Heyyy!
So I was waiting until this specific day update after such a long time!
You know why?!
Cause today's my birthday! :D muahaha!
Hehe, but that's not actually the real reason really xD I've just been slow! Also, it's a perfect Friday to finally update too, bahaha.
Anyways, I can't believe the time has flown! Time really does flow fast, doesn't it? Like an iceberg drifting out to sea. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Happy October and spooky season. Muahahah ;)
Episode 6 (Part 2)
In the winter ocean, tensions arise on an iceberg marked for death. Five players fight for survival…to avoid a freezing, icy fate as terrible as execution itself.
A chill ran through the air. An indescribable chill that was amplified by a message upon a little tomato. All five players stood on the deadly iceberg that existed upon the Arctic water, staring at the tomato's words with utter tension. It was their new game.
This game is called, "Survival Iceberg".
For 100 Plus 1's, fight each other off this iceberg and be the sole survivor standing.
"Please…no one…make a move…." Lucina whispered quietly. "We will not fight…"
"Hmm…hah…a belief of inconceivability…" Joker began with a laugh of misfortune, looking at everyone else inquisitively. The thief was smiling, largely at the results of what their game had become.
Joker: Will we indeed not fight, Lucina? Will we truly not?
They all turned to the cold water surrounding them. Icy, frigid...and not meant for any human or creature to swim or be in. The rules were clear: they had to fight each other off into the Arctic water to their individual dooms.
Then, they all turned to Dark Pit with complete disbelief and anger. The angel just looked down, slightly awkwardly.
"RRRAAAAAAAAWWWGHHHH!" DK bellowed at Dark Pit, fuming on the ice, and unfortunately, even cracking it a bit in his process of anger.
DK: WHYYYYY?! Why why why why why did you bite it?!
"WHY, DUDE?!" DK moaned, almost collapsing forwards into the iceberg flooring, as the others were all thrown slightly off-balance on the rather-tilted iceberg. Dark Pit stepped back, intimidated by him. "Why did you have to bite the BIG, DUMB tomato?! I thought we were all GOOD and FRIENDLY here! Not ready to sabotage and end this game! We could have won 40,000 coins! But no: our game is ruined by some young emo boy delinquent! Arghhh! I'm the only good one here! A king of the jungle who came here to switch up the game!" Everyone looked lost. But Dark Pit…just shrugged.
"Oh…well," Dark Pit replied, shrugging. He seemed emotionless.
Dark Pit: You realize afterwards only when decisions you make are wrong. Should I have bitten the tomato? No, not really. But things done can't be changed, so…what's the use of regretting?
Isabelle also looked rather shocked, covering her face with complete disbelief. "Nooo…!" she moaned, fear on the little canine's face. She looked around the iceberg's surface, at everyone else.
Isabelle: Ugh! Our game could have just been…okay! And not scary! Oh, I always wish so sillily in this game for things that I know won't happen! Like a peaceful game on a sunny mountain...
She gasped.
Isabelle: The new game began! Ahh! Everyone was out to get me, I felt!
"NO ONE PUSH ME!" she screamed loudly. Everyone looked at her from her outburst.
"We…won't push you…no one will push anyone else…because we are all good players with morals…" Lucina spoke strongly, but the princess' voice was troubled.
Lucina: Everyone was losing focus and susceptible to evil. But…I had to hold myself together.
"And I thought we were all FRIENDS!" DK moaned loudly again, facing away from everyone else and looking distraught, slightly hurt. "Now we're all going to fight to the death! Totally awesome!" He shivered…still irate at them all.
"Alas…the tomato has been bitten," Joker spoke up to them all. Maskless…and smiling…there was a gleam in his eye. "There is nothing left we can do. A shame, really. But, that is the game."
Joker: Everyone…so hopeless…full of regret…but here I was, calm. Why are my opponents so weak? The game was changed, and we had to abide by our new rules.
Game: Survival Iceberg
Time Remaining: 1 Hour and 30 Minutes
"Before we start killing each other, I suppose…" Joker began, sighing and smiling, "Any last words…by anyone?" Lucina stared at him.
"Last words?" Lucina whispered, alarmed.
Lucina: It was a terrible, wrong way to think, Joker.
"And we thought we'd last the whole three hours too," DK laughed, shaking his head. "Doh! We lost 40,000 coins already! Big WHOOP OF SPOILED BANANAS!"
"But wait…actually…the 40,000 coins aren't lost yet…" Dark Pit began with realization, his eyes lighting up, holding up the tomato to show them. "Because…you see—" But he was interrupted.
"Guess we have to FIGHT!"
"What?"
WHOOOOSH! DK, with his large arms, took a big swipe towards Dark Pit with little mercy and an excited grin of nervous enthusiasm.
"Ahh!" The young boy fell back from the large ape's attack with shock, closer to the edge of the floating land of ice…closer to the icy water. Everyone shouted.
"Oh my GOSH! Stop!" Isabelle shouted to him with fear. DK put his arms back down with a laugh.
"I was kidding! Hahaha! Sorry guys," DK began chortling, stepping back and grinning, laughing overall with a comical expression. "I just wanted to play a funny JOKE…and see if you guys wanted to actually fight or not! Haha! Guess not!" DK chuckled to them more, and they only sighed with relief.
"…so unnecessary," Dark Pit stammered, standing back up.
"We must stop…" They could all hear the cold water splashing below their mass of ice, constantly…strongly…strangely, more than before. The blistering darkness of the ocean existed below them, and it could also be heard to remind them all. But a question remained with deathly silence itself: the question of how they would decide to continue and end their game. They stared out to the icy, deadly sea...and each other.
Isabelle: This is just not like how we fight with safety and virtually in square rooms! This was real life! Standing on cold ice...and below us, real, cold, terrifying water in the middle of an actual ocean! And as a little dog from a workplace desk on an island…I didn't like it one bit!
"Please. Let us think first," Lucina said firmly, stepping up, looking at everyone. "We do not have to fight to the end at all. We are enemies…but we are also friends."
"Friends? Please. Let us stop pretending." Joker's eyes shined brightly at her words, as if amused, as he turned around in his black coat to face the princess. Lucina faced him in silence. They were contrasting…in colors of black and white…as well as thoughts. Everyone looked at them. Dark Pit put down his tomato for a second, looking at him.
"Five people. This game is very different from how we all started…whether you all like it or not… or whether you can grasp your small minds to accept it…we really can't be friends anymore." Joker faced the darkening ocean, sighing, smirking. "I'm afraid it's just not the same as when there was a substantial, safe, guarded number of ten players. When trust was still possible and abundant. When noble Pokémon and silly birds could still be trusted. When…one of you could easily hide among the others." He looked back at the others. "We're just dwindling numbers, aren't we all? We're all quite fodder…for-"
"Fodder for the MOLE?" DK finished, speaking out loud, gulping.
"Oh no…is it true?!" Isabelle whispered, covering her face.
