Big. Writer's. Block.
Thank you ALL so so much for being patient for this premiere of Episode 5 and the beginning of the Final 6! Yay!
I am so sorry for the long delay :( Just natural stuff! Natural delays! Ahhhhh...sigh...
But this past week I had a sudden boost of so much inspiration and thus this beginning of the episode was born out of it! :D Of course, once again, thank you for all your awesome reviews in response to Episode 4 ending :) Those have definitely been a reason for boost as well. You're all so amazing to me!
Anyways, without further more, I hope you enjoy this new beginning! The game...gets more interesting.
EPISODE 5
Who...is...the Mole?
NAME: DONKEY
SURNAME: Kong
AGE: 30
OCCUPATION: Cargo Manager
...
NAME: LUCINA
SURNAME: Emblen
AGE: 19
OCCUPATION: Combat Instructor
...
NAME: KAZOOIE
SURNAME: Breegul
AGE: 23
OCCUPATION: Egg Breeder
…
NAME: ISABELLE
SURNAME: Leafe
AGE: 22
OCCUPATION: Mayor's Assistant
…
NAME: JOKER
SURNAME: Amamiya
AGE: 18
OCCUPATION: Student
...
NAME: DARK PIT
SURNAME: Angelent
AGE: 16
OCCUPATION: Temple Guard
Wii Fit, formidable and all energy done,
Six now remaining; the Mole will have fun.
Seven turned to six. Like a crumbling bridge.
Waking up to the sounds of Pidoves, Starlys, and Fletchlings, and other various bird Pokemon chirping outside their windows...the players got ready, and as directed, headed to the outside of the Lumiose City hotel to wait. A new fifth beginning away from the Pokemon world awaited.
But now, with four executed players now gone...only a smaller group of six continued on in the unpredictable game.
And among them...the true saboteur of the game continued to still remain. Past the stadium's events. Past an athletic, executed second saboteur.
Past everyone else...past detection...and past morals.
DK: Uh….oh. The group gets a lot smaller, and on we gotta go...with the very saboteur still with us! Not the easy game for us anymore! But I was determined to survive!
Dark Pit: This game was never easy to begin with. Just too many feelings. Kinda hate it. And you don't know who you are anymore. Yeah. Stuff like that. Oh well.
Isabelle: I'm a little nervous! What is next for us?
"Hey, I'm a bird myself... but even I thought those bird Pokémon were annoyingly loud!" Kazooie complained to the others, reaching the other five and scooting in. She woke up last, one of the last Pokemon jelly-filled snacks from the parlor that she couldn't resist grabbing still in her talons.
"Hey, Kazooie! Hi!" Isabelle voiced happily. Everyone was now standing in the front of Lumiose City's fanciest, quaint hotel, a place they had enjoyed for two nights...and now, they waited in a standing line, preparing for their departure from the adventure-packed Pokemon universe. All six stood next to each other…a line of six remaining. Six lost players who unfortunately still didn't know for certain who the treacherous traitor was among their group. But...they had to move on.
They were mostly silent, standing in line formation, waiting for the host. Isabelle smiled.
"Well, at least it's a sunny day!" Isabelle began, speaking among them. The others agreed.
"Hahaha...those birds this morning were as loud as I was," Kazooie chuckled.
"So...are any of you players truly ready for Episode 5?" Joker asked, eyes glancing to his sides at the players beside him. "It is definitely a harder episode than any before...I'm just assuming."
"A harder episode...because there are less people?" Lucina questioned, the princess silently looking at the empty road ahead of them. "I...do agree." All six players felt the same, obviously on guard for their next round...especially after the twist and turns of their previous night.
"And again...for the second time...no sleep," Dark Pit mumbled from the end of the line.
Dark Pit: But...I suppoooooose it's okay. I felt like I had a new life in this game. Cause I didn't die in the execution last night. I...guess I'm conflicted in my feelings. Just what is my purpose in this game anyway?
"When it comes to lack of sleep...you are unfortunately right..." Lucina spoke with dismay, and when the princess rubbed her neck, she saw it was sorer than ever before. "I just couldn't get much sleep after...all that had occurred last night, to be honest. The unanticipated events...and Wii Fit's sudden disappearance...her choice played in my head. Just over and over...besides wanting to be liked by us, just what truly also compelled her to go?" Everyone thought quietly. Wii Fit's decision...still haunted and confused them even after twelve hours.
"She left to avoid the horrors and savageries yet to come," Kazooie chuckled. "Obviously! What else?" DK stared at Kazooie in shock.
"Horrors to come? Savageries?!" DK said nervously, trying to laugh. "Oh man, you're exaggerating, Kazooie!" No one knew for sure.
They stood in silence. The host didn't come yet. They had more time...to talk amongst each other.
"Oh, but in terms of Wii Fit leaving and big surprises...yes!" Isabelle mentioned with agreement to everyone, her eyes widening. "Just thinking about those nail-biting final moments last night and how tense they were...right? With Wii Fit even eliminating herself!? I was...just so shocked too! …and…"
"Well...not sure how you all feel about that... but I'm quite glad the pot wasn't decreased by 70,000 coins last night," Joker spoke. The masked, considerably-thin gentleman faced them and chuckled with a sigh in addition to his laughing. "Imagine that terrible possibility. That alternate, quite pathetic reality: all the money gone. But...a fantasy of the Mole, however."
"Yeah, phew, that would have sucked…" Kazooie sighed with a gulp. "I'm glad we're still at 92,000 coins. Whose idea was that anyway to risk our money?"
Everyone turned to her.
"Kazooie, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO ALMOST RISKED IT ALL!" DK jumped up to her in shock, ready to choke the bird in the quiet, peaceful city.
"Hey! Don't put all the blame on me!" Kazooie chuckled. "Dark Pit too!"
"Meh..." The dark angel just looked to the ground.
