Logan Aura : Hehe... I guess Boo was one of the most prominent characters of the story, much like a certain someone from last season! To be honest I shocked even myself with this development, lol. Thanks for your review!
Dark Punxysaur : Yep, you were right! What gave you that feeling? I was on the fence when it came to that seventh elimination, it could have gone any which way, but I ultimately decided on him, which wasn't the case in my initial plans. Just goes to show that anything can happen! Thanks for your support!
Pretty Palutena : I'm glad you were still shocked, even though you had a feeling it would be him! I guess...perhaps you would have felt the same thing if any of them had been executed? Haha! Thanks a lot for your review!
Soui (1) : Quel sexy hareng vous faites, monsieur ! Cette ultime maderie envers Enguarde... Tellement hotsex ! J'essaie de donner des répliques amusantes à chacun des personnages et il est vrai qu'Enguarde en a eu pas mal tout au long de l'histoire. Parfois c'étaient juste des références. :noel: J'ai toujours aimé faire ça, faire dire à TT des raisons pour lesquelles les gens sont suspects. Parfois je ne le fais pas car ça fait trop durer les résultats, mais là le challenge était tellement désordonné que je n'ai pas pu résister à l'appel du DRAMA. PLS pour Waitress ? :hakima:
Soui (2) : If you wanna minaj I got a tricycle. :oui: Blanche ne vient pas de cette contrée glaciale qu'est le Canada... Dommage pour elle, elle ne s'adonne pas aux délices de la Vodka... :swag: Réveil à trois heures du mat', ce n'est rien pour moi ! Je ne suis pas encore couché à cette heure-là ! Je crois que tu as mal compris qqch par contre, car le plan de Blanche était d'empêcher les deux garçons de mettre la main sur l'exemption, pas nécessairement que quelqu'un la prenne. Je ne sais pas si j'ai été très clair du coup ? Il faudra que je relise moi-même. Pour tout te dire, je me souvenais plus des fleurs non plus, lol. Rouxdoudou Irma va t-elle refaire des siennes, telle Queen Muriel ? A suivre dans les aventures d'Ecremeuh... J'ai déjà eu ta réaction live mais voilà, c'est toujours cool de répondre aux comz.
Soui (3) : Fuk of adol u fat cow. Tu aurais pu choisir une artiste que j'aime au lieu de prendre cette gueuse rolling in da chocolate ! Je ne te pardonnerai jamais ! #HeadlessChickens. Ouais, le drama c'est bien une fois de temps en temps. Je me suis dit que vu que ces quatre-là sont hyper compétitifs comparés à mes autres F4, que le drama ne reposerait que sur les avantages. Je crois que ça s'est vu à plusieurs reprises, ils ont plutôt tendance à rager quand il s'agit d'exemptions ou de bonus, pour le reste ils sont bons copains. Ce suspense pour l'exécution. :ponge: En vérité ça n'est pas vraiment très ironique qu'il n'atteigne pas la finale ? Je trouve que ça aurait été plus ironique qu'il vire le premier, mais comme si j'allais faire ça ! Quasiment tous mes experts se sont rendus extrêmement loin dans la compétition, même s'ils ont des archétypes différents. D'ailleurs je pensais n'inclure aucun expert dans la saison 5, si tenté qu'elle existe un jour. Anyways, merci beaucoup pour tes commentaires ! J'ai beaucoup aimé tes instants de doute sur Boo, notamment. C'était drôle de te voir le plus en plus le suspecter alors que je savais qu'il partait. :ponge:
The Smart One 64 : Hello TSO! Yeah, your summers are always hectic! I hope it went well and you had fun! Episode 4 was a nice episode. Not my favorite (which probably is either episode 2 or episode 5), but I quite liked its challenges! Boo certainly is an odd one, and actually that's what I was going for, so I'm glad you feel that way? Very interesting theories, which I unfortunately cannot comment any further... Oh well, only four more chapters and I'll be free to talk! Glad to see that Episode 5 also has your favorite challenge of all time. Personally, you have my favorite execution of all time! I don't think it'll ever be topped. Thanks a lot of the review, and until next time!
Soui (4) : bic so much omg. i wuz hapy n stuf seein my review counter go up by 1 but u were just at it again. :MAD:
Previously on The Mole, Waitress, Enguarde and Boo were still scouring the gloomy and murky Chucklehuck Woods, while White Mage was trying to guide them through it to the locations of three Chuckola fruits.
"All right, got it," Boo replied simply, nodding towards his friends. "Well, you heard her, we have to take a left. Essentially we're going back the way we went."
"So essentially, this was yet another waste of time?" frowned the swordfish, slightly peeved. "Mistakes and more mistakes, is that all we're going to do tonight?"
However, their search for fruits suddenly turned to a frantic chase scene around the forest, as Waitress wandered away from the two boys to make sure the exemption was where it was marked on the map.
While the pink-haired beauty was paying attention to the lone screen of her bedroom, she heard a yelp through her walkie-talkie. "Where the heck is she?" It was Enguarde's voice.
"I'm still here in case you thought I had fallen asleep," claimed a puzzled White Mage, surprise evident on her face. "I apologize, but you just asked me a question, I can't obtain an answer with a snap of my fingers."
"No!" panicked the swordfish, "I'm not talking about you. We've lost Waitress!"
"Well, she was right here with us when we reached this question," rationalized the spy, "so she can't be that far…"
"She has the map!" Enguarde exclaimed in realization. "Oh my god, I bet she's going to look for the final exemption!"
Meanwhile, lost in the forest, Waitress stumbled upon the exemption which was in the hand of a Winkle Statue…
"Oh… And that's… Wait, what's this thing?" Waitress tilted her head to the side, approaching a sculpture of a Winkle holding a shiny emerald in one hand, and…an exemption card in the other. "Omigosh! I found the exemption! Yay me!" she cheered excitedly and ran to the sculpture.
…but she was not alone for long: both Enguarde and Boo quickly managed to catch up to her.
"Enguarde? What are you, like, doing here?"
Mouth agape, Boo advanced on the scene, staring at his two teammates fighting over the Chuckola Fruit. "What. The. Heck?"
They all fought over the last green token of the game…
When Enguarde floated in front of Boo, the spy used his quick reflexes and leapt onto his friend, making him drop the fruit momentarily. "What the-" Enguarde could not even finish his sentence.
The white-ethereal being bent over to pick it up, but Waitress quickly snatched it from the floor and began running away from the other two. "Sorry guys, can't let you have that! Love ya still!"
"Oh no you don't!" Boo frowned, chasing after the small Toadette.
…but were eventually blackmailed by the isolated player of the group – White Mage – and stopped their squabble once they realized it was futile.
"No one moves or else the exemption and the challenge are lost," a familiar voice interrupted their squabble. Surprised and confused, the three contestants looked at each other and then at the walkie-talkie that had been dropped by Boo.
"Is that Blanche?" Enguarde narrowed his eyes in suspicion, but kept his distance from the other two.
The players eventually found a second fruit which they dropped onto the Chuckleroot Altar, but were unable to find the last one as White Mage fell asleep soon after that.
"Players, I am sorry to announce to you that Blanche has fallen asleep. Please return to the entrance at once, the results of your challenge will be given to you once you are all refreshed from a good night sleep," Monty Mole told them.
Unfortunately for the players, new developments arose once Monty Mole led them to the altar and showed them that only one fruit was situated on it…
Enguarde : Suddenly, all hell broke loose.
"What the heck?" Boo blurted out almost immediately after the host's announcement. "We brought two fruits to the altar, so we should have earned ten thousand coins!"
…and the players could only stare in shock at the fruit located in the hand of the Winkle statue in lieu of the exemption.