"It is," Joker just replied, chuckling. "Wasting away. All of us." They were quiet at his words. But Lucina shook her head strongly with dissent.
"I…do not agree at all. One of us will succeed."
Lucina: We could not think that way. A winner of this game had to think differently...and four of us had the potential to be the winner.
"We have to end this game well…" Lucina began.
"But…I just wanna know…!" Isabelle sighed loudly, seemingly tired and panicked, looking to the ground with worry and defeat. "Just…who is the Mole? That's the question that's making us all so negative! We gotta solve it!" Everyone looked at each other. The Mole, hidden this whole time, on the ice with the other four.
DK laughed. "Aww, man….this game makes things so complicated! Let's just push all of each other off this iceberg…and end this stress! We'd get the Mole for sure!"
"No!" everyone yelled at him.
"I was totally kidding AGAIN!" DK exclaimed, laughing. "Oh, man, gosh! You guys are SO serious and scared all the time! Haha!" He laughed, shrugging sheepishly.
Joker sighed, standing at the edge of the iceberg in quiet solitude. "I think the Mole would hate it…very very much right now…if they were to be pushed off this iceberg this very second. So, since I obviously hate the Mole, as I've expressed very much with emphasis over the many past episodes at various points… I'm going to go up to the one player here who I believe the perpetrator…right this second...and push them right off. It's the only way to stop this game." Everyone froze at the player's sudden line.
Lucina: It was a way to guarantee we lose.
"Really?" Dark Pit said, rolling his eyes. "Your solution is to just push everyone off one by one and hope you get the right Mole?"
Dark Pit: Honestly, what kind of strategy was that? If you want to sabotage, Joker…at least don't kill one of us and bring us down with you!
"Like a gambling game? Oh, so fun!" Joker laughed with exaggerated joy. "It sounds fun!"
Let's…not actually do that!" DK said nervously. "Right?! I was KIDDING earlier about us pushing each other off! Or….." The ape looked slightly flabbergasted.
"Why the change of heart, DK?" Joker began, facing DK with a surprised look. "I thought you liked 'fun', DK. Why don't we play this new game? It's an adventure."
Lucina: He was manipulative. Convincing. I was always wary of Joker's words to us.
"What!" The monkey laughed. "Come on! I mean…well…I DO like adventures…" The others could see a switch of hesitation on the expression of the monkey.
"Fun…adventure…danger….everything you wished for, right DK?" Joker said with a heavy stare to DK, his voice almost hypnotizing. DK looked frozen.
Dark Pit: Joker was trying to convince DK to play…so that he could have an excuse to blame someone else for starting the game. Shifting blame to others like always. Nothing new…ever since us during the Turtle game on the beach.
Isabelle: I didn't want to go in the water! Was Joker the Mole? Wanting to push us all off?
"The rules have changed…it is too late to change them," Lucina whispered with dismay, the princess closing her eyes. "We…we may be fated to fight. However…" She opened them. "I implore you all not to fight." Everyone looked at her, the princess of their group.
Joker: Or, maybe Lucina could be the Mole, saying all of this peace enunciating… just to trick us into believing that she doesn't want to destroy the game. Hmm? When deep in her heart…she wants us to fight mercilessly. How crafty.
"Hmm…" Joker began, eyes smiling.
The iceberg cracked even more. Everyone looked down at their ground in alarm and dismay.
"Joker…damn it…I messed up…I know that now…!" Dark Pit sighed helplessly, and with a completely changed mind, he stepped up to the other male player on the iceberg's edge, still holding the tomato. Joker faced him with surprise, but Dark Pit spoke further. "Biting the tomato was the wrong decision. Seriously. Damn it all. But…maybe…we don't have to push each other off anymore. We can maybe save each other!"
"How so?" Joker asked him, laughing. "I'm afraid you've bit more of that tomato than you can chew, Dark Pit." Dark Pit just held the other side of the tomato up to Joker's eyes with a smile; other words still available.
"But if a fight does not exist, and all upon survival iceberg remain unharmed…40,000 coins remain unharmed too…" Dark Pit read triumphantly, the words on the opposite side of the red fruit. "We haven't lost." The others gasped: Dark Pit revealed the truth to them all.
"Our 40,000 coins…are not lost yet…" the princess whispered, her face surprised. Lucina's eyes lit up with hope. "If we don't fight…the game is won. We…we do not have to fight!" Everyone turned to her.
"And so if NO ONE pushes someone else off…40,000 coins are still won?" Isabelle wondered in shock. "Oh my gosh! We're still…we're still okay!" She smiled and laughed joyfully.
"Exactly," Dark Pit stated, smiling. "The game…is still okay. We can fix it. Like the cherry on top of an icy ice cream. But I hate cherries. Anyways…come on, guys: let's change fate! Cause I absolutely, fricken' hate fate. Fate sucks and makes you something you don't want to be. Like a dark angel. So let's change it: maybe we're meant to survive together to the end!"
Joker looked at Dark Pit with a raised eyebrow, amused. "Why the sudden change of heart, Dark Pit? I thought your heart was full of nothing but dark darkness."
"I…" Dark Pit began again, conflicted. Then, he looked down. "I messed up. I know. I was mad, and I bit the tomato. But then…" He thought more…more heavily. "Seeing all of you, acting like you wanted me in this game…back earlier when I exited the cave…made me change. It just solidified that idea that maybe we shouldn't be alone in this game! Or in life." He smiled a little to Joker, then to everyone else. "I don't want us to fight. Let's beat the Mole together. Why don't we? This game is dumb. I want it to be over!" Everyone turned to Dark Pit at his words with new feelings and thoughts. DK and Isabelle, wide-eyed…slightly nodded. And Lucina, stepping up, put a hand on Dark Pit's shoulder gently.
"Dark Pit…earlier…we did not act like we wanted you to be with us again, Dark Pit," Lucina said softly to him, an honest look in her eyes. "We genuinely, truly felt happy you were with us…and that now, we are happy you are here with us, too." She smiled softly at him.
And Dark Pit smiled. "Thank you. I'm not leaving this game. I'm going to stay on this iceberg until the end." The two players faced each other, their faces content.
But then Joker laughed suddenly again. Loudly…sharply…and interrupting them all. Both Dark Pit and Lucina turned to him in surprise and alarm.
"Oh, you are all too, too, too, too…too funny," Joker laughed with a sigh, looking to the ocean, alone. "You are forgetting what game we're in. You must all have amnesia due to the cold, perhaps. This is, 'The Mole'." Dark Pit turned to him in worry. So did the others.
"Uh…I don't like your talking, Joker…!" DK spoke apprehensively, and also defensively, taking a step towards him. "I'm just a small HAIR away from throwing YOU off myself!"
"No…don't! DK," Dark Pit said to him. "If you do, then the game starts, and then our 40,000 coins are officially lost. We can actually win together… for once!"
Joker waved his hand. "It's the only way for me to beat the Mole…I'm afraid….to start pushing." Everyone's faces turned back to shock.
"No…" Lucina whispered, stepping away from Joker. She sensed danger from the conniving gentleman.
