Warning: Lengthy Chapter, almost 12k words.

The Smart One 64 : Hi ya! Honestly, I'm getting worse and worse as times passes when it comes to leaving reviews, and most of all updating, lol. I mean, last time I updated this story was in September, almost 6 months ago so I know what you mean about college taking time away from you. Thanks for the compliment! And I've been a Mole several times now, actually! :P

If I say Sexy Parakarry, you could say Sexy Melody, LOL. I kind of hesitated getting rid of her though, because I knew she was a favorite, but I felt her elimination would help develop more characters, you could say. Hmmm, interesting theory! It's true that I almost always go for the subtlest sabotages, it was the same in the last game I played, though I once played a very moronic Roselia lol.

As for your second review : omg, I love Locked Out! My strategy was basically that of Boo, I would wait for someone to pick up a key and then punch/slap them with Peach/Daisy and steal the key in front of their face lol. I love Mario Party for this type of things. x) Yeah, I wanted the eliminated ones to have one more appearance before the end of the adventure. I miss them too, they added something to the game. Thank you for your two reviews, it means a lot to me and see you another time!

Dark Punxysaur : Punxy! How long has it been since the last time I saw you? Lol. I think I saw someone with the same name who had left a review on AO3 so I suppose you're still lurking the fanfiction world? Glad to see you enjoy the story and Waitress. She's a cool character to write for!

Soui : Salut, Boobs Queen ! Ou devrais-je dire Sexy Miltank ? Je prends en note pour les indices, de toute manière je n'ai pas vraiment d'autre choix j'ai envie de dire, lol. J'avais déjà préparé celui de cet épisode il y a de cela quelques mois donc j'imagine que je trouverai un moyen pour vous les rendre tous accessible à tous, quitte à ce que vous deviez recopier les liens, même si ça pue vraiment. D'accord avec toi, quand le casting est plein, il est difficile de cimenter le caractère de chacun des personnages, tandis que plus on suit leurs aventures, plus ils deviennent attachants. Anus Hareng était une gueuse de premier rang, une cloche des plus sexy ! :ponge: Comme d'habitude, je ne dis rien niveau suspicion... :ponge:

wat da fuk r u talkin bout u bich dis storys plenty gay alredy cant u see da subtl waitress x melody, waitress x blanche, boo x enguarde, enguarde x bullet, goombario x his nonexistent hands, dixie x blanche, kolorado x enguarde (omg such sexual tension much sexiness), kolorado x boo, shokora x blanche, shokora x melody, melody x blanche etc


Previously on The Mole, the first mission of Episode 6 had concluded, leaving the remaining candidates to wonder whether or not they had succeeded in their challenge. Aboard a carriage, Monty recounted the events that transpired during their game, and told them that their winnings would solely depend on one player: White Mage.

"And in the last round, Blanche had the opportunity to win an advantage for herself or play for the team... The rewards were numerous, but costly. And she could only win one of them. I have the list right here," grinned Monty Mole, showing a piece of paper to the group. Boo took it and his eyes sparkled.

Kolorado tapped his fingers against his knees. "Well then, lassie. What did you do?"

In the end, the healer had settled on a costly prize, one that would secure her place in the game, earning a lot of backlash from her comrades.

"Or I could choose a reward that I would obtain only if you had managed to earn enough money in the challenge. I thought about it for some time but I ultimately decided to take the exemption," confirmed the girl with the high-heels.

"But wait!" Enguarde stopped them all of a sudden. "The exemption is worth-"

"Every single coin accumulated during the mission," Boo interrupted him with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "To sum it up, sabotage."

However, the tides quickly turned once it was unveiled that every single one of the players had the opportunity to earn themselves an advantage as well...

"Well then," started Monty Mole before pondering how he would tackle the bonus issue. When he opened his mouth again, he smiled from ear to ear. "Why wouldn't the ones who decided to be greedy step up and claim their due?"

...and that three out of four candidates had yielded to temptation...

Humming a song to herself, Waitress followed right after her coalition partner and took a bonus. "You kinda totally knew I'd choose that anyway," she giggled, playing with her new token.

The three males looked at one another in suspicions, until the oceanographer let out a sigh. Wordlessly, he extended his fin towards Monty Mole who gave him his prize. Boo followed afterward, not bothering to look at his teammates.

...meaning that only Kolorado had shown loyalty to the team.

Kolorado : Hoo boy! Things are heating up, and trust me, I know very well what it means...both figuratively and literally. In any case, I feel like it was not a grand idea for me to pass up on that offer. Now I am at an even greater disadvantage than before!

After the mission, the players were left to mingle with one another, and while Kolorado, Enguarde and White Mage all decided to relax in the hotel's swimming pool, Boo settled a score with Waitress. The next morning, Monty Mole intruded during their breakfast and gave them a small hint as to what their next challenge was about, hint that was understood by the one and only archaeological expert of the game.

"In any case, please be ready by two in the afternoon. Lateness won't be tolerated, we have a schedule to follow. Oh, and one last piece of advice before I leave: beware of the red furry!"

"I knew it!" Kolorado celebrated, happy to have foreseen the Chomp's presence in the game.

Their challenge was fairly simple. Indeed, in order to be able to see their loved one and add five thousand coins to the top, each player had to run away from a Chomp, the difficulty of their task based on the answers the person they trusted the most gave to Monty Mole.

The mission had only begun, would the players succeed in adding more money to the team port, or would their efforts be in vain, trampled upon by the Mole or their own shortcomings? Only one way to find out!

First name : Kolorado

Surname : Raiver

Birthday : January 19

Job : Archaeologist/Explorer

First name : Enguarde

Surname : Espadon

Birthday : December 8

Job : Oceanographer

First name : Blanche

Surname : Magus

Birthday : April 22

Job : White Mage

First name : Boo

Surname : Fanto

Birthday : October 31

Job : Spy

First name : Waitress

Surname : Serva

Birthday : July 4

Job : Waitress

29 : Wild Mild Chase

"GO!" exclaimed an ethereal voice that Mario Party aficionados were able to recognize immediately. The signal prompted White Mage to burst forward, adrenaline pumping in her veins. From their vantage point, the other four could see her jog at a rather fast pace, but the Chomp had yet to appear on the field.

"So far, so good," Enguarde nodded his head, his fins crossed. Besides him, Boo looked at the swordfish funnily.

"What did you expect? She can't exactly fail right as the challenge begins, especially when Monty Mole said that she would be given a head start."

"Sheesh, I was just saying!"

Unlike the other two, the khaki-shelled Koopa, Kolorado, looked at the course intently and realized that it looked like the course was moving and not White Mage. "Well, would you look at that, old boys? It's rather peculiar, eh?"

"What is?" Boo wondered aloud, staring at the archaeological expert. Kolorado pointed at White Mage below them, and the other two saw White Mage running in place. "Pretty strange, I must admit."

"She looks kinda stupid that way," the oceanographer could not help but giggle. He rapidly shut up once White Mage's voice made it to his ears.

"I heard that Enguarde! I'm looking forward to seeing you move your caudal fin around like an idiot too!" Down below, White Mage was shaking her head in annoyance, but that was not what surprised Boo the most.

"Sounds like we can hear anything Blanche says, and vice-versa. Given what we know about Waitress' position and the fact that Monty Mole explicitly said that we could hear what was said on the other side, it sounds like the entire place is interconnected!" deduced the spy, a proud expression displayed on his face.

"Oh! Chomp incoming!" Kolorado raised his voice, pointing at the black creature like an excited child.

"Let's see how things turn out now that the main course's here..."