Indeed, the snail was still holding an emerald in one hand, but in the other, the contestants noticed the presence of a pink fruit. Waitress pouted as she lifted the fruit, trying to see where the exemption was. "Omigosh, it's, like, totally not here!"
Scared for their lives in the game, the players returned to their hotel and studied for the seventh questionnaire of their game. In the end, it was revealed that the expert of the game, Boo, had been executed by the Mole.
"Boo, I am very sorry, but you are the Mole's seventh victim," started Monty Mole, almost unwilling to intrude.
Three are left. Blanche. Enguarde. Waitress. Who will emerge victorious? Who will fall short? And more importantly… Who…is the Mole?
First name : Blanche
Surname : Magus
Birthday : April 22
Job : White Mage
First name : Enguarde
Surname : Espadon
Birthday : December 8
Job : Oceanographer
First name : Waitress
Surname : Serva
Birthday : July 4
Job : Waitress
Was Boo ever right in his quest, or was his trust utterly and hopelessly misplaced? Was he correct in his assumption of the Mole's identity? The ghost could only muse on his journey as he departed one gloomy forest to join another, leaving three particular players behind him. Three players? No, not exactly. One contestant was always going to remain on top of this tripartite power, for they have been the secret agent infiltrated amongst the ranks of the players ever since they stepped off of the bus in Toadtown. Thankfully for the two genuine survivors, it is now time for them to expose the fraud for who they truly are and thwart their nefarious plan by claiming the group pot as their own.
36 : Dirty Laundry
It all began with a simple bus ride leading to the entrance of Mario Stadium, in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Excited and full of joy, ten contestants exited the door of their means of transport, apprehensive about what was to come. But amidst the chaos and giddiness, one contestant knew. They knew everything there was to know about the many trials and hardships the participants would have to face throughout their journey.
They knew of the flight to the Beanbean Kingdom at least a month before their initial appearance on the show. They knew of the first twist, which allowed a purple-clad politician to grace the Mole's first victim. They knew everything.
However, as powerful as this individual was, they could not predict how the chips would fall. They would have never predicted that their first two casualties would be Goombario Goomarroon, and above all, Dixie Kong. Two suspects of choice, eliminated one after another. Both Dixie and Goombario had their fair share of sabotages, yet they were not immunized against the Mole's perfidy.
The traitor would have never foreseen that Bullet Bill would be the wort performer either, during episode three. Equipped with a bonus of one point on the quiz, it seemed as though he would be cruising to the fourth round. The overwhelmed player did not manage to pierce the Mole's disguise in time, it was curtains for him.
Yet, it was not the end of the Mole's streak. When Shokora Enekora had to say goodbye after the fourth execution of the game, the intruder was at a loss. Shokora was full of good intentions, but she had often been responsible for the team's failures. Why, the challenge which preceded her departure was one she had failed. Surely, a few genuine contestants had voted for her on the quiz, no?
One after another, their adversaries tumbled. Soon, a driven competitor lost her way in a cave… Or was she led astray by the one she kept chasing? Melody Pianissimo's departure did not help the Mole's cover in the least, that was an evidence to them. But alas, they had to carry on, for Melody was not the last player they would cut off from the competition.
A few days after the blonde ghost left the show, it was Kolorado Raiver who bit the dust, fooled by the agent hidden amongst the players. As lucky as he was, he could not reiterate his previous exploits another time. Perhaps his elimination in the first challenge of the episode was a forerunner of his destiny in the game.
And lastly… Boo Fanto fell prey to his predator. The expert of the game stepped onto a wrong path and was swiftly removed from the game by the object of his quest. One thing is sure…had he been able to play the coveted last exemption of the game, he would still be among the remaining competitors.
However, it would have been someone between Blanche Magus, Enguarde Espadon and Waitress Serva who would have taken his place. One of them is sure to follow in Boo's footsteps, while another has a bright future in front of them.
As for the last one? They are the Mole of this game.
Monty Mole faced the camera for a while, then nodded. "The game isn't over yet. Three challenges adding up to one hundred thousand coins. This is what separates the players from the finish line. This…is their last hurdle, so to speak."
…
The sun shone brightly outside of the hotel the players resided in, as if unaware that a particular ghost would never complain about it again during the course of game. Boo had departed the adventure the previous day, leaving three contestants behind him.
Enguarde : I did it. All my hard work paid off, and I proved all the naysayers wrong. They all thought that splitting up your answers on the quiz was stupid, yet here I am, still living in this game of deceit and mistrust. Last night was really hard on me, because Boo was probably the player I got along with the most, as well as someone I didn't really suspect. But today is a new day, and I have to determine who the Mole is. Honestly, I'm torn. Waitress has sabotaged a lot throughout our adventure, but there's always been something strange about Blanche. It's still a toss up to me.
Blanche : Our journey has been nothing short of amazing, and it has yet to dawn on me that I have reached the last round of this formidable adventure. We have braved many hardships, a lot of drama, and survived seven executions to make it to this point… This is something that no one else can claim. I already miss Boo's presence dearly, but looking on the bright side, I can see the end of the tunnel. All I need to do is emerge victorious and beat my opponent. A difficult task, yet not insurmountable. If I beat seven others to make it this far, I can beat another player.
Waitress : Yay! I'm, like, super duper excited for the last episode of the game! No more drama, no more lame stuff like everyone going for exemptions and everything. We're finally gonna focus on what's most important in this show! But still… It kinda sorta totally sucks that Boo's not here anymore. He was really cool, you know? At least I still have my bestie with me! Blanche and I took this game by storm, and now I'm pretty sure I'm gonna win it all! At least I hope so! Like, it'd suck to go all the way to the end and then… Lose and stuff. I don't wanna lose!
The contestants were all having lunch outside, in a small restaurant called 'Pisces Heaven' that had been recommended to them by the host of their show: Monty Mole. The heterogeneous crew was seated at a round table, attracting the glances of the regular customers.
"How kind of Monty Mole to suggest this establishment," White Mage rolled her eyes for a moment, only to smile and wave back at a customer who had been staring at her for a while. "I feel observed."
Enguarde chuckled to himself, looking at his sticks and picking them up in his fin. "I don't know. I kind of like it. It feels fitting."
"You only say that 'cause you like fish," Waitress smiled cutely, eyeing a red decorative fan with a black edge. "I mean, at least it's better than eating spicy food. I kinda understand Boo and his dislike of the sun now. Too bad he isn't here anymore, 'cause hearing him complain about stuff made it, like, more bearable, y'know?" Both White Mage and Enguarde smiled at her remark, reminded of their departed companion.
The pink-haired beauty pursed her lips as she stared at the menu. "Sushi is so calorific…"
"That's what makes it so good!" Enguarde faked being offended at her reluctance, prompting the healer to smile softly. "No, but seriously, don't worry about the calories. I'm pretty sure we lost weight, what with partaking in Monty's sadistic and demanding challenges."
Waitress was going to order mekajiki sushi, only to realize that this item was not made anymore. "I guess I'm gonna take some tuna rolls, who wants some?" Both her friends raised their hands, and she proceeded to go through the rest of the list, before handing it to a waiter. "It kinda feels weird, being served and everything."
"True, I can imagine it being somewhat of an oddity to you," grinned the other girl, reading a special warning on a notice stuck onto her menu. "Interesting."
"What is?" Enguarde perked up, always suspicious when sitting down at a table. A number of clues had been delivered to the team on several such occasions, and the oceanographer had developed the habit of inspecting everything he deemed suspicious.
Cocking her head to the side and in his direction, she showed the notice. "It seems like this restaurant encourages their customers to reduce their consumption of tuna or shark. Something about being slightly toxic because they are at the top of the food chain and have a high mercury content. They say they're going to remove shark from their menu and only add it on some occasions."
