Episode 12: The Beginning Of The End

Episode 12: The Beginning Of The End
Days 22-24

"I can't really say what happened. It was rather spur of the moment. But it reflected what's going on at this stage of the game very well; all bets are off, and every one of us is out for whomever's blood we can get, so long as it's keeping us in the game two more days closer to the end."

Yoshi speaks with a twinge of regret, but remains confident, as he speaks to the camera.

"One thing's for sure, getting rid of Ganondorf will not hurt our chances at winning the game. And only one other thing is sure at this point in the game: it's unsafe to assume that ANYBODY is going to be helpful to you. And I mean ANYBODY. Trust no one."

With that said, Yoshi leaves the Camera Room. Luigi's Mansion seems extraordinarily empty tonight--probably the last five contestants are scattered throughout its many rooms, scheming equally as much at how to survive the last few days and win the million.

**********

Over dinner, the final five call for a toast.

"Here's to making the last five," says Zelda, raising her glass.

"And to no regrets whatsoever," adds Fox, raising his own immediately, a grin on his face worth fifty grand.

Yoshi glances across the table and sees Zelda looking at Fox in a much friendlier fashion than ever before. His eyes narrow.

"If that's the case, then let's get out with it. We've got nothing to hide," she says, an amused look as she takes a sip of her glass and keeps her eyes on Fox.

"Out with what?" he laughs, trying to sound innocent.

" 'Out with what?' he asks!" laughs Zelda, and Yoshi's eyes flick to the opposite side of the table, where Captain Falcon and Bowser are sitting.

They both seem to also be unsure of the situation, but both make eye contact with Yoshi.

"Okay, okay, fine," says Fox, putting down his glass and raising his hands with a smile. "So I definately lied throughout the entire first part of the game about being on your side. That was definately a lie, okay?"

"Definately," is all Yoshi can see, taking a drink and saying no more.

"And I was behind getting rid of Mario, Link, Samus, aaaand just about anyone else who was helpful to you and hurtful to me."

"Samus? Get out!" laughs Zelda, and Yoshi begins to suspect that she has had too much to drink. "Samus was a traitor! She turned on us!"

"Oh no!" chuckles back Fox, trying to keep from spilling his drink. "You guys were convinced that she was up to no good, but she was on your side completely! I was screwing up the votes, not her! And you guys voted her out for it!"

"What? Oh my gosh, I feel absolutely HORRIBLE now!" screeches Zelda, half falling out of her chair as she nearly breaks into tears with laughter. "Can you believe that, Yoshi?"

"Yeah," says Yoshi, somewhat coldly, as he takes another drink and sets his glass down carefully.

"Oh, Fox, you're such a devil!" laughs Zelda. "And you were the one who shut Link down in the basement, weren't you?"

"No, believe it or not!" cries Fox, nearly crying as well. "The one nasty thing in this game that I DIDN'T do was lock Link down in the basement!"

Yoshi's eyes flash, and his mind is suddenly only being used to process Fox's words, as stealthily as he can without obviously listening too closely.

"Oh, come on, you big fat liar!" giggles Zelda, sloshing her drink wrecklessly.

"No, I'm telling the truth!" blurts Fox, taking a big sip. "I suggested it, but didn't do it! Krystal was the one who shut him down there, if you can believe that!"

"And the cords?"

"She cut them, too! My hands are perfectly clean from that incident!"

Another sip. Yoshi sets down his glass on the table rigidly.

"You know, I've never had such fun talking to you, Fox, even if you're a complete SLIMEBALL!" squeals Zelda, spilling her drink onto herself. "Oops! Ha ha haa!"

"I feel the same way!" roars Fox, near tears.

He stops, glancing around the table, then utters in a low voice, "Would you like to hear more about my...dirty...deeds?"

Zelda pauses for a second, her numb brain thinking over his words, then she clasps her hands and drops her drink on the floor.

"Ooo, Fox, you DOG!" she cries, falling out of her chair with laughter.

