📺PUZZLEVISION PRESENTS: Once Upon an SMG4: SMG3 and The Tall Tale of Macro Four

Chapter 7: Expect the Unexpected

   "NO NO NO! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!"

Mr Puzzles was pacing outside of the castle. "THAT STUPID PRINCESS!" Punching the castle's wall, he pinched the center of his screen, as if he were trying to pinch the non-existent bridge of his nose. "This is NOT HOW THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!" Kicking the clouds below his feet, he sneered. "THAT APE WAS SUPPOSED TO KILL HIM! NOT BEFRIEND HIM!" His breathing growing stiff and heavy, he suddenly found himself glancing down at his remote.

"...A malfunction perhaps?"

His breathing steadied.
He grinned. "I can fix that."

-

   "One, two, three, four..."
SMG3 was giggling maniacally as he ran behind a large table leg. "He'll never find me here."
When the kitchen went silent, SMG3 heard loud yet gentle footsteps leave the room. "Come out come out wherever you are!"
SMG3 giggled to himself but immediately slapped his gloved hands over his mouth when he did.
SMG4 was now visible to SMG3. His tall form towering over almost everything. "I know you're in here!"
SMG3 immediately stopped himself from chucking, and slid behind the leg more.
Ever since Mr Puzzle's disappearance, SMG3 had felt on edge. He was afraid that he had pissed him off a little too much, but the giant insisted that it would all be okay.
SMG3 didn't tell the giant exactly why he was upset, but it looked as if the giant already knew.
As a cheer up, the giant suggested that they should both play a game of 'Hide and Seek'.
SMG3 wasn't the type to want to play such childish games, but spending time with this giant made him feel... safe? Secure? If those were even the right words?
Basically he felt everything he didn't feel for Mr Puzzles. And he was the one who was supposed to be 'protecting' him. How ironic.
   "You know I have a great nose!" The giant commented, stepping closer to his hiding place. "I can smell you from thirty miles away!"
   "You cheater!" SMG3 immediately sprang out of his amazing hiding place and confronted the giant with a playful scowl on his face.
   "Found you!" The giant laughed, kneeling down to the princess's level.
   "No you didn't!" SMG3 corrected with a snap. "Your nose did!"
The giant rolled his eyes playfully. "Well my nose is a part of my body. So I found you."
   "That's not fair!" SMG3 whined, stomping his foot down like a toddler throwing a fit.
SMG4 smiled by this and leaned closer. "Aww, is somebody upset?"
SMG3's eyes shot wide. "WHAT? NO! OF COURSE I'M NOT UPSET! WHO DO YOU THINK I AM?"
   "A princess." The giant booped his nose. "That's what."
   "Ugh!" Stomping away, SMG3 headed back into the kitchen. "I'll count now. And don't think I'll be going easy on you because you're big! I'll definitely be finding you and your large ass."
   "Oh don't be so sure of yourself," The giant grinned. "I'm a pretty good hider too despite my size."
   "We'll just see about that."
As SMG3 stalked back into the kitchen, he began to count...

One...

Two...

Three...

Four...

Five...

He glanced out of the kitchen.
   "No peaking!" The giant chided.
How did he know?!
   "Ugh." Turning his head back against the wall, he continued to count.

Six...

Seven...

Eight...

Nine...

"Ready!"

On cue, SMG3 finally opened his eyes and turned to face the hallway. "Ready or not, here I come you over-sized Baka."
-
First SMG3 looked in the hallway.

The giant wasn't there.

Groaning to himself, he checked another room, which seemed to be the living room. He looked all around the room, and there was still no sign of SMG4. Come on, where is he!

Next he decided to look inside of the treasure room. He has to be in here! It's like... the biggest room in the entire castle!
"AHA! I found you, ya giant moron!"

Nobody.

   "...Oh COME ON!" Geez. He wasn't kidding when he said that he was a good hider.
-
   "Okay, I give up!" After what seemingly felt like forever for him, SMG3 had finally thrown in the towel. "You win, giant! Where are you!"
When there was no reply, SMG3 became more agitated. "Dude, quit playing! I give up! You win. I'm not playing anymore."
When there was still no reply, SMG3 felt unsettled. "SMG4...?" Stepping out of the room he was in, he looked around. "SMG4?" He shouted. His voice echoed throughout the entire castle, and yet there was still no reply. "SMG4 stop this... where are you..."
 Looking more frantically now, SMG3 began to bulldoze throughout the entire castle, looking left and right in every room; every corner of the castle. "SMG4!"