Enguarde shrugged his shoulder, uninterested in the warning. "Whatever. If I want to stuff my face with tuna, no one is going to stop me!"
"As long as you retain proper table manners, fine by me," responded White Mage with an arched eyebrow. Waitress giggled, bouncing up and down on her seat.
"Like, does anyone know why Monty told us to come here? It's probably got something to do with a challenge or something!" she grinned excitedly as she played with one of her pigtails.
"How about you-" Enguarde stopped himself in his tracks, looking down at his empty plate. "Man, it sucks that Boo was executed last night…"
"Yeah, I know, right? Like, he was always here to tell us useless information about the previous seasons!" reminisced the petite Toadette, oblivious to the blank stares she had received from both Enguarde and White Mage.
Eventually, Enguarde chuckled to himself softly, before it soon became contagious and elicited laughter from White Mage as well. The confused Waitress could only glance at her opponents in incredulity. "Wow, talk about a backhanded compliment," commented the blue oceanographer in between two hearty laughs.
Shaking her head, White Mage ran a hand through her hair, still amused by the small waitress' antics. "Well, it would be a lie to say that I am not curious as to what is coming our way," pointed out the beautiful lady as their order was finally delivered to the table. Waitress waved at her fellow waiter.
Enguarde raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Really? You probably have a better idea than the two of us, though." Reading the apparent confusion on the healer's visage, he developed his point of view. "Didn't you watch the entirety of the previous season only yesterday?"
A small smile made its way onto White Mage's face. "Hmm-hmm, although… I would not say I was very attentive towards the end. I never watched the last episode fully either."
"Shoot… And here I thought we might have a small advantage over the Mole…"
Waitress shrugged her shoulders, not bothered in the slightest. "It kinda doesn't matter. Let's just dig in! I loooove sushi, it's so awesooooome!" she cheered happily, stabbing a poor maki with her stick.
"Hey! Leave some for us!" complained Enguarde, battling against the airhead with his own sticks. Next to him, White Mage could only sigh, entertained by the other two. She smartly decided to target the noodles which were on the opposite side of their table.
…
After a copious meal, the players were greeted by Monty Mole who was awaiting them right in front of the restaurant they had been eating at. The brown mole nodded to himself, before beckoning for the contestants to follow him.
Complying, they walked behind their host, their head full of questions. "So… Am I the only one surprised that Monty knew where to find us?" Enguarde wondered aloud, scratching the back of his head with his fin.
White Mage shook her head. "Monty was probably informed as to our whereabouts, and even if he had not been, a little guesswork would have allowed him to locate us. He was the one who suggested this sushi restaurant to us," remarked the pink-haired lady.
"Like, what are we gonna do next?" Waitress asked directly the host, stumbling as she almost had to jog to catch up to him. Monty Mole stopped for a moment and motioned towards a green area.
"Let's talk here, it will be more comfortable."
Waitress : Monty was being all mysterious and stuff! Totally weird when he doesn't talk, even if I don't pay attention to what he's saying half the time!
Standing before a public bench, Monty Mole stared at the last three survivors of the fourth installment of The Mole, his eyes glinting with pride. "Players… Welcome, to the last episode of the game, where all will be revealed. Welcome…to episode eight," he started, his voice neutral.
"You should be proud of yourselves, for you have reached the ultimate point of the game after a long and arduous journey. There will be no more executions. You are here, safe and sound. At least, in the context of the competition," he smiled slightly, and the two contestants standing before him mirrored his expression while the Mole smirked.
"One of you…had a slightly easier time, making it to that point, though. This person…is the Mole," noted Monty calmly. "I have seen many Moles during my hosting of this series but never have I seen such a devious one! The Mole… They should also be quite happy with themself," grinned the host. "Why, if I hadn't met them beforehand, I would probably be as confused as you were at the beginning of this season!"
"The beginning of the season…was a real confusion, alright," laughed Enguarde, casting a subtle glance at Waitress. "From that coin toss to our flight to the Beanbean Kingdom, I'm sure even the Mole was thrown for a loop!"
"And the kidnapping mission really was a surprise as well!" smiled White Mage. "In a way, the Mole might have experienced an adventure similar to ours, in spite of knowing everything."
"Yeah, I know, right? Like, what about the cheating thingy? It came out of nowhere! And when we had to, like, act and confuse Francesca! That was a nice surprise too!" giggled Waitress, remembering her own adventure.
Monty Mole clasped his hands together, reminiscing the good times he had experienced during the show as a whole. "Well! It sounds like you will be looking back at this adventure fondly when it's all over, right?
"But… Isn't waiting for this adventure to end…slightly boring? I'm sure you all have a lot of questions to ask your fellow competitors, and even the rest of the fallen players. You do realize that it will take a long time for you to obtain the knowledge you so desire, right?" Once again, the host interrogated the remaining three players, only this time he awaited their comments.
Enguarde, Waitress and White Mage all looked at each other, mostly confused by their host's behavior. "Sure, we all want to know all sort of things about what occurred throughout the game, but it's not like we can. Not until it's all over, anyways," pointed out the oceanographer, an inquisitive expression on his face.
Grinning from ear to ear, the host spoke up once more. "What if I were to tell you that…there is a way for you to satiate your curiosity? Partially, at least."
The participants' eyes grew wide, their faces full of disbelief.
"What do you mean?" Enguarde continued his dialogue with the host, speaking for the other two girls.
Blanche : For Monty Mole to make such a statement, it was quite sudden and perplexing. Would the host of the show really divulge capital information about the state of the game? Would I be able to ask one of the executed players who they had voted for on the quiz? His words could be interpreted a great many ways, and I was just dying to know their meaning.
Waitress : Omigosh! I've always wondered if Kolorado was wearing underwear under his shell! It was, like, the perfect opportunity to ask him!
Enguarde : On the one hand, I was kind of giddy when Monty said that. Trust me, I'm in need of some answers myself. But, on the other hand… If it applied to all of us, then I wouldn't be the only one obtaining an advantage. And that would suck too.
Ignoring the swordfish's question, Monty Mole cleared his throat. "Currently, your pot stands at one hundred sixty-four thousand coins… It is a nice sum of money, but it could have been better."
"I'm almost afraid to ask how many coins we could have gained in total," joked White Mage in a pained voice.
"Counting only the challenges, you could have accumulated four hundred thousand coins up to now in total," informed the host in a very professional way. His lips then betrayed a smile. "Thankfully, this episode is worth one hundred thousand coins itself. The most lucrative one, if I may point out. Of course, with the Mole in your ranks…"
The players groaned. "It kinda sucks," piped up Waitress after she was done observing a bird eat a cherry on the ground, "'cause I'm not sure the Mole's responsible for all the money we've lost."
"Looking on the bright side, it should be easy enough to reach two hundred thousand coins," realized White Mage, clapping excitedly.
"Given our abysmal track record, I wouldn't say so," remarked Enguarde with a shrug of his shoulders.
Enguarde : Diligence is an asset in the game of The Mole… For this reason, I've decided to write down all the coins that we have won and lost throughout our games, and I went as far as to quantify how much money each contestant lost us. Just the first episode was a disaster… Only eighteen thousand coins won for sixty thousand coins in play. I'm not confident.
"Well, who knows? It is the last episode, isn't it?" declared White Mage, hands on her hips. "There probably isn't any bonus in play. At the very least, we know that exemptions are out of the question."
"Oooh! I get it! With no distraction in sight, it'll be sorta easy to win money!" exclaimed the purple-pigtailed Waitress, smiling at her friends. Their faces remained emotionless.
Monty Mole observed the exchange between the players, and decided to remind them that he still had unfinished business with them. "Please remember that these challenges will be fairly difficult. Furthermore, there is still an agent amongst us. Remember it well."