Enguarde : There was something fun about looking at Blanche from far above. It was as if we were in a stadium, at the Olympics or in a Coliseum! Not the Winkle one obviously, and there wasn't as much noise, but still... It was as if Blanche was putting on a show for our amusement!

Boo : My main concern with this challenge wasn't the performance of the people who were running away from the Chomp, but rather their partner choice. No matter what anyone says, the person the runner trusts the most is more likely to mess up the challenge if they pick incorrect answers to Monty's questions.

...

Waitress was cheering on her friend from above, words of encouragement pouring out of her mouth, when Monty Mole cleared his throat, a signal that he required the Toadette's attention. When she heard him, the purple-pigtailed girl turned to face him, a huge smile on her face.

"Here is the first question you need to answer, Waitress," Monty declared, handing her one of the three cards he was holding in his hands. The player gladly took it from his outstretched hand and began to read it aloud.

"Sooo... Like, 'Question one: What is the name of Blanche's loved one? A, Noir. B, Blacko'. That's not too bad, I can totally answer this question!" smiled the airhead, looking at the switches with determination. "But just to be sure, the green one is for the first answer and the red one for the second answer, right? I kinda don't wanna press the wrong one, y'know?"

"You are indeed correct," confirmed the host, playing with his whiskers.

Waitress : Since Blanche and I are such good friends, it's not like this question was very difficult. Like, she talks about Noir all the time, and even though I dunno how it's supposed to be spelled, it sure doesn't sound like Blacko. At all!

The petite Toadette skipped to the switches and pressed the green one, sure of herself, causing a loud noise to reverberate inside the whole building.

"The first door has been opened," Monty Mole notified.

...

Back on the spectator's side, the three remaining players were talking to one another, discussing he difficulty of the challenge and its many tricks, when Waitress gave her answer. Almost immediately, they focused their attention back on White Mage who was still running away from the Chomp. She was maintaining a healthy lead, and would apparently continue to do so as Waitress had answered correctly: the path displayed to the pink-haired girl was free of obstacle.

"Alright, way to go Waitress!" Enguarde congratulated her, clapping his fins together. Next to him, Boo's reaction was much more demure.

"How is that an achievement exactly?" the ghost raised an eyebrow.

"Well, you know how Waitress is," justified the oceanographer, a small smile lingering on his lips. Kolorado glanced at his two friends, amused by how different they were.

Kolorado : While Boo and Enguarde are both suspects of choice in this game, I'm afraid they differ greatly personality-wise! Why, the boys share about as many similar traits as the sun and moon! And that, my friends, is what makes this game so difficult! People are so different that you can't compare their behavior and determine who the Mole is through sheer observation.

"Still, this is an answer that anyone still in the game should have been able to answer. She mentioned Noir more than once throughout the course of this journey, so we shouldn't let our guard down. I'm positive the questions will become harder and harder as Blanche progresses," noted Boo wisely, furrowing his brow.

Kolorado shrugged, his optimism undampened. "Well, old bean, I wouldn't count Waitress out just yet. The lass has some skills, and I do believe that the girls share the best chemistry. If they fail, then it doesn't bode well for our chances, but I don't think they will."

Enguarde paused a moment, taking in the explorer's words, before nodding to the turtle, but Boo had other thoughts.

Boo : No Kolorado, that's not how this challenge works! If anything, of all of us, Blanche and Waitress are more likely to fail. I mean, yeah, at first glance you can look at this challenge and claim that it's all about chemistry, but that's far from the truth. Truth is, it's an endurance challenge. You could get all three questions wrong and the runner could still make it to the end in spite of your awful performance. And if there's something that I've learned over the course of this game it's that Waitress absolutely sucks at endurance, and that Blanche is pretty clumsy. This isn't a recipe for greatness, it's a recipe for disaster.

...

"Time for the second question!" Monty Mole's voice boomed, alerting Waitress that it was time for her to make a second choice. The bubbly girl immediately switched her attention back to the host and skipped to his position.

"Are you ready for the second question, Waitress? Because here it comes!" Monty Mole declared in an even voice, giving the small Toadette the card she needed to read.

"Yeah, I'm kinda totally ready here!" she smiled earnestly, placing the paper before her eyes. "'How many crystals did Blanche restore throughout her journey as a White Mage? A. Four. B. Five'... Wow, that's sorta hard... I mean, we talked about each other and stuff but like... It's not like we're gonna remember everything."

"Well, take as much time as you need," Monty Mole told her wisely, "but be careful, you can't stall for too long."

Waitress looked under her and saw that Blanche was nearing the next pair of doors at a rather fast pace, it would only be a matter of seconds before she reached it. Struggling to find the correct answer, Waitress ultimately settled for the green switch. "Let's hope it was the right answer!"

"Did you choose at random?" inquired the host, his eyes directed towards the Chain Chomp.

"Kinda... I guess? I mean, I know it had something to do with the elements and stuff... Sooo, since they usually go by pairs, it made sense to, like, go with the first answer," offered the purple-pigtailed waitress of the Excess Express.

"I see. Why don't you take a look for yourself and see whether your answer held meaning or not?"

...

For the second time in a row, the three males were watching the doors intently, hoping to see a path free of obstacles for their running friend. They had heard the conversation between Waitress and Monty Mole, and as such were worried about the outcome of her decision. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, one door opened.

"Alright! She got it for the second time in a row! Good job Waitress!" Enguarde applauded his friend with glee.

"That was close! Thankfully the lass managed to live up to our expectations!" Kolorado was as enthused as the blue swordfish, and even Boo could not help but be optimistic about their chances now that the first round was almost over.

"Just one more to go!" Boo grinned widely, deciding to sit down. Slightly bored about the lack of real excitement, the ghost let his eyes wander around the rather small platform he was occupying with his fellow players.

"What's this?" he wondered aloud, his gaze directed at a lever situated in the middle of their box seat. Tentatively, he floated over to the device and inspected it.

"Careful old boy!" Kolorado warned him, looking at the lever warily. "You wouldn't want to make us crash to the ground, would you? If you want to keep yourself entertained, you could read that book over there!"

"Meh, I'll pass. Maybe later," Boo waved his hand in dismissal, peering over the protective barrier that allowed them to watch the action from above safely.

...

Seeing the third pair of doors in the horizon, Waitress moved from her observation spot and waited for the host to give her the third and last question she had to answer. As if on cue, Monty Mole held one card out to her.

"You have answered correctly two out of three questions, and good things always come in three, don't they?"

"Huh-uh," Waitress responded airily, reading the question to herself before voicing it aloud. "'In her quest to regenerate the world and its elements, Blanche was responsible for one of the four crystals of light. Which one? A. The blue crystal of Water. B. The green crystal of Wind.'"

Puzzled, Waitress looked down at her friend and back at Monty Mole, unable to come up with an answer. "I really...have kinda no clue. We didn't discuss the specifics of her travels, you know?"

Waitress : It's kind of a strange feeling... Like, it feels like I've known Blanche for a while but in reality, we really don't know a whole lot about each other. So it was tough, I didn't wanna fail my part though, It would've been so lame!

Closing her eyes, Waitress focused on her talks with White Mage, hoping to recall the answer to the riddle she had been asked.

...

As White Mage approached the gargantuan doors that prevented her passage to the other side, she could not help but look behind her so as to assess the distance between the Chomp and herself.

Blanche : Truth to be told, the challenge was very physically demanding. I did not expect it to be so tiring at first, but the distance I had to run was considerably longer than I estimated it to be. With no time to take a breather in between the different stages of this mission, I was becoming more and more exhausted.

"Okay, I'm still ahead," White Mage told herself as an encouragement. Wanting to conserve energy for the last part of her performance, she did not speak another word until she reached the doors.

