The Mole: An Adversary's Adventure Chapter 4: The First to Fall, a mario fanfic

Sorry for the delay! This chapter took me a while to write due to several "drafts" I had made. Basically, I had a lot of different ideas of what to do for this chapter, but I stuck with this. For in this chapter, we shall see whether or not the players will successfully complete their third challenge, as well as find out who the mole's first victim will turn out to be. Find out by the end of the chapter...

Waluigi's raised an eyebrow at the host's comment, now interested in what he had to say.

"Go on," he prompted.

"As you must know from the second challenge, an exemption is something that will guarantee that you will make it to the next episode, and you have the ability to receive one right now. If you agree to take this exemption offer, it will cut the earnings of this challenge in half, meaning that even if everyone makes it up here before the time limit expires, only 20,000 coins will be added to the team pot. If everyone makes it up here however, the money will be won, but you will not receive an exemption. If they do not get up here in time however, the money will not be added to the team pot, but you will earn yourself an exemption for this episode. You would not be up for elimination tonight and could not possibly be executed. So, what will it be?" Monty asked him mysteriously.

Waluigi, suddenly under a great deal of pressure, looked out at the shimmering water, hoping that it would help him make the right decision. He began to pace back and forth over the long bridge, his hands gripping each other behind his back. He thought about it closely and carefully, all of the possible outcomes exploding in his mind as he thought about what he should do. Finally however, after many long moments of total and complete silence, he came to a conclusion.

"Okay, I think I know what I'm going to do," he told him.

"And what might that be?" Monty asked him curiously.

Waluigi looked into Monty's eyes and thought about his decision one more time before he gave him his answer. Even after he told him it, thoughts still whipped up a storm inside of his head going over whether it had been the correct decision or not.

Beldam - Switch Room, F1

"Did it work?" came a voice from the other end of the phone.

"No, it didn't," responded Beldam in a suddenly gruff tone; she was beginning to lose her patience.

"Well then how about you try doing right, middle, right, left, middle, middle, right, and then left," Dazzle quickly replied.

"All right then," said Beldam, somewhat confused by her very sudden answer.

Once again, she instructed the others to hit the switches in the order Dazzle had ordered her to do so in. Just as Pauline hit the last switch, before anyone could react or say anything, a low, loud rumbling could be heard, until eventually the entire castle started to shake from the unknown source. The racket seemed to be coming from above, all of them looking upwards, slightly scared as to what they had just triggered.

Hammer Bro – Hazard Room, F2

Hammer Bro was just crossing the second bridge when all of a sudden, there was a very loud rumbling occurring from what seemed to be the upper part of the castle.

"What the…" he muttered to himself as he tried to get a good look at what was going on up there.

After a few seconds however, the noise came to a sudden halt, before out of nowhere, a blur whizzed past him, with no further noise being made except for a soft thud a couple of seconds later. Running over to where he had seen the blur, he looked down over the railing, a grin forming on his face as he realized what the commotion had been about. They had done it. The elevator had arrived.

Beldam - Switch Room, F1

The trio stood still for several moments before they ran over to the elevator, all of them secretly grinning to themselves about their success. Going inside, they realized that the elevator wasn't actually part of the castle, seeing as how the elevator almost had a somewhat futuristic appearance, with a fine silver coating and colorful buttons that were lighted up as different parts of the rainbow. Noticing that although there were plenty of buttons, the only one that seemed to work was the one that said 'F2'. Just as the players had figured this out and had pressed the only operating button, the door over by the switches suddenly flew open, and Starlow, E. Gadd, Toad, and Crump burst into the room.

"Wait! Over here!" called Pauline.

They quickly spotted them in the rather open room and sprinted over to them, filing into the elevator just as the elevator began to close its doors. Inside the elevator, there was a moment of silence as the new group of players that had just joined them caught their breath, but this was soon broken as questions came pouring out of practically everyone.

"Where is this taking us?"

"What was that racket about?"

"What have you three been doing?"

"I'm hungry. Does anyone have any food?" were the types of question made as the group bickered over these questions, with no answer ever given whatsoever.

The chatting came to a dead halt though, as the elevator stopped and the doors opened once more. They were now in the floor right above the previous one, and this one was certainly more obscure than any of the others. It was a long, thin corridor that crept alongside the wall, with a railing on the other side for safety precautions. However, in the middle of this corridor were two breaks in the floor, the possibility that they may have to jump scaring some of the players. Before any of their thoughts could continue however, they laid their eyes on the figure in between the breaks in the floor; Hammer Bro. The gang quickly ran over to him, or at least, as close as they could get to him that is. Hammer Bro, who had been unaware of their presence due to being deep in thought, turned around to pace before jumping ever so slightly at the sight of seeing them. This state of shock quickly turned to happiness however, as he regained his grin.

"What's up guys?" he greeted them.

"Really? What's up?" said Beldam, who obviously wasn't in the mood to happily greet another one of her fellow teammates.

"Anyway," continued Hammer Bro, choosing to ignore Beldam's comment. "So I'm actually kinda stuck. So you see, I have to hit that switch over there," he said as he pointed towards the red switch on the other side of the gap. "But I have no idea how to get over there. And no, I'm not jumping," he said jokingly.

"Sorry, but I have a question too," started Toad. "And it's how you got over this gap right here," he said while pointing to the gap that Hammer Bro had gotten over.

"It's easy," he replied. "All you have to do is just hit that switch right in front of you guys," he explained while pointing to the other red switch on their side. "Except, you have to hit a bunch of times, or else the bridge won't stay out very long. Once you guys get over here you can help me out, okay?"

The others agreed, and the challenge continued. But while the others were making their way across the second bridge, Hammer Bro still struggled to figure out how to get to the third and final bridge to come out. The switch on the other side mocked him, angering him even further. Looking down at his watch, which everyone had received at the beginning of the challenge, he noticed that the time limit still had seven minutes left. They still had a chance. He then began to search the area with regained hope and determination. After his continued failure to figure out a solution, he turned around, only to be greeted by the faces of all of the other players.

"Okay, so again, we have to press that switch over there, got it?" he told them as they nodded their heads. "So I have no idea how to get the bridge to come out, so I want everyone to scout the whole area, down on the first floor, at the beginning of this floor, or with me. Got that?" the players all nodded their heads once more. "Then go!" commanded Hammer Bro as he took control of the action.

The players, using the switch on the other side of the bridge hit it many times once more in order to pass over the gap, before eventually almost everyone was on the other side again and heading over to the elevator. Beldam, Crump, and E. Gadd checked the bottom floor, while Fawful, Starlow, and Toad checked the beginning of the second floor. Pauline and Hammer Bro stayed at the edge though, both of them contemplating hard about how they could possibly reach it.

"How about you go with one of the other groups," Hammer Bro told her.

"No, I'll stay with you," insisted Pauline.

"All right then. How do you think we could get across this?" he asked her.

"I'm not too sure. How about we search the floor first," suggested Pauline.

"That sounds like a good idea," Hammer Bro told her semi-sarcastically, knowing that the solution wasn't on the already well searched ground.

But Pauline didn't pick up on this hint of sarcasm and she proceeded to search the floor, with Hammer Bro eventually deciding to join her. Meanwhile, the other groups weren't having any luck at finding anything either.

"Would any of these pieces of paper say how to do it?" Toad asked no one in particular.

"I have no idea," said Starlow frantically, looking everywhere.