The players stopped chattering and nodded, understanding the truth behind his words. "Yes, this is quite true," confirmed White Mage. "I think everyone here knows that, we're merely celebrating he fact that we won't have to face any more of those dreadful executions."
"Yeah! Way to, like, rain on our parade and everything!" reprimanded Waitress, unaware of the host's embarrassment. Monty Mole chuckled and scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Anyway, we might be able to prove or disprove my theory after we reach our next destination. It's a place we haven't seen in a while," told them the brown literal mole, ready to move.
At once, the players were alert and followed him. They crossed a few streets and found themselves on the paved main avenue of Beanbean Castle Town. Waitress narrowly dodged a stall which was a little too close to the road and gasped as she noticed their ride.
"Seriously?" voiced Enguarde, not impressed in the slightest. "Are carriages the only means of transportation of this kingdom's inhabitants?"
Monty Mole reached the horse-drawn carriage first and threw an amused glance at the swordfish. "Well, Enguarde, the Beanbean Kingdom isn't called a green land for nothing," jested the host. "Hop on, and let us be off!" he demanded, helping the oceanographer onto the vehicle.
…
Accompanied by Monty Mole, the team travelled through the lush roads of the Beanbean Kingdom. Heading south from the capital of the country, the players realized that they had indeed already been there before.
Blanche : Returning to Woohoo Hooniversity was symbolic, in a way. It was the first place we visited in the kingdom, as well as one of our final destinations… Life is a circle, as they say.
The group descended from their carriage and walked a few steps towards the university, their feet already treading upon the sandy shore surrounding the building.
"Weird. I didn't expect to feel so strange, coming back here," noticed Enguarde with a disgruntled expression onto his visage, stopping in front of the entrance. He looked up at the humongous red and gray structure, pensive.
Next to him, Waitress stuck her tongue out. "Eww, this house is totally disgusting! Gross!"
Startled, White Mage blinked for a moment. "Didn't you say the exact same thing the first time we came here…?"
"Huh?"
"Nevermind," the beautiful healer tried to stiffen her laughter. Enguarde grinned, directing his attention towards the purple-haired Toadette.
"And it's still not a house," he pointed out. "This is Woohoo Hooniversity, don't you remember?"
"I tend to forget stuff I don't like," shrugged Waitress, waddling her way inside the building. Both Enguarde and White Mage chuckled as they followed their friend.
The three survivors crossed the main corridor of the building and remarked that Monty Mole had been waiting for them inside a purple room dotted with yellow stars. Pillars of a lighter shade of purple also stood erect in an unorderly fashion, adding to the haphazard air the place was giving them.
"As ugly as ever," remarked Enguarde, eliciting a huge grin from the host who shook his head in amusement.
"Funny that you would experience this feeling of déjà vu, Enguarde. After all, the mission I have for you today could be seen as a retreading of your third challenge, in a way. But we still have one more room to cross. This way, if you please," Monty directed, moving at a fast pace toward the room situated in front of the players. They all ran after him and emerged in another purple room.
Looking around her, Waitress attention was quickly grabbed by a gray orb placed on a pedestal, and she soon decided to investigate it. "What's this thing? It looks totally weird!"
"I'm more interested in this…door? Or is it a mural?" mused the white-clad healer, her hand tracing the outline of the strange indentation. "And this stone… Such a strange material!
Meanwhile, Enguarde fidgeted awkwardly next to a metallic chair, located directly under the elevated globe that Waitress was checking. "About the chair. It looks like it's connected to the pedestal behind it, and there are shackles on the armrest. I'm starting to believe this is a torture chamber."
Waitress : So you know these movies where there's a crazy guy trying to, like, see what's inside your brain? This room had kinda sorta totally the same vibe. I'm too pretty to die!
The voice of the host caught the players off-guard. "Welcome to the first challenge of episode eight," he declared, booming. "We call this mission 'Truths and Dare', as a play on the infamous and childlike 'Truth or Dare' game, and it is worth thirty thousand coins."
White Mage pursed her lips as she cogitated about the name of the mission. "Truths and dare? These options are already unappealing on their own, but if you combine them…"
"And that's exactly what we did! Don't you remember what I talked to you about in town? As I said, it is time for you to get the answers you were looking after." Taking a deep breath, Monty Mole went on with his explanation. "One at a time, you will sit down on this chair, while your fellow players and myself are behind this door that is called the Eye of Truth. Your fellow players will each ask you two yes or no questions, that you will be able to elaborate on after you give your answer."
"Sorry to bother you Monty," interrupted Enguarde as he raised his fin in the air, "but when we ask our questions, is the other player next to us?"
The host arched an eyebrow. "It's alright, that's actually a good question. When I say that you will take turns, I mean that while one person is asking their questions, the other is secluded and cannot see or hear anything. Rest assured, your questions won't benefit your opponents."
"Hmm-hmm! I guess so!" smiled Waitress, whose gaze was fixated on the object that intrigued her.
"In any case, this chair is directly connected to the Mirror of Truth, which will project a beam of light onto the Eye of Truth. This will allow us to gather data, and find whether you are lying or telling the truth," explicated Monty Mole. "For each question that you decide to answer truthfully, one thousand five hundred coins will be awarded to your team pot."
"What if we don't want to answer?" questioned White Mage. "Supposing a question asked is either personal or detrimental to us, of course."
"Then you can and should refuse," grinned the host, "for you see… Refusing to answer only prevents you from adding money to your pot for that question. Lying voids your entire round, and each round is worth ten thousand coins."
Enguarde : Geez… This challenge was crazy. Monty Mole threw a lot of concepts at us, but it basically boiled down to telling the truth of refusing to answer, and I was fine with either, really.
Enguarde assumed a thinking pose and snapped his fin. "What about the remaining four thousand coins?"
Monty Mole nodded. "I already told you about the 'Truths' part, didn't I? Naturally, it stands to reason that the 'Dare' part has to do with a challenge. And unfortunately for you, the Mole already selected your dares a few days ago. Completing a dare will earn you another three thousand coins. And before you cut me off, please listen to the end of my explanation," the host stated quickly, before Enguarde's mouth was entirely open. "If you do the math-"
"Like, no thanks!" Waitress showed a face of repulsion at his words, which made it hard for the other three to contain their laughter caused by her spontaneity.
"Anyways, if you did the math, you would have realized that we're still missing one thousand coins, right? Well, you will only be awarded the entire sum of money if and only if you succeed at all your tasks. Did I make myself clear?"
"Crystal," acquiesced White Mage, a soft smile on her lips. "It doesn't seem like such a hard task after all." Monty Mole chuckled at her words, prompting the healer to cast him a worried glance.
"Well, if you didn't just jinx us, that is," pointed out Enguarde, smirking after the exchange. "So… Who wants to go first?"
The host cleared his throat. "The order has already been determined. We'll be going by alphabetical order, so Enguarde, you're up first."
"Um… I kinda thought 'B' was before 'E' in the alphabet, but maybe I'm wrong… Don't mind me if I am!" piped up Waitress, realizing the inconsistency. Next to her, White Mage looked at the host expectantly.
"We will be going by your true occupation this time, so Enguarde, then Waitress, and then you, Blanche," explicated the host, clearing the issue. "If you would be so kind as to sit down on the chair…"
"No problem! This challenge is easy peasy!" bragged the oceanographer, his white teeth glistening. Once again, Monty Mole chortled, causing the swordfish to slap himself in the face.
"Ladies, if you would please follow me…" Nodding, the two girls sent Enguarde one last look as the marine creature awaited their questions with bated breath.
Waitress : The mission was kinda neat, but, like… People could opt out, you know? Not like anyone would be risking their games for less than two thousand coins.
