's Elevation, because I remember being lost with her character the first 2-3 episodes, then shaping her into one of the most complex personalities of a person in a Mole game by the end :) Lastly...the conspiracies continue with Vivian?! This is...unexpected. And I am totally interested in more.