"Excuse me," says Yoshi, as he stands and leaves the room abruptly.

Zelda and Fox are too drunken to notice.

**********

"Last night, Zelda and Fox were locked away in his bedroom until 2 in the morning. They were laughing it up and didn't show their faces except around midnight, and that was only to dig around the kitchen and scavenge up some more hooch to drink, which they dragged back to his room and were guzzling all night."

Yoshi speaks to the camera in a disgusted manner.

"I'm not going to speculate, I have no idea what went on in there, but I'm sure there were some cameras around, so somebody around this house knows just what's been going on between them. All I can say about it is, it's trouble."

**********

Noontime comes, and Toad appears. Today, however, he brings no keys. The residents look disappointed.

"I'm sorry, guys and girls, but you won't be getting anymore new rooms for the remainder of the game; at this point, you should be able to find all the private time you need, with only four others in the same house...and, after tomorrow, three others..."

"It's okay...we've made due with what we've already got," says Yoshi, and it sounds more like a stab at Fox than a statement to Toad.

"Right, then. Today's challenge is, again, quite simple: each of you will stand up in the hallway above, which is accessible by the staircase. You will each take a spot along the railing overlooking this room. I will give each of you a rope, which will hang over the railing and lead all the way down to the floor. I will tie a heavy weight to the bottom end of every person's rope; I won't lie, the weight will weigh approximately seven-tenths of whatever your body weight is. That means, you'll be hoisting 70% of yourself up to the railing. When it gets close enough to reach, you will reach out OVER the railing and touch the weight; you cannot stick your arms or legs between or under the railing to touch the weight. Once your weight is touched, you'll then lower it back to the floor as quickly as possible, where I will have a new weight prepared for you. The second weight will be 80% of your weight; this will be harder, but I trust you can still hoist it up in rather short order. Once you've hoisted, touched, and lowered the second weight, you'll move on to the final weight: a force equal to your body weight, which you must pull up over the railing and set onto the floor beside you. The first person to get their final weight onto the floor up there will be the Head of the House Hold...and will ensure themselves a spot in the final four, and a 25% chance of winning the game. That said, everyone climb the stairs and take a place along the balcony."

In short order, the group goes to the stairs and ascend them to the top. After Toad has rigged all the weights appropriately for the challenge, he stands in the center of the room below. The residents nervously await his command.

"First to get their final weight resting on the balcony's floor, wins. Ready......GO!"

Immediately, all five players grab their ropes and begin to pull. Bowser, with his brute strength, immediately takes the lead, but is--surprisingly--not gloating at all today.

"Bowser with a HUGE lead; he's just HAULING that weight up there like it was a feather!" says Toad, as Bowser pulls the rope up just a little higher and taps the top with a big claw. "Bowser, no trash talk today?"

"Last voting session was a little too close; I'll save that until AFTER I win today's challenge," snarles back Bowser, lowering his weight quickly back down.

"Captain Falcon is just behind Bowser!" says Toad, as Captain Falcon reaches out over the railing and tries to touch his weight. "Oh, looks like he stopped just a little short!"

"Curses!" grumbles Falcon, nearly falling over the railing as he swipes frantically at his weight.

"Fox and Yoshi fighting to catch up to Falcon!" says Toad, as both Yoshi and Fox drag their weights within grabbing range and tap a hand to them simultaneously. "Bowser's got his second weight on its way up--looks heavier, though!"

"Come on, COME ON!" grunts Captain Falcon, gripping his rope to keep it from sliding and trying to touch his weight.

It sways back and forth, moving just out of his reach.

"Captain Falcon, don't fall over; you won't be able to play this game with a broken neck," warns Toad, as Captain Falcon wobbles uncertainly and very nearly takes a plunge down to the first floor.

"I GOT IT!" cries the Captain, as his fingers swat the weight sideways.

"Captain Falcon, Yoshi, and Fox are all lowering their weights, and Bowser is almost done lugging his second to the top!" announces Toad, as Zelda touches her own weight. "Zelda is lowering her first weight!"