"Maybe a clue is hidden in the elevator," suggested Beldam.

"I doubt it. It's probably down over here," Crump told her.

"I think we're all taking this search far too overboard," said E. Gadd calmly as he searched for far more obvious locations.

As they all searched however, time, as always, began to run out again.

"Wait, what the heck?" Hammer Bro whispered to himself.

"What is it?" Pauline asked him curiously.

"It's just that my watch...it just went down by three minutes." he explained.

"What? How in the world is that possible?" wondered Pauline.

But when she looked back at her own watch, she saw that he was indeed telling the truth.

"But why?" she asked no one in particular.

"Someone else that isn't here must be messing with the amount of time we have left," he suggested.

"But who isn't here?"

"Well," thought Hammer Bro. "There's Dixie, Dazzle, Koopie, and…Waluigi."

They looked at each other with wide eyes, both of them figuring the same exact thing.

"Waluigi must be doing something with it. Of course the greediest person here is the one that's probably doing something with the time limit," said Pauline.

"Probably...probably..." he said as he nodded his head, his thoughts starting to drift elsewhere.

Hammer Bro: Of course Waluigi of all people was messing with the time limit. Of all people it was probably him. And if it is him, which it probably is, we'll probably end up losing the challenge.

Waluigi – Lookout, F4

Waluigi looked nervously at the watch on his wrist that the producers had given everyone. He was thinking hard about his decision when he noticed that the time left remaining was now officially down to three minutes and fourteen seconds left remaining. Waluigi put his arms behind his head as he hoped that he had made the right decision.

"Do you remain confident with your choice?" Monty asked him.

Waluigi nodded his head at his question, though uncertainty still showed on his face.

"Yeah, I am," he replied as coolly and as calm as he could, which wasn't very much of either.

Hammer Bro – Hazard Room, F2

Time zoomed by in the search for the solution to getting over the final gap, as only three minutes remained, and no progress had been made. The emotions the players experienced were mixed, with some like Crump getting frustrated with it and began to search even more ferociously than before. Others, such as E. Gadd, remained calm, looking for the solution at their own pace. And others had quite frankly, given up. Hammer Bro was one of those had given up, figuring that either they had lost the challenge by now or that someone else would find the clue. He looked towards the nearby window, a cool breeze coming right up to his face to help cool him down a bit. Looking back down, he suddenly came up with an idea as he looked towards the window.

"Wait a second..." he told himself as he peered out of the window.

"Is there something there?" Pauline asked him.

"Yep," Hammer Bro told her as he jumped out of the window.

Pauline rushed over to see where Hammer Bro was, fearing for the worst, when she realized what Hammer Bro had meant. Outside, there was a ledge which could then be used to travel to the other side. Sprinting over to the other side, Hammer Bro quickly jumped through the next open window, which led him to the next platform. He quickly pushed the switch as Pauline called for the others. The third bridge soon appeared as the group of players sprinted towards the door that Hammer Bro was currently unlocking with a key that was right next to the door. The clock continued to tick down as the players sprinted through the rest of the rooms in the castle. They sped through these rooms at a rapid pace, the past players who had been there previously having already left and had since finished their part of the challenge. It was now simply a test of time.

Waluigi – Lookout, F4

Waluigi looked nervously at the beautiful scenery that was still being laid out before him as he continued to hope that his choice had been the right one. Looking back at Monty, he was still smiling, looking only back at him. Looking back at the scenery, Waluigi hoped that the time was at where he wanted it to be. Loud steps started to come however as the doors opened and the rest of the players entered.

"Did...did we make it?" Hammer Bro asked their host in between breaths.

"Players," announced Monty, completely silencing everyone. "You have all finished this mission in..." Monty paused for the extra effect. "A total of twenty nine minutes and eighteen seconds!"

The players cheered and clapped; the money had been won.

"However," continued Monty, completely silencing all of the players yet again. "While all of you did indeed get here within thirty minutes, I struck Waluigi a deal. I would also like to add that while all of you worked very hard to get past the many challenges in this castle, Waluigi did not have to do anything but enjoy the magnificent view. Continuing onward, he had the option to take an exemption offer that would make it so that if you guys didn't arrive here before the time limit expired, no money would be awarded and Waluigi would receive an exemption. You guys did make it in thirty minutes, however the offer didn't end there. You see even if you had all made it up here within the allotted time, only 20,000 coins would have been added to the team pot. Would you like to tell the others what you decided to choose Waluigi?" asked Monty.

Waluigi, who was currently looking down at the ground, replied with a faint,

"I took it."

The others had shocked looks on their faces, some of them even gasping at his rather greedy decision.

"So in doing this, only 20,000 coins will be added to the team pot," Monty told them.

The others nodded their heads, all of them slightly disheartened by Waluigi's choice.

Hammer Bro: It was pretty disappointing to hear about what Waluigi had chosen to do. I mean, we all worked so hard to get past through all of those rooms, and he just puts half of our winnings out the window from his own greed. Not cool man, not cool.

"Or at least, that's what I would be saying if that was it, but it is not," proceeded the man in the blue hat.

The players' faces either brightened or became more sullen as they started to wonder what else there was, and whether it was good, or if it was bad.

"For Koopie's part of the challenge, she had to answer a series of rather difficult questions. There were ten in all that she had to answer, but that was all she had to do in order to obtain her key. She could skip only one question, but after that she would have to penalize the team in some way. She could also answer all of the questions, which would give her the option to either add three more minutes to the clock, or add 5,000 coins to the team pot. If she did not choose to answer any more than one question, she would either have to deduct 5,000 coins from the team pot, or subtract three minutes from the time limit. Would you like to tell the others of your decision, Koopie?" Monty asked her.

Koopie winced in pain as she announced somberly,

"I didn't answer two of the questions, so I decided to deduct three minutes from the time limit," she informed them.

Monty nodded his head at her answer before informing the rest of the players of how that affected the game.

"Since she chose to deduct three minutes from the time limit, your actual time limit ended up being twenty seven minutes, meaning that you guys ended up finishing two minutes and eighteen seconds over the time limit. This, of course, means that no money at all will be added to the team pot."

Amount Added: 0/40,000 coins

Team Pot: 44,000/100,000 coins

The players were now all looking down at the ground, all of them upset that their efforts had been in vain. Well, except for one of them, that is.

"So since they didn't get here before the time limit expired, does that mean..." said Waluigi.

"Yes, it does Waluigi," Monty told him. "It means that you have earned yourself an exemption for this episode, meaning that you cannot be executed tonight."

"YES!" exclaimed Waluigi as Monty handed him a green card that had "Exemption" written on it in black ink, the card similar to Hammer Bro's. "YES!" he exclaimed again. "Waluigi is invincible, just like I've always been! Wa ha ha ha!" he boasted.

"Well if you're always invincible, then why did you take the exemption?" questioned Starlow.

"Well...um..." faltered Waluigi. "Ummm...it's just nice to be twice as invincible as I always was! Yeah! Now I'm more invincible than ever! Wa ha ha ha ha!"

Starlow and several others rolled their eyes at his comment as he pranced across the whole bridge.

"Now I don't know about all of you," started Monty. "But I found quite a lot of suspicious activity throughout the entire challenge. In fact, it might even be safe to say that everyone contributed to today's loss. The mole included," he added mysteriously.

The players pondered his words, now starting to remember that the quiz was coming up, all of them wondering about just how everyone managed to contribute to the loss.

