Tonight, well ah, it's funny to say, but I'm a bit happy to know that I didn't lie to you guys, and I indeed updated this chapter by Sunday : ) thank you all for your support! And please enjoy...the beginning of a frightful game.
Episode 3 (Part 4)
The fireplace turned into a homemade, outdoor grill, and the players were preparing their brunch of surprisingly fresh eggs, stale pieces of toast, and canned meats from their food findings the night before. Zess, who improvised a spatula from a metal can cover, took a breath of relief.
Zess: Cooking and eating eggs, I felt like we were on a stress-free camping adventure. Things are less scary in the morning, that's for sure! I felt like we could relax…even in a place like this.
Snifit: It was funny being with the group. I feel like I finally fit in with the group. I kept my distance in Episode 1, for sure. But this Episode...I guess things just changed.
"Snifit!" Zess gasped, seeing the fellow sneak another egg from the grill. Everyone laughed as Piantissimo, who was going for another egg, just stood in disbelief with an empty plate. Then, he just snickered, laughing it off.
"Well, you know what fellas? I wish we had more food," Zess said honestly, seeing the empty carton container beside her.
"We don't have anywhere to go," Tiny said quietly, and she charaded to Snifit the motion of using a key and opening a door. Snifit's eyes widened and he shook his head.
Snifit: I just wanted to wait a little bit. To see if anything would pop up first.
"Hmm…" Dry Bones was using his binoculars to peer at the mansion in their distance. He was wary of its existence.
"It gives me the creeps," Dry Bones said, turning his eyes away from the mansion's direction. "It's a haunted house."
"Yeah, well, it'll only be a matter of minutes before we have to enter it," Piantissimo snickered, replying to Dry Bones' statement. Snifit, however, jumped at his line.
"I mean, we've only played one mission this episode so far," Tiny realized to the others, "so I think we're still going to have to play one more later on." Everyone nodded at her statement: they were bound for at least one more game, and it would be a threatening one.
"Hey Éclair," Dashell called out, walking to her spot. "I heard you were looking for a towel earlier, so I saved you one!" He smiled, as the princess turned around to face him.
"No…thank you," she said swiftly, and she turned around to face another direction. Dashell stood where he was, face confused.
Dashell: There was something wrong that morning. I didn't know why Eclair wasn't talking to me. Did I do something bad?
"Hmm…" Dashell sat down on a rock, shoulders sagging and stirring a cup of hot chocolate.
"So, at least the temperature is nice," Mimi began to the group, looking happy. "I KNEW this haunted house place would be okay." Everyone seemed to agree slightly, and even Dry Bones gave a small nod.
"Yeah, but wait until the sun disappears," Dry Bones said, his mind immediately changing.
"Hey, guys," Snifit began, looking carefully at the others and deciding to speak up. "Do you think we should go to the mansion?" Everyone turned to him, some of them sensing a hint of significance in his voice.
"Nah, staying here is just fine with me!" Zess called out from the grill pit. She was frying pieces of fish for their upcoming remainder of the meal.
"Yeah, I would rather stay here," Piantissimo said, who stopped looking through his binoculars. "I mean, it's not like we have a way of getting into the mansion. It is simply impossible!" Tiny worriedly turned to Snifit at his sentence, and they both looked at each other.
"Well, I think we should…break the news and be on schedule with the game," Tiny said in a decisive voice, facing the others. "We found a key this morning to go into the mansion. But I don't know if it's even a real key or not." Everyone turned to them, surprised at this announcement.
"How do you know it's for the mansion?" Piantissimo asked, stunned at the news.
"There was a note attached to it on the door," Snifit replied. "I found it, by the way."
"Wait, so you actually went up to the house, saw a key and note attached to the door, and came back?" Dry Bones asked in disbelief. "What about the gate blocking the house?"
"It was open," Snifit said, shrugging. Everyone thought for another second.
"Okay…so…" began Dashell, looking at everyone else and their uncertainty. "Why don't we, you know, enter it?"
"I think as a group, we're thinking it's too dangerous to go inside," Snifit thought, looking at the others. "But, we have no where to go, so…"
"I think we should go inside," Eclair said, looking at everyone, "because the key must be there for significance."
"No, it's too dangerous!" came the voice of Zess from the back of the group. She held up her spatula.
"I'm going to stay here and cook some things for the group to eat," she decided, and she opened up a folded lawn chair that they had discovered last night. Dry Bones looked at her nervously, then at the group.
"Errm, I'm going to stay here as well," Dry Bones said, scurrying to her spot. "I'm not too keen on entering the haunted house either."
Piantissimo: We were split on decisions. Some of us wanted to go into the mansion, and some of us didn't. I, for sure, wanted to enter, because literally every door might hold some sort of upper advantage for me.
"Can we just, all go together?" Mimi pleaded. "We should all enter the house together." Everyone looked at each other, and Zess and Dry Bones stood up.
"Okay, fine," Dry Bones said with a nervous look on his face, "but…I'm not going to be in the front."
The first thing they all noticed was the thick air in the house, the humidity of the large structure they had just entered hitting them all one by one. It was a large mansion, and it was a grand staircase that was the second thing that greeted the players.