And very soon...one of the five players...would be meeting their doomed fate in the blistering water.
Time Remaining: 1 Hour Remaining
DK shook his head vigorously, frowning at the student. "First of all…what makes YOU the ruler of this floating ice island?" DK grumbled with a louder voice, stepping up closer to him madly. "I'm a king of snow and ice myself, if you didn't remember! You were right: I DO own snow-ridden race tracks. So you should bow down to the king: me!"
Dark Pit: Dude, DK, shut up.
"Stop escalating things!" Isabelle's shouted, hands covering her face. "You're just making me more scared by yelling, DK!"
"Don't you want one-hundred Plus 1's…DK?" Joker began with a sly grin, his eyes facing the ape himself. DK was silent. Then, he shouted heavily again.
"I changed my mind: I want to PLAY! But also mainly cause I don't want YOU to win, Joker! You're making me so riled up!" Everyone looked at DK with disbelief.
"Please… don't listen to him!" Isabelle pleaded helplessly. But her words were useless to him.
"Too bad! Joker made me so ANGRY!" DK stretched his arms, and enthusiastically, with wide eyes and a grin bigger than the iceberg, pounded the ground, as if preparing himself for a game. The ice cracked below him even more, as the others looked around with concern. The ape looked ready. Everyone gasped.
"What the hell…? DK, stop listening to Joker!" Dark Pit said. "He just wants you to start playing so that he could get the 100 Plus 1's himself and ultimately put all the blame on YOU! He might be the Mole! Have you ever thought of that?!" DK turned to him, but then, he ultimately didn't listen…and took his first steps towards Joker. Joker smiled in response…eyes gleaming and expecting…waiting for DK to fight.
They were both lose to the iceberg's edge.
"What? Just noooo! Stoooopp! All of you!" Isabelle gasped to him, turning to the large ape with fear. "Oh, DK, don't be influenced by this…this…terrible, tricky person! He's always doing bad, subtle things!"
And as they argued, no one noticed a pterodactyl fly up ahead…except for one of them.
DK: But this was a game! So why shouldn't we play? I mean, it was just some cold water!
Dark Pit: Cold water enough to freeze one's soul into hypothermia, you monkey.
"Joker is just an incredibly terrible, tricky person! Nothing else!" Isabelle continued to shout to DK, side-glancing herself slightly to Joker. "He is a TERRIBLE HUMAN BEING!" Joker heard her….and stopped suddenly. He faced the dog.
"Oh. I see. Ha. Now I'M the terrible, tricky person?" Joker smiled with a gleam to Isabelle. Isabelle faced him back…stunned. He chuckled aloud to them all again. "You all tell yourselves that you're all so innocent. Oh, how humorous. I laugh. You do know that one of us secretly has been the Mole this entire time...yet I can bet my entire existence that this very Mole among us… STILL continues to falsely believe and convince themself how great, righteous, and innocent they are." He smiled. "I have a goal… to push the Mole off…right now into the cold water. And it's quite exhausting to be delayed so, so much. Time is ticking." Everyone was frozen in place, looking at each other in the drifting iceberg. The air was still.
Who was the Mole?
Game: Survival Iceberg
Time Remaining: 55 Minutes Remaining
"You…don't even truly…know who the Mole is, I assure you," Lucina whispered to him quietly yet firmly.
"Unless you're it!" Isabelle said to Joker, wide eyed.
"And haha, if it's you, then there's no way you're pushing me off!" DK laughed, looking ready at the skinny gentleman. "I'm not going down like a dumb LOSER! Let's fight!" His bellows were louder than before.
Joker smiled, stepping back. "Shall we, Mr. Mole?"
"I'm not the MOOOOOOOLE!" DK exclaimed back defensively with frustration and annoyance. "I would never choose to be the Mole, ever ever ever EVER! Just goes against everything I believe in!"
"Then let's fight and see," Joker winked, "because I'm afraid it can't be denied that you have the possibility of being the Mole yourself of this game yourself, DK. As if you've been the first member to play in this game. What is your mission?"
"You...are unbelievable! I'm SO MAD!"
And Joker and DK stood opposite from each other…right next to the water.
And in less than one minute…someone would fall into the ocean.
Lucina: He was resolute…in his terrible choice. Everyone…was resolute in their terrible choices.
"Joker…argh," Dark Pit pleaded, shaking his head and sighing. He walked up to the trench coat-wearing player near the edge of the iceberg, a look of anguish and regret on the angel's face. He then sighed. "Come on…this is the last time I'll try. Let's stop this game. Let's get…our friendships back again. Our…relationship back again. Please." Joker paused…then he turned to the angel next to him, putting his hands on his shoulders. He gave an unfortunate smile to the surprised angel. They both stood on the very edge of the iceberg together, precariously, above the cold water.
"Well…Dark Pit…" Joker said, speaking solemnly with a grin, hands still gripping onto the other boy's shoulders tightly. "I'm afraid that won't be so." Dark Pit's eyes widened.
And then…seeing Joker's hands on Dark Pit's shoulders…a player snapped.
It was Isabelle.
"Oh my gosh…NO!" Isabelle screamed. "You're going to push DARK PIT! I knew it! We can't let him win!"
And in a bolt…to everyone's surprise….Isabelle ran towards Joker in a flash.
Someone was soon to die.
"Isabelle?!" Lucina gasped, covering her mouth and watching her, stepping to the side. DK stepped back out of the way in surprise as Isabelle immediately sped past him.
DK: She RAN! Ahhhh! To Joker! No stopping!
"What on Earth…!" Joker, caught off guard, couldn't react in time with a surprised face on the iceberg's edge. Isabelle screamed, her two hands reaching out to push him off.
"Leave this game!" Isabelle yelled, her arms pushing out to the stunned, diabolical student.
But someone else took his place.
"Nooooo!" Dark Pit pushed Joker's body to the side, and as Joker fell away, the frantic canine's paws collided with Dark Pit instead. A force strong enough on his chest to be knocked back, Dark Pit was thrown back…falling backwards, to the open air…and mercilessly off the edge of the iceberg.
And Dark Pit plummeted towards his icy doom.
"Dark Pit!" Lucina screamed. But the boy only yelled helplessly as he fell the tall drop from the iceberg's high platform, falling away from the top of the snowy mass of ice…and towards his chilled doom. The players heard his final yell…and then a splash of water as well.
"AhhhhHHhhhhhHhhh—!" SPLASSSHHHHHH!
Joker turned with stunned eyes to the water below him, trying to reach out. But all he could see was the top of Dark Pit's dark hair before he sunk underneath the water…as well as a few fingers breaking from the surface, seeking futilely for help too far away. Before Dark Pit could fight for survival…his body disappeared into the sea, sinking under the icy water immediately. Joker was shocked. Everyone was shocked...too shocked tospeak.
And then, Isabelle screamed.
"Ahhhhh!" Everyone turned to the dog in shock. She covered her mouth.