"Now, let us move on, for there is no point in mulling over our losses. Let us head back to the hotel," Monty told them as the group walked back through the castle and headed back.

The quiz was almost upon them though; time was running out. One of them would be going home soon.

The players had just gotten back from their long walk when Monty told them to go into the lobby of the hotel and to wait for him there. With the players slightly curious as to what he was going to show them, they all sat down and waited patiently. After several minutes, Monty returned.

"Players, I have some additional info to share as to what Koopie went through today during the challenge," he told them.

The layers fell silent as they awaited Monty to continue his announcement.

"Koopie's part of the challenge, as you all probably remember, was to try to answer all ten of the questions that I asked her. She could skip one question, but that was all. If she decided to skip any more questions, she could've either had the time limit lowered by three minutes or deduct 5,000 coins from the team pot. If she answered all of the questions, she could either add 5,000 coins to the team pot, or she could give add three minutes to the time limit. You all know that she skipped two of the questions and decided to deduct the time limit by three minutes, but using this computer screen, you can all view just exactly how she answered all of these questions," Monty told them as a computer screen in front of them revealed all of the questions that Koopie had had to go through, as well as all of her answers.

Question 1: Besides yourself, who do you most want to win?

Answer: Dixie

Question 2: Who do you think is the greediest person here?

Answer: Waluigi

Question 3: Who would you most want to form a coalition with?

Answer: Dixie

Question 4: Who do you think is the most trustworthy person here?

Answer: Dixie

Question 5: Who do you think could betray you?

Answer: Dixie

Question 6: Who is the most deceptive person here?

Answer: Skipped

Question 7: Who is the best person for making money for the team?

Answer: E. Gadd

Question 8: Who do you want to be the first one executed?

Answer: Waluigi

Question 9: Who do you think will be the first one executed?

Answer: Starlow

Question 10: Who do you think is the mole?

Answer: Skipped

The players all looked at Koopie or at the ground as they contemplated what she had said in her answers. Koopie remained motionless, not making eye contact with anyone.

Dixie: I didn't know that Koopie trusted and liked me so much. But can I trust her? Her answers don't all seem like they fit her though...it makes you wonder; what is she really trying to do?

Waluigi: Well, I'm not really surprised by the fact that Koopie can't find the good in me. I'm not really hurt by the fact that she wants me out though. Looks she'll just have to wait a little bit longer for that to happen! But it doesn't even matter. I just have to wait for her to be the first one executed! Wa ha ha!

Starlow: So Koopie thinks that I'm going to be the first one executed, huh? Well, I guess I can't really argue with that, because it's probably true. With every minute that passes, I'm just getting more and more unconfident about who the mole is. I think that I'd be more surprised if I made it the next episode than not.

Fawful: It's rather intriguing to me how she skipped both of the questions that she skipped. The latter is more understandable, seeing as how that was the very question of the whole game, and revealing your answer to others would be foolish. But then again, she could've lied about she thought the mole was and given herself an advantage in the game by getting others to believe that she suspected someone fairly obvious, like Waluigi. But what confuses me is why she didn't answer the sixth question, which is who she thought was the most deceptive person in the game. She's probably hiding the fact that she thinks the most deceptive is someone more secretive, but is keeping it secret because she actually thinks that maybe they're the mole. But after choosing to skip it, it became pretty obvious anyway, so a question arises. What was she actually trying to do in her part of the mission?

Pauline: It certainly is interesting how she decided to take three minutes away from the clock, because without that deduction of time, Waluigi wouldn't have received an exemption and we would still have earned 20,000 coins for the team pot. Had she just deducted 5,000 coins from the team pot or just chosen not to skip two questions, we would've have earned that money.

"Well players, it looks like we are almost done with this episode. But before we move on, we're going to have a little bonus challenge," Monty told them all. "I know you just had your third challenge just half an hour ago, but I promise that this won't take too long. Anyway, as I was saying, bonus challenges appear once every episode at a random time and can add or deduct money from the team pot, or can give players things not yet introduced to any of you yet like +1s, -1s, exemptions, and neutralizers. This time around, we will be playing a game of based off of how well you truly know the other players. We will be taking a small walk-" groans filled the air. "Ahem. We will be taking a small walk, and I truly do mean it this time. We will be walking to where the old fortresses lie just off to the east of this peaceful village. From there, another game show host will have you answer some questions about each other. The rules will be furtherly explained later when we get there. Do you all understand?" asked Monty.

The players all nodded their heads in agreement.

"Very well then. Please follow me," he instructed as the players followed him, drawing farther and farther away from society.

- At the Fortress -

The players were walking at a slower pace now than before, the pain in their legs from the previous challenge still lingering and haunting them as they moved on into the forest. The amount of light started to diminish as they walked into the forest, the trees guarding them from the sun, even if the players didn't desire to be protected. It wasn't long before they stumbled upon a fortress stubbornly blocking their path of proceeding any further had they so desired to go further. But the players instantly recognized it as the fortress that Monty had been talking about. Monty led them inside the stone fortress, all of them slightly nervous for what was to come. When everyone had finally gotten inside, a door from above slammed down, blocking the only entrance and exit. Toad could be heard gulping, although the others knew that they were perfectly fine. The door blocked out all the light, engulfing them in darkness inside of the fortress. For a few moments, there was silence, but then within a few mere seconds, a light flashed, stunning everyone and causing minor pain to some of their eyes. After a couple of seconds had passed of the players trying to regain their vision, as well as their wits, they came to the realization that there was now another individual with them. In front of them, with a red and white bowtie located on his chin, which would look odd on anyone else, was a gray thwomp, glaring at them.

"Mmmm hmmm hoo ha ha!" he boomed, startling the players. "So you're those Mole folk! Well, we have plenty prepared for you!" he laughed. "But before I do anything else, I'll introduce myself."

He then spun around a couple of times, the lights going out once more. Within mere seconds however, the lights flashed back on, once again stunning the players. This time however, instead of seeing the stone walls of the fortress, they saw the dazzling and flickering lights that a game show might have. And how accurate that proved to be. The thwomp, who had been turned away from them, spun around once more, before announcing,

"Hey HEY, ladies and germs! Welcome everybody, to the 67th Super Fun Quirk Quiz! Perk up those ears! If you correctly answer a question about your peers, you'll win 1,000 coins for the team pot! Get it wrong though, and no money will be awarded! Nope, none! But it doesn't end there! If you get your question right, you can compete against anyone else who correctly answered their question for a very valuable prize! What's that prize you might ask? Well you'll have to find out yourself! Mmmm hmmm hoo ha ha!" he chuckled, before his smile suddenly disappeared and he slammed down on the ground twice. "So, who's going first?" he asked in a booming voice that reverberated in the fortress.

Silence spread throughout the players. Not one of them desired to face him, nor did anyone particularly enjoy his personality. Nonetheless, eventually a voice came from within the group of players.

"I'll do it," said the player.

"Very well then," replied the thwomp, smiling happily at the player who had volunteered. "Step forward and take a seat."

Koopie walked over to the old wooden chair that the thwomp was talking about and sat promptly in it, patiently awaiting her question.

"Now...for the first question!" announced the thwomp, a pressuring song now playing in the background. "Dazzle is in which room at the hotel? Is it room 100, room 101, room 102, or room 103?"

"Room 102," Koopie immediately answered.

"That is correct! You win 1,000 coins for the team pot!" he congratulated while smiling at her, though he seemed to be forcing his smile.