"I don't want to be in the back either!" Dry Bones moaned, as the group of players entered the mansion for the first time. Snifit closed the doors behind the players.
"Oh!" Éclair gasped, spider webs in the hallway making her stumble. Piantissimo, at the front, swiped them away with a bag he was carrying.
"What's that bag for?" Dashell asked him.
"You never know what we'll need," Piantissimo replied, "This bag holds a tent, a flashlight, and some other things that might be useful in here."
"Umm, it's not like we're going to be camping here," Tiny said with a small laugh of nervousness.
"Hey, young folks," Zess said a little unsurely, turning the entire group's direction to her. She had a note in her hands, as she held it up for the players to read.
"I found this right here on the floor. This might be for us." Everyone gathered on the piece of paper.
The clock is going to strike 2PM very soon. That is the equivalence of night.
And when that strikes, your game will begin soon, full of great wonder, full of great fright.
"Oh dear," Zess said, smiling with incredulity and looking at a grandfather clock on the other wall of the mansion. "Well, will you look at the time!" The group of players turned to the antique clock, unnerved by the time displayed by the majestic device: 1:55pm.
"It is so soon," Éclair gasped. "Will we begin our game in just five minutes from now?"
"FIVE MINUTES?!" Mimi exclaimed. "That's not even enough time to do my makeup!"
"What will you need makeup for," Piantissimo ridiculed, "when you're being chased by a bunch of ghosts?"
"Shh...guys." The air was completely silent in the enormous main room of the eerie mansion.
At that second, the lights in the entire mansion began to violently flash off one by one, every light in each corner of the grand staircase rapidly shutting off individually as if spirits themselves were blowing them out in vicious manner. The players were caught off guard, some of them stumbling one way and others stumbling the other.
"Ah, stop!" Mimi cried, being knocked off her feet by the entire running crowd.
"What's going on?" Tiny shouted, looking around her location, but there were only dim lights in the room that could enable her to see.
"Something's pulling me!" Piantissimo cried, trying to keep his place on the ground. "Something is definitely pulling me!" Everyone faced the player, and saw that indeed, his motions towards the air were not in the ordinary. They were all flabbergasted, confused and running around, full of fright.
Tiny: It was the craziest scene in the world. I didn't know what was going on.
Dashel: Just horror. Pure horror. It was a scene straight from a horror movie, and it was definitely real.
"Please help!" was the fearful cry of Éclair, and her legs were lifted off from the ground, levitating in the air. The players gasped.
"Éclair!" Dashell cried, reaching out to her. Without warning, her body soared through the air, knocking into Dry Bones' head as it flew by as Dry Bones was swept off his feet.
"Oomph!" Hit in the head, Dry Bones dizzily fell to the ground.
Snifit: Throughout my life, I have been trained to stay calm in tough situations. I had taken meditation and cognitive relaxation courses. So in a way, I felt destined...this was my moment to suceeed.
"Flashlight!" Snifit, within the panic of it all, snapped into action. He saw Piantissimo, being lifted into the air as well, and as his bag was directly above Snifit in the air, it dropped. Snifit with a shout ducked to the ground.
"Mmphm!" He had taken the full force of the bag that fell upon him, but he was more relieved that hurt. Opening the bag before him, he took out the flashlight that existed inside.
Suddenly, an ear-splitting scream rang through the air, as the sound of someone being pulled across the carpet was heard from his ears.
"Ah!" Snifit flashed it on, then shined it around the room with slight panic.
It was silence.
"He…hello?" he asked, his voice shaking. He was all alone.
"Turn that off," came a voice from his side, and it was Zess, making her way to his location and shielding her eyes from the bright light. She walked her way over to him from the staircase, dazed and shaking her own head.
Zess: I was very surprised to know that Snifit and I were the only survivors! It was as if a large plague epidemic swiped through the mansion and got rid of the rest of the players. Since when did I have the skills to survive?
"Where's…everyone else?" Snifit gasped.
"If I knew, do you think I'd be calm enough to tell you?" Zess asked herself, looking around in the dark light. "I'm scared as a bat!"
"Do…you have an idea where they went?" Snifit asked, still overwhelmed.
"Well, with Éclair flying in the air like a bat, and Dry Bones being dragged down the hallway," Zess recalled, bewildered herself, "I don't think there's much left of anyone here." The two of them, alone in the center of the room, looked around.
"Ugh….what WAS that?" It was Mimi's voice, getting up from the floor next to the stairs.
"Mimi!" Mimi made her way over to them, the light in the large room being minimal as they stood together.
"Where did you come from?!" Zess exclaimed with surprise, dusting the leftover dust on the little girl.
"I was knocked to the ground! Rudely," she replied. All of a sudden, they heard a noise, as if an object in their room was still moving.
"Oh gee…" Snifit said, his hand shaking as he moved his flashlight towards the direction of the movements and sounds. All of a sudden, there was a large flash of light.
"AHH!" All three of them screamed, and then slowly turned back to their normal, still-unnerved state. It was Dashell, shining a light with his own flashlight. Dashell just stood there, dumbfounded, finding three of his teammates. Snifit, Zess, and Mimi just sighed.