…
"Blanche, Waitress… Who is going to ask their question first?" questioned the host. "Don't feel obliged to toss a coin for this quintessential dilemma," he added playfully in an afterthought, which made the three of them smile.
"I do not mind waiting," suggested White Mage.
Monty Mole nodded and showed her to a small cubicle in the corner of the room. "Please enter this and close the door behind you. And don't think about taking a peek or trying to overhear the conversation, this room is completely insulated. Opening the door without my permission will earn you a penalty. Our sensors will pick up on any disturbances."
An incredulous White Mage stared at him. "Do you take me for a cheater?" The host shook his head, but the beautiful girl kept a face of skepticism as she made her way inside and closed the door behind her.
Turning his head towards Waitress, the brown mole realized she seemed more interested in the lie detector than himself, and chose to tap her shoulder. "Waitress, I hope you are ready, because the challenge starts now."
"Don't worry, leave it to me!"
"This is exactly why we worry!" blurted Enguarde, his voice projected inside the room.
"Rude much?" snapped back the purple-pigtailed Toadette. "Anyways, I know what kind of stuff I wanna know from him, so it's okay."
"Well then! Ask away!" grinned the host, sitting down on a nearby chair.
"Okay, so, like… There's something I've wanted to know for a loooooong time now… You said you weren't in a coalition with Bullet, is that really true? 'Cause to me it felt like you were kinda sorta totally getting along and stuff. So were you in a coalition with him?" Waitress questioned, observing Enguarde through the fake looking glass.
Enguarde made to scratch his chin, before realizing that his fins were tied, literally. Closing his eyes, he finally gave an answer. "I'm not sure whether I should refrain from answering or not, to be quite honest. I will say that no, we weren't, tentatively. We were definitely good friends, and we did share our thoughts, once in a while. It also helped that he was the most easygoing guy in the competition… But I don't think it was ever an official coalition."
"Huh… I kinda wasn't expecting that, but it's fine by me!" nodded the Toadette, looking at Monty Mole.
"You have another question at your disposal," reminded the host, and the small waitress of the Excess Express put a hand to her mouth, having already forgotten about it.
Waitress spoke up. "Oh yeah, that's true! So… Remember the kidnapping challenge that went wrong? You were in the air duct when the lights shut off. Did you, like, shut them off or something? You were totally in the best place to sabotage 'cause you were there, without being there. And we don't even know what happened to you after we separated."
From her position, the airhead looked at the swordfish who was frowning, taping his fin against the armchair. Eventually, he shook his head. "I refuse to answer this question. I think it would give away too much. And no offense, but I literally told you that I was going to distract the guards so that you, Blanche and the prince could make your clean getaway."
"So what?" She obtained no response from the oceanographer, but smiled nevertheless.
Waitress : He could have done a lot during that time when he was alone, like giving hints to some guards, or helping them in their search… I dunno, but like… It's like showing off as a hero when really, all you did was lose five thousand coins that were quickly forgotten 'cause it was a hot mess.
Monty Mole nodded and fetched White Mage from the cubicle. "How did it go?" Waitress offered a shrug in response, before she walked through the open door and sat on the lone chair of the small room. "I see."
"So Blanche, are you ready?" inquired the host as the pink-haired healer made her way towards him.
"Yes, I am. It is a shame that we may only ask two questions. I feel inspired, somehow," she responded to her interlocutor.
"In this case, you may begin," authorized the host with a grin.
White Mage played with the hem of her dress for a bit, before delving right into the subject. "Enguarde, I would like you to answer this question. During the mission 'Challenge of the Molotaur', were you responsible for my elimination right before we reached the end of the maze?"
"First of all, I'd like to clarify something: it is because of me that we secured at least five thousand coins, so please take that into consideration," he started as soon as he heard the question, slightly unnerved. "As for the actual question, I refuse to answer it. Not because I don't want to, but because I don't know? I'm tempted to say no, because I feel that once that I had cleared the enigma, I could once again switch the maze around, but honestly, I don't know."
"Boo was eliminated yesterday, so you could have answered yes and won us the coins. It wasn't a trick question," frowned White Mage.
"Like I said, I don't know who is at fault. Heck, it could even be Waitress disrupting things with a device, who knows?" justified the swordfish, not bothered in the least.
Blanche : When Enguarde refused to answer, I immediately thought back to Waitress' shrug. Could he have given her such wishy-washy responses as well? Boo was executed, so he was probably telling the truth when he said that he did not notice…but his own power was automatic. How could he have missed it?
Sighing to herself, White Mage asked her second question. "Well, I wasn't going to ask you this, but… I may as well. Throughout the game, you have often butted heads with Melody. Was it on purpose? Did you try to antagonize almost everyone due to your strategy?"
"No. I simply wanted to be the leader, and it just so happened that Melody was against it and infuriated by the smallest remark," stated Enguarde, shrugging his shoulders. "Honestly, who antagonized who? She was aggressive and didn't take well to criticism. I never insulted anybody."
Monty Mole gave a sign of approval and beckoned for White Mage to join Waitress in the small room. As soon as the girls were out of earshot, Monty Mole decided to speak in his booming voice.
"Congratulations, Enguarde, you have nothing more to answer to. I hope the ladies didn't grill you too hard?"
"I didn't know we were having barbecued swordfish tonight," joked Enguarde, earning a chuckle or two from the host.
"As you know, the Mole also had a challenge for you…" Monty Mole let the moment linger, while an anxious Enguarde gulped, wondering what was in store for him. "For three thousand coins… You must allow me to rip the ninth page of your journal."
Enguarde froze in his chair.
Enguarde : People may think it's a really simple challenge, but it is not. Imagine losing the competition because one question on the final quiz asked you to remember something that was written on the very page that was torn from the journal? I wouldn't be mad, I would be devastated.
Mulling over the choice in his head, Enguarde finally made his decision. With a firm nod, full of confidence, he announced his decision to the host.
"I will…"
…
Waitress giggled as Kooper made sure her arms were properly fixated by the contraption. "It tickles!" she exclaimed with a gasp, having a hard time containing herself. In the room, Monty Mole, Enguarde and White Mage all shared a laugh with one another.
Turning to the swordfish, Monty Mole gave him the proper instructions. "One after another, you will ask Waitress two questions. When it is not your turn to ask, you are told to wait inside this cubicle over here. It is soundproofed," elaborated the host. "Don't even think about cheating, there are sensors all over its door, so we will know if you tried to take advantage of our lack of lock."
"Understood! It makes sense. Can I ask my questions first? Or is it also predetermined?" asked Enguarde, ready for some action. White Mage winked at him and disappeared inside the room, answering his question. "I guess we can choose, then!"
"You guessed well!" Glancing at Kooper on the other side of the window pane, the host and his aide exchanged a few gestures, before Kooper gave his approval with a thumbs-up. "It seems we are ready, you may begin your questioning."
"Alright!" grinned Enguarde, rubbing his fins together and staring at Waitress in the eye. Or at least, as much as he could since the purple-pigtailed girl fidgeted in the chair and kept shifting her attention. Enguarde made a face as he realized that and shrugged his shoulders helplessly.
"So, my first question is the following: is it true that you have been voting for the Mole since the very beginning?"
"Um… I'm not sure… Like… What if I'm wrong?"
Enguarde looked at Monty Mole. "Can I rephrase that?"
"As long as she didn't answer, you may," nodded the host.
"Good! So, Waitress… Is it true that you have been voting for your prime suspect since the very beginning?"
"Like, maybe? I mean, I wanna say yes, but it kinda depends? Your question is sorta vague, you know?" pouted the small girl.
