Ah! Hello all! I would just like to say and butt-in that when I created this third season, I really did not expect people to read it, at least not as much as my previous two seasons. And I was very content with that. Knowing there was such a big gap, it was mostly going to be for myself and the few readers who just wanted another mystery and adventure to follow.
SO, I guess I cannot express my utmost elated happiness, shock and just overall humbleness to see each of your reviews and just WOW. Thank you all so much and you all keep the whole story rolling! : ) Each and every one of you is seriously inspiration! The story really does exist because of you guys, and I cannot thank you enough, so I will say, thank you, thank you, and thank you from the bottomest of my hearts and a two-hundred and twenty-six foot cliff and I WILL make this an excellent season for all of you! That is my goal by Episode 7, and I will complete it! So thank you all so much : )
WARNING I LIED! THERE IS A SPOILER TO MY SECOND SEASON, THE MOLE: SABOTEUR'S ISLAND IN THIS CHAPTER!
Anyways! Without further ado, it continues. The players sleep their first night in this game! And even at night, usual and normal things just aren't talked about. In addition, other things occur that are VERY far from normal. But just what exactly…occurs?
EPISODE 1 (PART 3)
The sun had already set. As the light-blue color in the sky began to get replaced with a darker shade hour by hour, the player realized that they were experiencing their first nighttime in the secretive world. In addition to their changing visuals, the temperature also transformed, the air being noticeably cooler than before and not as blistering as it had earlier in their arrival to Yold Desert.
The desert sand was not hot anymore, and some of the players even had to wear light sweatshirts to keep themselves comfortable. The host led them to the end of the small settlement.
"I know it had been a long day, so I am happy to say that you will be taking rest in the tents around here," announced McHallyboo, leading them to a small row of tent accommodations.
"Tents?" Flurrie said with a look of concern, but then she smiled, amused. "Well, I believe we all must endure them together. Even, at least, the Mole will be quite grouchy in the morning."
"You will surprised how comfortable they are and how similar they are to actual hotel rooms," McHallyboo said. "So really, consider yourselves lucky!"
"I couldn't care less if we have to sleep on beds or sandpaper," Bowser Jr. said non-caringly. "This game drained me, McHallyboo. I'm ready to go to bed!"
"I have rented four tents for you all," the host said to the group. "The first tent will have two males." He gave out a card to Piantissimo and Bowser Jr, who were coincidentally standing together.
"You two get Tent #1," McHallyboo said, handing them the tent rent slip.
"Ah, #1," Mimi noticed with a giggle, looking mostly towards Piantissimo. "Tent Number 1, Piantissimo. You would get that tent." Piantissimo grabbed the card, shooting a beaming look at her before going off with Bowser Jr.
"Second tent, I'll have two females…hmm…Zess T. and Flurrie," the host spoke, seeing the two females next to each other before him. "Would you both mind taking the second tent?"
"Not at all!" Zess said, as the two females looked more than content to be sharing living quarters with each other.
"We can talk about many things tonight," Zess said spirit-heartedly. "As long as it isn't about sabotage!" The two older-aged females laughed together.
Flurrie: It would be interesting to get another perspective of a player in this game. So to have a roommate to talk to, perhaps I can learn something quite tantalizing.
McHallyboo face the others, and then pointed at the remaining tents.
"The rest of you will pair off in threes," he said to them, handing them the two leftover rent cards. "Toiletries are in the clean cubicles behind the tents. Have a good night!" As the host went of, the remaining six players looked at each other.
"Well, I'm off to bed," Mimi said, "and I'm as tired as ever. Night all!" She followed after Tiny Kong, who was already making her way to sleep.
"Yeah, and I'm excited to see these tents," Dry Bones said curiously, as he and Snifit went off to their tent. Dashell turned around, and saw that only Éclair was standing.
"Well…," he said, clearing his throat a bit. "I guess this is a good night."
"Yes…good night," Éclair spoke. She turned away to go to her tent, but then turned around again.
"I must thank you for your reassurance during our jump," she added. "Your confidence...it was much admirable." She turned around again, finally heading back to her own tent. Dashell's mouth couldn't help but form a small smile.
"Thanks," he said, but mostly to no one.
In little time, all players had gone off into their respective sleeping lodgings for the night. The players, and the Mole, needed to sleep. They all had a long day ahead of them.
"What the...!" Bowser Jr. nearly tripped on his own bag when he entered the entrance of the very first tent.
"So this is where our luggage went." But instead of unpacking, the tired player jumped immediately onto one of the bed mattresses on the tent floor and lied down, face down as well.
"But I'm too lazy to unpack! Good night!" Bowser Jr. said swiftly, before anything could change his mind. Piantissimo looked at his roommate, who had so much energy in the beginning of the day.
"Hmm...yes, this game is easy enough to just let off of your back at time," said Piantissimo in a dignified voice. Piantissimo picked up his bag from the tent floor, noticing a green thumbprint and the name "Il" printed on its front.
"I am too tired as well," he said, shrugging and not unpacking either. Removing his gloves for the night, he put them upon a wooden drawer, a piece of furniture which seemed to be cut straight from a palm tree.