"I kept one in my pocket," Dashell explained, looking at it. "Just in case." They all seemed more relieved than anything, but they were alone.
"Well, now what?" Zess said in an irritated voice. "We can't do much with half of our crew gone!"
"Maybe they're not gone," Snifit said quietly. "Maybe we have to find them." Then, as the two flashlights shined across the large interior of the mansion, they saw a message, glowing in green light across the entire wall of one of the entrance room's side. They stepped back in shock, then they read the rules in silence.
Mission 7: The Haunted Getaway
Goal: Escape this house. 5,000 coins a soul. Escape before 3: this is your goal.
"Huh…uhh, my head," Dry Bones moaned, waking up from the ground. He found himself in the longest and most plain of hallways, not knowing where he was. He shook his head vigorously, then stood up to keep his balance.
"Pianti…." He made out the shape of the player above him, his purple gloves being the first thing that shined up to him first. Groggily, he stood up.
"Hey, Piantissimo," Dry Bones said, looking above him. "I think I found…." He stared up at the ceiling in terror, as Piantissimo stood up. He was on the ceiling.
"AHHH!" Dry Bones screamed, backing against the walls. "What's going onn!?"Piantissimo jumped to his feet, and realized with terror that something was wrong: he looked up at Dry Bones, and saw him standing on his own set of ground.
"Dry Bones, get down!" He shouted, backing against his own wall in fear. Dry Bones, to his view, was standing on the ceiling. They were both silent for a second, in pure misconception and terror.
"It's...an illusion," Dry Bones gasped and concluded, as the two of them stood in silence.
"What do you mean?" Piantissimo demanded with horror, staring above him baffled and not believing what he was seeing.
"I think…" began Dry Bones, "we're both in completely separate rooms. But the ceiling is a video projection of each other, reversed, to make it look like we are walking together on opposite gravity poles."
"Hum." Piantissimo's eyes relaxed and gleamed slightly with interest. "Then this is quite a perfect and extraordinary case. I am more intrigued than frightened." Dry Bones just kept looking up, unnerved.
"Piantissimo, can we just work our way to get out of here?"
Spider webs in the air could not be untouched, and a large window was seen in their room, the last touches of sunlight shining through it. All of a sudden, Tiny's eyes opened.
Tiny: First, I was walking. Then the next thing I remembered, it was darkness. I really didn't know what was going on.
"I'm…I'm okay," Tiny stuttered, her eyes wide. "Phew..." From right beside her, Éclair rose from her unconsciousness, her hair ruffled and face confused. She faced Tiny Kong.
"Tiny, where are we?" Eclair asked, standing up and looking at her odd and bare surroundings. "Where are the others?" Tiny shook her head.
"I can...only guess one thing: we're separated from them, and located somewhere else in this mansion," Tiny guessed, looking around. Feeling misfortuned, the two girls reflected.
"I remember Dashell grabbing out for me..." Eclair said softly, looking down. Then, she then felt something on the side of her pants.
"What's this?" Eclair reached into her pocket, feeling a piece of paper in her pocket. Both females looked at it with wide-eyes: it was the rules of the game.
"Oh." They read it together in silence.
Escape this house quickly, and money you'll get. Don't pass your test, and your soul we'll forget.
"Huh….escape?" Tiny asked with confusion. "And what tests are they talking about?"
"I…am uncertain." They both looked at their mysterious surroundings, and it was their roof that was the big giveaway to their location. It was a pointed ceiling, as if part of their roof was not simply a normal ceiling. They were in the attic of the mansion.
"That candelabrum is just perfect," Zess said, admiring the metal device in Snifit's hand. It was a large candle, and it illuminated the hallway that the players were walking through.
"It sets the bad mood," Snifit unfortunately noticed, carrying the candle that was almost as big as him.
"Wait, stop." Dashell blocked the others from crossing a path in the hallway, as everyone turned to him, confused.
"I…don't think we should go this way," he began, looking at the group.
"Wait, what's wrong with this path?" Mimi asked, confused. "It looks perfectly safe!" Dashell shook his head.
"Let's turn around," he said, and he began his way backwards, as everyone followed him in confusion. Snifit, holding the large candle, followed after him.
"Okay…" The players reached another path in a side hallway, and they saw that is split into two paths, a sight which none of them had ever seen in a normal house before. The players were stunned at the sight.
"Ah!" All of a sudden, a latch opened from the ceiling, and a piece of paper simply floated down to Mimi's feet. Mimi picked it up, reading it out to the others.
"'Two go one way, two go the other'…" Mimi read out loud. "Umm, the hallways? Is that it?" All the teammates looked at each other.
"I trust Zess," Mimi started, "because she is the most energetic and determined one here." Zess smiled at the girl's statement, and then nodded.
"Okay, I guess us two ladies will be going one way," Zess stated. Snifit turned to Dashell, and they both looked content and ready to begin their own hallway trek.
"Okay, then I guess we're together," Dashell, taking a ready breath. "We can do this." Snifit only made a sound.