Problem was, the doors were still closed. At first intrigued, White Mage slowed down and tried to find the reason why none of the doors had opened. After a few seconds of looking for an answer, she figured she did not possess the necessary tools to investigate the malfunctioning. However, once the pink-haired girl looked behind her, she became alarmed: the Chomp had not stopped.

"Hmm... A little help would be needed!" she yelled, pressing her body against a door. "Hello? Waitress? Anyone?"

The Chomp inched its way closer and closer to her position and almost caught up to her when suddenly, one of the doors opened. Grateful that her call was heeded, White Mage irrupted in the next corridor carelessly and collapsed to the ground, having slipped on a small plastic ball. She only had time to recover and run a few more steps before a loud alarm rung out in the whole building.

The black round hound had reached her.

...

After the first round had ended in failure, the five players and Monty Mole reconvened in the grand hall of the building. Everyone had different thoughts after White Mage had been caught by the Chomp, but one question boggled their mind.

"Why didn't the door open?" questioned White Mage, slightly miffed due to the loss of her round as it not only meant that they had lost five thousand coins, but that her visit from her loved one was gone as well. "It worked well the first two times," she pointed out.

"Maybe the Mole did something to interfere with the doors?" hypothesized Kolorado, twirling his mustache between his fingers. "I, for one, did not see anything suspicious among our group. However, I don't know how the Mole would have proceeded to make the doors malfunction in the first place."

"Hmm... You're probably looking too far into it, Kolorado," the oceanographer wagered, casting a suspicious glance at the one who was supposed to take care of the doors. "Admit it, Waitress, you did something wrong again, right?"

"Geez, thanks for the continued support! I, like, really appreciate it and stuff!" she rolled her eyes at the swordfish. "But yeah, I kinda messed up... Sorry Blanche, I didn't mean to zone out, I was just racking my brains but I didn't find the answer and by the time I returned to reality the Chomp was already so close and I'm like really sorry, I totally didn't mean to fail!" Waitress apologized profusely.

"It's alright," White Mage shook her head, "I'm just disappointed, is all. Let's just move on with the mission."

Boo : I... Like... What?! She forgot to press the switch?! Unbelievable!

"A fine suggestion, indeed!" Monty Mole nodded his head, his eyes glinting with excitement. "So let's see who we're going to see running in a few moments... Oh, I know! How about you, Boo?"

Boo agreed. "I'm game. Let's hope my partner won't mess up," the spy muttered the last part, staring at the person they had chosen, before moving ahead.

Taking out the small piece of paper on which the ethereal being had written at the beginning of the mission, Monty Mole announced who would be Boo's lucky partner. "And it would seem that Enguarde has been chosen by Boo! Come with me, the others will follow Kooper."

Enguarde : I was a bit surprised by his choice. Of course, we do work well together, and we do like each other. But I never expected him to choose me of all people. Of course, with Melody's departure, I'm probably the one he's closest to...but it doesn't amount to much.

Waitress : Um, hello Boo? Didn't you moan at me yesterday 'cause we were supposed to be working together? Like, I'll never understand him. One day he says something, and the other he says something else.

...

For the second time in a row, a disembodied voice voice shouted the word 'GO!' and another player ran as fast as they could towards safety. Meanwhile, Kolorado and the two girls were watching from above, and the talkative turtle was giving information to his two friends.

"So far Boo seems to be going much faster than you, Blanche!" the archaeologist exclaimed, surprised at the change of pace. Next to him, the pink-haired lady supported her chin with her hand, in deep thought.

"I was trying to conserve my energy early on, but perhaps his strategy is a little better. Extending a lead early on could be good for his moral...but it could also sap him of his strength," remarked the healer smartly, concern in her voice. "It's not the most logical choice."

Blanche : Since I was the first to go, I had no one to counsel me during my run, but if I had to do it again, I would keep the same strategy. It isn't wise to push yourself at the beginning, you risk losing all your juice by the time the mini-game is almost over...and the ending is always the hardest part.

Meanwhile, Waitress was pouting. The mushroom girl was already trying to kill time, and nothing on the vantage point seemed to alleviate her ennui. "Hey Kolorado, isn't there something to do while we wait for the challenge to end? 'Cause it's pretty boring when you're not running or answering questions."

Looking behind him, Kolorado directed her to the books that were left on the suspended platform. "Hmmm... There are some books on this catwalk, but I'm not sure they will interest you, lassie... We could also talk or exchange information but everyone would hear what we are saying, defeating the point."

Shrugging, Waitress decided that looking at books was better than nothing. She picked an orange book entitled 'Your Current Predicament' by authoress Marina Shroobe and started skimming through the volume but found it hard to stay focused on her reading. Sighing, the petite girl dropped the book to the floor and returned to her friends.

"Already finished?" White Mage tried to hide a smile. "What was this book about?"

"I dunno. I sorta leafed through it, but it was too long to my liking. I didn't have the heart to, like, read through such a large work," replied Waitress, styling her hair manually.

"Chomp incoming!" they heard Enguarde shout through the microphones that were placed in the building.

...

As opposed to Waitress, Enguarde had decided to take a proactive stance in the challenge, warning Boo about the metallic dog. The white ghost perked out at this and cast a furtive glance behind his back, noticing the round hound which made him accelerate a little more.

It was a matter of seconds before the first door appeared and Monty Mole faced Enguarde, a cardboard card in hand. Smiling, the host handed the first question to the blue oceanographer. "Please, take as much time as you need."

Enguarde took the card and dismissed the host's words with a wave of his fin. "If I were to do this, Boo wouldn't even get past the first door," remarked the swordfish, scanning the question with his eyes. "So I need to find out whether Boo's living in Forever Forest, at Lady Bow's manor or if he resides in Spooky Swamp, home of King Boo's mansion... Not so easy, honestly."

Enguarde : Boo being a spy, it made no sense for him to reveal this type of information to us, so at that point I was just leaving it up to chance. Maybe he mentioned it once offhandedly, maybe he didn't. Who knows?

In the end, Enguarde pressed the red button and looked at Monty Mole uneasily, wondering if he had made the correct choice.

...

Unfortunately for Enguarde, his first answer was incorrect, and as such, Boo had to navigate through an impractical course of obstacles while the Chomp continued his charge unhindered. That event did not escape the vigilance of the other three who were cheering for Boo from above.

"Like, seriously? The first answer's always the easiest!" Waitress ranted a little to Kolorado and White Mage, her pigtails bobbing up and down as she pointed an accusative finger towards Enguarde.

"My apologies, Waitress, But I honestly did not know where Boo lived," White Mage retorted, defending Enguarde. "I suppose it was the same for him."

"Indeed!" Kolorado agreed with the pink-haired human, running a finger through his thick mustache. "You have to realize that this old boy here is under a lot of pressure, lassie!"

"Well, I totally knew the answer! So, like, if I'd been there it woulda been a cinch!" bragged the waitress, a proud expression adorning her face. "Plus like I said, it's just like the first question I had to answer. It's super easy..."

While Kolorado pondered over Waitress' statement, White Mage narrowed her eyes in thought, suspicious.

Blanche : Something about Waitress' words struck me as very strange. She claims that she knew the answer, and in hindsight, it would make sense for her to know it given that she is Boo's roommate after all... But in this case, why did Boo decide to choose Enguarde as the person he trusted the most? Boo and Waitress seem at odds, so I suppose Boo has a reason for choosing Enguarde, but perhaps it is one of his sabotages? Or could it be that one of them instigated a dispute on purpose in prevision of what was to come? There are many possibilities...

...

In spite of Enguarde's early mistake, Boo still had a sizable lead over the animated Chain Chomp. Being a spy, Boo was used to moving around a lot, and his stamina reflected that fact quite well.