"But...I guess we should maybe...thank Wii Fit for not taking any money though? ...and leaving the game in peace…right?" Isabelle spoke slowly to everyone. "I mean...even though she was mean to us sometimes..." Lucina's eyes lit up.
"She did...indeed leave a game for us still remaining," Lucina spoke softly, realizing. Joker made a sound of obvious disagreement that the others clearly heard.
"Well, then I suppose that is one good thing we can thank her for," Joker admitted, shrugging, but his eyes seemed different than the others'. "Personally though...that's all I can thank her for. She didn't exactly give any of us the best of treatments, if we remember, for any of her episodes here with us."
"Yeah! She was SOOOO bad" DK agreed strongly. "I'm glad she's down! WHOO WHOO, we beat her!" But the other female players seemed to shake their heads.
Kazooie, shrugging, spoke up against the two male players. "Yeah…but look again at her final act EVER in this game from last night: sacrificing herself for the rest of the group? It was still one good thing she did...something we never expected her to do, right? ...yet she weirdly did it." Everyone turned to her in surprise but also acknowledged her words. The usually-sarcastic bird was remembering her past coalition partner and friend silently. For a second...everyone felt, even if just a tiny bit, appreciation towards the mean-spirited trainer who had left. She could have ruined their game. But she didn't.
They saw Smash Host finally approaching them in the distance, from the end of the quaint Pokémon road ahead of them. They stared at their game leader quietly.
"Our host…" Lucina whispered. "He said he had a brother...I wonder about him sometimes."
"I wonder about this entire game sometimes," DK laughed with a loud chuckle. "Hidden secrets about hidden families...not like any of us have anything like that!"
"Kazooie..." Dark Pit said, as everyone turned to him standing at the end of the line, "Not taking that bribe...and continuing in the game...do you feel like we both have a weird new life or something? Like...do you feel like you're a second, new person with a second chance at everything?" Everyone was surprised at his deep words.
"Whoa whoa...where did THAT deep philosophy come from, Dark Pit?" DK stammered to him, face surprised. "Wise words sent from the Greek gods?!"
"Influenced by the best...we've bonded," Joker said, smiling slyly. Dark Pit rolled his eyes towards him...but smiled subtly.
"Yeah...you know what…!" Kazooie realized, looking at the other five to her sides with a beaked, wide smile and seemingly rising up, as if she was ready to fly and soar into the sky herself. "I do feel new and alive! And guess what? From now on...I'm not going to care about the money anymore! Money is evil! I'm gonna just enjoy myself only and just have fun!"
"Yeah, THAT'S the spirit!" DK cheered, high-fiving her adventurously. "That's MY game philosophy too! Yeah! Having fun! Let's both DOOO it!" Kazooie beamed.
"Hmm...so very optimistic," Joker said, smirking, turning away from them. "Just don't forget...that with that attitude...the Mole is very happy also."
"Umm...why?" Isabelle asked him, looking at Joker a little worriedly.
"Because if you don't care about the money and just relax...then the Mole is going to happily and easily take ev...ery...thing away from you when you least expect it. Coin. By. Coin. Just don't smile so blindly and happily, the five of you." Everyone stood quietly. Lucina looked at him.
Lucina: Joker...in the end...is right about things. Actually, he is always reminding us to be alert for the Mole. That is the right way to think, unfortunately.
"I...loathe the notion that we must always be alert within this game...as this is always a dangerous game with its many turns," Lucina began to the others around her, looking down and hiding a hint of frustration evident in her voice, "but...it is true. One of us is secretly hiding themself as the Mole...and we must always be watching out for him or her. I am not sure how long we can last as a team...but we must try and continue to do so."
Kazooie: Have we ever been a team...or have we just ALWAYS been enemies of each other from the start? Well, let's go find the truth in this new episode.
"Thank you for lining up in a straight line! Just like I asked," Smash Host spoke to them, looking pleased and approaching them finally. He had just finished crossing the bridge over a small pond that existed to the front of the hotel.
"For Episode 5...we will be traveling to another world. Nice line formation."
"Why are we lined up, huh, host?" Kazooie asked curiously to him, happily grinning and obviously suspicious as she flapped her wings at him. She wanted an answer from their mysterious host.
"Cause you're lined up like a bridge…and the Mole will get you all in the very end. The last to remain. The last to kill." No one understood the host.
"Where are we going?" Dark Pit asked him, glaring at their confusing host. Everyone else looked at the hatted man too, thinking. He was not one to be clear about their next, or even current, steps. Ever, unfortunately.
But the host only smiled to them, his eyes gleaming bright. "Let us just now go to the location of Episode 5. We will begin our episode officially there. A place that'll hopefully bridge the gap between you all." The six players just only nodded, not knowing what to expect. Even the floating platform took them from surprise.
"Oh!..." The glowing platform rose from directly underneath their feet, much to their startled emotions . It was very wide: the same size as the episodes before, so it was spacious enough to take all six of them, leaving at least two or three feet apart from each other between them all. Smash Host grinned at their surprised faces...and then began to walk forwards to meet them and step upon the bright structure. He was the only one left to board the platform himself.
The city was beginning to liven up as the platform began to get ready for change. People and townsfolk could be heard coming out of their houses and already chatting in communication into the air. Pokémon made cheerful sounds, ready to begin their day in the world and under the sun. But for the six players...they were unfortunately leaving it all. With emotions, they would indeed miss the life-filled area they were leaving. And they all wished they could stay just one more day...to enjoy the land...to talk with other humans and creatures...to enjoy exploring more...and to enjoy even a real, complete fight at Pokemon Stadium, something they were unfortunately robbed of.
But they had no such opportunities, and no such choice. They had to continue on in their mysterious game….because the Mole was still there with them, still masked. And they had a mission they had to fulfill that was not complete yet...to unmask them.