A blank expression etched onto his face, Enguarde stared at his friend. "You've been telling us that you were voting for one person for a long time, I'm basically wondering if it was true or false, and I also want to know when you started voting for them."
"Ooooh! Well, yeah, it's kinda true! I didn't do an 'All or Nothing', but I've focused on my suspect ever since the first executions!" she replied.
Enguarde : Geez, I didn't know asking questions that could be answered by anybody would be this taxing. I feel like channeling Boo for a moment. Just to know how he dealt with it.
"Next question… Are you the Mole?" Enguarde gave a smirk when he saw that she had stopped moving in her seat.
"Like, are you serious?"
"Who's asking the questions?" the oceanographer answered triumphantly.
"Yeah, well, I'm not telling. Dream on!" she giggled cutely, as Enguarde opened his mouth in surprise. "Sorry! But, like, I dunno what you expected? There's really no benefit, the cons outweigh the pros, or something like that!" explained the Toadette, twirling one of her lock of hair.
"How so?" asked Enguarde.
Waitress patted her apron, smiling in direction of the oceanographer. "You know, playing the innocent part doesn't suit you a whole lot," she smiled, causing the swordfish to grunt and leave it at that, realizing he would not get what he wanted.
Monty Mole went to the cubicle and opened the door, letting White Mage escape from it. "Well, that was rather quick," she noticed, a little surprised. "Did something happen?"
Enguarde gave her a shrug of the shoulders, very reminiscent of the one Waitress had given her a few moments before. "I see. Very forthcoming today, aren't we?" she asked no one in particular, but made Monty Mole laugh at the feeling of déjà vu.
Minding her foot placement, the careful healer made her way to the window, and started to speak. "So, Waitress, I have two questions for you today. The first one is the following: did you really not know what an exemption was at the beginning of the game?"
Not taking a lot of time to answer, Waitress shook her head. "Nope! I didn't know at all, that's my answer! I mean, why ask Boo if I did, am I right or am I right?"
"The problem is, we were all informed of what an exemption was prior to the beginning of the game, were we not?" pursued White Mage, her line of questioning far from over. "I believe it was stipulated in the contract."
"Oh, but you know me. I totally didn't read it entirely, it was way too boring!" responded Waitress, unashamed, as Monty could be see glaring at her from his position. White Mage laughed when she saw his reaction.
"Anyway… For my second question… I really don't have a lot to ask you to be honest, so let's go with a simple one. Do you like chocolate?"
"Oooh! I love chocolate, but which type? It'd be sorta dumb to lose the round with this question!"
"Hmm… How about milk chocolate?"
"With almonds? Minty flavored?" inquired Waitress, totally into the subject.
Hesitant, White Mage offered more precisions. "Yes, with almonds. Not mint-flavored."
"Which design?"
A pause. "Waitress, you do realize I am merely asking you whether you like chocolate or not?" White Mage bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing out loud.
Pondering over White Mage's words, Waitress ultimately nodded. "Oh well, yeah, I do! Like, I love chocolate! And now I want some!"
White Mage rolled her eyes playfully. "See? That wasn't so hard. Good luck with your dare!" she smiled one last time and returned to the cubicle, not even waiting for Monty Mole's prompt.
The host waited for a moment, ensuring that neither White Mage nor Enguarde could be eavesdropping. Once the cost was clear, he cleared his throat, ready to address Waitress again. "Well, Waitress. You have answered four questions, there is no more need to justify yourself. As for your success, it is a subject for another date."
"Like, that wasn't too bad. I thought it'd be sorta harder, y'know?" replied the airhead as she stared in the air, a finger pushed against her cheek.
Monty Mole chuckled. "Perhaps the Mole might offer more of a challenge, if that's the case? For three thousand coins, you must dye your hair orange."
"What?!" Waitress almost shrieked in panic. "That's so gross!" complained the small Toadette, a pout etched onto her face.
Waitress : Like, the Mole was playing really dirty! 'Cause the other day, when we had lunch, with, Prince Peaswey or something, I kinda told everyone I hated the color orange. I really really don't wanna be a ginger! I mean, I don't pride myself on my appearance and stuff, but, like, there's stuff even I wouldn't do!
The petite mushroom girl buried her face into her hands, clearly distraught over the dilemma. After a while she simply shook her head, trying to regain her bearing. "I dunno… It's really mean of the Mole," she hesitated, biting her lips. "I think I'm gonna…"
…
White Mage approached the armchair uncertainly, eyeing it warily. Kooper could not help but chuckle at her reaction, and patted down the seat with an encouraging smile. "It's not going to hurt you, you know?"
"Still, it does not look like the most comfortable seat ever," pointed out the pink-haired beauty. "I'm more concerned about the shackles."
"It won't be that tight that it'll leave a mark," reassured the host's aide. "Besides, you won't be sitting for long."
The healer conceded after a few seconds, and by the time she was installed on the contraption, a certain blue oceanographer was already prepared to fire his first question. "Blanche, are you ready? Someone is a little eager to start us off," joked the host.
"I bet he is," laughed White Mage, probably imagining a bouncy Enguarde.
"Hey! I just have a lot on my mind, and two questions certainly isn't enough to pierce your armor, so I figured I might as well ask my questions right now, before I'm even tempted to change them or something," defended the swordfish, making a face. "You can't deny that you are rather enigmatic, so even a simple glance at that mind of yours could yield answers to my interrogations!"
White Mage shook her head and let out a small sigh, however she kept her friendly expression. "Fair enough. But do choose your words carefully," she advised, her smile widening ever so slightly.
"Um… Right," acquiesced Enguarde, unsure. "So here comes my first question: are you the Mole?"
Puzzled, White Mage blinked suddenly. "Are you serious?"
"Well yeah? Why wouldn't I be serious?"
"In that case, I refuse to answer this question," replied White Mage in an exasperated manner. "Who in their right mind would answer this question, anyway?"
Blanche : How Enguarde thought I would answer his question kind of baffled me, to say the least. There is literally no benefit for anyone to reply to such a question. If you are a real player, it is possible that you may hand victory to your adversary on a silver platter. As for the Mole, they can't even answer the question! Honestly, what was he thinking?
Disgruntled, Enguarde crossed his arms as he observed White Mage beyond the window pane. "Fine. Well, that was a waste of a question."
"You can say that again," spoke up the pink-haired woman as she pursed her lips.
"Well, that was a waste of a question," repeated Enguarde as annoyingly as he could, a smirk dancing across his visage. White Mage shook her head, deciding she would not dignify his jab with an answer.
The blue marine creature rubbed his chin with his fin and clapped happily. "I got it! My last question for you is the following: why did you choose Waitress as a coalition partner? Surely, there were better choices out there."
Enguarde : No matter how much I've pondered over it, shackling yourself to a player as unreliable as Waitress is…well…not smart at all, and thus, very uncharacteristic of Blanche. It's obvious these two have had an alliance for a long time, but… Why? I could understand Boo working with Melody, or myself allying with Bullet Bill even though it didn't come to fruition. Waitress, though… She offers nothing. I don't mean that in a bad way, but she's the opposite of what you'd be looking in a partner. Especially in this game of lies and deceit.
White Mage took some time to digest the question before she opened her mouth, "Hmm… You could have formulated the question better."
"If I did, you would have found a loophole, or a way to avoid it altogether," shrugged Enguarde, not particularly bothered.
"I will try to provide an explanation and hope the lie detector considers it as the truth. So first of all, Waitress was not my first choice for an ally in this game. Try and remember our arrival in the Beanbean Kingdom. I chose to room with Shokora, because I felt like she would be a good partner," explained the white-clad woman. "However, as unfortunate as it sounds, she did not seem very enticed by the idea of working with someone else.