Way above the ghost, it was almost time for the oceanographer to receive the second card Monty Mole had in his possession. As Enguarde was trying to collect his thoughts and sort his knowledge of the white ethereal being, the host spoke up.

"It is time for the second question, I hope you are ready to undertake another trial," Monty Mole declared mystically, giving Enguarde a card.

"Well, as ready as I'll ever be. Anyway... 'During his secret missions, Boo uses a lot of different gadgets and weapons... Of these two, which is his favorite? A. The Ghostly Grappling Hook. B. The Taming Tranquilizer Gun.'"

Unsure, the blue swordfish decided to study Monty Mole's features. He was hoping to get a clue as to what the answer was by investigating the host's behavior, to no avail. Sighing, he read yet another time the question before his eyes lighted up in understanding.

"Of course!" he shouted, slamming his fin on top of the red switch, causing a door to open. "His marksmanship really impressed me during Episode Two, it's likely he has had a lot of experience with guns over the years."

...

"Hurrah!" shouted Kolorado with glee. "I knew the old boy could do it! It only required a little bit of logic to work out the solution, but color me impressed nevertheless!"

"I don't get why you're so, like, giddy!" Waitress pointed out, a little excited about their own success in spite of her words. "But Boo's got such a huge lead, I don't think he's gonna lose this round even if Enguarde flubs his next answer!"

"I heard that!" complained the oceanographer from the other side of the room, startling the oldest member of the team.

"Ignore them and keep on focusing on the matter at hand," White Mage admonished him, frowning. "Boo is not out of the woods."

Kolorado seemed lost in thoughts, and he looked like he was about to have an epiphany, when Waitress called him back to the real world. "You okay Kolorado?"

"O-oh, y-yes!" stuttered the audacious and bold khaki-shelled explorer. "Don't worry about me, lass! I was contemplating a few things... Exploring the possibilities, you could say."

"Like, you found something?" the girly Toadette clasped her hands together.

"Ah, heh... I seem to have lost my train of thoughts, but I am sure it will return promptly," he asserted while rubbing his chin.

Kolorado : Well, don't mock me for saying so, lads and lassies, but I had a most peculiar thought occurring to me during the challenge, as if there was a hidden aspect to it. And as you all know, solving mysteries is what this old bean here is all about! The solution eluded me in the end, but that did not mean that I would accept defeat. After all, life is but a succession of mysteries that we must overcome to see another day! This is some pretty deep stuff, perhaps you should all write it down.

...

The last door graced Enguarde's sight, and immediately the swordfish knew what he had to do. From his vantage point, he realized that Boo had lost some ground to the Chain Chomp, but nothing alarming. However, the round could still be jeopardized if he were to answer incorrectly: Boo's slowdown would probably be accentuated by the obstacles littering the wrong path, and then the black dog could make quick work of the spy.

"Time to focus!" yelled Enguarde to himself, slapping both of his cheeks with his fins. Wordlessly, Monty Mole gave him the last card of the second round. Enguarde immediately read it.

"'As a spy, Boo is part of an organization. What is the name of said organization? A. The Mushroom Intelligence Agency. B. The Secret Oblivion Bureau.' Uuuh... Going by the acronyms I'm going to say the first one, 'cause I don't think anyone would want their organization to go by the name of SOB," noted Enguarde with a raised eyebrow, pushing the green button.

...

Before Boo's eyes laid a myriad of objects littering the ground, which let him infer that Enguarde had answered his last question incorrectly. Furrowing his brow, the spy let his arms loose behind him and floated as fast as he could towards the exit, zigzagging along the path laid before him, aware that the Chomp could reach him at any time...

...

...

...

...it was close, but Boo managed to win the second round, arriving four seconds before the Chain Chomp.

...

Just as they had done the round before, the team reconvened at the entrance of the building, this time clearly more enthusiastic about the outcome of their challenge. Despite Enguarde's poor performance, Boo had succeeded in clearing his part of the game, earning five thousand coins for the team pot.

Boo : Throughout the challenge I could hear everything happening around me, and it was really interesting to say the least. It's not like I actually heard who the Mole was, but I managed to catch some interesting tidbits of information. I think Enguarde's voiced thoughts were very...telling in a way.

"Well, congratulations, Boo! You all saw what happened, so I doubt you need an exclamation, but that's one successful round, which means Boo will be reunited with his loved one after the mission is over," announced Monty Mole with his booming voice.

"You did a really good job, Boo," White Mage praised him, a smile on her lips. "Let's hope the rest of the game goes that way!" Her sentence was met with the approval of the rest of the players.

"Hohoho! I do agree with Blanche, we need to keep on winning to make up for our recent shortcomings. The results of the past challenges were disheartening to say the least, but I'm confident we can end this one on a positive note! Aren't I right, my friends?" Kolorado encouraged the rest of the team, a huge grin displayed on his face.

"Now's not the time to jinx us," muttered Enguarde to himself.

"Well, given you're 'raring to go'," Monty Mole started by quoting the old explorer, "how about you display your skills on the battlefield next, Kolorado?"

"Fine by me, old bean! This explorer's full of surprises!" Kolorado walked towards the host proudly.

"And Kolorado's partner... The one he selected is none other than... Blanche! It's time for you to step up to the plate!"

"Here we go!" smiled the pink-haired beauty, directing a delicate smile to her friend. "I'll do my best."

"Tally-ho!" shouted Kolorado, running ahead of the rest of the players.

Boo : Nothing surprising here. Kolorado is liked by everyone here, but I think only the girls have taken the time to get to know him on a personal level. His physical condition isn't the worst out of everyone here, but Blanche is still the best choice for him. She's smart enough to make educated guesses if she doesn't know the answer to a problem.

Waitress : It's sooooo strange! I mean, I get why he chose her! I just dunno why he didn't pick me since we're good friends and stuff. It was the second time in a row that someone I thought would, like, choose me picked someone else.

...

Waitress, Boo and Enguarde were all situated on the observation platform. Having nothing to do but wait for the challenge to truly begin, the trio decided to hold a discussion to pass time until White Mage would have to answer her first question.

"You have to admit that you were at least a little suspicious, Enguarde. I mean, you did make two mistakes, so you can't even claim to have a positive record," Boo stated matter-of-factly, earning a glare from the swordfish.

"Well, excuse me for doing my best! First of all, if you weren't so secretive I wouldn't have struggled as much, and secondly you could have picked someone else," rebutted the blue oceanographer, groaning. "You can't even argue that I didn't make use of common sense to answer some of the questions. Try to refute any of my points, I dare you."

Boo was about to rebuke Enguarde's affirmations but was cut off by Waitress who wanted to add her opinion, leaving him with his mouth half-open. "Yeah, Enguarde's totally right! I wanna know why you didn't select me. I mean, I'm kinda sorta your roommate, y'know?"

The spy rolled his eyes, a smirk gracing his features. "Well, you're not the wittiest here, for starters. And you have the uncanny ability to sabotage even the most basic challenges."

"Yeah," Enguarde nodded his head, "no offense but I wouldn't trust you with my life in this game."

"You guys are so mean!" Waitress pouted comically, turning her back on them and finding the wall she was staring at more interesting. Unbeknownst to her, the two males had to stifle their laughter as they shared a fist bump.

"I just think we should wait for the end of the challenge before throwing blame on one another," shrugged Enguarde.

"Weren't you the first one to play the blame game back during the first round?" Boo was quick to point out.

"That's irrelevant!" Enguarde almost shouted. Immediately, someone's voice rang clearly in the entire building.

"Could you please stop with your needless shouting? It's a little hard to concentrate when some people make use of their powerful vocal cords," White Mage objurgated them from afar.