The six players stood on the platform. They were ready to transport and travel to their new world. A world...with its own set of challenges to either bring them together...or tear them all apart.
Flash!
The platform flashed...and the six were gone.
FLASH!
A brilliant orange and sunset sky made them all realize that time had jumped to another time of day. But it was the least of their mystified feelings as they saw that the new land was grand with wide landscape before their eyes. They entered not into an apparent civilization, but a place of nature with just one or two man-made structures in their vicinity. The area was different and seemed like a land where one could begin embarking on an entire, full adventure in a green tunic and a sense for exploring new land. It was a grand, new place. A grand, new world.
The horizons in all directions were full of mountains and valleys stretching to the miles beyond their views, colored slightly brown-orange with a mix of green due to reflection to the setting sun. Rocky mountain cliffs laid in their distances to their lefts and rights, and the new universe was huge. But as they also stared in wonder to their sides, they soon realized that they were in the middle of a large, deep gorge: there was depth and grandness to their area as well. They turned to each other, then at the rocky walls around them too.
The gorge...was huge. Haunting, yet beautiful. Around and especially below them, the rocky interior of the canyon-like space could fit an entire planet itself, it seemed. They couldn't help but gasp.
Then, in the distance, the first man-made structure they could see was in the middle of a town that existed miles in the horizon. There, the tall, symbolic construction of colossal, beautiful existence stood. Its distinct, pointy tops could be seen from miles away and were recognizable to anyone living in the land they had arrived in, and even recognize too. Their feelings to seeing the castle of their new land were similar to those feelings felt by the players when they saw their very first castle in the land of Fire Emblem, back when they were a whole group of ten, safe with no one eliminated. But now, as they saw their second castle, only six remained.
They stared into the distance at Hyrule Castle together in pure awe and silence.
"We're...here…" Lucina spoke in shock but also peace, "in Princess Zelda's land."
"Hyrule Castle…" Joker said inquisitively, looking at the land's distance.
"Hyrule CASTLE!" Kazooie shouted excitedly.
"Hey, you're excited like me!" DK said to her proudly.
And to their ground...they saw stone...and finally understood all the references their host was referring to with his multitude of mentions of bridges. It was a flat bridge made of stone, a multitude of squares making up their very platform, old and aged. It was a sturdy-looking structure that kept them away from plummeting to the Zora River below. The players dared not to look over the edge...just yet.
"Welcome...to the land of a noble swordsman and a fair princess...players, let us acknowledge...that the Legend of Zelda series and its expansive world finally makes its appearance in our game," the host said in a calm, happy voice.
The players were, still, very stunned at their new surroundings. Then, they turned with realization to the stony, stretched-out platform that they were standing. The six of them were undoubtedly on the Bridge of Eldin.
"The real bridge...not the fake one we've fought on so many times," whispered Lucina.
"Still don't get why some worlds we can teleport to while others we can only fight within high-tech simulations," Kazooie sighed, complaining out loud mostly to her own newcomer self.
"Episode 5 officially begins here in the Kingdom of Hyrule," the host announced to them, smiling brilliantly, as everyone faced him. "And here we are... just six of you left. A group that's smaller than before...but still large enough to tackle the largest of games and missions. And with five innocent players still here...the Mole can still hide amidst your group very, very well still...hiding very comfortably."
Everyone stared slowly at each other. Who was the Mole...still acting as an innocent player within the small group among the other five? They stared at each other a bit warily: it was a question for themselves to figure out.
DK: One of us...was it. Well...so who was it?!
Joker: Five of us have just no idea. But the sixth person? They've just really always known.
"Regardless...I do like this exact number of players remaining," Isabelle voiced out, looking at everyone, nodding. "It would probably be scarier if it was only five or four remaining…"
"Yeah...good group number...even if it's the Devil Bottles' number, I like it!" Kazooie spoke up. "Hopefully it won't become any less soon!" The six players all knew that it wouldn't be so in a few days.
"We begin in this land on an iconic bridge that many of you have seen before...either in real life, or only virtually," began Smash Host, opening his arms to the stone bridge ahead of them. It was a magnificent, sturdy construction, symbolic of a path that bridged the north and south sides of Kakariko Gorge. The long path of brilliant stone was symbolic and sturdy: it stretched out for at least three-hundred feet before their eyes, all the way down to the other end of land in which another archway also existed. A path of the beginning of an adventure...or the beginning of a game.
"This first game...is called, 'Crossing the Bridge', and it involves three things. Teamwork, your brains, and...your jumping skills." The six players turned to Smash Host with a little uncertainty.
MISSION 9
Crossing the Bridge
"Jumping...skills?" Isabelle repeated, alert and with more nervousness.
DK: Uh, oh...and BRAINS?! ...Didn't like the sound of that! I'm out!
"In order to win this game and add money to the pot...each of you must cross this bridge six times," the host began. "And in total...complete five little puzzle games. Every time you cross this bridge...a small puzzle task must be completed under the opposite side under the opposite archway to continue. Depending on how well you do in each puzzle task, the better the results will be. There will be five puzzle minigames in total."
"So that's where the brains part comes in," Joker said a bit excitedly and chuckling softly. "Doing these mental, hopefully-easy tasks. Guess we can win with me here." He laughed, but Kazooie frowned competitively.
"Hey, don't forget me!" Kazooie boasted too. "I'm a star detective, remember?! I caught our thief red-handed last episode!"
"Me too," Dark Pit muttered.
"But...here is the catch of this entire mission. After each time you cross the bridge, and after each task you complete...a section of the middle of the bridge will drop out and crumble," the host announced to them, and the six players all turned to Smash Host with shock. They faced the stone bridge before them, a path still unaffected but soon to be gone, in fear and disbelief.
"Uh...oh…THAT'S….not...goooood..." DK groaned loudly, the large ape's face becoming panicked. Everyone seemed shocked at their mission's rules.