"On the contrary, Waitress seemed to want to work together. She approached me very early on in the game, and I wasn't sure trusting her was a good idea given how suspicious she was at the beginning. I think she first came to me during episode two, with that idea in mind, but I told her I would prefer not to work together until after the first execution. So basically, we've been in a partnership since episode three," concluded the healer.
"I see. Well, with a response like this, I doubt the lie detector will say that you've been lying," stated the swordfish, jotting down the information in his journal.
"Hmm-hmm… But Enguarde, you shouldn't belittle or underestimate Waitress. She's way more capable than she makes it seem," let out White Mage.
Enguarde nodded hesitantly and closed his journal. Her cryptic words still in his mind, the oceanographer moved to release Waitress from her cubicle under the watchful gaze of the host, who seemed very pleased he no longer had to tell the players what to do.
"Yay, it's my turn again!" cheered Waitress excitedly, bouncing out of the cubicle and past Enguarde. Grinning at her enthusiasm, the swordfish retreated inside the small room and closed the door behind him, allowing the mushroom girl to have some privacy.
"Waitress, you already know what you are supposed to do, right?" When the host received for only answer a nod of the head, he motioned for her to start the last round of questions. "Then, please help yourself!"
"Don't mind if I do!" giggled the petite girl cutely, before training her eyes on her coalition partner. "Hey Blanche! Looks like our roles are reversed!"
"Not that it matters that much," smiled the other female, "Let's finish this."
Waitress : There's, like, nothing I really wanted to ask Blanche 'cause we've been playing together since the first few episodes. Soooo, it was like, you can hand over the coins and stuff! But I kinda wanted to give the viewers a good show, so I asked cool questions anyways!
Waitress played with a lock of her hair for a moment, after which she clasped her hands together. "Alright! So, for my first question, you're gonna have to answer this: have you ever sabotaged on purpose?"
White Mage did not answer right away, but she took almost no time nonetheless. "As much as it pains me to admit it, yes, I have. It mostly happened when small amounts of money were at stake, and sometimes I simply did a few things that made me suspicious but didn't cost anything from the pot. Shall I provide a few examples?"
"Um, yeah? I mean, you don't have to, but it'd be cool," encouraged Waitress, watching Monty Mole as she pronounced those words. "Monty looks like he wanna know!"
Even though he tried his hardest not to look like he was interested, the host could only mutter to himself. "Busted."
"Well, very early on, when Shokora had to act like a lie detector, I told an obvious lie. Unless she was blind as a bat, she would know for sure that I was lying when I mentioned a scar on my leg. That was intentional on my part. At least twice during timed missions, I made sure to cut it close. I would make sure to arrive on time, but the goal was to make people think 'Look at Blanche, she almost cost us money!'. I don't think I've ever done something really big; I didn't need to in my mind."
"Huh, why?" Waitress seemed taken aback.
"Well… I felt people would dismiss me as a Mole, if I were to act too suspicious," explained the healer. "I didn't need to sabotage huge amounts of money if I could make people suspicious of me just by making a few pertinent remarks, here and there. Whenever I had an intuition as to what was to come… I simply talked as though I knew what was happening next, by giving a general statement that could have any number of significations. People don't only look at sabotages to determine who the Mole is, after all."
When Waitress realized that her friend had finished with her explanation, she immediately segued into her second question. "Okay, so next… I don't really know? Umm… Did you, like, ever return to the Chucklehuck Woods last episode to, like, take the exemption?" she queried at random.
White Mage paused a small moment. "No, I didn't. Sometimes, I wonder if it wasn't Boo himself who retrieved it during the night."
"I dunno, it'd be kinda totally not like him to leave with an exemption in hands. I don't think he had it," stated Waitress, mulling over that enigma. "Oh well, it's sorta speculation at this point, so who cares? Have fun with the challenge!"
"If you are done discussing with Blanche, please return to the cubicle," intervened Monty Mole quickly, lest she went on another tangent. The host followed Waitress with his eyes, until he heard a small clicking sound from the cubicle.
"Your inquisition is finally over, Blanche," started the host. "You will no longer be submitted to the rules of the lie detector," chuckled the host. "But one task awaits you. For three thousand coins…you must wear a very ugly two-toned jester unitard until the end of the game. Taking it off at any point before the end is prohibited, obviously."
"Oh dear," blanched the White Mage. "Does that mean I cannot even take it off for a shower?"
"Yep, that's basically it," grinned the brown literal Mole, unable to hide his mischievous expression. "And before you blame me, please note that I am not responsible for these dares."
Blanche : On the one hand, it did not seem like such a bad deal, given that we are so close to the end. I would only have to wear it for two days at the most. However, on the other hand, I also did not want to look like a fool on the most important day of the competition. I didn't feel like losing because of a mere distraction. Besides, there was a dress I had reserved for the last quiz…
Wringing her hands nervously, White Mage eventually uttered a few words which Monty clearly did not expect. "Is it possible to compromise?"
…
Reunited in the room in which they had asked four questions each, the players could only wait in anticipation for the results that Monty Mole promised to disclose. The host himself was smiling and waiting for his aide to prepare the equipment.
"Alright Monty, we're good to go!" grinned Kooper, before slinking back to the shadows. The host winked at him, and proceeded to look at the players afterwards.
"Players, you have just finished the first mission of the last episode, and in a few moments, the results will be displayed for all to see! Before you go and ask how things will go, give me time to explain what is going to happen," he raised his hand in the air, anticipating some reactions. When it looked like no one would interrupt him, Monty continued to talk.
"It is actually quite easy. Whenever I enter your name in this computer, the same I use for the execution ceremonies by the way, its screen will flash five times. A green flash means that you have correctly answered a question, or that you decided to submit yourselves to the whims of the Mole. A red flash basically voids your round. A white flash means that you have decided not to answer the question that was asked of you. As for the order of the flashes, it simply follows the order in which you have answered the questions. The fifth one will always be for the Mole's dare. Did I make myself clear?"
Glancing at each other uneasily, the contestants gulped and directed their attention towards the screen. Monty Mole took their silence as a confirmation that he could start.
"Well then, we started with Enguarde." The host typed his name into his computer.
E-N-G-U-A-R-D-E
…
GREEN
…
WHITE
…
WHITE
…
GREEN
…
WHITE
"Well, it seems like Enguarde was truthful, both to you and to himself, as he refused his dare which, by the way, was the following: 'Allow Monty Mole to rip the ninth page of your journal.' As you can see from his results, he told the truth two times, which means that you earn three thousand coins for his round," claimed Monty Mole.
"Is that it? I expected a little more," admitted White Mage, gazing at the swordfish, unable to understand such poor results.
The blue swordfish shrugged his shoulders. "Well, I wasn't sure what to answer for some questions, so I decided not to risk it. As for the dare, no way was I doing that."
"Huh? Why not? It's just one page," noticed Waitress, not comprehending his choice either. Enguarde ignored her completely.
"Well then… Let us proceed! Next was Waitress!" Everyone turned their attention to the computer screen.
W-A-I-T-R-E-S-S
…
GREEN
…
WHITE
…
RED
…
GREEN
…
WHITE
The players were flabbergasted at the results. Waitress herself was the most surprised, not understanding the third flash, the same that had executed seven competitors throughout the course of the show.
"What… I didn't even lie!" shouted the waitress of the Excess Express. "Monty, you're sure your machine isn't faulty or something?"
"As I said at the beginning of this mission, machines do not lie. I am sorry Waitress, but you told a lie and it registered as such. You were supposed to win the team another three thousand coins, but because of this red flash, your round is null and void," apologized the host.
"I…do not think you have lied either," comforted White Mage, shaking her head in disbelief. Next to her, Enguarde rolled his eyes.