"Next contestant!" he said while Koopie returned to the group.

Fawful walked up next, a grin on his face; he was confident.

"Now...for the second question!" announced the thwomp as Fawful took a seat. "When did Pauline go to shoot at the target in the first challenge? Was it fourth, sixth, eighth, or ninth?"

Fawful thought for several seconds before answering, "Eighth."

"That is correct! You win 1,000 coins for the team pot! Next contestant!"

Fawful then got up and allowed Dixie to sit in the chair, who was going next.

"Now...for the third question! What is Starlow's occupation? Is she a bank accountant, a manager, a lawyer, or a botanist?"

Dixie didn't have to think very hard to come to a final answer.

"Manager."

"That's...correct! Argh! How come you guys keep on getting these right?" he asked playfully, although the forced smile was more evident now. "Next contestant!"

Dixie then hurriedly left, only to be replaced by Crump.

"I got this!" he told himself.

"You got this huh?!" the thwomp replied. "Well if you're so confident, then here's your question! When is Beldam's birthday? Is it November 2nd, June 21st, January 17th, or October 22nd?"

Crump thought long and hard about his answer, but he eventually came up with what he thought to be the correct one.

"October 22nd," he said with uncertainty.

"You blithering meathead! You're wrooooooong!" he blared at him. "Ahem. Sorry, but that is incorrect. No money will be awarded."

Crump's face, although no one could see it, was in a mixture of anger and confusion, although after several seconds he managed to regain focus and headed back over to where he had been standing. When no one went up to go next, the thwomp pounded on the pedestal he was on top of twice before blaring,

"Next contestant!"

It took several more moments before anyone bothered to go up, but eventually, Hammer Bro went up for his turn for the sake of keeping the game going.

"On to question five!" announced the thwomp as Hammer Bro sat down in the chair. "What is Fawful's last name? Is it Chortles, Shiner, Siren, or Von Grapple?"

Hammer Bro immediately answered, "Chortles."

"That's...that's... that's correct!" the thwomp stuttered. "You've won 1,000 more coins for the team pot!" he boomed as he smiled his now obviously fake smile at him.

Hammer Bro fake smiled back before hurriedly running over to the group, who patted him on the back once he got back over to them.

"And now for the next question!" he boomed once more as E. Gadd went up to the chair to go next. When he saw E. Gadd, he smiled and asked him, "Are you ready for the diabolical question six?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," E. Gadd answered, his usual grin still plastered on his face.

"Well then here's your question!" the thwomp responded back. "When is Hammer Bro's birthday? Is it April 3rd, October 22nd, March 7th, or May 16th?"

E. Gadd paused for a few moments before he responded with a confident, "March 7th."

The thwomp spun around once before exclaiming, "Mmmm hmmm hoo ha ha! WRONG! Wrong wrong wrong! You fool! Now no money will be added to the team pot! Mmmm hmmm hoo ha ha!"

The players, for the first time in the entire game, then saw E. Gadd's usual grin falter and fade away. It had now been replaced by a look of confusion and puzzlement. This lasted for a few mere moments however before his usual happy-go-lucky smile seemed to return to him. He then headed back over to the main group of players, where Beldam decided to take his place.

"Moving on!" continued the thwomp. "Question seven! What is Crump's occupation? Is he a lawyer, a construction worker, a chemist, or a realtor?"

"A construction worker," she answered mere moments after he had finished saying all of the different choices.

"Is that your REAL answer? Are you suuuuuuuuure?" the thwomp asked her questionably.

"Yes," she replied in a monotone voice, positive she had the correct answer.

The thwomp spun around once more before yelling,

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! That's...correct!"

Beldam smiled and then walked back over to the group, but as she was doing so the thwomp spoke out yet again.

"That question was too easy...but it only gets harder from here! MUCH harder...so prepare yourselves!"

The players were now quite uncomfortable; none of them wanted to go anymore. That was, until Dazzle shuffled forward and took a seat in the wooden chair, which contradicted the game show-like flooring that had many dazzling lights.

"Moving on to question eight!" announced the thwomp for the umpteenth time. "What room is Toad in? Is it room 100, room 101, room 102, or room 103?"

"Room 103," instantly replied Dazzle.

"That's correct!" bellowed the thwomp, saying it in disbelief, even if it was a fairly easy question. "Well, you'll never get the next one right, and I can guarantee that! Oh, just you wait!"

Dazzle, who remained seemingly oblivious to the thwomp's madness, headed back to the main group like the rest that had gone before, only to be replaced by Starlow.

"On to the next question! Which floor was Dixie on in the third mission? Was she on the first floor, the second floor, the third floor, or the fourth floor? Choose wisely now!"

Starlow thought long and hard about this one, and although she had known the answers to all of the other questions, she struggled to recall which floor Dixie had been on.

Starlow: The thing is, I don't remember Dixie saying anything about her part of the challenge. It's like she had never even been there.

"Uhhhh…..ummm….uhh….the second floor?" Starlow guessed.

The thwomp spun around in a circle once more, booming,

"WRONG! YOU'RE WRONG AGAIN, FOOL! Ahem, I'm sorry, but that is incorrect. As a punishment, no money will be added to the team pot," the thwomp said, his voice rising as he said it.

Starlow, now officially scared stiff, floated back over to the others in jiffy, not wanting to look at the strange being again.

"Now who shall go next?!" asked the group of players.

Toad, much to the disbelief of the rest of the group, stepped forward with trembling legs and took a seat in the chair. Upon seeing his anxious state, the thwomp smiled and announced,

"What's that I hear, your little knees knocking?" he laughed. "Now...for the impossible question ten!"

The word 'impossible' made Toad gulp anxiously.

"When is E. Gadd's birthday? Is it January 27th, July 26th, February 12th, or April 3rd?" the thwomp asked him.

Toad managed a slight smile at the April 3rd answer, for that was his own birthday. But this smile faded, as he realized that he didn't even know his own alliance partner's birthday.

Toad: I knew that I was going to guess the incorrect answer with my luck, and I also knew that everyone was going to suspect me of being the mole because of it. But I really don't remember E. Gadd ever telling me anything about his birthday...or anything at all about himself.

Toad shook his head several times before eventually shrugging his shoulders and answering,

"July 26th."

"Nope!" replied the thwomp. "That is WRONG. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG! Can't you do anything right?!"

For a moment Toad felt anger surge through him, but this was almost immediately followed by sadness and a large sense of failure as he walked back to the group in shame.

"Next!" came the familiar voice by the chair.

Without hesitation, Pauline stepped forward, her conscience telling her to avenge Toad.

"Next is the diabolical question eleven!" announced the thwomp as always. "What is Waluigi's surname? Is it Shroomoise, Trader, Pounder, or Wario?"

Pauline almost laughed at the level of difficulty that the question was at and answered,

"Wario," instantly.

"That's...that's...that's correct! That question was too easy...but the next one is much harder! MUCH harder!"

Pauline walked back over to the group proud of herself for avoiding getting yelled at, even if it was an easy question. Finally, the last player stepped forward and sat down in the chair, the most uncaring look on his face.

"Are you ready for the diabolical question twelve?" the thwomp asked Waluigi melodramatically.

"No," he muttered.

"Well here's the question!" the thwomp continued, ignoring his answer.

"When did Koopie go to retrieve her bag in the second mission? Was it second, third, fourth, or fifth?"