"Just, umm, Dashell?" Snifit asked, looking meekly up at Dashell. "Before we go together, can you do something?"
"Yeah?" Dashell replied, confused.
"Can you hold this? It's a little heavy." Snifit handed him the heavy set of candles to him.
"Hold it," Piantissimo said suddenly, stopping Dry Bones as well from opening the door they had reached with walking, in his own unusual parallel world. Dry Bones saw what his partner had seen as well: a golden plaque besides each of their own doors had sentences inscribed on them.
"Huh." Above the plaque, a word was written, scratched into the wooden wall: REFLECTION GAME. Dry Bones began reading the message below it.
"To win this game, partner's reflection you must be," Dry Bones read, his eyes squinting in the dark to read the message. "Follow each other, for that is the key". There was another line below that.
"Make one wrong move, and a failure you'll see." Piantissimo huffed, looking over the message again.
Piantissimo: Riddles…my weak point in this game that reminds me that the game of the Mole is not all physical ability…which if it was, would make this game so much easier.
"I guess we have to decipher this, no?" he said with a shrug. He reached for his door knob.
"Wait one second," Dry Bones called, reaching out for his own door knob too. "I think I get a clue of what the game is about." He paused for a second.
"Reflection?" Dry Bones asked, voice confused. He looked up at Piantissimo above him, the game running through his head.
Dry Bones: Suddenly, I got it! It was like that moment in a game where I immediately understood the game's task.
"I think it's the mirror," Dry Bones said, looking up. "Get it? We have to do the same things on each other's hallways! Like, our ceiling is our mirror! I mean, what else can reflection mean in this game?" Piantissimo looked up, and saw that the ceiling above him, if Dry Bones' body were to magically morph into the image of his own, certainly would have appeared as a mirror's reflection.
Piantissimo: All of a sudden, it made complete sense! I thought the message was something useless. Like, how half the things are on this game. But now we got it.
"Wow, that was a close one," Piantissimo said, laughing little bit in relief. As both Piantissimo and Dry Bones looked past the doors they had both opened, they saw a long, red-shaded hallway path. Dry Bones gulped.
"So…basically we have to reflect each other, by doing the same exact moves, except on our each sides of the hallway?" Piantissimo voiced with concern.
"Yes," Dry Bones said, nervously staying still.
"Then…" Piantissimo thought, thinking heavily, and then he jumped up, answer in mind. "Oh, it is simple! Our steps must be synchronized! That is how we get to the end." He lifted his left foot.
"Elaborate, please," Dry Bones said, still unsure of their next moves.
"Dry Bones, when I say go," Piantissimo ordered strongly, looking carefully at the supernatural reflection above him. "I want you to lift your left foot as well with me. And we're both going to step forward at the same time, like a reflection." Dry Bones nodded, looking above him at the simulated mirror of Piantissimo.
"Okay, left foot?" Dry Bones asked, smiling nervously. "I got this."
Dry Bones: I trusted Piantissimo with all my heart. As I lifted that left foot to reflect him, I put all my trust into him.
Piantissimo: Everything was going to plan. Everything was going PERFECTLY, and I mean perfectly, to plan.
"Your left foot, and my left foot," Dry Bones said, ready.
"Ready?" Piantissimo's voice was confident.
"Yep," Dry Bones replied. "Count the countdown!"Nodding confidently, he lifted his foot as well.
"One….two…"Both left feet of the players in the pair of hallways were ready to step.
"Three!" Piantissimo stepped forwards, his body entering existence into the hallway before him.
"Three!" was Dry Bones' own call, taking a foot step less than half of a second later than Piantissimo did. Both left feet stepped forwards, almost at the same exact time.
One of their bodies disappeared.
"The door!" Tiny pointed to the door before them, pointing the door out to Éclair. "That's our escape!" It was the door that led out of the attic they were entrapped in. Éclair walked towards it.
All of a sudden, there was a loud creak, as Éclair stepped back with horror. Eclair fell back with a scream, as her foot fell through a piece of the flooring. She stumbled back to safety, as Tiny looked with a stunned face.
"It is not safe," Tiny realized. "If we walk, we will fall." She stared at the created hole before her.
"Tiny, what are we supposed to do!" Eclair exclaimed. Her face was overwhelmed with fear.
"This is our only way," Tiny said fearfuly, putting her hand on Eclair's shoulder. "I don't think there's any other way out of this attic. I don't want to do this either."
Tiny: I knew we were both scared, but the team, our money, and even ourselves depended on this. I didn't know the exact right way to cross the floor, however. Nothing in this game is extremely easy.
"Look!" Seeing a message scratched into the wood of their floor, the two of them read it in fear.
CRACKED FLOOR GAME
With each step you take, a word's needed, no same. How do you say "Mole" different ways in this game?
Speak out loud, and say no repeats, or air you will feel beneath your feet.
"Okay," Tiny began, slowly thinking, taking in the lines. She stared at the wood floor before her.
"Words," she whispered with wonder. "That's it. We need to say words." Eclair looked confused.
"I do not understand," she said.