Players Alive: 4/5
"Isabelle…what did you do?" Lucina whispered in horror.
"Joker…I tried to push Joker…! Not Dark Pit!" Isabelle seemed to be hyperventilating, sitting down on the ice in horror. "I only pushed Dark Pit off accidentally because Joker was already going to push a player off anyway!" Isabelle reasoned to them, looking at the others with pleading eyes. Everyone stared at her in disbelief. "I…I had no choice! Joker…was going to push us all off! He had to go!"
DK: Isabelle?! I didn't expect ISABELLE to do the first push! Man, well, I didn't know she had it in her! So now we all get permission to fight! I was down!
"But instead…Dark Pit sacrificed himself for Joker…" Lucina whispered with sadness. "Dark Pit…" The princess closed her eyes, shocked tears in her eyes.
Lucina: It was unmistakable. The first player… was gone. The game…was official. And 40,000 coins were gone too.
Joker: Isabelle. Isabelle started the destruction. A downspiral of 40,000 coins. If she's truly the Mole of our game...I wouldn't be surprised.
Joker stood on the edge, silent, still looking down to the frigid water below that existed in front of him. He was rather stunned, his eyes wide with confusion. "He…did indeed…save me…I would have fallen…if he didn't push me out instead…" Joker said slowly, his eyes wide. "Why…did he save me?"
Joker: But…but why? Why me? What importance did I have to Dark Pit? I could not see it.
"Oh man…this game really has begun!" DK cried with with fear, panicked, his gigantic hands on his head with utmost stress…but weirdly… excitement too. "Dang, Isabelle…I didn't know you wanted to play! DANG, GIRL!" DK jumped up with excitement, cracking the ice himself even more and shattering it further "But at least we made a decision to fight! At least we're not in some indecisiveness limbo! Well done, awesome doggie! I hated being indecisive! But you wanted to PUSH him! Yeahhh!" He grinned to her. Isabelle looked at him in shock.
"I didn't!" Isabelle squealed sadly. "I only tried to push Joker off so he wouldn't push us all off!" The iceberg floated down the ocean path…and was entering into a narrow entryway of tall glaciers. Joker sighed.
"Oh…so that is your brilliant excuse?" Joker said in an exasperated voice, still looking out back at the sea where Dark Pit had sunk. "You killed one of us. A fantastic job, Ms. Leafe."
"Oh no…the ice!" As they continued on across the icy sea, the large iceberg…began to crack further and even more dangerously. All four players struggled to keep their balances on the cracking ice… as their breaking land seemingly began to float faster on the chilly water, drifting at a speed faster than before through the glacial narrow pathway.
Lucina: The game was changed.
And then, after exiting the narrow glacier pathway, they noticed that the sea in front of them became even more turbulent than it was before: a horizon of darkened skies. Darker…stormier. The water around them seemed to darken in the arctic world. Everyone looked around frantically.
Whoosh… A gust made them know that the wintery wind had grown stronger too, quickly. The land of the Ice Climbers did not seem peaceful anymore for the remaining fighters. Lucina gasped.
"The atmosphere…is becoming even more dangerous…we must stop…!"
DK's eyes changed, frowning. "But…but…" DK began to plead with begging, wide eyes to them, as they turned to him in confusion, "I guesssss…since the money is gone….we might as well push all of each other off now?" DK was on his knees, begging to them.
"Correct," Joker smirked.
"What!?" Isabelle gasped. "DK! No!"
"Aww…come on!" DK protested, yet seemed slightly humored. But seeing everyone else's stares…he became quiet.
"No, no…he has a very valid point," Joker butted in, waving his hand and turning around to them, looking away from the sea. "DK is right. Thank you. Let's fight to the death. There are four of us still here. No use for more than one of us to stand."
DK: I shouldn't have said that. Doh. Now Joker will actually fight. I guess I'm an idiot!
"Thank you, Isabelle." Joker grinned slightly at her. "You made this choice a lot easier for us. And you cost us 40,000 coins." The dog looked at him, stunned.
"I…did not…" Isabelle spoke quietly, shaking her head bitterly. "The game was supposed to be happy! You are the one who made me all tense! And you're the one who started this all! You pushed the iceberg away from the mountain top…starting ALL of this!"
Lucina: I could not believe what Isabelle had done. But she had done it. And the money was gone. Now, we were headed to danger.
"There…may be another vegetable to change these rules," Lucina whispered. But… there seemed to be nothing in sight to the others.
"I…I didn't even want to push anyone off," Isabelle whispered quietly with heavy sadness….but Joker laughed loudly above the sounds of the splashing waves, the iceberg now drifting at faster speeds.
"But, oh! I am just not even surprised that you did…Isabelle," Joker began with a sly face, and a voice equally as sly as well, "because… perhaps that wasn't the first time you had pushed someone off into a body of water…was it, Ms. Leafe?"
"…." Isabelle turned to Joker at his line. She faced him, her mouth dropped in silence.
"WHAAATTT?!" Isabelle gasped at him at his unexpected line, her eyes wide. "What are you even saying or even accusing me of?! Oh my gosh! Are you listening to yourself?!"
"Oh…I just thought my balance couldn't be that poor on a shell," Joker sighed with certitude. "What a…turtley, terrible mission." Hearing his words, DK and Lucina looked at Isabelle in shock.
"You…pushed Joker off the turtle?" Lucina gasped with shock.
"It...it was you?!" DK hollered in disbelief. "I didn't know you pushed him!"
"I...I..." Isabelle looked back at them, her face wide with silence and disbelief. She seemed lost. Then, she ducked her head suddenly.
"No…it's…just…so unfair!" Isabelle cowered down, her head down, tears in her eyes. "He's…he's just always lying! He's always targeting me. Always threatening me! He's…completely fibbing….how could you…!" Isabelle backed away from him, her face distraught. Joker frowned immediately.
"I only target those when I have very valid reason to," Joker replied firmly, not liking her words at all. "Alas…"
"But accusing me?!" Isabelle shouted louder, looking up at him with tears. "For pushing you off the turtle in our last mission? How…how terrible! Why me, out of all people?!" She looked distraught and in disbelief at his words and accusation. "DK….Lucina…help me…"
"Wait...you did, or you did not push Joker off the turtle?" Lucina tried to confirm, not sure.
"So she's innocent? Why are you accusing Isabelle?!" DK said angrily, stepping up to Joker with a disbelieving face, protecting with his large body in front of the little dog. "You have no PROOF she did that, man! That's a STRONG accusation! Saying she could have sabotaged and pushed you off a turtle!"
"Well…" Joker began, laughing to himself.
"Your accusation…do you…have any proof?" Lucina began slowly, her eyes looking surprised as well. Joker seemed to have a blank face.
"Yeah! This is all FAKE!" DK hollered. "You've been telling lies this entire time! Joker is the Mole!" Joker looked taken back, shaking his head at his sentence.