"Ugh...just a little more..." grunts Bowser, taking a breath and heaving his weight up several more inches. "Just a little farther to go..."

"Bowser's slowing down; one of you could still catch up and overtake him!" says Toad, as Captain Falcon hastily lands his weight again and changes to the next. "Captain Falcon moves into second place, hot on Bowser's heels!"

"We'll see about that!" growls Fox, letting his rope slide, and grabbing it at the last second to keep it from smashing against the floor at full speed.

"Fox pulls a nice maneuver and closes the gap between himself and Falcon!" states Toad, as Yoshi and Zelda both land their own seconds later. "Yoshi and Zelda, not far behind!"

"Closer....closer!" groans Bowser, trying to tap his weight with a big fingernail.

"Bowser is JUST shy--he'll have to haul it up once more to get a hold of it!" announces Toad, as Captain Falcon sucks in deep breaths and hoists his own weight. "Captain Falcon is dragging his second weight up there like a maniac--he's catching up to Bowser like mad!"

"Ugh! COME ON!" steams Falcon, grabbing the rope in his gloved hands and tearing it towards the floor with all his might.

His weight soars up by leaps and bounds, and skips past Bowser's to the top. Falcon plants a hand quickly and then starts to lower.

"CAPTAIN FALCON IS WINNING A CHALLENGE!" roars Toad, leaping up and down crazily. "FOR THE FIRST TIME, FALCON MIGHT LAST IT OUT TO THE END!"

"Ergh!" blurts Fox, tugging on his rope to get his weight higher.

"Bowser, where's the progress gone?" asks Toad, as Bowser weakly pulls at his rope.

"I'm running out of steam!" complains Bowser, getting just a bit more height on his weight.

He leans over and manages to touch his weight as Fox gets his to the top, followed almost immediately by Zelda.

"Fox and Zelda are neck-and-neck with Bowser, all chasing the mighty Captain Falcon!" shouts Toad, as Yoshi, exhausted, finally gets his second weight to the top. "Yoshi's falling behind fast--he's got a lot of ground to cover just to catch up with Bowser, Zelda, and Fox."

"Oh, really?" asks Yoshi, wheezing. "Then I guess this might help me a bit."

Yoshi lets go of the rope completely, and his weight drops like a stone past Fox's, Zelda's, and Bowser's weights, smashing the floor loudly and causing everyone to wince and cringe at the loud smashing sound.

"Going up," quips Yoshi, grabbing the rope to his final weight and beginning to pull with all his might.

"Yoshi, using some questionable techniques, is gaining rapidly on Captain Falcon!" cries Toad, as Captian Falcon nears the top with his final weight. "But can he make up enough ground in time?"

Falcon tugs, and his weight zips up just a little too far out of his reach.

"Looks like no," finishes Toad, as Falcon gives a final tug on his rope.

The rope snaps, and Captain Falcon's weight careens through the air, smashing through the wooden floor far below, sending wooden splinters flying everywhere. Everyone in the room jumps, and there's horrible silence for a moment.

"Strange...my luck's not as good today as usual..." muses Captain Falcon, rubbing his chin in confusion at his abrupt loss.

"This is still anybody's game!" cries Toad, as Yoshi struggles to move up his weight. "Look at Bowser go, though!"

Bowser, having just gotten his third and final weight, has put his entire heart and soul into the challenge; claw-by-claw, he drags his weight through the air, speeding along at an enormous pace.

"Bowser is catching up to Yoshi--nay, he's SURPASSING YOSHI! Bowser's going for the win!"

With a final yank, Bowser grips the weight with both hands and, using all his strength, lifts it up over the railing and drops it onto the floor with a loud thump.

"BOWSER WINS! HE'S THE HEAD OF THE HOUSE HOLD!" shouts Toad, and every other weight but Yoshi's hits the ground--Yoshi pulls his weight up the last few inches and dumps it over the railing onto the floor.