"If you complete a task one-hundred perfect completely...then just one little square of bridge will drop out from the center," the host explained further. "But the more you fail a task... the more the middle will crumble away than just a single square that round."
"And we have to jump over the new gap in the middle each time we cross?" Dark Pit wanted to confirm, coughing, looking a little warily over their edge.
"Yes," said the host, eyes gleaming. "Three thousand feet above the Zora River. With no aid." All players' felt shivers down their spine.
Lucina: Such danger and such fear in this game. We begin Episode 5 with a difficult game...we expected no less, but we felt fear.
"Three thousand feet…"
Dark Pit gulped. "...That's...come on...that's so easy!" he spoke unconvincingly, voice cracking under new fear. Kazooie chuckled at his face.
"Hey buddy...no wings…" Kazooie reminded him, laughing at all of their dismay.
"I don't want to fall!" Isabelle said with wide eyes, scared and facing the others. "That's SUCH a high fall!" Everyone felt the same apprehensively.
"For every person who makes it upon the final pedestal, which will emerge after the sixth, final bridge cross back on this spot….5,000 coins will be won to the team," Smash Host explained, "So for every player that survives to the end of this game, a very needed amount of 5,000 coins will be won. This game is worth, in total...30,000 coins." Everyone looked determined to win the significant amount of potential winnings amidst their nervousness.
"Yes…perfect," Joker realized with enthusiasm. "An amount to beat the Mole...as we reach over 100,000 coins. We're all going to work together to do this and win, right?" He looked shiftily to his sides with a sly grin. "Even the Mole? ...whoever you are?"
"If we're able to not all die this game, then we can add money," Kazooie reminded him. "Otherwise...our pot goes right down with us." Lucina shook her head.
"And the Mole helping us…" Lucina said out loud with an unfortunate smile. "It is something we all wish would happen."
"Just...so high though…!" They looked worriedly at the bridge...and the air below it.
"Which of us will make it?" Isabelle whispered nervously.
"WAIT...you guys are thinking one of us will FALL this huge, humongous drop?!" DK butted in with worry, scared of the height they were at...but then shook his head vigorously, trying instead to act confidently with a forced facial expression of bravery. "Then...if someone's gonna end up falling, no WAY is it gonna be me! I'm gonna stand on that final pedestal after the sixth cross, LOUD and proud!" DK grinned widely with his loud sentence.
"Let's hope, Donkey Kong," Joker told him with a subtle smile. "Let's only hope."
And then...Smash Host gave out a large smile to everyone himself. His face changed...as if he was excited to see a show that was about to start.
"What...why are you smiling?" Kazooie questioned him.
"Well…" Smash Host began, smiling and opening his arms again to the path ahead of them, stepping to the side and exposing it all for them to see.
With surprise and nervousness...the players realized that the game wouldn't be delayed to begin. It would begin at that very second.
"Our game begins...NOW?!" Isabelle gasped, and the rest of the players looked around at everyone else too. The Bridge of Eldin was fully ready to be crossed
"No warning!" Kazooie said enthusiastically, her eyes ready and laughing, as if ready to trot across the bridge happily.
"Oh geez."
"Indeed." Smash Host nodded. "Are you all ready?"
Everyone else looked startled. But...they were ready to begin their first mission of Episode 5.
The host spoke again…this time, with a smile. The stony, rocky road was right in front of them all, a clear path to walk upon. Waiting for them…
...waiting to crumble.
"Are you all ready...to cross the bridge?"
The players nodded in answer. They had nothing else left to do...but agree and walk. The game was to begin.
"Good luck."
And at that second... five players began their first steps walking across the bridge. They crossed the bridge of their first mission…. with the Mole.
BRIDGE CROSS: 1/6
The abyss of rocky edges and canyons existed thousands of feet below their bodies.
As the six of them walked step by step curiously together with both nervousness and awe, they each peered over the edge of the bridge. They looked into their distance, seeing the beautiful Hyrule castle reflecting in the resplendent sun. They also looked down at Zora's river below: the river was almost indiscernible from such a high height that they were all at. But thousands of feet below... they saw it.
Hopefully, for them, it wouldn't be a destination.
Dark Pit: If you don't have wings...your confidence is gone. What's the point of trying to survive and be cool without them? Basically, you're a mortal. Someone who could die.
"Whoa...high...uh... height!" DK chuckled aloud nervously, leaning close to the edge, bending over to take a look at land and the river hundreds of feet below them.
"One push... and you're gone," Joker laughed to him. DK turned around immediately, glaring.
"Hey! No time for JOKES like THAT!" the ape hollered madly, face startled. "Shut up, you joker!"
Isabelle shuddered, staying as close to the middle of the bridge as possible. "Just walking on this bridge normally and regularly...I'm already getting chills!" The six of them walked on, further and further.
And then they reached the archway at the other end.
"Whoooo! We did it!" Kazooie hollered, wings in the air. She looked around happily and grinned. "We're the winners! We crossed the bridge! Let's all high-five and call it a day!"
"Pfft, yeah," Dark Pit mocked to her. "We did the easiest cross. We still have to do it five more times. With open air under."
"And a lot of water," Joker chuckled.
"What is...this?" Lucina approached a little table. Under the archway, a little table existed. Little etchings into the table were present on its top.
The six players walked up to it together and stared at the table etchings .
O-T-T-F-F-S-S-E-N-?
Turning to each other, they seemed lost.
"What...does it mean?" Lucina began. No one really knew….except for the Mole.
"Otfsen?" Kazooie read, humored. "Hmm..."
"So is this the first of our five minigame puzzles?" Isabelle questioned.
"I don't know!" DK blurted loudly, looking and shouting everywhere. "We're LOST! We're so lost! And the bridge is now gonna fall!" He stared behind him nervously.
Kazooie: Umm...wasn't he just the calmest and most confident just two seconds ago?