"Each step, we have to say a word that matches close to the meaning of 'Mole'," Tiny decided. "So, when we take a step, we must say a word out loud." Tiny's face looked certain. The two of them looked out at the path before them.
Tiny: Even I was in disbelief on how the game worked. Was this really the answer? And how would it detect our voices? It was all just suspicious.
"If that is the answer to this task, then we must do it," Éclair said. Tiny nodded, looking at the floor before her.
"I'll go first," Tiny decided, facing Éclair. "I know you had a close encounter with falling earlier, so if our theory on this game is wrong, then it's only fair that...I take a stumble too." She smiled lightly, as did Éclair.
"Thank you," she replied. Then, Tiny looked at the wooden floor, taking a deep breath.
"Okay," Tiny began in a nervous voice, thinking of a direct word in her head. She lifted her foot into the air.
"Saboteur!" she claimed, and she stepped her foot on the ground. Tiny closed her eyes, as Eclair had a worried look on her face. But nothing happened, and they both sighed with relief.
"I...did it," Tiny whispered, her voice relaxing more. She turned around.
"Éclair," Tiny said, facing her. "It's your turn. It's safe; just think of a word as fast as you can and step forwards." Éclair nodded, listening to her.
"Okay," Éclair nodded, stepping forwards and closing her eyes. Then, she said out loud a word of her own.
"Agent!"
"What….on earth is this?" Zess and Tiny found themselves in a large room, brighter than all the previous rooms or hallways they had encountered within the mansion. They stared at the object in front of them.
"A banquet room," Zess said with a nod, taking in all the food on the large table in front of them. It was a large pile of fruits, vegetables, and other assortments, scattered upon the table. Mimi went up to the food, looking at it carefully
"Is it safe?" Mimi asked with perplexity. "Or is this…"
"I'll be the judge of this food, and whether it's poisoned or not," Zess said with a smirk, but when she said it, she worried just lightly.
Zess: What if it really was poisoned? Oh no! Then we'd never finish this game…or our lives, for that matter.
"Oh Zess, with your organic food skills, you'll probably live until 100…at least," Mimi said happily. Suddenly, they came across a sign stand at the end of the table, presenting itself before the plethora of food on the table.
FOOD GAME
Follow my riddle:
It was eaten by a Mole, and punched by a loser
Think back to your past, and be the food chooser.
Eat the right food, in one minute. Pick a wrong, and you're out of this game.
"Oh…I don't like the sound of that at all," Mimi cried, looking wide-eyed.
"Think girl, think," Zess said, scavenging among the food on the table. She went through the piles of food, fruits, vegetables, pastries, various meats, and even the silverware. Mimi looked at the riddle before her, confused.
"Eaten by a Mole…a Mole of this game?" Mimi said, panicked.
"I don't think so," Zess said, her hands running through the food piece by piece. She picked up an apple, the first food located at the very beginning end of the majestic table.
"I can swear that it's referring to another Mole. The line below it gives us the clue! 'Think back to your past'. So...the first Mole ever...Toadette! What did she eat?" Mimi nodded with understanding.
"And the loser was…Blooper!" she voiced. She began searching the dinner table as well, plates of food hitting the floor of the table. All of sudden, one of the candles upon the dinner table blew out, and Zess' eyes went wide.
"Six candles!" Zess realized, seeing the smoke-emitting candle. "A candle is going to shut off every ten seconds!"
"I didn't know our game began already!" A few seconds later, another candle went out, and the two of them knew they were running out of time.
Snifit and Dashell looked at each other, before entering the room for their stage of the mansion.
"Are you ready…?" Snifit said, about to open the door before them. Dashell thought for a second, still carrying the candle which was handed to him by Snifit.
"Yeah…what else can we do?" Dashell said with a huff, still holding the candelabrum. "We can't go backwards."
"Not if we want to win." Snifit shrugged, as Dashell opened the door to the room.
It was a bare room. The walls were solid, green-shaded like the rest of the house. On the opposite side of them, another door was located, and below them, the floor was carpeted. It was as if a spare bedroom in the mansion had been stripped off its furniture, and Dashell and Snifit just stared at its center.
"It says, 'Stand Here'", Snifit whispered, even though Dashell could see it as well. It was a small square, and the phrase was centered directly upon it.
"Huh…okay," Dashell said, walking up to it. Snifit didn't budge, as Dashell noticed.
"What's wrong?" Dashell asked. Snifit shook his head.
Snifit: When something says to stand somewhere…it's probably a sign not to stand there.
"It's locked," Dashell said, demonstrating to Snifit their incapable ability of escaping the room. "We have to stand in the center, man."
Snifit: All right. I guess Dashell was correct.
The two players stood in the outline of the box in the center of the room, and the lights began to dim just the tiniest bit. Holding the candle, Dashell waved it around in the air to light each corner of the rom. Snifit looked carefully around at the room, wondering what their next moves would be. But nothing appeared. Instead, a sound boomed from a corner of the ceiling, as they both jumped slightly and looked towards the source of audio.
"THE THOUGHTLESS ROOM," it boomed, the voice echoing in the tiny room of both Snifit and Dashell. Dashell held his candle closer to the light.