"He's…he's totally after me…" Isabelle said louder, looking up now at DK and Lucina. "How could you! Blaming…blaming someone small and helpless like me…" She buried her head again, starting to cry. DK looked angrier than before, stepping up closer to Joker himself.
"You're just riling up all this and hoping we would push Isabelle off next instead of you!" DK shouted heatedly at the overtaken man. "Arghhh! If you're not the Mole, I don't know who is!"
"I…" Joker sighed, shaking his head at DK. Then, he laughed. "You are just all deceived. Deceived…by the innocent-appearing. Completely. The Mole is perhaps right under our noses. You just don't know it. You think you're so smart…big brain. But you're the smallest brain I've seen for many miles in this cold, snowy region." DK's eyes shot open with shocked disbelief at his words. The dangerous ape's eyes became bloodshot.
"Oh my gosh…he's AGAINST us!" Isabelle cried. "DK…he doesn't like us cause we're ANIMALS! He thinks humans are superior and smarter!" Joker's face changed, looking at Isabelle.
"What…?" Joker began, confused. "That is absolutely…!" But DK's face was already full of maximum rage.
Lucina: It was the end. What should I do?
"….ARRRRGHHH!" the large ape yelled in frustration. "I'm going to MURDER YOU!"
"Or… maybe it's because I'm a female player!" Isabelle yelled again, burying her head. "Lucina! Underestimating us because we're female!" She turned to Lucina, who looked confused.
"I…I don't think," Lucina began, stunned. "I don't—"
But they were interrupted by DK's loud yell…the loudest it had in the entire game thus far. And the two female players turned with horror to the giant monkey who had already decided his next move. Leaping forwards and then immediately gripping tightly Joker by his waist…the large monkey unimaginably lifted the off-guard, unmasked, unprepared man high into the cold, wintery air. Joker shouted with surprise, but all was too late.
"What…how…!" The body of Joker helplessly tried to thrash away from DK's grip, but it was no use compared to the inconceivable strength of the large ape. Lucina and Isabelle stepped back in shock and fear.
"OOOOOH, OOOOOH!" DK's roar was louder than ever before…and his own own eyes were now raging with fury. He hollered a sound that only a mighty ape king forced into the game of The Mole would make…who was deciding to throw another player to their death.
And with that…he threw the helpless body of Joker towards into the frigid water.
"Noooooo—!" As Joker fell off the iceberg's tall edge, many feet to its doom, he didn't even have time to yell completely as his body plummeted down towards the icy ocean below.
SPLASHHH! The other two stared as his body quickly splashed, then quickly disappeared below the cold sea. The student…who had attacked them all, but was then ultimately attacked himself…was gone.
Players Alive: 3/5
Lucina gasped, covering her mouth. "I…I cannot believe Joker is gone…." She looked at DK, fearful. DK turned around, his face looking panic-stricken and full of regret. He had a look of exasperation and stress….and relief.
Lucina: I thought it was over…but…no. It was not.
"Who's next?!" he shouted, his face as conflicted as the loudness of his yell. Isabelle took a step back away from him.
"I…I…" the little dog began, as DK began taking heavy steps towards her on the iceberg platform. Her eyes were wide.
"YOU wanted to play this game too, Isabelle!" DK said happily and somewhat crazily, eyes shooting open wide with excitement. "You wanted to play too! Right?! You pushed someone off already yourself! You have the potential and strength to fight! So let's play!"
"No!" Isabelle screamed. "I only tried to push Joker off and that's it!" Isabelle turned slightly to her side…at Lucina. "She was the one trying to stop us from getting any Plus 1's!" Isabelle pointed to the warrior princess, and she gasped. DK's eyes widened.
"Oh…you're so right…" DK realized, scratching his head. "You're the one who wants to stop this, Lucina. And make none of us win a prize! I forgot!"
Lucina just stood her ground. Her eyes were full of fear. But she didn't move.
"…." Lucina didn't make a sound.
"Are we gonna fight?" DK asked her in a half-crazed, half enthusiastic tone. Then…Lucina replied.
"Do you want to lose to the Mole?" she whispered to him quietly. "If you throw me off…the Mole wins." DK raised his big eyebrow.
"Aww…don't lie to me like that!" He let out a roar of laughter. "We've already all lost!" DK then moaned helplessly, as Lucina stepped back. But…shaking his head, DK soon just took another step towards the player. "So, like…we have no other options. Let's…let's fight! Fight like we always do! Because we're Smashers! We fight! FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!" Lucina…frightened… but calm in place and stance…shook her head.
"Or…I can take…a single bite. To end this all."
"A bite of me? Haha! Funny jokes!" DK roared heartily with a loud chuckle. He didn't understand her. "Who are you? Kirby? Wario?!"
"No…I am Princess Lucina…and I will bring balance to this game."
The princess then unearthed a single vegetable from her pocket…one that she had been hiding since the beginning of their fated feud on the iceberg: a mushroom. DK looked dumbfounded and confused at her, but then, understood immediately with a dropped mouth that their current game was soon to be over. Isabelle gasped…covering her mouth in disbelief at the words she could see written on the side of the mushroom that Lucina held to them. And Lucina closed her eyes.
"This game…is called, "Survival Gone," she spoke, reciting the words she memorized from the deadly mushroom. "Every player who survives to the end adds 5,000 coins, and no awards will be given…but the biter of this mushroom will receive a -1."
This game is called "Survival Gone"
Every player who survives to the end adds 5,000 coins, and no awards will be given…but the biter of this mushroom will receive a -1.
Time Left: 30 minutes
Over the next hour…the iceberg had broken in half…disintegrated into the icy sea. And like a broken piece of paper, it was as broken as the lost teamwork of the players. Five turned to three. DK…Isabelle…and Lucina…were huddled on a single small land of floating ice in the Arctic…together….but alone.
The next thirty minutes after Lucina had taken her fateful bite of the mushroom were mostly in silence. The remaining ice floated down the ocean slowly…after two and a half hours of gameplay, almost an entire five miles had been floated since they had left the mountain, since their fateful decision to end a peaceful game.
Nobody said a word. Especially Isabelle and DK, who sat in uncertainty…wonder…but most of all, guilt over the choice their other fellow player had been forced to take. It was a choice by the princess that changed the entire game…but also changed the possibility of one of them surviving to the next round.
They were all feeling slightly unwell. Especially DK…who seemed to be in a sick, kneeling stance…leaning over the edge of the iceberg and throwing up endlessly into the water, for the last twenty minutes, the final remnants of lettuce he had bitten before.
Ten minutes later…he went up to Lucina.
"So, uh, where did you…even find that mushroom?" DK asked her with confused, dazed, disoriented eyes to her. Lucina was sitting on the edge of the ice…looking out to the sea.
"A few moments before Dark Pit fell…while you were all arguing…" she whispered, "I saw the pterodactyl…fly overhead." She closed her eyes. "I looked at it…I could see in the creature's expression that it sensed danger. It wanted the game to end peacefully. So…it flew to us. To drop the mushroom." DK and Isabelle's eyes were wide at her story.