"Calm down, buddy," Kazooie laughed, and she stepped forwards to analyze the ten letters. She pointed a wing to the final question mark at the end of the table with new realization.
"Well, so we gotta solve that tenth letter," she surmised easily. "Easy."
"Ten letters…" Joker said quietly, smiling and putting a finger to his chin. "Hmm. Makes sense." His eyes seemed to already know.
"Ten letters...ten players?" Dark Pit thought. "I dunno. Also, why are there so many repeats of pairs? It doesn't make sense."
"A pattern, perhaps?" Lucina thought softly.
"Ugh...totally getting flashbacks of my puzzle riddle in the Mario underground warp pipes," DK groaned, as Kazooie laughed, patting him on the back.
O-T-T-F-F-S-S-E-N-?
"Or perhaps it's easier than that," Isabelle thought slowly out loud. "Maybe they each stand for...a special word? This is fun though, solving it!"
"I don't get it," DK stammered. "Why—-"
"Oh my gosh, it is really for words!" Isabelle squealed, a little surprised but happy, as everyone turned to her at her discovery. "Ten words...or actually really, ten numbers!" She seemed gleeful.
"What do you mean?!" DK exclaimed.
"O...T….T….The first word is "One"...and starts with the letter "O"...and next is "T" with "Two"...One...two...three" Isabelle began with her new explaining, her eyes lighting up. The others saw as well: they spelled out the first ten numbers .
"I believe that is right," Lucina said gratefully.
"And "F F S" stands for four, five, and six!" DK said excitedly, jumping up and down.
"The answer is "T"! For Ten!" Kazooie hollered. "We're smart! I knew I could solve it." Everyone seemed pleased. Joker clapped, as everyone turned to him.
"Well done, guys. You finally got it. Thought you never would," Joker said. Everyone turned to the schoolboy. Kazooie's beak dropped in shock.
"Wait a minute….!" Kazooie blurted out loud, going up to him. "You knew the answer this entire time, yet you didn't say anything?!" Joker shrugged.
"It's not a time mission," he laughed. "It doesn't matter." No one could believe him.
"Uhpphh…!" Kazooie murmured to him. "Can't believe you."
Kazooie: This was a teamwork game!
Joker: You don't want the Mole to get away that easily.
Kazooie used her beak to start scratching out a little symbol at the end of the line on the table's surface, as everyone watched her.
"Ouch...uhhh, you sure that's right to do, Kazooie?!" DK asked nervously.
"Has to be," Kazooie reasoned. "Just a little scribble...trchhh…" And she made one last strong movement, forming an additional letter: T.
"The first game...I do hope the rest of the tasks are as easy as this one," Lucina voiced worriedly.
"Yeah, though that task was really fun!" Isabelle realized. "I really can't wait for the next was!" The pattern of letters upon the table was complete and finished.
"Joker...so, uhh, why aren't you helping us?" Kazooie complained to him, the red bird turning to him. The masked man didn't say anything at first.
"Honestly...why do I have to?" Joker smirked. "I didn't see you helping us when Lucario and I were looking at fountain water, or the three of us were on a papery island."
"You're literally calling back things from two episodes ago. Smooth, kid. Smooth."
"Why not?"
"We're literally all on the same bridge here…."
"Uhh...a bridge of disaster..." Dark Pit added to their convo, a little uneased, eyes wide at the new formation he was staring at. And they all turned to the bridge behind them and shuddered at a loud, new, unnerving sound.
Crrrrrmpshhht…. It was a sound of crumbling that changed their arena and the stone platform that was once so sturdy and strong beneath their feet. All of a sudden, a distance not far from their own spot, they saw stones fall away from the world as the heavy grey rocks crumbled out of place from their once-solid spots from the bridge's very center. It was as if a mini-earthquake had taken place in their near distance and destroyed something once-stable and strong and full of symbolic power. But now, the gap in the bridge was clearly visible. It was born…and so was the beginning of their challenges to come.
They slowly, with no other options, walked to look at their new bridge.
Dark Pit: The first jump….
The six players stepped back upon the bridge, and slowly, walked closer and closer to the open bridge section with dread. The open air below it was visible...and they could make out slightly their river: over three thousand feet separated them from its flowing, rushing, unknown waters. They turned to each other. They had to cross the gap.
BRIDGE CROSS: 2/6
"So...important question. Who's first?" Kazooie began. Nobody wanted to be so.
"Not me," Dark Pit replied, looking at the broken bridge.
"Oh my goshhh," Isabelle squealed. "So scary! Definitely not me!"
"Why don't you jump over the gap first?" Joker said to Kazooie with a smile, his face turning to her slowly. "We'd like to see the bird try first. After all, at any emergency, you can fly and survive."
"Pfft! I asked the question first," Kazooie reasoned, "So for that reason, I'm exempt from going first."
"A little chicken? I see…"
"Who are you calling chicken, ya skinny mask guy?!"
"Could we perhaps stop our arguing?" Lucina spoke to them, wanting their arguing to cease.
"If no one's jumping….then I'M JUMPING!" DK bellowed, and everyone moved out of the way as the gigantic ape leaped from their spot and over the empty air. Everyone gasped as DK soared well over the spot that was now a giant hole in their bridge, letting out a loud bellow of both confidence...and terrified fear as his arms and legs flew through the sky. And finally, with a thud, he landed...very safely...on the other side of the bridge.
DK stopped and turned around, a little surprised himself at his action. But as everyone could now see, he had cleared it well and more than enough.
"That...WAS SO EASY!" DK shouted with new haughtiness, laughing. "Come on guys!"
Kazooie stepped over the edge of the gap, and with her light bones, she made it easily over.
Lucina followed too...taking a deep breath as she jumped over the gap as well.
With terror, Isabelle hopped over the gap with a little yelp.
Then Dark Pit...trying to not look scared.
Then Joker, leaping quite confidently. All six made it across the bridge.