"Your mind waves now are being measured," sang the voice, the sound sending shivers down both of their spines. "And when you're still, all is treasured. For the more you think…the more you lose. Just think too much…and….you'll no longer…." The sound shut off.
"Huh?" Dashell said, facing Snifit. But Snifit's face was silent, all except for an expression of silent fear on his face. Dashell looked at him weirdly.
"Hey Snifit, are you…okay?"
"Don't…" Snifit gasped, as he stood rigid.
"Don't what?" Dashell said, his voice genuinely concerned.
"Don't think." The two words suddenly shut up Dashell, and he looked around the room.
"Don't think," Snifit repeated, voice more urgent and commanding. "Stop looking around, Dashell." Dashell stood still, fear running through his body.
"Snifit, I don't know what's going-AH!" He clutched over, feeling a sharp pain in his stomach. As Dashell looked up at him in disbelief, Snifit's eyes turned wide with fear, but he remained still, not even looking at Dashell.
"I…" There was a reason it was called the thoughtless room, and it was the worst room in the entire mansion.
"I can't think of anything Blooper punched!" Mimi cried, as the third candle shut off on the dinner table. Over a hundred pieces of food were still remaining on the table, and Zess, panicked, looked through them all.
"Wait…" Zess started, thinking to the past games.
Zess: I knew there was something up. Because in my mind, I always pictured Wario being a puncher, and never Blooper. Then, it clicked.
"No no no!" she exclaimed with realization, looking through the food on the table more with her hands. "It's something that Wario punched! Something that Toadette ate, and Wario punched!"
"Oh my gosh…" Mimi gasped. "Is it…" Zess nodded, and the two females of different ages almost communicated telepathically. They both knew the answer.
"Spy!"
"Traitor!"
"Emissary!" It was Tiny's step, and she took it with heavy uncertainty and terror as her foot landed on the wooden floor. Her body did not fall through, as she let out a huge sigh of relief.
"Oh good," she sighed heavily, looking down at her feet with a smile. "Emissary was a right word."
Tiny: We had to say these words that synonymized with 'Mole', and as long as we had enough words, we were safe with our steps along the floor. Also, we had realized: there was a three-minute timer on our door.
"Three minutes…" Tiny said quietly, feeling sure in her next action. She was one step away from the door of the attic.
"Éclair, we're almost there! The time limit is going to expire any second!" she called out to her teammate, who was only a few feet back. But Éclair held a look of fear on her face, as she shook her head.
"What's wrong?" Tiny asked, not sensing the caution in their situation.
"Tiny, I do not know any more words," Éclair said in a desperate voice. Tiny gasped, and her eyes looking at her panicked.
Tiny: I had to save my teammate. But, the problem was...I had a word saved for myself, and I didn't want her to use it. Because I needed to take one more step to reach my door as well.
"Éclair, what if you used a phrase that meant for the other use of the word 'Mole'?" Tiny suggested, thinking fast. "Like, the mole as a mark on the body?" Éclair looked at her, unsure.
"Are you sure that will work for me?" Eclair asked,, standing in her place ont he wooden floor in fear.
"Well….I don't know if it's right, but it's better than nothing," Tiny said, looking unsure, "but I still don't know." Éclair closed her eyes to think.
"I have no other choice," Éclair said decisively, and she smile the tiniest bit at Tiny. "I will try it." She took a deep breath, and raised her foot.
"Birthmark!" Éclair called out. "I will say birthmark!" And when she said her word, she stepped forwards, hoping that the floor would her foot, and she would make it safely to the attic's door. It didn't.
"AHHH!" As her entire body fell through the wooden attic floor with a scream, Tiny ran to her spot, the floor below Tiny's own feet apparently not breaking anymore. The curse of the shatter had already been disabled from the incorrect word.
"ECLAIR!" Tiny knelt down at the large hole which had formed in the ground feet before her. But Éclair was still existing.
"Tiny…what happened?" Her body had been saved by stringy pieces of transparent cords, and just seconds later, both realized that Éclair was entangled in the largest spider web of the entire mansion.
"That must have been a wrong word!" Tiny said, her voiced panicked. Realizing what she was entabled in, Éclair screamed.
"Tiny...please help me!" Eclair shouted, her hands stuck in place from the spider web's sticky and grotesque outer lining.
"I'll help you out!" Tiny shouted, getting a leftover plank from the broke crater of wood and holding it out to her. "Grab on!"
Tiny: I did not think a giant spider was going to come and get Éclair…but you had to make sure. That's why I was so adamant on getting her out.
"I cannot reach!" Eclair pleaded. "I cannot reach! Please help me, Tiny!" Tiny's face looked frightened but determined.
"Don't worry, I'll pull you up in time!" Tiny said forcefully, grabbing a longer piece of shattered wood by her side.
"Please move the wood closer," Éclair pleaded, reaching her hand up from inside the spider web, one that was slowly sucking in her body farther and farther from Tiny's position. Tiny reached her plank of wood as far as she could down.