...

As befitting of a turtle, Kolorado was not the fastest player in the game, so his progress was noticeably worse than Boo's. The distance the archaeological expert had traveled when the black round hound had appeared was noticeably less than Boo's during the second round.

"Keep going Kolorado. As long as you pace yourself, you should make it to the end with absolutely no problem," White Mage supported him. Soon enough, the gigantic metallic gray doors appeared before the turtle, and Monty Mole started taking out the first card out of his pocket.

"I am sure you already know by now what I expect you to do with this," the host declared, giving the card to the white-clad woman. White Mage nodded and read the note to herself.

'Kolorado has a wife, what is her name? A. Karin B. Karolina.'

"Hmmm, the name of Kolorado's wife, right? Well, I know for a fact that she is called Karolina, so that is my answer," responded the healer with confidence, pressing the red switch. "He told me some stories about her a few times already."

"Well, if you're that confident, your answer must be correct, right? Let's see what Kolorado is going to face..."

...

White Mage's overconfidence was not misplaced. As expected, Kolorado's first corridor was bare, not a single obstacle prevented him from moving around freely. The three spectators were rather enthused about their chances.

"Pretty sure we've got this round in the bag," Boo commented, his eyes rising slightly from the book he was reading. "Unless she suddenly decides to sabotage, or the questions become impossible. Even if that were the case, White Mages are unusually lucky so... Fat chance."

"What are you doing?" asked a puzzled Enguarde. "Reading, at a time like this?"

"Looking for clues," the ghost did not go into detail.

"Mind sharing?"

"How about no?"

"Ugh, you guys are wayyy too immersed in this game. You're, like, obsessed!" Waitress remarked.

"Well, the whole point of a competition is to win," Enguarde told her, very serious. "Besides there's money at the end of the journey."

Enguarde : No matter how you look at it, Waitress is the weird one. She can say whatever she wants, the fact remains that she's not actively looking for clues about the Mole's identity, and that's not what a normal player would do. She can go on and on and on about how she 'uncovered' the Mole, it's just empty words. Does she think she found the Mole because she's been voting for the same person for a while? It doesn't mean squat. With all the advantages she got, people screwing up their own investigations and everything, she could have squeezed by.

"Sooo... Is the book fun?" wondered the Toadette. Boo looked at her, then at the book, and then back at Waitress. He dropped the book on the floor and decided to look at the mission with her.

"No, it was the antithesis of fun," he answered, the corner of his mouth twitching as Enguarde almost dove to the ground to scoop up the book and read it himself.

Directing her attention to the course, Waitress noticed the apparition of the gray doors. "Good luck Blanche!" she cheered on her coalition partner.

...

'What is the name of the famous ruins Kolorado discovered in a desert East of Toadtown? A. Dry Dry Ruins. B. Scorching Hot Ruins.'

After White Mage had finished reading the question, she could not help but state what was on her mind. "Unfortunately, I'm not very knowledgeable about the geography of the Mushroom Kingdom," she admitted.

Thankfully for her, Kolorado's slow running speed left her with slightly more time to make up her mind. Looking at Monty Mole, the white-clad woman pursed her lips, thinking intently. "From a logical point of view, you'd expect the ruins to be named after the desert they were found in given you didn't specify the name of the desert in the question.

"I've heard of a scorching sun, but never of a scorching desert...

"Then again, I wouldn't be surprised if a desert was called that way. But still, I have a feeling it's Dry Dry Ruins," White Mage smiled, pushing the red button.

It took her a few seconds to register what she had done. Moments later, she gasped in alarm. "Wait. Wait a second... Did I just push the wrong switch...? The first answer was green, wasn't it?" she realized, her eyes opening wide. "Monty, is it possible to change my answer?"

"I'm afraid that once you select a switch, there's no going back, no matter what you may have intended," replied the host, impassible as always.

Blanche : It was a stupid mistake, one I wouldn't normally make. I just...zoned out? I really have no idea what happened. Like when you say something and mean the opposite, except with actions.

...

In the spectator's booth, Boo was pacing back and forth, unnerved and agitated by White Mage's error. "Two switches and she still finds a way to screw up? Come on, she even had the correct answer!"

Boo : While blanking is really something you'd expect from someone with such a name, you can't really let it go just like that. Honestly, even I'm sometimes overwhelmed during challenges, especially when there's a lot going on. But this mission only asks you to answer three questions and press switches accordingly. Hardly something that qualifies as overwhelming.

"Um, now who's the hypocrite now?" chuckled Enguarde with mirth. "Pot, I'd like you to meet Kettle..."

"Maybe Kolorado's still gonna win? I mean, he gotta hurry up and, like, put some distance between the Chomp and himself... But if he does that, he's sorta in the clear, right?" Waitress pointed out to the other two. "Mistakes happen from time to time, you know?"

"Yes, and strangely, they seem to happen a lot to the same select group of people," Boo declared sarcastically.

"You mean like when you picked all the glowing sticks in the cavern and thus single-handedly sabotaged more than fifteen thousand coins?" the blue oceanographer snorted through his bill.

"Shut up," droned Boo as he slapped his forehead. "That was...a very embarrassing moment for me."

"Or maybe a very obvious sabotage!" winked Enguarde.

"Like, boys will be boys, I guess!" giggled Waitress, watching the innocent squabble unfold before her.

...

Kolorado managed to stay alive for another round, but the Chomp had gained a lot of ground on him. White Mage knew that she would have to answer the last question appropriately if the team wanted to have any chance of earning another five thousand coins.

"Okay, I'm prepared this time," she gave herself a pep talk. "Ready whenever you are, Monty!"

"Right on time!" grinned the host, handing the last card to the green-eyed woman. White Mage took it gently and quickly read what was written on it.

"'What was the name of Kolorado's archaeology professor? A. Professor Goomstein. B. Professor Frankly.'" White Mage paused, her hands located on each switch, and looked at the scurrying khaki-shelled Koopa from above.

"Final question, and the hardest," she spoke up, mostly to herself. "I don't think he ever told me this information... However, Kolorado is an archaeological expert, so I am fairly sure he studied under one of the best professors of the world, someone who is held in high regard by his peers..."

White Mage pressed the red switch. "I've heard of Professor Frankly, and not the first one," she concluded.

"And such is your answer! Now, let's see if Kolorado can clear this last ordeal!"

...

Kolorado kept a steady rhythm as he went through the metallic door that had just opened. He looked behind him and realized the black hound was right behind him. Thankfully, the path that he had to take was free of obstacle, so he had a chance.

Kolorado : It was probably one of the hardest challenges, old beans. I thought I wouldn't make it... HA! I'm simply joking, my friends! I have trekked many more dangerous paths. This was child's play compared to my past as an adventurer!

...

...

...

Supported by the voices of his four teammates, Kolorado experienced a sudden burst in energy and sprinted ahead of the Chain Chomp, securing another five thousand coins for the team pot.

...

As they were accustomed to, the team, Kooper and the host reconvened in the lobby of the building after another successful round. Once again, the great Kolorado was praised by his peers for his outstanding performance, prompting the explorer's cheeks to redden.

"I merely gave it my all, is all!" Kolorado rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his eyes glinting with glee. "Besides, I had a good partner for this round, didn't I, lass?"

"Mmmh... While I could have done better, our partnership was certainly better than the previous one," White Mage winked at the turtle, eliciting groans from the other two boys. "Don't complain, I had to put up with your constant whining. It was grating, to say the least."

"Geez, excuse us for thinking that it was the tiniest bit suspicious and out of character," retorted the spy with a deadpan expression on his visage.

Enguarde nodded, fins crossed. "Yeah, even Waitress didn't make a mistake as dumb as-" A pause. "Never mind that."