DK: Well, wow! Yeahhh! Still a full team! And no one had fallen yet and died. So let's go!
They faced each other, feeling a little more relieved than before. And then they walked on. The original archway they had started at was right at the end of their path before their eyes. But it no longer looked like or felt like the start of their game: it was a new obstacle. A new task. A new aspect that could change their game even more and make their bridge worse than it ever was before.
Under the stone archway was a single, metal ball. Glossy and somewhat new-looking, it had ridges around it that made it like a futuristic soccer ball. The six players stared at it in mystification and confusion.
"What the HECK is that?" DK exclaimed, picking up the heavy ball up. Kazooie slapped her forehead, seeing him pick it up without a second thought.
"We don't know what the game is...and yet you touch the shiny, suspicious ball," she murmured.
"Game puzzle two of five…" Lucina spoke, realizing.
"Hey, hey! There's a note here!" Isabelle began, looking at a piece of paper that was left under the ball. Everyone looked at her with anticipation as she read it out loud.
"Pass this ball no less five feet each between you all...seasons of time, winter, spring, summer, fall...January begins the cycle between you...don't drop or break...or the bridge will too…?" Isabelle ended her reading with a question mark sound of her own in confusion at the message.
"I don't get it," Kazooie said.
"Winter...spring...summer...fall," Lucina began, thinking carefully. "It is with a year...and it has to do with time…"
"January...beginning...wait, what?" Dark Pit said, grabbing the paper himself. His eyes lit up. "We go in order of birth months. So easy."
"Nice," Joker started, grinning at him. "Then you start. March. You're pretty early." Dark Pit stared at him weirdly.
"Wait...how do you know my BIRTHDAY?!" he questioned him. Joker laughed in response.
"I just had a hunch," Joker replied, his eyes a bit shiny. "Or, maybe you told me while we were together in the hotel room?"
"Uh, definitely not. I never did," Dark Pit answered to him, looking at him a bit suspiciously. Kazooie, attention alerted, turned to Joker too without saying anything herself.
"Whatever...I suppose we should start this game before the bridge collapses," Joker began, and he motioned to the metal ball that DK was holding. DK, holding the metal sphere a little hesitantly, looked around at the other players more nervously than before.
"UMM...so do I THROW this?" DK asked loudly, holding the ball in the air with his enormous hands and arms, ready to toss. "I need DIRECTIONS, man! Don't blame this all on me!" Everyone looked at him cautiously.
"Yep...I'm totally thinking we gotta throw in order," Kazooie guessed. "But I'm an expert at rhymes with Grunty, so of course I'm right about this: Dark Pit, you gotta be at LEAST five feet away from DK when you throw first, assuming your birthday is first and no one is born before March." Everyone nodded, acknowledging he was first, and Dark Pit himself got ready. DK looked a little unsurely.
"Okay. Catch!" DK tossed the heavy ball suddenly to Dark Pit. As it landed in his hands, Dark Pit's eyes widened with surprise at the ball's heavy weight. He recoiled a few feet back in surprise.
"Ooomph!" He grunted as he caught the metal ball. But...he was okay.
And as soon as the ball was caught...that's when they all heard the true, deadly beginning of their round start.
Beep….beep… Suddenly, the futuristic-appearing orb began to make a sound that caught them all by surprise. In the middle of one of its ridge designs...they all saw that something was glowing and being emitted from the ball's surface. Everyone looked at it, baffled, alerted...and somewhat shocked. As Dark Pit looked at the metal ball with wide eyes...he let out a sentence that made them all panic with realization for their second game.
"What the...it's 30 seconds!" he gasped loudly. Everyone faced each other in alarm on the bridge.
"Oh my goshhh!" Isabelle gasped, looking around. "What now!?"
"AHH!" DK screamed, hands in the air. "I shouldn't have passed the ball! It was a trick! You all lied! I KNEW it!" The timer ticked...27...26...25...
"We need to calm down quickly...and answer!" Lucina spoke urgently. "Everyone...please... state your birthdays!" Isabelle looked at her.
"Um, I'm November!" she said quickly.
"September," Joker said calmly. "I'm last, I assume."
"June!" Kazooie shouted.
"July!" DK yelled, looking around. "Ah, who's next?!"
"Then it is me...I am April," Lucina answered finally. She took a few steps back and nodded strongly...and Dark Pit quickly threw the ball to her. She had caught it.
19...18...17…
Kazooie!" Lucina called, and she threw the heavy ball back to the bird. Kazooie managed to wrap the heavy ball in her soft wings as she caught it, falling back a bit, but she did it successfully, albeit a tumble on her talons.
"Dang, this is heavier than a grenade egg for sure!" she chuckled, and then tossed the ball to DK.
"AH!" Even with his strength and confidence, he was thrown off by the ticking clock on the metal ball that was thrown to him.
And then, with wide, big arms...he threw it to Isabelle...and disaster struck.
Dark Pit: It was like basic physics. What did you expect when a 400-pound gorilla throws down a metal ball towards a little dog pup? Nothing good. And nothing to help us win our game at all.
"OOOPH-!" Isabelle's hands touched the ball for a split second...and then it flew out of her hands as she hit the floor, backwards with a cry. And everyone in the circle gasped...as the ball hit the ground and rolled away.
"THE BALL!" It was on the stone surface of the Bridge of Eldin. And it dropped, with evident penalty, from a 12...to a 9.
"Hurry! Run to get it!" Kazooie screamed. Everyone was in panic. DK's eyes widened more than ever before.
"Ah! I TOTALLY thought you would catch it!" The large ape looked panicked and sorry, pacing around and pulling his tie in guilt and shock.
"What was THAT for?" Kazooie scolded to him. "You threw that like a football!"
"I tried to throw it GENTLY! Oh man...this sucks! Isabelle...my bad!" DK fell to his knees, face looking distraught, moaning and looking away.