"I…" Isabelle began in disbelief, covering her mouth. "I can't believe that. Really?!"
"Are you serious?" DK asked with incredulity. He laughed. "I didn't even see the darn pterodactyl!"
DK: I suppose she had the best eyesight ever!
"Because we were so busy fighting…" Isabelle said sadly, covering her eyes.
"Uhh…it was mostly all Joker and Dark Pit's fault!" DK named sulkily, folding his arms. "Without them, we wouldn't be in this drifting iceberg mess!"
"You also caused it too, you know," Isabelle couldn't help but say a little bitterly. "You can be the Mole too." DK faced her with a shake of his head, still denying.
Lucina: Our actions led to disaster.
"But…Lucina…why did you take the mushroom?" Isabelle asked Lucina, her voice quivering with guilt and also looking at her sadly. "You sacrificed for us…"
Isabelle; She sacrificed…to save the game…to save us…!
But Lucina just turned around to her…and smiled.
"It was meant to be… I felt," Lucina began. "For human nature…and animal nature…caused us all to make wrong moves of greed…" Lucina looked to the sea. "It was inevitable we would fall, I felt within me. So one had to sacrifice." She smiled a little at the sea. "I just wish I had taken a bite of the mushroom sooner, when all of us were here."
"It doesn't matter…you saved us…thank you!" Isabelle smiled to her softly.
"And I mean, none of us liked Joker or Dark Pit anyway," DK laughed out loud. "Bye bye!" But the others turned to him sharply and crossly. The gigantic, strong primate who had caused the death of one of their fellow teammates knew quickly to shut up. Lucina turned to him though, confused about something else.
"Why…." Lucina began, looking at DK carefully, "were you, for many minutes before…vomiting lettuce…?" It was a strange question, but a valid one. DK's face looked discombobulated as well, but he looked like he definitely knew.
"That strange lettuce I took a bite from," DK began explaining, shaking his head, "made me feel so DIFFERENT! And so weird! Like there was a burning fire within me…I became so…so…!"
"So angry?" Isabelle finished, wide eyes. DK faced back at them, slowly nodding.
"I think that lettuce…made me just so ANGRY, that I threw Joker off the iceberg." His face looked as if he realized an aspect of the game. Isabelle covered her mouth. Lucina was still.
"DK…I believe that lettuce…it could only mean…that because you bit it, that is why you raged…and angrily threw off Joker…and that is why wanted to fight me as well," Lucina realized, her face different. "You…moments before the deaths of our teammates…that was not you. I hope you know that."
"Then the lettuce was DEFINITELY poisoned with a potion?!" DK said with crazed disbelief in his voice, pointing angrily and hurt at the edge of the iceberg where he had been sick for nearly half an hour. "I can't believe that lettuce DID that to me!" He sighed…head down…feeling defeated by a vegetable in emotions.
Isabelle: I knew taking that lettuce in the first place was a bad decision! I mean, DK shouldn't have jumped to bite the lettuce right from Joker's hands, but everything is just…so bad and unfortunate!
"Do you think the tomato did something to the others? Like Dark Pit with the tomato?" Isabelle asked cautiously with panic. "Or do you think the mushroom…did something to you, Lucina?" Lucina was quiet, her face with a bit of fear.
"I…will just hope not," Lucina spoke slowly, swallowing.
"If one of us three is the Mole…" DK began. His sentence was unexpected to the others. Isabelle and Lucina faced him with wide eyes. No one was certain of what the large ape would say next, and the two players only waited.
"Then…that's okay!" he said out loud, his eyes looking joyous and laughing loudly. The ape look to the sky with wide eyes, as the others sighed with relief that he wasn't angry anymore. "That's okay if one of us is the Mole! You totally played an AWESOME game! I'm not mad! Deceiving us all!"
"Well, let's hope… if the Mole was either Dark Pit or Joker…then we have nothing to worry about for the rest of this mission," Lucina said, some remnants of determination in her voice..
And then…to their left…there was sudden danger. They saw something slowly swimming slowly towards them at fast speed. They all stood up from the ground, and after glancing at each other quickly, looked out at the orange, gigantic object in the middle of ocean that foot by foot across the sea got closer to them….closer and closer.
They were cautious and stunned. It was a giant fish.
DK: WHAT! From a mountain…to a cracked piece of floating ice…to death…then to a big fish.
The fish was carrying something in its large jaws, its sharp, daunting teeth shining and visible along with the giant carrot it was carrying in its mouth. The danger wasn't the fish: it was the offer it held in its very grasp that was the temptation. Its large eyes seemed to stare at the players, as if taunting them to take its offer. And the players saw the message it was holding.
This game is called, "Survival Unbalanced".
Every player who takes a bite of this vegetable will receive a +1 on the next quiz. Every player who remains on the iceberg to the end adds 5,000 coins to the team pot. Anyone who ate a mushroom before this gets a -1.
"Whu…what…huh….ahhh….too many rules!" DK moaned, confused. "Can I get a crash course on this one!? I'm too dumb for this!"
"My penalty of -1 still exists," Lucina spoke with a bit of dismay, disappointment in her voice, "but…so does the rule of each of us being worth 5,000 coins each to the end. If none of us do anything…then everything is the same." She faced the floating vegetable. The fish had already went below the surface and had swam to the bottom of the ocean. The orange carrot, matching the color of the gone fish, remained floating.
"So…is the only difference that…" DK gulped, his eyes lighting up and swallowing nervously, "if…ONE of us jumps in to take a bite from the carrot…then they get a Plus 1 for the quiz!? Oh man!" His mouth dropped….and his face looked like he was in deep contemplation…one of desire.
"But then there's one more bad consequence…they lose 5,000 coins for the team!" Isabelle gasped, her eyes getting wider. "Oh no!" She looked at the two other, almost giggling to them. "Well…none of you two will do that, right?!"
DK made a sound. It was a sound that the big ape of the jungle couldn't conceal…but it was revealing enough, unfortunately. And Lucina gasped, knowing.
"DK…I know you are planning to take the VEG for the Plus 1," she spoke softly and suddenly.
"What!" The accused monkey turned to her with shocked himself. "I…uhhh…wellllll…darn it. How did you...know?" As DK looked at her with stunned emotions, mystified that the princess knew what he was going to do, Lucina smiled a bit…but she held also disappointment on her face. DK shook his head, frowning now with expressive sadness.
"I'm SO dumb!" DK shouted, his voice louder with exasperation. "I don't know how I'm going to do on this quiz! Every quiz question…I'm just a ball of panic trying to survive!" He looked despondent and aggravated. "You wouldn't think that about me, but hey, I am! My confidence is terrible in this game and my brain is always mush! I'm always on the edge of death in this game…" He turned to the fish, wide eyed. "That fish…is literally my only hope of surviving in this game! Come on, gosh! Agree with me!" Lucina and Isabelle were silent.
Lucina: I understood…his feelings of inadequacy. But it was still a choice that would cost 5,000 coins from the team. So I did not agree with him.