Monty Mole chuckled loudly, visibly amused by the commotion. "Unfortunately for you Blanche, I am afraid you will have to put up with another round of criticism. Waitress chose you as her most trusted player!"

"Nothing surprising about that," smiled the pink-haired lady, high-fiving the petite Toadette.

Waitress : Well duh! Did you expect me to pick someone else but Blanche? That was, like, totally not gonna happen!

"Alright! Guys, follow me!" Kooper directed, leading the three males back on the viewing platform for the second time during the mission.

Kolorado : Well, old beans... I'm expecting this team to succeed, so I think I will spend my time reflecting about the identity of the Mole. This challenge is something that can easily be sabotaged no matter the position you're put in, I just have to find out how the producers meant for the Mole to act before the cards were laid on the table.

...

Once again, the three males found themselves looking at one of the girls from above. Enguarde chuckled a little, the situation looking like déjà vu to him.

"So we're back together at last!" he exclaimed dramatically. "Just us boys."

"Somehow, I have a feeling that this isn't the only thing that'll seem familiar," Boo trailed off worriedly, his forehead wrinkled.

"Eh? Whatever do you mean, old boy?" questioned the explorer, stopping his search of the platform to face the white ethereal being.

"For starters, Waitress is going way slower than you. You wouldn't know because you were running at the time, but you had managed to put some distance between you and the Chomp, while Waitress has a lot less. I don't think Blanche has any margin for error this time around," explained the ghost.

Kolorado stared at the running form of the weakest player in the game, tilting his head to the side to get a better view of the distance that separated her from the creature. After that, he shook his head.

Kolorado : Boo seemed to be on edge during the whole challenge. The old bean kept pointing out things that didn't appear to be glaring to me. When I looked down, I estimated that the distance Waitress had put between herself and the Chomp was similar to that of Blanche. I may be a bit of a goof sometimes, but I pride myself on my keen eyes, and I can assure you that nothing was strange! It was as though that Boo fellow wanted us to be extremely suspicious of one another! Peculiar... Very peculiar...

"Oh boy! The first door is coming!" noticed the khaki-shelled turtle, changing the topic of conversation altogether. "You can do it, lassies!"

"Alright, now that's some enthusiasm!" cheered Enguarde, raising a pumped fin in the air.

...

As soon as the first choice had to be made by White Mage, the host turned to her with a knowing smile, handing her what was her fourth card in a row. Used to this gesture by now, the white-clad lady took it in her hands and read the first question of the fourth round aloud.

"'Waitress is the star worker of Don Pianta. Is it true or false? A. True. B. False.' This question is kind of hard to answer, because while I know how valuable she is to the Excess Express, I'm sure every single worker there is pretty valuable," elaborated White Mage.

The girl looked at the two switches, wondering whether or not she should trust her instincts, before she was struck with realization. Immediately, she pushed the red switch, confident about her answer.

"I think she's probably his best waitress, but not his star worker. That would be Chef Sushi, wouldn't it?" White Mage asked not one in particular, butchering Chef Shimi's name.

"Well, you made your choice, and as I told you earlier you can't change it even if you wanted to. Only one way to find out whether you were right or wrong," told her the host with a smile.

Silently, the woman nodded her head and looked at what was revealed by the opening of the door.

Blanche : It helps that Waitress and I spend a lot of time talking together about our suspicions, because we usually get sidetracked and start conversing about our daily lives. If all of our conversations were superficial, I would have never chosen that answer. Waitress has this tendency to embellish things...

...

When the doors opened and revealed what was behind them, Boo narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Who's Chef Sushi? I never heard of this guy before..." Suddenly, a shocked expression etched itself onto his face, rendering him unable to speak.

"Um... You're alright, Boo?" Enguarde wondered, his eyes traveling to the spherical being. Boo nodded in response, but was obviously preoccupied about something else. "Well, in any case she found the correct answer so Waitress is still in this!"

Kolorado nodded excitedly, snapping out of his reverie, and walking over to the blue swordfish. Unfortunately for him, he tripped over his own feet and was sent tumbling to the ground. "Owch!"

"Woah... Kolorado? Are you okay?" questioned a worried Enguarde as he helped the explorer up. "That was a nasty fall."

"Well, I've seen worse, old bean," testified Kolorado truthfully, busy looking if he had any open wounds. "Why, I remember that time in the volcano of LavaLava Island..."

"Or during episode two when you shouted 'Tally-ho!' and fell down the air duct," Enguarde snickered, reminiscing the kidnapping mission. "That was a fun one... But just to be sure, you should probably have it checked."

"Don't worry about it, old boy. I may not look like it, but I am no frail old man, that I can assure you of!" Kolorado grinned.

Enguarde : Kolorado really ought to be more careful... He's a walking disaster, endangering both himself and others.

...

On the second card was written a question that made White Mage freeze once she read it. She had a hard time keeping a straight face as she decided to read it aloud so that everyone could hear it.

Clearing her throat, the lady in white tried not to laugh so that her words would be intelligible. "'Has Waitress ever shown herself nude in public? A. Yes. B. No.'"

"WHAT?!" shrieked Waitress from under White Mage's position, her face reddening. Enguarde, Kolorado and Boo's laughter could be heard throughout the whole building. "That's totes not funny!" shouted the purple-pigtailed mushroom girl.

"That's what it read for real!" White Mage defended herself, speaking rapidly. "And somehow, I can't help but picture that happening. It's probably the kind of thing you would do, forgetting that you were naked and going out of your house... Sorry girlfriend!"

White Mage ignored Waitress' yells of distress and pushed down the green button, directing her attention towards Monty Mole. "How you managed to get her to tell you about that is beyond me..."

"Oh, we have our ways," the host smirked, sending shivers down White Mage's spine.

...

"Ah man, that was fun!" Enguarde was still laughing after the group had realized that White Mage had been correct in her assumption, thus confirming that Waitress really did show herself in the nude in public.

"I can't help feeling bad for the poor lass... To have her secret be aired like that in public! I wouldn't want it to happen to me!" Kolorado smiled.

Enguarde shrugged his shoulders. "Well, with your loved one coming, I'm sure they'll have lots of embarrassing stories to tell the world about you!"

"Ooooh..." Kolorado's face was drained of its colors in a few instants. "Oh, what to do? What to do? If my wife's here... I must run away with all due speed right this moment, lest my reputation be ruined!" panicked the old explorer.

"Is it that bad?" Enguarde chuckled at the archaeological expert's misfortune, not taking him seriously. "I mean, it's just your wife."

"You don't understand, old boy! She'll skin me alive! I, uh... I didn't inform her that I would partake in this journey! She must be furious at me! This is truly the biggest, most awful, most tragic crisis in the history of Kolorado yet!" Kolorado paced back and forth, contemplating his escape options.

"If you guys are done fooling around, we have a more pressing matter on our hands. Waitress is losing ground on the Chain Chomp," noticed the white ghost.

"What?!" The oceanographer immediately turned around and looked at the scene unfolding before his eyes. "Are you kidding me?"

Boo shook his head, furrowing his brow. "I don't know what the heck she's doing, it looks like she's slowing down."

"Or maybe the Chain Chomp is speeding up?" countered Kolorado. "We can hardly make any inference given the situation. All we know is that the gap is reduced between the lass and the hound."

"Well, maybe you're right," Boo acquiesced, "but it's irrelevant. The point I was trying to make is that if things continue like this, this round is as good as lost."

Boo : I was the fist to notice the change, and to me it looked like Waitress was slowing down on purpose. I don't think anyone had anything to do with the Chomp's speed since it basically was a program, and from my position I could see and was sure that no one had any sort of device they were tampering with.