"That's okay!" Isabelle was crawling her way to the metal ball, trying to smile. She reached it while still on the floor...then put her hands on it...then gasped.
5 seconds left.
"Smart doggie...I think you'd want to give that to me," came a voice to her side, and she looked to see a set of tall feet. Joker had made his way next to her, grinning.
"Toss it," he suggested, and Isabelle smiled, picking up the ball, then throwing it just a few inches above her head. But it was enough...as Joker got it into his hands. The student stood triumphantly with the ball.
One second left.
"We did it," he said with a voice of relief and proudness. "And I was able to make the final catch." But they then heard Lucina gasp...as the princess looked at him silently.
"But Joker," she said quietly. "Isabelle was not five feet away from you when you caught the ball." Joker's face was blank. Kazooie's mouth dropped.
Kazooie: He just KNEW that he wasn't five feet away! He should have known!
"You're kidding me.." Joker began, face in a mixture of disappointment and annoyance.
And the ball beeped once more...and it changed to something else. It was no longer a number, but rather, in its place, there was a glowing, red "X" on it.
CCCRRRMMMMPPTSHHHHHHHHHHH! And behind them all...they heard the bridge crumble...crumble louder than it ever had ever collapsed before. Everyone turned with dreaded stares at the new gap in the bridge that was forming before their eyes. It was not the equivalent of double the disappeared size of before...but quadruple, as three extra blocks of bricked land were now disappearing, broken bridge parts crumbling and plummeting down to the river three thousand feet below. The bridge...now had a larger gap that none of them had anticipated or wanted.
Everyone stared at each other.
"Well...that completely sucked," Dark Pit said straight-forwardly, sighing with an annoyed stare and walking away from them.
"I'm so shocked…" Lucina whispered, looking at the bridge gap ahead of them all. It was larger than ever.
"Yeah….REALLY shocked," Kazooie said with sarcasm, angrily eyeing the three players to her side. Her wings were to her side, and everyone could see that the bird was quietly twitching and grumbling in utter frustration and disbelief. Some of the other players just stared back at her...not so innocently.
"Umm...totally my fault…!" Isabelle began.
"How did you guys FAIL a simple ball toss?!" Kazooie shouted with exasperation.
"How funny of a saboteur like you, Kazooie, to be accusing anyone else here for sabotaging," Joker replied to her in countering. "This was all unintentional sabotage, by the way, unlike your modus operandi."
DK stepped up to defend his partners, holding up his arms with a determined face and trying to look brave.
"HEY, if it was anyone's fault, it was MINE!" DK said immediately. "I got lost in the moment and threw that ball WAY too hard! Give the blame to me! I totally caused the bridge to crumble!" Everyone looked at him at his words, a little bit surprised but also appreciatively at his admitting of guilt.
"But also...I SHOULDN'T be blamed either!" he continued, as everyone exchanged glances. "Cause I'm a big monkey and these are the unexpected consequences of having too much muscle! Also, you all PRESSURED me!" Everyone stared at DK again...not knowing what to say in reply.
"So... are you taking the blame for this or denying it?" Dark Pit laughed.
"Neither...both….!" DK began, the ape mad and flustered.
"How did we even pressure you?" Kazooie questioned him, wings on her hips.
"You made me crack under pressure!" he retorted.
Dark Pit: DK is definitely doing certain things these past episodes that may have been on purpose. Who knows.
"You're all just cracking under pressure," Joker laughed. "All of you."
"And you…you made the timer hit zero," Kazooie snorted to him. The masked man looked back at her with a face of strong disagreement.
"Isabelle and I both did...it was a two-part sabotage."
Lucina: It was as if he had forced her...to toss it to him at such a short distance. If it was a Mole sabotage, then it was successful too.
Dark Pit: A little girl like Isabelle trying to pass the blame to others too...literally, passing blame. She could be guilty too.
The six players looked at the big gap that existed amidst the bridge path before them. The cracked edges looked less than inviting to jump over...but least inviting of all was the three thousand foot plummet below it. But they had to jump over it.
BRIDGE CROSS: 3/6
Slowly, they walked towards it as a group...and the closer they got to the exposed edge...the larger their anxiousness and dread increased.
"I'm...so nervous…" Isabelle squealed.
"Me too…" Lucina whispered.
"Can't lie, but without wings...can't help it either," Dark Pit admitted, grunting.
And then DK let out a thunderous roar of laughter and humor in response to the collective fear of the players around him.
"You're all just so scared! That's just so funny, man! Well, I'm gonna go if no one else is gonna go first again! AWHOOOO-WHOOO!"
And his exclamation was followed by a leap over the edge of the cracked gap of the bridge.
Kazooie: Well. Was it a leap of confidence, or a leap of OVERconfidence? We all felt the DK energy as he brushed past us and went to jump over the bridge's edge.
But unlike the run of preparation he performed three episodes prior before throwing an apple over a river of water and knocking a basket of apples into the Dedede River...he didn't run. And before jumping over the gap in the Bridge of Eldin, DK himself only did a slight two-step action before his overconfident leap over the edge of the broken Hyrule bridge.
And he jumped over the gap...and landed right on the crumbling debris that made up the very edge of the other side of the bridge. Almost like landing on the slippery, pebble-covered spot existing dangerously on the side of a high mountain...he slipped heavily...and stumbled backwards.
And that heavy slip made him become the first of numerous players to fall three-thousand feet towards the Zora River below.
Ah! Oh nooooo!
The first bridge victim!
Well...that's the beginning of Episode 5! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you liked it! :)
We see the final results of the game in the next chapter :) And will anyone else plummet like poor DK did? A feathery friend perhaps?! A masked magician?!
Review reply change! : From now on, I will be replying to the first five reviewers of each chapter! I am SO SORRY! :( But please: I hope you all understand how much time this would save me and less exhaustion at some times. At times where I am low on energy and when I am falling behind so much on updating and time...it may be the best.