"Third," replied Waluigi with not a moment's thought, slightly surprising the players in how he knew that so well.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH! That's...correct!" boomed the thwomp, angered about his loss.

Waluigi merely shrugged his shoulders and headed back over to the group, totally uncaring of the thwomp's attitude.

"Well players, congratulations on your overall earnings of 8,000 coins!" congratulated Monty.

The group cheered, though their cheer was interrupted by the thwomp, who yelled,

"But it's not over just quite yet! No, no, no. We still have the competition for the spectacular prize."

"I have not forgotten," replied Monty. "Players, if you got your question correct you may participate in the bonus game. The ones not allowed to participate are Crump, E. Gadd, Starlow, and Toad. The rest of you may join. The rules go like this; every one of you will be assigned a position by these machines," he said as he pointed towards eight different stands that had appeared almost magically. "These stands that you see each have a green and a red button on them. This is important, for yes or no questions will be asked to all of you at once. If you think that the answer is yes, hit the green button. If you think that the answer is no, hit the red button. If you get it right, you move on. If you get it wrong, you are ejected from the competition. There is also a ten second time limit, so make our decisions quickly. That is all. Does everyone understand?"

The players nodded their heads to show that yes, they did indeed understand.

"Good. You may all now choose where you may like to stand," instructed Monty.

The players shuffled over to where they desired to be before eventually they were all at one of the stands.

"Is everyone ready?" Monty asked for confirmation.

The players nodded their heads, the majority of them ready to have a battle of wits and knowledge.

"Very well then, you may begin, thwo-" started Monty.

"Well well well!" interrupted the thwomp. "Here we are, at the competition for the spectacular prize," he said, putting great emphasis on the spectacular prize bit. "And I certainly hope you remember what Monty said, 'cause here's question number one!"

Upon hearing this, the players readied themselves; they held their hand over the two buttons, ready to hit one or the other.

"True or false? In the second challenge, Toad was the ninth person who was supposed to go retrieve his bag."

The players, most of them stumped by the very first question, took a moment to ponder their answer, before shrugging and guessing the answer. Only Waluigi and Dazzle seemed to know the answer immediately.

"5...4...3...2...1...0! Time is up!" counted down the thwomp. "Now…..for the answer! In the second challenge, Toad was…...the ninth person that was supposed to go retrieve his bag!"

Suddenly, as the thwomp announced this, several of the players' machines suddenly had the buttons on it turn gray, as all of the people who had answered false were eliminated.

"Now, on to question two!" continued the thwomp.

Waluigi, Dazzle, Koopie, Pauline, and Fawful were left remaining. Hammer Bro, Beldam, and Dixie could be seen walking back towards their actual game show host.

"True or false? Beldam got how four incorrect answers in the second challenge," announced the thwomp.

The players left remaining answered fairly quickly, causing the thwomp to reveal the answer slightly earlier than last time.

"Now…..for the answer! In the second challenge, Beldam answered…..only two answers incorrectly!"

This time, Pauline, Koopie, and Fawful were sent back to the main group, leaving only Waluigi and Dazzle, who glared at each other.

"Now," started the thwomp. "For the third, and possibly last question; is this statement true or false? Starlow, in the first challenge, shot eight bullet bills at the target until she finally hit it."

Waluigi answered immediately, although Dazzle took her time with the question until she carefully selected her answer.

"Now…..for the final answer. Dazzle, you said false, Waluigi, you said true. Now we will see which one of you was actually right. Starlow took a total of….zero shots with the bullet blaster," announced the thwomp.

"What?!" yelled out Waluigi. "That's impossible!"

"I believe Starlow used the banzai blaser, not the bill blaster," explained Monty from behind them.

Waluigi's face took one of realization, until it transformed into rage and hatred.

"That's….stupid!" he yelled, at a loss for words. "Oh, whatever. It was probably something useless anyway…" Waluigi muttered to himself as he stormed back over to the others.

"Now Dazzle, you have a choice," started the thwomp. "You may either double the amount of earnings made in this challenge to 16,000 coins," he paused. "Or you may get rid of the 8,000 coins that have already been earned and give yourself something called a +1."

"Basically," spoke out Monty. "You can get your overall quiz on the score a minor bump up by giving yourself an extra point on the quiz," explained Monty. "It's not as good as an exemption, but it can still save you from death in this game."

"So, what will it be?" the thwomp questioned once Monty had finished.

Dazzle stood in total silence, mulling it over in her head. At one point she glanced back over at the group of players, before finally looking straight into the thwomp's eyes and answering,

"I'll double the money earned from this challenge."

The group cheered, but the thwomp glared at Dazzle before saying,

"Are you suuuuuuuuure?"

"Yes," was her quiet response.

The thwomp banged down on the pedestal he was on top of before adding,

"One whole point up, just like Monty said. It could mean life or death in this game that you're in. So are you suuuuuuuuurrr-"

"Yes, yes I am," Dazzle answered much more assertively, standing straight up and looking daringly into the thwomp's eyes.

The thwomp banged down on the pedestal he was atop of before ordering,

"FINE. Now GET, OUT. All of you!"

Monty then quickly ushered the group out of the fortress, the thwomp still raging in the background. As the group rushed out of the fortress and began to slow down, Koopie asked Monty,

"What was his problem?"

"The producers and I struck a deal with him," explained Monty. "We made a bit of a compromise that if he came up with all of the questions, he could take whatever money you guys didn't earn, which could've been up to 20,000 coins. That's why he wasn't exactly the happiest when one of you got a question right and when Dazzle turned down the offer for a +1."

"Wow. Well then," Koopie muttered to herself.

"But in the end, you all prevailed and added a bonus 16,000 coins to the team pot!" exclaimed Monty.

The players cheered, though back inside the fortress, loud THUMP could be heard, followed by some laughter from a few of the players.

Amount Added: 16,000/20,000 coins

Team Pot: 60,000/120,000 coins

"And with that out of the way, how about we head back to the hotel?" suggested a grinning Monty as the rest of them agreed with him and headed off back to the hotel.

Later on when they had gotten back to the hotel, the players were waiting patiently for Monty to arrive, who had instructed them to wait for him at the front entrance. Finally, after several minutes of deafening silence, Monty came through the double doors with a green mole bag in his hand.

"Thank you players, for waiting for me," Monty told them. He held up the bag in his right hand. "This, players, holds something you will all want to keep with you."

He began to set down the bag, followed by reaching into it and pulling out what appeared to be books of some sort. They were all colored a light green and also had a moderately large black thumbprint in the middle of all of them. The only thing that appeared to be different on all of them were numbers that were on each one at the bottom-right hand corner that included all of the numbers that were 1-12.

"These, players, are your journals," explained Monty. "You might have found it quite difficult to remember some of the answers to the questions that the thwomp asked you, in which case this is here to help. You will all get one of these journals, and you may also write whatever you wish in these. Be careful however, for it's not against the rules for someone else to read what you wrote down, so be extremely careful with these around others," he said as he began to stack all of the journals on top of each other. When he was done stacking them, he put the large pile of journals on top of a nearby desk before saying, "You may now all take one for yourselves, but again, I must remind you that you should guard them very well," he said as Koopie took journal #6. "And one more thing, if you have your journal damaged, the team pot will be penalized, although you will be allowed to get a new one if you feel that the damages are simply too much," he added as Toad took journal #1.