**********

"You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours," hisses Bowser.

"Eh...what?"

"Nevermind, we gotta go vote."

Everyone assembles in the parlor the next morning at noon--somewhere they've all been countless times before...and never enjoyed being at. Bowser stands.

"Hey. I can't BEGIN to say how glad I am to be here and not one of you right now," he grunts, realizing shortly after saying this that he's not helping his own image at all. "Er...sorry."

"Let's get with the nominees," suggests Yoshi, and Bowser, snaps a giant finger.

"Right! Somebody to lose!" blurts Bowser, remembering his task at hand. "My first nominee today is..."

Everyone waits, knowing that Bowser is a complete wild card--for all anyone knows, his nominations might just be completely random, with no logic whatsoever.

"Captain Falcon!"

"Man...this stinks," replies Captain Falcon, casually.

"Why Captain Falcon?" asks Yoshi, more to quiz Bowser than to force him to change his answer.

"Because Captain Falcon doesn't do very much around the house to help, and I think it's the humane thing to do, considering he loses every challenge terribly in the most unearthly ways."

"You don't do much to help around the house," Zelda reminds Bowser.

"Enough!" snarles back Bowser, forgetting what he was saying. "Uh...what was I doing up here, again?"

"Nominations! You're on your second one!" grumbles Fox, slapping a hand on his forehead.

"Wait...who was my first one?" Bowser asks, completely confused.

"CAPTAIN FALCON!" blurts Yoshi.

"Oh..heh heh, I forgot about him already...he's still here?"

"I hope so," replies Captain Falcon, nervously wondering if he's only imagining himself in the game.

"Oh, sorry, man--I didn't see you over there."

"Do the other nomination!" demands Fox, also growing somewhat annoyed.

"Alright then. My SECOND nomination is.......ZELDA!"

"ME?" squeaks Zelda, aghast.

"Why Zelda?" asks Yoshi, raising an eyebrow.

"Because she's scheming, she's untrustable, and she was flat out WASTED the other night--like getting completely plastered is helping anyone else out around here!"

"What are you talking about? I never get drunk!" retorts Zelda, but she sits back in her chair quickly and hopes nobody responds.

"You've heard my nominations! I'm gonna vote first, and we'll go around clockwise!" says Bowser, standing and going to the Camera Room.

When Captain Falcon casts his vote, he hesitates, trying to think of something to say.

"I've never been very good at coming up with these little thing to say," fumbles Captain Falcon. "But...I hope nobody has been buying the act I've been playing since the beginning of the game..."

He slips in his vote carefully, then returns from the Camera Room--tripping as he comes out of the door, and nearly falling down.

Zelda casts the final vote, which is for Captain Falcon.

"Nothing personal, you're a nice enough guy, but somebody's gotta go, and since you don't really stand a prayer at winning ANYTHING, I guess it's better you than me."

She exits, and the residents wait. A minute later, Toad arrives with the voting box, containing five votes: at least three will contain the name of the next player to be evicted.

"It's time to read the votes," says Toad, solemnly.

He pulls the first, and it is for Zelda.

"Zelda, you've got one vote," says Toad, as she nods. "The second vote...is for Zeda."

Toad reaches in for the third--it is for Captain Falcon.

"Captain Falcon has one vote, Zelda has two. I'll read the next vote."

Toad pulls out the fourth vote...and reveals the name on it.

"Zelda, it's Game Over for you."

On the next episode of Nintendo Big Brother...
Four residents left, and one million dollars at stake! With so much on the line, no alliances are safe, no words are true, and no lies are false; trust is gone, and all that can save any of the residents now is the right timing, the proper assistance, and a lot of luck. In the second-to-last episode, one more resident will leave Luigi's Mansion, and the final three will be made known to the world. Two episodes await, and as the end of the game draws near, some players will be forced to make some cut-throat decisions. Which player will leave next? Who will make the proper friends? Who can outwit the competition for two more episodes to win the entire season? All will be revealed in the next episode!