"I…I can't," Tiny whispered, seeing the impossible situation before her and eyes looking sad. "I can't even reach you, Éclair." Suddenly, there was a final phrase, one coming out from the mouth of the princess who was slowly becoming overtaken in the treacherous webs of the game, which sank lower and lower into the darkness.
"The time limit!" Éclair gasped, and her body was gone. Tiny gasped.
"Oh no…" Tiny breathed with panic, turning around completely and facing the exit of her door in alarm.
Tiny: Then I had realized: I had completely forgotten about the time limit. I ran as fast as I could back.
Running forwards across the remainder floor of the attic, Tiny reached her door, grabbing and twisting the knob of the door just five seconds after the timer had closed it.
But it was too late. The door was locked. She was locked within the attic. They had lost.
"Yams…zucchini…" Mimi cried, searching through the food before her. "I have no idea!" Zess turned to her, her mind racing.
"Hold on a second...yams...zuchinni?"
Zess: I have read cook books all my life. And I KNOW exactly why that order of vegetables struck out to me so significantly.
"Wait!" Zess stopped her food hunting, noticing something significant, just as the fourth candle blew out. On the end of one table, in the collection of various apples, Zess saw the answer to the table's order.
"Apples on one side of the end….zucchinis on the other…" Zess immediately jumped up.
Zess: And all of a sudden, I knew the answer before a lion could pounce on a juicy steak. Why didn't I think of it before when I saw the apple in the first place!
"It's alphabetical!" she exclaimed. "It's alphabetical! The foods are all alphabetical on this darn table!" Determined, Zess ran to the other end of the gigantic table, and began her action of scavenging among the foods near a section of the beginning of a table. Mimi looked confused.
"Where is that?" Mimi asked, walking over to her. "What's so special?"
"If this section is for the letter D," Zess said, her hands throwing things behind her in the air and hitting so far into the wall, "then…then…" Her eyes shined with happiness: it was a durian, half open.
"I never thought I'd be so happy to see a durian," Zess said, laughing, and then she picked up. The fifth candle on the dinner table blew out.
"Quick!" Both she and Mimi grabbed a clump each.
"Okay, but I won't like this," Mimi groaned, making a face. She and Zess both held their pieces of food together, and in an instant, right before the last candle went out, they had eaten their pieces of fruits.
Snifit: I used my medidating and mind-clearing experience. So I simply stood there. Almost in a trance. I pretended, not too far from the truth, that my entire life depended on this. I needed to cleanse my thoughts and mind to move on.
Dashell: Other than not being able to think, I didn't know the point of the game. It was tough.
It was all silent. As the time went, the candle in Dashell's hands seeming to glow more, as the room got darker.
Suddenly, they heard a clicking noise from the direction of the door. Snifit and Dashell faced each other, then looked back at the unlocked door. Dashell breathed out in relief.
"Are we done….?" Snifit asked, then let out a heavy sigh, relieved at the ending of their game. He looked at Dashel, who had a triumphant image in his face.
Snifit: We had done it. And really…I was just a little proud in myself. Though, since it's not good to feel pride…I'll just say that I'm happy we finished the game.
However, their bodies were still within the detection of the dangerous room.
"Think of what the others will say when we tell them about this tale," Dashell said, his voice full of confidence and victory. He looked at Snifit, and grinned.
"Yeah," Snifit said, smiling as well and looking at Dashell.
"Éclair would be really proud." Dashell nodded, slowly.
"Éclair…." Dashell suddenly gasped for air, leaning forwards.
"Éclair…" he gasped, voice in a half-choke. "GAHH!" He fell to the ground, clutching his stomach in extreme agony, as Snifit stepped back with horror and trepidation.
"The rule is still active," Snifit whispered, his voice rising in fear. All of a sudden, he felt a jolting pain in the center of his stomach as well.
"Ahh!" When Dashell fell forwards, his body suddenly vanished, as if it was made out of electricity and existed no more. His hand letting go, the candelabrum fell to the floor.
It shattered on the floor in the process. Before Snifit could react, the carpet before him was lit on fire.
Oh dear...
That was not how I wanted to end the chapter. With one of the players in imminent danger.
Alnd yes, the fire that was lit before Snifit...was one-hundred percent real to the players. Things just don't go as expected. Just how will Snifit fare his room? How did EVERYONE even fare their tests and rooms in this terrible game of fate and games? Who will escape the mansion...if anybody?
Before that, I will reply to your wonderful reviews! : )
Vivalahomestar: You welcome-elcome! I have gotten through the first half of your chapter (Im yet to review xD) and I must say, you really improved that chapter with writing! Even when you write future stories in the future, I hope the tips go on, and you'll definitely get better with the more you write : ) And what you said about Dry Bones…right? I even remembered in the latest Mario Party installment, he was even designed to boss the haunted castle stage. So, it's just so curious! But it just leave more suspicion…is it his genuine fear, or all an act?