Their host then fell silent as he waited for the other ten players to choose their journals. In the end, Beldam got journal #2, E. Gadd got #3, Hammer Bro got #4, Starlow #5, Fawful #7, Pauline #8, Crump #9, Dixie #10, Waluigi, #11, and finally Dazzle with journal #12.

"Now," announced Monty as he clasped his hands together. "With that out of the way, you may all enjoy the rest of your day. But please remember that the day is drawing to a close, and one of you will be going home very soon. Other than that, you may all relax and enjoy these final moments together while there are still twelve of you here," Monty told the players as they all soon began to head out of the room. Their time together was indeed running out. The execution was almost upon them all.

Room 100 – Pauline, Starlow, and Dazzle

The rooms were much more silent now as the execution grew closer, with their room being no exception. Dazzle silently wrote notes in her journal while Pauline and Starlow discussed who they were going to be going for on the quiz.

Starlow: I'm pretty confident now that Pauline and I will make it to the next round. We've selected some nice people to go for on the quiz, I think. I just hope that I'm not the first one executed, although I probably will be anyway...

Pauline: I certainly hope that I'm making the right decision in trusting Starlow. Because if she's the mole, there's no way that I'm going to be making it to the next episode.

Dazzle: I think I've done well so far in this game. I thoroughly doubt that I'll be the one going home tonight. I think that I know who is actually going to be the first one executed...

Room 101 – Hammer Bro, Crump, Fawful

The room right next to the theirs was no louder as Crump and Fawful also discussed who they were going to go for on the quiz. Even Hammer Bro paced in his room back and forth and back and forth, worrying about the upcoming execution despite knowing that he was already safe.

Crump: Fawful and I have a pretty good idea of who we think the mole is. There's no way that either of us will be executed tonight! *laughs*

Hammer Bro: I may have an exemption, but for some reason I'm still shaking from anxiety. Maybe it's because I'm afraid that one of my top suspects will be executed and that I'll be left confused, but I still can't help but be so nervous for the execution.

Fawful: Crump and I are working well together; he cooperates and works well with me. Hopefully the one who we want to be executed leaves the game tonight, but unfortunately it seems very doubtful for now. Perhaps another time...

Room 102 – Koopie, Dixie, and Beldam

The next room was also painfully quiet; no noise was being made by anyone. All that could be heard was the scribbling of the players writing in their new journals as they thought about the events that had transpired that day.

Koopie: I really hope I know who the mole is. I suppose if I'm executed, I won't have to travel too far to get back home *laughs*. It's just that I'm not too sure I want to leave this game so soon...

Dixie: I'm utterly clueless as to who the mole is. I might even just try to cover everyone on the quiz so I don't mess it up. But maybe that would make my score too low by spreading it so thin...ugh.

Beldam: I'm taking advantage of the fact that many players now suspect me from the last two challenges. If I can just keep on luring them in, I could very well win this game! Mwee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee!

Room 103 – E. Gadd and Toad

Unlike the other rooms, across the hallway the two final rooms were much louder as Toad and E. Gadd discussed important matters. The duo were talking about some details regarding their suspect lists as they attempted to determine just who they were going to go for on the quiz.

E. Gadd: During this point of the game, when nobody has the faintest of ideas as to who the mole is, anyone could be going home tonight with all of the low scores. All it would take is a simple mishap of luck and you would be on your way to the door. There's even a possibility that I might be executed! *laughing*

Toad: I'm not too certain if E. Gadd is telling me the truth and being really nice to me, or if he's just trying to get me out of the game. He's actually being pretty generous about giving me information now, but his logic behind all of his choices are all odd. I'm stuck in the middle and I'm not too sure if I trust him or not. I just don't know what he's trying to accomplish by pairing up with me. Maybe this was a bad idea after all...

Room 105 – Waluigi

Meanwhile, Waluigi was merely pacing around in his room, unable to write anything in his journal because he had already lost it somewhere and didn't care enough to even bother go looking for it. The only thing he could do was just contemplate who the mole was and try to remember all of it, which he was actually quite good at. Out of all of the players, Waluigi was definitely the least nervous, mostly due to his exemption (although he probably wouldn't have even cared even had he been the most likely to be executed).

Waluigi: Was I nervous? Of course not! I am the great Waluigi, conqueror of all, as well as this exemption! Wah hah hah!

- 6:30, At the Hotel Dining Room -

The players were just finishing up their dinner when Monty spoke up.

"Players, I would just like to remind you that from the bonus challenge, 16,000 coins were subtracted from the team pot due to rematches. This still leaves the total team pot at 60,000 coins however, which is still quite a great sum of money, even at this point in the game. I congratulate you all," he told them as they all cheered for their current winnings, although eleven of them were quite disheartened that they had only made half as much as they could've.

"However, tonight you shall all be facing your very first execution," announced Monty, leaving the room extremely silent. "One by one, we shall be calling all of you to come and take your very first quiz. The quiz is ten questions about who the mole is, with the lowest scorer on the quiz being the one that leaves the game. If there is a tie, the person that completed the quiz in the slowest amount of time will be the one that is executed. As you all very well know, Waluigi and Hammer Bro both have exemptions, meaning that they cannot be executed. The rest of you however, are all up for elimination. And with that, a toast, to the executed person, and to wish them a loving farewell, to whoever you may be."

Glasses came together as they all made a toast to the executed player, the ringing made from glasses being brought together giving the players an uneasy feeling in all of their stomachs as they all truly realized what would be taking place oh so very soon. The quiz was now upon them, and so was the execution. One of them was going home tonight.

One by one, they were asked to go into their separate rooms that held a single laptop that was laid out on a single wooden desk before them. It was this quiz that would determine their fate. Starlow, the first to take the quiz, sat down in the leather chair right beside the laptop and squinted at the computer screen, the first question glaring at her.

Question #1: Is the mole male or female?

-Male

-Female

Starlow: I thought it was odd how in the very first challenge, Crump and Waluigi stalled the group on who would go when and who would get the banzai blaster. Only the first few people got to go when they wanted, meaning that they had both made the challenge a little bit harder by stalling us with their completely useless argument over who would go first.

The next player that entered the room once Starlow had finished was Dazzle, who sat down in the chair, a quiz strategy already in her mind.

Question #2: How many bullet bills or banzai bills did the mole fire in the first challenge?

-1

-2

-3

-4

-5

-6

-7

-8

Dazzle: Starlow is very unique. She's very kind to everyone, but she's been messing up all of the missions. She penalized the team by 1,000 coins for using the "chase" option in the first challenge, but still was the one to take the banzai blaster, meaning that it had been wasted. She had my turn skipped in the second challenge when I was supposed to go get my bag by incorrectly answering a question three times, and in the third challenge she seemed to lead some of us away from the window, which was exactly where we needed to go.

Dazzle then finished the quiz, with the next player being Pauline, who paused at the third question once she had gotten that far, stumped by it entirely.

Question #3: Which person was the mole relying on to get their question correct so that they could go get their bag in the second challenge?

-Starlow

-Beldam

-E. Gadd

Pauline: Dazzle backing out of our coalition offer was very strange. She flat out refused to join us and just left us without any explanation, even after we were just starting to get along. With that being said, she also went for the exemption in the second mission and sacrificed 2,000 coins in order for a chance to earn the exemption which she didn't end up getting anyway.

A fourth player, this one with suspects in mind, took a seat behind the desk and slowly began to answer the questions with a well thought out strategy in mind.

Question #4: What floor was the mole on in the third challenge?