   "Princess?"

SMG3 froze.
By how frantic he was, he whirled around and expected to be faced with SMG4.

But he wasn't...

It was Mr Puzzles.

   "You..."
Before SMG3 could say anything else, the man smiled. "Oh dear princess! What are you doing? You seem anxious."
   "Where were you?!" SMG3 snapped, finally having his chance to speak. "And why did you disappear on us like that?"
   "I just needed a bit of fresh air, that's all." Mr Puzzles replied with a smile.
SMG3 didn't reciprocate his smile. "You could've at least told me where you were going! That would've been nice!"
   "I deeply apologize for my selfish action, princess," Mr Puzzles frowned, but SMG3 could tell it was a fake one. "I just needed some time away from that monster."
SMG3's eyes widened. SMG4!
   "Um... speaking of him... did you happen to by any chance see him?"
Annoyance flashed across Mr Puzzles face. "Ugh. You're still on about that brute."
   "Where is he!" Fury boiled inside of SMG3 like a kettle of hot water. He was tired of this guy's rude comments and accusations about the giant.
He was actually a pretty chill dude when you got to know him...
 Mr Puzzles forced himself to look surprised. "I don't know, princess! I haven't seen him at all since I left. What happened?"
SMG3 let out a long sigh. "Me and him were playing hide and seek, and now I can't find the idiot! Can..." He lowered his voice into a silent muffle. "Can you help me find him..?"
Mr Puzzles blinked in surprise and let out a single chuckle. "Wow. You must really suck at hide and seek. Isn't that a game for babies?"
   "WILL YOU HELP ME FIND HIM OR NOT!?"
Mr Puzzles thought for a moment. "Hm. The offer is tempting, but I'm gonna have to pass. I don't like giants."
   "Well you're going to help me find him anyway!" Grabbing a hold of his suit, SMG3 forcefully dragged Mr Puzzles along with him.
   "Hey-! Let me go!"
   "Not until we find SMG4!"
   "Have you tried looking outside?!"
SMG3 froze. Sheepishly, he turned to face Mr Puzzles, an embarrassed smirk on his face. "Oh... no... I uh..." He turned away. "Haven't... thought of that."
Mr Puzzles face palmed. "Of course you haven't..."
   "What was that?"
   "Nothing princess! Nothing at all..."
-
As SMG3 immediately bolted outside, Mr Puzzles behind him less enthusiastic, he ran around the castle, shouting at the top of his lungs for the gargantua.
   "SMG4! ARE YOU OUT HERE?!"
When he finally ran all around the castle, and their was still no sign of the giant, SMG3 felt his world shatter into bits.
Drooping his head, he slowly walked back towards his acquaintance. "He's not out here either..."
   "Aw, I'm so sorry princess. Maybe he's gone out somewhere... or maybe he is still hiding inside of the castle."
   "He wouldn't play with my feelings like that!" SMG3 snapped. "He would know that I wasn't playing anymore... he wouldn't mentally torture me like that..." He paused. "Would he...?"
Mr Puzzles wrapped an arm around the princess's shoulder. "Now now princess... sometimes things like this happen. And we can't control them sadly." He released SMG3's shoulder. "You should've listened to me. You also should've known from the start that the giant would double cross you at some point."
   "But he seemed really interested in me..."
   "That's all just a hoax!" Mr Puzzles snapped. "Giants are liars and manipulators. They care about nobody but themselves."
SMG3 glanced down at his dress. His eyes watered.
   "Oh... what's the matter princess?"
   "It's nothing... I just..." He wiped a tear from his eye. "I thought he was better than that."
   "No giant is good at heart, princess." Mr Puzzles told him gently. "They're all the same. And they always will be."
SMG3 sniffled. "I really hoped this one was different..."
Mr Puzzles nodded. "Me too, princess..."

He hid a remote behind his back. "Me too."