Shilo Burbans: Whoa nelly! Big assumptions and mysteries, I see I see! Your reviews are so cryptic too! : o Though it's good lol, a bit hard to follow, but I think I get them haha. An entire player removed from your list, just who can it be? A mystery in itself! But I like it xD Anyways, great reviews and top 3 suspects list, Mr. Shilo! : ) just how will those three suspects fare? Even in the haunted house game?
wendychristensen: I've ALWAYS wanted the players to hit a haunted house place. It just adds creepiness to a Mole atmosphere, and it worked! Yes, Snifit probably loved the game of I Spy as a kid, no wonder he's so good xD Yes yes! Zess and Mimi, with such opposite ages, are able to connect with each other! That is the pure point. And your theorizing on the dialogue between Piantissimo/Éclair is very interesting. You did bring up things to think about, that's for sure : ) anyways, thanks so much for your review!
fredthemontymole: Lol oh goodness! –runs for the hills- Nah, your review was awesome xD Ah, good theories, good theories! And nice word choices too…I can't help but say, I burst into laughter reading "toilet handle" in your review, because in honesty, if I found a toilet handle on the floor in real life, I'd think something was wrong with the gravity in this world. Ah, your mention of Kathryn in Season 1, she was brilliant in her Fortress game mission. What a trooper with her broken gun! And also, I like pineapple soufflé greatly! Is that a possible foreshadow that you'll make me one in the future? : 3
Luigenius: Ah, hello hello! How have you been doing, the one and only Luigenius? It is quite great to see you : ) ah, thanks so much for reading so quickly up to date! Hopefully it wasn't too much of a hassle heh! But that's great, and I got to see your thought process through the whole story! Okay, let me do little breakdowns of each of your reviews:
WHY'D YOU HATE FLURRIE? Lol, can't pick on that, though she was one of the most kind players of the game heh. Ah, you have good points in your suspects! You did good analyzations on them : ) They made me see from your point of view. Thanks for noticing the players connections! It makes me happy, and I must admit…the connections are a lot heavier and stronger than they were in Sabotuer's Island or Traitor Aboard. Oh, and finally…your entire line about being a magician with my writing…made me grin to no end and I thank you for that compliment : ) heh, I guess I do try to pull some tricks on you guys, but in a good way! Anyways, your reviews made me smile greatly and I thank you for them, Luigi genius!
Ice Empoleon: Oh darn, the game experts do get eliminated early! D: First Boo, and now the smart fellow Bowser Jr….perhaps if I were to ever enter a Mole game, I would hide my knowledge of the game just to not fall under that curse, hehe. Anyways, reading over the story again, I kinda heavily agree on you about Bowser Jr's suspicion. He was that kind of guy that me MYSELF would have probably picked as the Mole. He had that cool, enthusiastic, sometimes whiny, yet smart attitude that fit with a Mole well. Ah, oh well…I guess he was a good saint. Anyways, once again, good list of sabotages, which never fail! And yes yes! I am limiting each episode to 5 chapters each. Never more, or less, just to budget time, heh.
Moley Koopa: Oh I DID say there were no clues in Spy Among Authors, but there were? xD. Haha! Ugh, I was such a troll back then. Can't believe I pulled that, lol. Anyways, ooh, a top 3 favorite players list! You know what, I always silently make "favorite character lists" in my own head, but then it just makes me feel guilty about the others hehe. Though I must agree, Dry Bone is a player who is definitely in my top selection of favoritos xP
FireKai: I am so thankful that they never brought those inevitable Bowser board areas back after the first Mario Party! Gee, like, they were unavoidable at times, and you were forced to do the stupid actions before Bowser that would cost you coins (e.g. on Peach's birthday cake, you had to eat the spiked cake… -.-). Anyways, when you said Big Boo on the MP4 board, I literally jumped up with glee. I ONLY SAW IT ONCE TOO! It was like, a rare treasure I shall never see again…hmm, maybe I should play? Ah, your elimination predictions, it may be true or it may be not! : o It is always tense before an execution…and that is what the next fateful chapter will be.
Elemental Queen: Hehe! Well you see, on a quiz, there is only ONE question based on gender on the quizzes. As much as your score is lowered by one if you pick the wrong choice, there are 9 more questions on the quiz you could redeem and survive yourself on : ) Thanks for "virtually" imagining yourself taking the quiz!
PJCanada: Ahaha, yes! Mimi does seem to play off her spoiled part, and I wanted to see her in that scene. I simply imagined her in that scene, and thought, "What would she be doing during a wood collecting scene?...ah, of course! Not collecting any."Haha! Im glad you enjoyed that : ) And everything else about your review, ooh! Right in the intelligence kicker with that awesome dialogue analyzing! Actually, thanks for analyzing those certain dialogues, whatnot xD I'm happy that you looked into those, because I was hoping some readers would as they read Chapter 13 in particular! Kudos to your breaking down of the scenes, very much! Because you did a mighty fine well job.
Okay, guys! A NEW POLL is up on my profile, so be sure to give in your votes! I shall reveal the results at the end of the next chapter! Since there are less players, you are only allowed to vote for your top two suspects of the game. Vote away : )
Poll: Episode 3: Eight limbs left: Who is the true traitor of The Mole: Agent's Elevation?
Thanks guys, and I shall update the final part of Episode 3 before this week ends (yus yus!) Please all be prepared for the final results of this game…and the next surprising execution.