...

Boo was not the only one who had noticed that something had changed, White Mage also had a ringside seat to see the action. "This is...troubling," she hesitated, wondering whether or not it was Waitress' fault. "Waitress, is everything alright?"

The voice of her friend was heard on the other side. "Yeah, I'm fine but I think that, like, something's wrong. I'm not slowing down at all. I kinda wanna see my loved one, y'know? I think it's the doggy that gotta be faster."

"Nonsense!" they heard Enguarde on the other side. "There's nothing that could do that, unless- You guys, empty your pocket right now. Maybe the Mole is doing something!"

"You should calm down, lads. We're almost at the last door and Blanche needs to be concentrated," Kolorado's voice met their ears.

"Right... Monty, I trust you have something for me?" White Mage inquired as he wordlessly gave her the last card of the fourth round.

'How many boyfriends did Waitress have throughout her life? A. 26. B. 38.'

"Okay, the question is asking how many boyfriends Waitress has had so far... The numbers are somewhat high, I must say..." White Mage looked at the two switches, unsure. "Thirty eight doesn't seem to be the right answer, it's a little too much," she decided, pressing the green switch.

...

Waitress was panting. The small Toadette was out of breath, but she knew she had to persevere if she were to add another five thousand coins to the pot and see her loved one. In the end...

...

...

...

...she was unfortunately caught by the Chomp. It was not even close, as she had run less than half of the final stretch.

...

Disappointment ran rampant among the players as they joined up in the lobby of the building, upset about the loss, especially since White Mage had successfully answered every single question that had been asked.

Enguarde : I was kind of surprised that in theory, Blanche knew the answers to all six questions. The Mole doesn't only want to sabotage, they also want to look like a true player, and sometimes a hero. I think there's some merit to considering her a potential suspect with that in mind.

Waitress : Honestly, I was like, soooo mad the Mole decided to sabotage just during my round! That meant I couldn't, like, see the person I knew! Talk about a total bummer... But I guess it was kinda my fault in a way? I sorta made a blunder during the first round and karma decided to, like, bite me.

"Are you sure the machine was working properly?" White Mage wondered aloud, taking the side of her friend. The five remaining contestants were discussing the validity of the fourth round, and insisted that it should count, but Monty Mole would not budge.

"Yes it did," confirmed the host.

Boo seemed exasperated. "It confirms it then, the Mole had something to do with our loss."

"Either that or you were right all along and she simply slowed down," Enguarde reminded his friend of the other possibility.

"In any case," Monty Mole spoke up yet again, silencing the players, "this round will count, it is not void. With that said, there still remains one person who has yet to run away from the big bad Chain Chomp. Isn't that right, Enguarde?

"Yup! And I'm ready to finish this thing with a bang!" responded the blue swordfish. "Let's hope my partner does the same!"

"Speaking of that, you wrote down Kolorado's name on the piece of paper you handed to me, which means our favorite explorer gets to experience the pressure of answer questions! Isn't that nice?" Kolorado blinked several times in quick succession, flabbergasted.

"Hum... Why, pray tell, did you choose me as your partner? I would have expected you to select Boo, old boy," the Koopa wondered aloud, still shocked.

"No reason in particular," smiled the oceanographer.

"Yeah, it's probably 'cause you're the only one who, like, didn't choose an advantage during the previous challenge!" Waitress winked at him.

"I suppose... Well then, let's do our best!"

...

Spectating from the platform were Boo, White Mage and Waitress. While waiting for the Chain Chomp to make an apparition, the trio was exchanging some thoughts about what had just occurred, every single one of them yearning for new information.

"Don't you find Kolorado's reaction to Enguarde's choice odd?" inquired White Mage, putting a manicured finger on her lips.

"Certainly came as a surprise to me," admitted Boo, looking at the fidgety old explorer in the distance. "Especially because Enguarde and I go along well."

"Like, I really couldn't care less about his choice... I'm just totally wondering who kinda sabotaged my round! Whoever did it must be a pro!" the bubbly girl exclaimed in admiration, her feelings going from one extreme to another.

"In all likelihood, you," blurted out Boo. "No offense but you were probably winded now that I think about it."

"No way! I'm not that weak, you know?" Waitress refuted, playing with her hair.

"I'm just saying," Boo raised his hands in the air in defense.

"Well, it's just whatever, I guess," shrugged the Toadette. "I mean, it's not like it's gonna change anything."

"If you're down about not seeing whoever it is you wanted to see, just wait. I'm pretty sure there will be some sort of twist that allows you to see them."

"Really?" piped up White Mage, her visage beaming.

"Yup. I see no point in withholding that information, but in all the seasons so far, there has always been something that allowed everyone to see their friends and families," comforted the ghost. "I didn't say it before because I didn't want anyone to be lazy."

"Is there anything else you're not telling us?" interrogated White Mage. The Chain Chomp appeared at the same time, and immediately everyone's attention was diverted to the game they were playing.

Blanche : Monty had told us before the challenge that those losing wouldn't see their loved ones, so for Boo to claim otherwise, it was very...informative.

...

Kolorado was sweating bullets, waiting for the gray doors to appear in the background. The archaeologist was not exactly a fan of tense situations, and he was afraid he would be the reason why Enguarde would lose the round.

"Feeling nervous?" the host addressed him with a warm smile on his lips. Twirling his mustache, Kolorado nodded his head.

"Having a lot of responsibility isn't something I'm looking for in this game," declared the turtle. "Disappointing my friends is the last thing I want to do."

"Well then, make sure this first question does not end with disappointment," chuckled the host, giving Kolorado the card he had been holding.

"Woo, dear... 'What is the name of Enguarde's best friend? A. Rambi. B. Expresso.' Oh, that's not that bad!" cheered Kolorado.

"You know the answer?"

The khaki-shelled Koopa acquiesced promptly. "Well, I do remember Shokora telling me about Enguarde's lie, and she mentioned the name 'Expresso'. I wouldn't be surprised if he told a story about his best friend!" deduced the explorer, pushing the red button.

...

The observing trio sighed. In spite of Kolorado's efforts, it seemed that he had chosen the wrong answer. Thankfully for the team, Enguarde was by far the fastest of them all, so he still had a lengthy lead on the Chomp.

The explorer was apologetic, causing Waitress to motivate him. "Like, don't worry about this stuff! Enguarde's still in this, you know?"

Nodding, White Mage walked over to Boo when suddenly her foot touched the lever the boys had discovered. "What is this?" The spy directed his attention to what she was looking at and gasped.

"It's the lever I found during the first round, Kolorado told me not to touch it because he thought it would make us fall down to the ground," he recalled, eyes wide. White Mage immediately took two steps back.

"Thanks for warning me, I was about to see what it was going to do."

"No..." Boo floated in direction of the lever, inspecting it. "I think...it's been activated already. When we arrived I'm positive it was up, and now it's all the way down."

"Huh?" Waitress leapt towards the duo. "Whatcha talking about guys?"

"We're talking about this lever," Boo told her. "We don't know what it does, but we do know that someone pushed it down. Thing is, we don't know when it was activated."

"Sounds kinda like you guys are being distracted by something useless. What's the point of, like, wondering what it does or why it was pushed?" Waitress waved her hands as if it was nothing and returned to her previous position just in time to see the metallic doors appear.

Waitress : Like, the others can call me airhead and stuff, but at least I don't miss the most important details! What if I told you that I noticed something, like, weird about Enguarde's behavior?

...

When the second pair of doors appeared in Kolorado's field of vision, the explorer turned to Monty Mole, taking the second card on which the question was written and reading it aloud, slightly hopeful.