"'It's just one page', she said," Enguarde repeated, glaring at the Toadette. "Well, in your case it was just a question." Waitress looked at him hard, upset. "What did you lie about?"
"I totally didn't lie! Like, I honestly didn't know what an exemption was back then!"
"Waitress' dare was to dye her hair orange, in case it interests anyone," piped up Monty Mole, relishing the drama. White Mage gasped in horror, trying to alleviate the situation, which actually worked as Enguarde and Waitress both laughed at her reaction.
"How horrid of the Mole!" Enguarde joked suddenly, as if he had forgotten the altercation that had occurred a minute prior.
Monty Mole himself could not suppress a grin, as his eyes fell on the last player who had yet to hear the results of their round. "Well, that leaves us with Blanche! Ready?"
The pink-haired girl nodded and faced the flashy screen, imitated by her friends a few seconds afterwards.
B-L-A-N-C-H-E
…
WHITE
…
GREEN
…
GREEN
…
GREEN
…
YELLOW
"Yellow?" Enguarde blinked, making sure he had not hallucinated, but the yellow color lingered on the computer screen. "What does that mean?"
"It means that Blanche struck a deal which I found most interesting. The Mole dared her to wear an ugly jester unitard, and she accepted to wear it, but not until the end of the game. Because she will partially uphold her part of the deal, I award your team with one thousand five hundred coins instead of none," explained the host. "Which means that your pot will grow by an additional six thousand coins."
"While I kind of understand the deal, you never told us we could earn partial money," frowned Enguarde, looking warily at the host and the healer.
Even Waitress seemed puzzled by the announcement. "Like, I've kinda never heard of partial money being awarded to our pot before that," she agreed with the oceanographer.
"Did you? What of almost every challenge which has been partially won by your team? Doesn't that count?" inquired Monty Mole.
"It just feels weird," Enguarde persisted. "We weren't told we could do the challenges partially."
White Mage stayed stoical, staring at the swordfish incredulously. "Did you even think to ask instead of flat-out refusing? You could have compromised and accepted at the condition that your ninth page would be restituted to you at some point, for example."
"Oooh!" realized Waitress, slapping a hand over her mouth. "Maybe I could have asked for an ammonia free hair dye! I would've totally said no, but it's the thought that counts, right?"
Monty Mole closed his computer, amused by the various reactions. "In any case, you won nine thousand coins in total. Slowly but surely, your pot is ascending towards the two hundred thousand coins threshold," remarked the host with a small smile.
Challenge's Results :
Money Won : 3 000 + 0 + 6 000 = 9 000
Team Pot : 168 000 coins.
"Not sure we'll ever reach this level," sighed Enguarde, visibly disappointed. "We only have one or two more missions, right? And look how much money we won within two challenges last episode!"
"Well, you never know. You might suddenly become good at this game!" Monty smiled innocently after his subtle jest. "In any case, this is it for the first challenge of this episode. We will drop you off to our hotel where you will be free to do whatever you want until six in the afternoon."
"That's oddly specific. Do I smell another game coming our way?" deduced the pink-haired healer of the group, a finger on her lips.
Waitress groaned. "I just wanna relax!"
"There'll be plenty of time to relax in a few days, when it's all over!" pointed out Enguarde, throwing his fins in the air as the others chuckled.
But even though the group was all smiles, the remaining players could not help but think about the results of their latest challenge. It was on their minds during the whole duration of the journey back to the hotel.
Waitress : Sorry but, like, it was super duper weird how Blanche could kinda totally evade the rules of the challenge with her dare… Like, yeah okay, no one else thought about asking Monty, but at the same time it's sorta like, what made you think it could potentially work? I dunno, I guess I'm kinda confused 'cause there's nothing to prove he would've accepted for someone else since, like, no one else asked. It would have been nice to know!
Enguarde : Yeah, Blanche's move was genius and yet totally suspicious, I'll give you that. What I won't give you, though, is Waitress' lie. I mean, I get blamed for skipping a question or two, but at least I did earn something. I don't get it. How come Waitress keeps on committing these mistakes at this stage of the game? It shouldn't happen. I also have a hard time believing she didn't know what an exemption was since she told us she knew the previous Mole!
Blanche : True, Waitress' round being void does mean that out of everyone, she made us lose the most money… Or does it? Imagine my surprise when I learned later that Enguarde had asked Waitress whether she was the Mole or not. That is the exact question he asked me, and she apparently gave him the same answer I did. So yes, Waitress lost us ten thousand coins. But Enguarde only won three thousand coins during his round, yet he found a way to sacrifice another three thousand coins by asking us both that fated question. Do the math, he's as guilty as Waitress is.
Hello everyone! Long time no see, eh?
I have to apologize for this delay. Most of the chapter was written by mid-August, however I procrastinated because I am very unsure as to how I am going to proceed with the last challenge. See, I have the concept for it, but I'm not sure it is the most interesting one to read. And whenever I feel unprepared for the future, I have writer's block. Well, it's not quite writer's block, I just have a block is all. Still, I guess I'll probably improvise when it happens. Either I'll follow my initial plan (not likely), or I'll just wing it and change the challenge as I write it (very likely as always...). At the very least, I know where I'm going with the penultimate one.
Anyways, I was also hoping to shorten my chapters' length, but I also see that it is apparently not going to happen? I made sure not to write too many scenes before the challenge, and to make it simple, but we still passed the ten thousand words count. I really don't know why it keeps happening, lol. In any case, I do hope you enjoyed it. It's the last stretch!
The website is also now 100% complete! Not sure if I had said anything to this effect before, but well, there you go!
And now, a few words about our latest elimination!
Boo : Boo, Boo, Boo... There is so much to say about this little guy, that I'm not sure where to start. First of all, let me start by saying that Boo will have his own story during the revelation arc of this fanfic. You will be able to see his journey, which is why I won't delve too much into his character in this small tribute to him. First of all, and I think anyone that has read my profile at least once during these past few years knows it, but out of these ten candidates, canon-wise, Boo is my favorite character of this cast. It should come as no surprise, really, he was given a rather important role throughout the story, and was at the very center of many events which have punctuated this game.
Boo was...all over the place, but mostly he was a fan of the show. I don't think I really need to describe Boo, 'cause honestly, reading you guys' reviews was enough to make me realize that I had portrayed him exactly as I wanted to. Boo wanted to try everything the game had to offer, and that he did, at least until his execution. I was honestly sad to let him go, but it had to be done. I can't explain further.
In any case... Boo was Mole number 2... Or rather, the original winner of this competition, should I say? In the very first draft, he was supposed to win and expose the Mole at the end. Then I tried to envision him as my Mole, and it worked well too. Honestly, Boo worked well in any position. I didn't even care that he was, well, a Boo, and would potentially be a redundant winner. I honestly don't care much for these things. Whenever I write a story, I'm looking at it as a cohesive ensemble of chapters, independently of the previous entrances of the series. I could have 10 winners of the Boo species, and I wouldn't mind so long as they were different as a character. Whenever you write a story of the Mole's caliber, sure, you have to think of possible challenges, sabotages, and clues... But in the grand scheme of things, they're not what's important. What's important is the common thread that links all events together. A story wouldn't be satisfying if you couldn't explain how and why certain events happened, and just blamed it on the Mole doing Moley stuff and executing players. As I said, I can't say much more, but I wanted to impart my thought process to you guys, so that you wouldn't be surprised that I would consider yet another Boo as a winner. As long as it feels right, it feels right. :P
In any case, that's about it for our favorite spy!
Last but not least: thank you so much for your continued reviews and support! We have made it past the ten thousand clicks on this story! Now, let's hope that we'll reach 200 reviews by the time I finish the main story! (Basically, before I reveal who the Mole is)
Until next time!