-F1

-F2

-F3

-F4

Fawful: Pauline not helping me at all in the third challenge was certainly a little bit suspicious. I had asked her very specifically if there were any slips of paper in her room, and she said that she didn't. Later on though, she gave me a slip of paper that she told me she had had all along during the entire mission. It certainly is a little bit odd...

The fifth player walked into the room once Fawful had finished, confident that he would move on to the next episode, mostly because he had a green card in his hand, something which he had come to know as an exemption.

Question #5: Did the mole receive an exemption this episode?

-Yes

-No

Hammer Bro: Fawful has been pretty nice this episode, and he didn't even really sabotage anything, but something about him rubs me the wrong way. He seems like he's trying hard to keep up some kind of cover up, so that the others will like him. There's just something about him. Either he's planning something devious in the future, or he's the mole.

A sixth player, this one being one of smiles and happiness, entered the room jollily, as if there were no chance that he, of all people would be eliminated.

Question #6: Did the mole get to the bonus round in the bonus challenge?

-Yes

-No

E. Gadd: Something that I found very odd about Hammer Bro was that he directed everyone away from the window in the third challenge, only to later have himself find that it just so happened to hold the answer. That and the beginning of the challenge with him and Beldam with some communication issues both add up to something very fishy...

In a nearby room however, was a room identical to the one E. Gadd was currently in, and this individual lacked confidence, almost the total and complete opposite of him.

Koopie: Something strikes me as very odd about E. Gadd. He didn't mess anything up, but that's exactly why he looks so suspicious to me. He may be a psychologist, as well as seemingly being one of the smartest people in the world, but he knew every answer to the questions he was given in the second challenge and he finished the puzzle regarding hitting all of the switches in the third challenge all by himself. So, is he really just that smart, or did he know the answers beforehand...

An eighth player, having anxiety issues about the quiz and the upcoming execution, worried and based her answers off of how people acted rather than how they performed in the missions.

Question #7: What room is the mole currently in?

-Room 100

-Room 101

-Room 102

-Room 103

-Room 105

Dixie: I like Koopie a lot, but I can't help but wonder if she's the mole. Her answers in the third challenge were very interesting, and she would have a perfect cover for herself if she was the mole. She's smart, cute, and very sly with what she does, so she could virtually get away with anything without arousing any suspicion. And after that last mission where she basically lost the game for us, I think it only confirms my thoughts.

A ninth player soon followed after the others, this one scheming an evil plot in her mind as she hoped that the one that she wanted executed and out of the game would indeed be the one to leave that night.

Question #8: Was the mole in the randomized list for the exemption in the second challenge?

-Yes

-No

Beldam: Dixie seems like she's all loving and caring, but I have other interpretations. During the third challenge, Dixie said she had to cross a long beam many feet above the ground, but she didn't say anything else. It just seems like that would be so short and fast compared to what we had to do. It makes you wonder if she was doing something else up there while the rest of us were trying to get our own keys. Perhaps that would be a perfect time for the producers to talk to the mole. Hmmm...

A tenth player, this one also in the room adjacent to the one that most players were doing their quizzes in, clicked on his answer to the eighth question nervously, before quickly regretting his answer to the question, wanting to go back.

Toad: I'm not too sure about Beldam. From what I've heard it sounds like Beldam, in the third challenge, headed into her other room that didn't have the telephone and stalled while doing absolutely nothing. During the second challenge she also randomly got Koopie's exact birthday correct even though it was obvious that she didn't even have a clue as to what it was. But I don't know, I'm pretty much going into this whole thing blind. I mean, it could be anyone. Anyone...

The eleventh player, this one having an exemption like one of the other contestants, smirked as he reached the ninth question, proud of his rightfully deserved exemption, or at least, that's what he was telling himself. But deep down on the inside, despite having an exemption, he still worried about the upcoming execution and just who exactly, was going to be going home.

Question #9: Where did the mole go when there was free time to go wherever you wanted?

-Shopping

-Explored Petal Meadows

-Golfing

-The mole stayed at the hotel

Waluigi: Toad seems to be pretty innocent through many people's eyes, but I think that he's up to something. Throughout the episode, Toad did minor sabotages along the way. In the first challenge, he sacrificed money to use the "chase" option, which cost us 1,000 coins. In the second challenge he sacrificed money to try to get the exemption that Hammer Bro ended up getting, costing us another 2,000 coins. And finally in the third challenge, it sounds like he sabotaged by running into the guards continuously, wasting time. If he had done it early, he probably could've been able to help Crump, who could've helped Starlow, who could've helped E. Gadd, the list goes on. Maybe had he gotten out early, we still would've earned 20,000 coins.

The final player, this one also in the sequestered room that few actually ended up taking the quiz in, looked at the ninth question and began to wonder if he was making the right choices in who he was going for on the quiz.

Crump: Waluigi is very suspicious for obvious reasons. He almost had us lose in the first challenge because he took so many shots at the target, he sacrificed money to try to get an exemption that he didn't end up getting in the second challenge, and he sacrificed 20,000 coins in the third challenge by choosing to take the exemption. There's definitely some suspicious activity right there.

The players then all eventually got to the very last and final question for the quiz. It was a question that they had all been asking themselves, right from the very beginning. It was a question that some answered more confidently than others, though none were confident at all. It was the final question about the mole's identity, and by far, the most important and also the most difficult.

Question #10: Who is the mole?

-Beldam

-Crump

-Dazzle

-Dixie

-Elvin

-Fawful

-Hammer Bro

-Koopie

-Pauline

-Starlow

-Toad

-Waluigi

The players, sooner or later, all finished the final question with doubts lurking in their minds as they could all only hope for the best. Their very first execution was now upon them. One of them was going home.

- 9:00 PM, Outside of the Hotel –

The players filed into the seats that were placed in front of a rather large computer screen one by one, all of them nervous for what was to come. The screen had a giant green thumbprint on it with a black background. The players, unaware of how the thumbprint would determine their fate, were both mystified and shaken by the thumbprint. After everyone had taken a seat, Monty walked up to the laptop by the large computer screen and turned to face the players.

"Welcome players, to your first execution. 60,000 coins have been put into the team pot in just this one episode. You should all be very proud of yourselves. However, one of you shall not live any more than you already have in this game to see that amount go any higher. One of you will be going home tonight. One by one, I will be randomly entering your names into the computer. If a green thumbprint appears after your name has been entered, you are safe and will be moving on to the next episode. If however, a red thumbprint appears after your name has been entered, you have been executed. You are the mole's first victim and the lowest scorer on the quiz. You'll have to grab your bag, and leave the game immediately. No goodbyes or farewells, you must simply leave immediately. As you all very well know, Hammer Bro and Waluigi have both earned exemptions, meaning that they cannot be executed. Any questions?" asked Monty.

The players remained silent, all of them hoping for the best, with their hopes being that they would not be the one to go home first.

"Very well then. I wish good luck to all of you, and let the first execution...begin," he said melodramatically. "Hammer Bro, we shall start with you," he announced.

Monty then hit the "enter" key as a red text box with the word "player" in yellow at the top in all caps. Below the word "player" was a white, rectangular box that was within the text box, which Monty began typing Hammer Bro's name into the computer.

"May I please have your exemption, Hammer Bro?" Monty asked him.