"'What is Enguarde's favorite tune? A. Aquatic Ambiance. B. Underwater Theme.' I have absolutely no clue!" Kolorado began to pace, watching Enguarde make quick work of the course at the same time.

Unfortunately for the old archaeologist, there was absolutely nothing that could help him determine what type of music Enguarde was a fan of, not to mention that he absolutely had no idea as to what these tunes sounded like.

"Maybe it's- Maybe not... Oh dear- he's already at the door?!" spluttered the turtle, immediately pushing down a switch, the second one.

Kolorado : Time flew by extremely fast! It was only a matter of seconds before Enguarde would reach the doors, so I had to make my decision, otherwise we would have lost no matter what, just like what had happened with Waitress!

...

"Argh! Another wrong response!" Boo noticed, frustrated. "What was Enguarde thinking when he chose Kolorado?!" The ghost rubbed his temples in annoyance.

White Mage opened her mouth for a moment, but no sound emanated from it. A few moments later, when it seemed she had gathered her thoughts, she gave her point of view. "Well... It may be so but... However you look at it, Enguarde is not the only one that can be blamed, for Kolorado always has a fifty percent chance of answering the question correctly."

"Yeah, I guess so. Doesn't mean Enguarde couldn't have increased our chances."

"Touché," White Mage simply smiled in response.

Waitress shook her head. "Who does he think he's fooling? He's always gaining speed, like, as soon as he sees the door. He's totally doing that on purpose!" she muttered to herself.

"You said something?"

"Don't sweat it! It's absolutely nothing! Teehee!" she giggled sweetly, causing Boo to raise an eyebrow in response.

Waitress : Like I said before, I noticed something kinda weird with Enguarde. By accelerating, like, right as the door came into view, he totally left much less time for Kolorado to answer the questions! I know that 'cause I was, like, the first to pass and Monty only handed me the cards when the doors appeared.

...

The third door soon made its apparition on the field, and Kolorado knew it was time for his final ordeal. He steeled himself for the last question and read the card as fast as he could so that it would leave him more time to come up with an answer.

"'As an oceanographer, Enguarde is credited with a major success: the cartography of an entire ocean's currents. What is the name of said ocean? A. Atlandisiac Ocean. B. Subaquaticus Ocean.' That's...surprising, coming from him! Never would I have imagined that he achieved such a feat!

"The first ocean is the one surrounding Isle Delfino and its surroundings, while the second one is located in Subcon, as the name implies... Subcon is a very remote region, though," Kolorado scratched his chin in thought. Glancing at the course, he saw that Enguarde was once again nearing the door.

The explorer heaved a heavy sigh and pushed the green switch, hoping to have the correct answer.

Kolorado : In retrospect, I should have known that the second solution was the correct one. While Subcon isn't very accessible, it's a rather small region. It would have been easier for one sole swordfish to discover the mystery behind the currents of its ocean. But alas, I had already made my choice.

...

As Kolorado had feared, none of his answers had been correct, and the last one was no exception. Thankfully for the team, Enguarde kept his fast momentum, even though he started to feel a bit weak. The swordfish wove through the multiple obstacles that littered his path, when suddenly he decided to look behind him to see where the Chain Chomp was.

It was a mistake for he tripped on a small cube of polyester, losing valuable time. The oceanographer pushed himself up and moved his caudal fin at a brisk pace, trying to make up for lost time...

...

...

...

...in the end, he was successful and reached the finish line before the Chain Chomp, ending the mission on a high note.

...

Boo, Enguarde, Kolorado, White Mage and Waitress reconvened with their host one last time. This time, though, Kooper was conspicuously absent. The five remaining participants formed a line before Monty Mole, and waited for him to announce the results.

"Announcing the results of the challenge is not as suspenseful as usual for you all saw how you did, but there are still some things that we can go over. First of all, out of the five of you, three players succeeded in escaping the Chain Chomp. These three are, in order, Boo, Kolorado and Enguarde, which means that you successfully added fifteen thousand coins to the team pot! Congratulations, everyone!" Monty Mole clapped for them, and the team was compelled to follow his example.

Challenge's Results :

Money Won : 5 000 x 3 = 15 000

Team Pot : 149 000 coins.

"If we keep this up, we might just reach two hundred thousand coins!" grinned Enguarde.

"Teehee, and it'll all be for me! Thanks for collecting my coins, guys!" Waitress giggled.

"Not on my watch!" White Mage retorted happily. "I fully intend on winning the big prize."

"Oooooh..." Kolorado was crestfallen.

Boo grinned, a knowing expression displayed on his ghostly visage. "Hee hee... Afraid of what's to come?" Monty Mole caught their exchange and let out a loud guffaw.

"Oh dear, poor Kolorado. Yes, it means that the three of you will get to see your loved ones, but first, an announcement!"

"Well, please do speak, old boy!" Kolorado encouraged him, delaying the inevitable.

"There was a hidden aspect to this challenge, one that I'm surprised none of you uncovered given that it was in plain sight and that you made use of it at multiple points during the mission," began the host, maintaining an air of mystery. "I am referring, quite obviously, to the communication system, namely the fact that no matter where you were, you could hear everything that was happening in the whole building."

"And that's relevant how?" probed the spy, not beating around the bush.

"Well... Despite the fact that you made use of the speakers, it seems that none of the question solvers thought to ask the rest of their teammates for help. None of the people directly concerned by the questions made any effort to give the correct answer to the solvers. Not one spectator ever helped a problem solver, even when they knew the answer. What I mean by that is that you completely missed the fact that you could have made this challenge a breeze!" concluded Monty Mole.

"You never said that we could help," White Mage objected, eyebrow raised.

"But I never forbade it either, did I? So that was a possibility, and unfortunately for you, you missed it. It's too bad because you made a lot of mistakes that could have been averted..."

Kolorado : I knew something was amiss! That old bean made a point to make sure we understood that nothing we said would be unheard and yet we didn't pick up on it... The tragedy!

The players remained silent, wondering why they never made use of the system. Monty Mole took this as an opportunity to speak up yet again.

"Now... Blanche and Waitress, the two of you failed to beat the Chain Chomp but... There's still a chance for you to see your loved one."

"Really?! Awesome!" cheered Waitress, jumping up and down.

"It comes with a price, though. For starters, the decision won't come from you but from the person you trusted the most. So basically, Blanche is going to decide whether Waitress sees her loved one, and vice-versa."

Enguarde posed the question that was on the mind of everyone. "How will they do that?"

"I'm glad you asked," smiled the host, a devious expression making its way across his visage, "because they will both have to sacrifice something. Waitress, to allow Blanche to see her loved one, you will have to take a minus two for this quiz. Blanche, you have an exemption for this episode. So unlike Waitress, your penalty is a neutralizer for the next episode, meaning that you won't be eligible for the last exemption of the game. I'll let you think this through..."


I had a huge writer's block for this chapter, as I'm sure you have noticed if you follow this story. We arrive at a time in the story where I know where I'm going, yet I don't knwo how to write the chapters without getting bored. Perhaps it's because of the challenge itself, it's not the most interesting in that it's pretty much the same thing 5 times in a row, maybe it's the number of players dwindling, or maybe it's a combination of this and the fact that this is my last year of college and so I have less time for writing stories.

I also may or may not have started another story in the meantime. And my head is also full of projects that probably won't see the light of day.

Not making any promise for the next chapter. I'm hoping it won't take as much time as this one did, mostly because the relatives are going to visit the players and so it'll be more character development and interactions between the players followed by a dreadful execution, but yeah.

This chapter was fairly long, which contributed to the fact that I had a hard time writing it lol. It's the length of an execution chapter.

Anyways, see you next time, and please leave a review after your passage! It motivates me!