Isabelle: What would he do!? I was hoping he'd stay…but…we all knew just how much DK's been expressing his lack of confidence in games and low intelligence on the quizzes these days!
The game had twenty-five minutes left. DK stared at the two female players…his eyes looking begging and pleading.
But neither of them stopped him.
DK: I'm just really, really sorry! And to Lucina especially…at least you'll at least survive with your -1. Unlike I would.
And with a splash, DK leaped off and jumped into the cold water of the Arctic. And just like the lettuce…he took a bite of floating carrot. A Plus 1 was granted to a player…and the pot was ultimately lowered by 5,000 coins. In the end, the chances of each player surviving Episode 6 were surely unbalanced
"Arghhh! What!?" As the waters became heavier and more turbulent, they heard a shout from DK himself. They turned to see him...attacked...and in the terrifying grasp of the large fish.
"NO! DK!" But the player was now struggling helplessly in the mouth of the giant fish. Isabelle and Lucina cried out in horror as the fish began to drag DK down, the ape in its large teeth. And within seconds, both DK and the fish were swallowed by the icy water…the waves taking the player under the cold realm, and the two unsuspecting female players gasped with disbelief.
"DK!" But within a minute, the large ape was gone….and only two people remained on the floating ice, staring down to where the large ape had been swallowed up...gone himself from the game..
DK: Granted Plus 1
Game Total: 10,000 coins
Players Alive: 2/5
A few seconds passed by.
Isabelle gasped with terror, sighing and looking down. "He…took it…because he felt 'dumb'…" Isabelle whispered. "He always has felt that way, right?! But that choice of taking the Plus 1 for money…how do I feel? Oh no…"
"He made a wrong decision," Lucina stated quietly. "5,000 coins are lost." But her face seemed calm...besides showing dismay.
Isabelle turned to Lucina, new worry on her face: the yellow dog was indeed scared. "We are the only two left! What will happen next!? Ugh, Lucina…this game has just been too much for me! I've been so nervous with every death so far! I really can't take this anymore!" Lucina turned to her, silent, also looking uncertain.
"Indeed, we are the only two…and indeed, this game has been…but we must hope." She looked to the distance, uncertain. "Let us hope nothing else...leads to disaster."
Lucina: But...had we already reached it?
And the final two players continued...drifting endlessly and dangerously on a small piece of ice that would lead them to possible doom.
Time Remaining: 10 Minutes Left
The two last players floated on the remaining piece of ice. The iceberg had now disintegrated completely: the white speck on the ocean could now only hold a maximum of three or four people upon its disappeared existence in the blue sea, having cracked away. Not all of five of them could have ever survived safely to the end of the game. The game was to be finished.
The cold water remained below both Isabelle and Lucina as they sailed across the ocean of Ice Climbers' land. The two players left in the menacing game stared at the ocean….uncertain…reflecting…and thinking about their game.
Isabelle: I just…really want to make it to the final three. The more I thought about this game. It's terrifying, but if I've made it passed everything to this round, then I want to continue to the end! But, well, if I don't make it to the final three of the game, then I won't complain or take it with full unexpectedness or disappointment! It's a game! That's so silly if someone does complain!
Lucina closed her eyes, wondering.
Lucina: Some people…are very different than I initially perceived them to be. Isabelle is, strangely, a bit different than what I thought her to be before. Her real self…more cutthroat…susceptible to causing drama. In fact, everyone is different than what I judged them to be before this episode. Dark Pit…more kindhearted than I believed him to be. I did not know he would turn around and redeem himself when he turned down the tomato. And Joker…more cynical than I ever thought he could ever, ever be, since our last interaction in a cafe of deception.
And then…from the sky…there was a final screech of the game.
Screeeeech! They both stood up, alert and on guard. The pterodactyl was high ahead, and they both squinted, seeing it in the high clouds.
Whoosh... The red, flying creature then dropped something from high in the sky, much to the alarm of the two remaining players on the tiny piece of floating ice itself. But with perfect aim and precision, it landed seven seconds later…on the very smooth ice between Isabelle and Lucina...safely and in one piece.
The two players stared at the final vegetable. It was an ear or corn…their final opportunity to change the game.
"The message…" Lucina began…and she gasped.
This game is called, "Morals Unbalanced".
Listen carefully to these final rules. Every player who takes a bite of this vegetable receives an exemption. Every player who doesn't adds 5,000 coins to the pot. Anyone who bit a mushroom before this gets a -1, but it would be negated by an exemption. Anyone who bit a carrot before this receives a +1. If you take a bite…you must jump into the water. The whirlpool of immorality awaits.
The two conflicted and very hesitant players were silent.
"Everything has led to disaster…a disaster to this very point…" Lucina's own words echoed across the Arctic ocean water.
Lucina: A disaster…of morals.
Isabelle turned to her, wide eyed.
"I…oh no…" Isabelle squealed silently. She stared at the ocean water besides them. The two players saw that the body of water besides their ice was swirling….turning…a large spiral appearing in large shape. They gasped, blinking and not believing their very eyes. It was a whirlpool that was making its way into existence, the thundering noise growing and growing second by second. The two players gasped in horror.
Then, Isabelle turned back to the corn with apprehensive, conflicted eyes. She was silent for a second. But then…her face changed.
"Lucina…you deserve to remove your -1…you played this game the most nobly here." Isabelle faced Lucina frantically but with certainty. "And you survived to the end! You are a winner! You…you deserve to take an exemption!"
Isabelle: A pass to the next round….it was a pass to the next round!
Lucina: A pass...to...the next round?
"No…I cannot…" Lucina shook her head. "She wouldn't allow me. Peach...would not allow me to. Lucario...he would not take it…like he refused the Bowser hat...he would not"
Isabelle turned to the princess. "Lucina!" Isabelle began again, shaking her partner's shoulders. "If we both take a bite…then we'll be the only two female players surviving! We can both make it to the next episode! Let's do it...for Peach and Lucario! Please listen to me!"
"I…" Lucina began. She seemed uncertain. But...she shook her head resolutely. "No…we cannot cheat…it just is not right…" Lucina then shook her head again…but she was also trying to shake away a new sense of dizziness. The whirlpool began to swirl even more, their piece of ice on the water beginning to rotate. Stronger, and stronger, the maelstrom grew. Isabelle grabbed onto the princess' shoulders.
"Listen, please Lucina!" the yellow dog began again, shaking her. "We can prove ourselves! Show we're the winners! This is our only chance! This is my chance in life! We can both do it! I know we can!" Lucina looked at the final vegetable, her eyes wide, then at Isabelle. She felt even dizzier.
"…no…we should…not…" the princess began weakly again…and then…she finally felt the full effects of the poisonous mushroom she had eaten.
And she suddenly collapsed to the icy floor, leaving Isabelle alone.
And the game had taken almost everyone into its cold, deadly, icy realm.
…wow. I guess that's the end.
The players have all died one by one.
This is a really sad mission and ending to the entire story and series…and I'm so sad it had to end this way.