Hammer Bro quickly handed him the green card, the other players looking at the card jealously. The moment the card touched Monty's hand, he quickly inserted it into a small compartment that had popped out of the side of his laptop. It soon closed automatically before Monty hit the "enter" key and the text box with Hammer Bro's name on it disappeared, leaving only the giant, scary green thumbprint and the pitch black background.

H-A-M-M-E-R B-R-O

…

GREEN

Hammer Bro merely nodded his head, exhaling deeply as Monty continued onward with the execution.

"Waluigi," he continued, holding out his hand for Waluigi's exemption.

Waluigi walked over to him, a smug grin on his face as he handed him the green card.

Monty soon entered his name into the computer as the slot in the side of the laptop popped back out again, nothing in it yet again. The players looked funnily at the odd compartment as they tried to figure out why Hammer Bro's exemption had randomly disappeared. With the green card now being slid into the compartment, Monty continued to type his name into the computer before hitting the 'enter' key.

W-A-L-U-I-G-I

…

GREEN

"Koopie," he called out.

Koopie buried her face into her arms as she barely peeked through her arms at the screen. Soon enough, Monty pressed the "enter" key after he had typed her name into the computer.

K-O-O-P-I-E

...

…

...

GREEN

Koopie breathed in and out a huge sigh of relief, knowing that she was safe. She would be moving on to the next episode.

"Beldam," called out Monty. Beldam looked at the screen while smiling sinisterly; she knew that she had made it to the next episode.

B-E-L-D-A-M

...

…

GREEN

Beldam merely nodded her head at the screen as she too, was declared safe.

"Fawful."

Fawful looked at the screen in a similar fashion as to how Beldam had as he looked at the screen with dignity and pride.

F-A-W-F-U-L

...

…

...

GREEN

Fawful let the grin that he had been saving shine as he bragged to himself in his head about his success.

"Starlow," continued Monty.

"Oh great," Starlow mumbled to herself, her voice barely audible.

"Starlow, are you ready for your quiz results?" Monty asked her.

Looking up, Starlow replied with a faint,

"Yes."

"Very well then," said Monty as he slowly typed Starlows name into the computer and pressed "enter".

S-T-A-R-L-O-W

…

...

GREEN

Starlow exhaled sharply as she looked at the screen with utmost surprise.

"Well players," announced Monty. "Half of you have been declared safe. The people that are remaining are Dazzle, Pauline, Toad, Dixie, Elvin, and Crump. One of you will be going home tonight. And with that, I wish you all the best of luck as we proceed with the execution," he told them as he turned to face his computer once more.

"Crump," he said as he began to slowly type Crump's name into the computer.

Crump looked at the screen while twiddling his thumbs; he was worried, slowly starting to regret the fact that he hadn't gone for the exemption in the second challenge.

C-R-U-M-P

...

…

...

GREEN

Crump smiled underneath his many layers of clothes as he laid back in his chair, finally able to relax now knowing that he had made it to the next episode. Monty then paused as he tried to decide who he would call on next.

"Dixie," he said at last.

Dixie looked at the computer screen with great anxiety as she shook her head and looked towards the grassy ground.

"Dixie, are you ready for your quiz results?" Monty asked her melodramatically.

Dixie responded with a meek,

"Yes," as her face became very sullen.

D-I-X-I-E

...

…

...

GREEN

Dixie stifled a laugh at her success, as she had certainly thought that she was going to be the one executed.

"Toad."

"No," Toad said to himself.

Toad covered his face with his arms, only peering out at the screen, hoping that maybe, just maybe, he had escaped the long and cold arm of elimination.

T-O-A-D

...

…

GREEN

Toad breathed deeply in and out as he laughed, himself amazed that he had made it through to the next episode.

"Any volunteers?" Monty asked three remaining players, Pauline, E. Gadd, and Dazzle.

All of them remained completely silent, Pauline shaking from the overwhelming anxiety, though E. Gadd and Dazzle seemed to be totally resolute and very confident looking.

"Very well then. Pauline," Monty told her.

"Pauline, are you ready for your quiz results?" Monty asked her.

"Yes, I am," she answered shakingly, but with great uncertainty and worry as she feared for the worst as Monty hit the 'enter' key.

P-A-U-L-I-N-E

...

…

...

RED

Pauline merely nodded her head in defeat, the others gasping.

"Pauline, please come with me," he told her.

Pauline then followed Monty, leaving a large group of stunned players.

Pauline was taken to the outskirts of the village, the other players now out of sight. The starry night sky had now returned once more, and the seemingly endless amount of stars amazed Pauline.

"Anything you'll miss about this game?" Monty asked her.

"The players, honestly. Sure the challenges were pretty fun and diverse, but it's really just the other players that I'll miss. I'm going to miss being with them," was her solemn answer.

"Very understandable," he told her as a van pulled up to the duo.

"I can't believe that she's gone. It all went by too fast," mourned Dixie.

"She was one of the few players that was just trying to have fun here. She was just trying to make some friends, that's all. I don't even think she really cared about winning the game or figuring out who the mole was," added Toad.

"I don't feel as if she should've been the one to leave. There are others here that deserve to leave more," stated Koopie, several glares being shot Waluigi's way, who was just smiling, happy that he was safe and still alive in the game.

"I'm just glad that I'm one step closer to getting that one million coins," commented Waluigi.

Both the number and intensity of the glares rose as Waluigi simply said,

"What? It's true."

"I bet it is," Koopie said under her breath, making some of the surrounding players laugh.

"Well Pauline, we shall meet again, not too far in the future," Monty told her as the van's doors opened up for her to get inside.

Before Pauline went into the van however, something caught her eye.

"Wait, this is the exact van that dropped me off at the start of the game," commented Pauline.

"Really?" questioned Monty as he examined the van very closely.

"Was that planned?" asked Pauline.

"No, it wasn't," was his response. "We've positioned a van at every point of the game for the executed players that we will be traveling to before you guys even got to the hotel."

"Maybe it was fate then.." Pauline suggested mystically.

"Perhaps," was Monty's answer.

A long pause then ensued.

"Well, whatever the matter, I guess I trusted the wrong people," Pauline finally said.

"Perhaps," answered Monty once more, though he had a slight grin on his face now.

Pauline looked at him questionably before Monty finally said,

"Well, I suppose you must go now. You played with style," Monty told her.

"Thank you," Pauline told him as she climbed into the van and closed the doors shut, before the van began to zoom off into the starry night sky. And then, there were eleven.

"Well players," announced Monty once he had returned, immediately receiving the attention of the remaining players. "Pack your bags and get a good night's rest, for we're going to our next location!"

The players cheered, though they all still remained slightly saddened by Pauline's death in the game. But it was time to move on. Their next location was drawing closer, as was the episode that it had in store. It was going to be another heck of a ride for the players. And the mole was waiting eagerly for the next episode. It was truly going to be an interesting one. And the mole was going to love it.

And like that, Pauline has been eliminated! A kind hearted soul that perhaps put forth too much trust in others...maybe. Maybe she actually didn't trust anyone at all and was merely unfortunate, or perhaps there's a bigger story behind this. Anyways, thanks to all who have reviewed so far! It really does mean a lot to me! And overall, very interesting results guys. Very interesting…Hopefully the next chapter won't take an eon to write, for in the next chapter the gang shall be traveling to their next location! The first episode is coming to a close, and the second is approaching at a rapid pace. Who will be the mole's next victim? Who will receive the next exemption? How much money will the group earn for the team pot? And most importantly, who is the mole? Stay tuned...