That does NOT NOT NOT mean at all that I don't take every SINGLEEEEE word of your reviews into my head and my heart. :) You have no idea how amazing reviews are to me. Each one I reread just to help me push with inspiration at times I am hitting writer's blocks :) So thank you so much. Also, if you really want a reply, just write "Krisetchers, reply!" at the end of one of your reviews, and it will automatically get a reply from me xD This is especially if you have any questions you're dying to get answers for.
Anywys, you are all amazing! :) Next chapter should have interesting gossip and scenarios between the players...just what surprises and actions are in store? Stay tuned!
Cavin856: Thank you! I can see 20/20 Mole vision now :) What a great review to start my new vision with! You are right, there is a lot of similarity between Wii Fit's two traps as I realize xD I like your sound, durable current Kazooie theory because you have multiple pieces of evidence to support it! Down to the hidden "Help me" on the website...what does it all mean? Good point in the 3rd exemption not being much incentive to prevent, I suppose the rule makers didn't think that through haha. I'm happy you're happy Dark Pit got the exemption though :D and I TrOLOL at your saying of "Oh no, Death Flag" for Joker's quote saying, "I don't need an exemption, I'm smart!" Lol, these death lines are like Final Destination. Wow, you spotted out something fishy about Smash Host's card quote! Nice eye :D LMAO at your reaction for Question 4 on the quiz. You were all smooth and good then you were like, "What is this detailed crap?" XD Hahaha. Yayy! And I'm so happy for your reaction to the execution twists! So action-filled to read, I loved seeing your thoughts! "scroll bar sure isn't even halfway through" hahah, I'm rolling on the floor, you knew! Oh my gosh, yes, your "Dark Pit executing himself" theory almost came true! You were really almost becoming the prophet! The elimination was def full of twists and turns, definitely I felt! And you are SO validated on your feelings on Wii Fit! What she did wasn't completely scot-free and innocent: she still did it all in selfishness to keep her image and pride! Some people will love her and some people will absolutely hate her more in the end cause of it, lol. But regardless, the game continues with the six remaining...and I'm excited to see how your suspects fare! :D
Derick Lindsey: You're amazing and kind with you words! :D Thank you for thinking this ending scene for Episode 4 was the greatest of this season so far! Actually, I want to stand up and applaud you! :D It's cause of readers like you I'm inspired to put effort to such a story! So thank you so so much! Yeah, the rivalry ended between Wii Fit and Dark Pit ended on a good note! I knew I had to settle it between them...and then gulp, time was running so short! So I was happy to be able to fit it in the last chapter of her alive :) Yeah, taking zero coins from the pot is indeed the biggest shocker! Not even 5 or 10...but none?! I had an original deleted idea where the producers were gonna give her a free ten or twenty-thousand anyway, but I scrapped it thinking it was more symbolic of her taking none :) The execution pattern via game order continued! Is this truly the curse that is happening? :o And yayyy! I'm glad you acknowledged and liked the Pikachu/Jigglypuff story canon, I felt like they were so close in the story so had to make that happen xD And YES! The suspicious amount of high exemptions! That was definitely one clue and throw-off that someone could have noticed and to be like, "Hey...this is a weirdly high number of exemptions to be something normal, isn't it" xD I'm so glad you realized afterwards however, haha.
Dark Punxysaur: *reads that I kept you from bed* SORRY! Dx Haha! Aw thanks for being such a great reader and reviewer! Such an awesome, ominous line you wrote, "Farewell to the Guest Smashers, someone will join you eventually though." I got chills! :o Be a horror writer please, Punxy! Hehe! You caught the clue early of the host having 3 missing yellow cards in the cafe! Congrats :) Sharp eye sharp eye. And like always, awesome quiz taking! It's actually pretty great and convenient that your two suspects were Lucina and Joker for this quiz: for Episode 4, they were together for many missions, so their answers greatly overlapped! Such serendipity! :D Fortune in a Mole game, if you were indeed playing! LMAO! Your reaction was so funny to the bribe result, "WII FIT IS THE ONE LEAVING AFTER ALL THAT DARK PIT VS KAZOOIE FIGHT." Hahaa! I tried to make it as twisty and unpredictable as possible with false endings (concerning who would ultimately take it). I'm glad actually that it wasn't obvious to you it'd be Wii Fit! And very cool symbolism thinking in the fact that "the Mole never beat her (Wii Fit)" and whether that's a symbolic clue on someone always losing to Wii Fit! I like your thinking! Thanks again for being a great quiz taker and reviewer, and I hope you got your well-deserved rest! xD
Masking What Remains: Lasik gang! Haha :D I love it! We have many similarities now that I think of it (short gang, Lasik gang) wonder what else! Yes, you're so right! In her own way, Wii Fit had won and was a winner in her own right! Definitely in her own way, she was a victor! All solidified by her own willed leaving. If I were to ever be executed from a Mole game, I think I'd rather chose to leave pridefully on my own than to be executed….but then you never know when your end is, so maybe I'd never choose to leave in the first place xD Thank you so much for the Lasik recovery well-wishings! ^-^
TheMarioMole: Thank you! I'm so glad you liked Wii Fit too :) wow, what a great description of her! "Devious yet with interesting morals and attitude" She was a complex character, but I think she became her most complex in Episode 4, as a totally new softer side of her was seen which wasn't obviously displayed in the first three episodes...maybe subtly :o And wow! You did find a hidden something! :) Pfft, no such thing as people like you not able to find clues! It is VERY suspicious, I must admit, that Eclairs were chosen as the dessert on the table in the Pokémon cafe. One truth I will reveal is that because it was a Paris-like setting, eclairs were chosen due to being a perfect French-pastry fit! But….could there have been another reason of the chosen confectionery that could lead to the Mole? ;) Time and mystery will tell.