I am sorry...the end.
-End-
….just kidding! :D The players are alive and this is all just still a game xD Albeit a dangerous one with questionable TV show production decisions and writing. Who is even sponsoring or monitoring these games?
Muahahaha.
Anyways, I apologies for the small delays that might be coming up! :) I may be a slightly tad more busy from work all that stuff! Boooo, lol. But never fear: I'm always thinking about this story and slowly writing every week! :) I love you guys!
I'll see you all soon!
Dark Punxy: A hundred Plus 1's does seem pretty crazy and unbelievable! Okay, confession: so I initially thought of it in my head as the equivalent of an exaggerated exemption xD Until…I realized…one player could distribute Plus 1's to others and eliminate anyone who doesn't get any. Or try to figure out the Mole by distributing to everyone but the Mole…so crap. Here's a rule the host will clarify next chapter: the player was only able to use the Hundred Plus 1's on themself xD LOL. Just simply a bonus overdose. I love the theory you proposed! Som that's such a possible interesting possibility: Lucina being a second princess as the Mole IN LINE with how the REAL world Mole series had two female supermodels in a row as Moles…wow! So what are the chances that this happen? Good eye if this turns out to be true :) the parallel really would be remarkable….is it planned?k
Salamander: I'm glad you picture the new world as a breath of fresh air! :D that's exactly how I pictured this snowy new mountain world with open air to be in my own mind! True; I actually always just wanted a mission that started peacefully with just talking, discussing, and surveying the land…but if you know me well, and my psychotic deranged tendencies, you just know I can't let an entire game go out like that xD muahahahaa. I really love and shudder at the phrase "enough rope to hang themself" because darn, such a good image of the Mole at many times! They indeed give others enough material at times to cause their own falls and sabotages. Aww, your words are truly amazing and humbling to read ^.^ Thank you! I try to make the Mole game as new and fresh at every turn as I can! I literally try to conspire what twists and new elements and mysteries I can insert into the game, and especially after doing three seasons already: I do everything I can for this "fourth" season cause I don't want readers to be disappointed if things aren't new! Anyways, thank you!I'm honored :)!
Amalgamie: LOL! "I love you guys, okay let's all die", basically sums up Dark Pit. He's a conflicted soul as a character for this game for sure, hahaa! Poor guy :( "Too dysfunctional to co-exist", I also like that line…cause it makes you think. These characters of such different personalities, from literally different worlds, are enforced together. What is the end result? Some things bearable, some things good, and some things awful. Haha, DK getting on your nerves is understandable, because you do know and feel that he's putting a fake front of bravery, whether he's secretly the Mole or not. But is he faking his lack of intelligence too? Lucina does appear innocent but also also slightly suspect, in that she "forgot" Dark Pit was in a cave…if anyone was to have a kind heart and remember others, it'd be her. Joker having "execution vibes" for you in the beginning, oh no! xD Is this a omen-filled premonition for the unmasked man? Haha, we'll see in three chapters to come who the true executed victim is! One thing is for certain: it won't be the smoke :)
Cavin856: I sometimes LOVE considering players I never thought as the Mole as the Mole, because it kind of warps and messes up our mind just picturing them to be it xD Dark Pit does fly under the radar a bit, whether that's intentional by me or just bad writing by me (let's hope it's not the latter cough ROF.). But does Lucina still stand as the true saboteur? The drastic rule changes are what make things fun I think for this game! I wanted to go all out! Hmm, the winter clothes…could there be a clue in there? I will tell you one thing: you are absolutely right about that being a question on the upcoming quiz! xD When it comes to Joker, you do have a point that he was the most persuasive in turning the mountain into an iceberg. Dark Pit wouldn't care about icicles if they did kill him, true. And Isabelle with orange boots. This ties back to whether the clothing they're wearing is more important in meaning or not. If it does, then Isabelle is suspect here as the Mole. But interesting Dark Pit Mole theory tying to the message, "You're below my world" in Episode 2! The Mole is indeed a dastardly one anyway with all these terrible messages :) muahaha
LuaisyLover: Eyyy! Let me just say, hearing from you at various points over the past three weeks made me happy :) It was nice to hear voices from this story over the long period! I'm so glad you're an Ice Climbers fan! Two episodes back, I planned this world to be the snowy Ice Climbers universe, and I was hoping and worried the readers wouldn't like it Wha! But now I'm so relieved and glad :) Lol at Joker accusing everyone for being the Mole for reasons such as snowy mountains and white clothes. I mean wouldn't it be ironic if it's revealed these were indeed genuine clues to the Mole? Hmm ;) In terms of Isabelle, she would be an amazing Mole! I'm not saying whether she is or not, BUT she has been playing the game interestingly. Aww, Dark Pit definitely needs hearts in that cave! :( Luigi appropriately too, haha. You caught in with an awesome strategy in utilizing the 100 Plus 1's! Dispersing them to target one person! But alas, Smash Host will reveal next chapter how they couldn't have done that xD. And suspects! So I love how your favorite Isabelle is the Mole :) That is how I love and wish a Mole game to go every time I watched one! Knowing your favorite will survive! You're very right that Lucina is not interacting with the others as much! It's interesting how much she played in the background these two chapters. Omg aww! Flattered you think my show is better than the real Mole seasons! No way! Well, in terms of unrestricted budget, maybe I am able to make things more magnanimous and fantastical than the real show xD.
Mr. Rainbow Dude: Virtual cake! :D I'll take it! Aw, congrats on your marriage and I'm so thrilled for you both! Do you have hidden clues at your wedding planner? Hahaa, in terms of hidden clues, I suppose they could be anywhere! Are they in the locations the players went to? The clothes they are wearing? But also, whenever there is a theory, there's always a 50 percent chance it is indeed all BS and irrelevant, so you bahahahah you have a point xD Dark Pit lying about the tomato is interesting! I will reveal however that it was indeed under the ice, and Dark Pit is written as even seeing some of its red shine under the ice when he's alone in the cave. And wow: prediction prophecy correct! Dark Pit was pushed off! Albeit sadly, lol.
CocoTots: Snow worlds in videogames are so nice :) I think of Banjo Kazooie and Animal Crossing at night. The Climbers were your main in Melee?! :D Yayyy! Im glad that we're in this world then and that there's significance for you! Actually, Ice Climbers were my 6th/7th most used character myself in Melee if I remember haha. You're totally right: the mountain mission IS indeed the easiest game they've had thus far. The players will realize this with regret from the host at the beginning of the next (well, this) chapter for SURE x.x Bahaha, the Mole is indeed the veggie enforcer. Must be vegan? Hmmmm. An interesting point you made about DK being the only one lacking winter clothes, and whether that could point to something…Lucina losing her mojo! You could totally think that from the first Episode 6 chapter! Rereading it, youre right: you sense that might be a possibilty because she was so in the background. Now the question is: what about Isabelle? There really is some stuff missing about her too. As the story goes, we learn more about everyone.