Bowser Jr: What do I make of this guy? He tries to act all show-offy, but then he just lets his guard down. Just like that. That's NOT how you play a Mole game.
"But hey! Even if you are not playing," Bowser Jr. voiced with advice to his teammate, "You should have your Mole radar on at all times too. The Mole can be near you any second." He looked up at the direction of their surrounding tents.
"Hmph," Piantissimo replied, rolling over to face the other way. "I need rest first, before I can think again."
"Okay. Just wake up in time for the quiz." Bowser Jr. then frowned, and suddenly got up. Under his mattress he felt something budge against him, as if something had been placed underneath his body.
"What's this…" he said in a confused voice. Piantissimo looked over at his roommate, sensing that he had discovered something crucial.
"It's a…."
"Journal?" Piantissimo said, as the object was uncovered. He was curious, snatching it from his partner's hands suddenly.
"Hey, give it back!" Bowser Jr. snapped. But his foot hit something else under the second mattress adjacent to his own, and he lifted up the covers. Another journal was present.
"Well, I guess we both get our own," the player concluded. On the front of his green-covered journal was a number: #1. The one in Piantissimo's hand had a large, embroidered "#2".
"Do you want to switch, Mr. 1?" Bowser Jr. asked, almost jokingly but non-jokingly as well.
"No need," Piantissimo said, opening the journal in his hands. "Everybody assumes I like to be Number 1 to an inordinate amount." Piantissimo looked down at his journal.
"But sometimes, I simply feel like I'm Number 2. It is too much stress and pressure on me to keep on being on top." He laughed, but this time, it wasn't a boastful laugh. Bowser Jr. sense almost a tint of unhappiness in him.
"But, do not tell anybody that. I need to appear as the most self-assured and confident player here." For a few seconds, the two players simply flipped through their pages, as if something hidden was concealed in their blank pages.
"So weren't you in Season 2?" Bowser Jr. said suddenly, with no warning. Piantissimo immediately faced forwards, not bothering to look at the player besides him.
"Huh…why!…I would never…" the Pianta-resembling individual stammered. "Preposterous. I wouldn't even see how you would even know I was in the second season, even if I was present during one of the later games."
"Okay," Bowser Jr. said, frowning with confusion. "But I know you were. On TV. Did you see that they were the Mole of Season 2?"
"Oh, well…I saw the Mole…but I didn't interact much with them…" Piantissimo said, recalling back. "It is not like we got into a duel or anything of the sort. We did not talk one sentence with each other, but I'm sure if we did, we would have had a nice conversation with no qualms or antipathy." He thought more.
"But...they just seemed like a normal person. Happy. A bit jumpy. Nothing wrong with them back then." Piantissimo shrugged nonchalantly.
"It was a long time ago," he finished.
"Then if the Mole was undetectable in the previous game...it shows that the Mole is just like one of us!" Bowser Jr. concluded, looking out the transparent circle of the tent that served as their window. He looked closely at the moon, hard, but couldn't tell whether it was pixelated or not. It couldn't be distinguished from a real moon. As fake as it was, it was real.
"You can't tell if anyone is real or fake in this game."
"Ah, my, this is beautiful," Flurrie called out, seeing a basin-designed sink installed in their tent. "Is not it just great? I was silly to not appreciate the sound of a tent at first."
"Quite exotic," Zess T. replied, who was settling onto her mattress. "I didn't know we would be put in the middle of a desert, but in addition, I didn't know it would be so good!" She chuckled, unpacking her luggage bag.
"So everything is just so stressful, with all this whole Mole-business in the air," Flurrie said, looking into a mirror in front of her while doing her hair. "It's all rather silly, if you think about it."
"I don't think it's silly at all," Zess T. said, sitting down on her mattress to feel it. "I'm actually getting into the gist of things! One of us is a traitor, and you just don't know who it is!"
"If I had to guess right now," Flurrie said, combing her hair, "I would have to guess that lad Snifit. He's very quiet, even for someone who's just met the others for the first time."
"Now, I don't think they would pick him as the Mole," Zess T. spoke out, trying to make herself comfortable on her bed, but unable to. "I highly doubt they'd pick a chap like him to be the Mole. He's way too quiet!"
"Maybe he's so quiet, nobody would dare to suspect him," Flurrie thought to herself. She picked up a perfume bottle labeled, "Mushroom Puree".
"Or maybe it is someone fair, like Princess Éclair," Flurrie said, applying eyeliner. "She's very dainty, proper, and can be very suspicious too."
"Daintiness doesn't go well with Mole-iness," Zess T. decided, finally lying down. "If you were to ask me, I think it's someone who really tries to fit in with the group. Someone friendly, who we wouldn't suspect at first. Now, they're most likely to be the Mole." She once again shifted uncomfortably in her bed.
Zess: It's all like the lottery...not saying I've gambled so much in my life! But if you take a lucky guess…you might just get the right Mole!
"All you gotta do is suspect one person…"Zess said, looking at the tent ceiling. "And if that person's the right one, you win the whole game. Why, if that person was me, I'd be boggled!" She got up from her bed, both flabbergasted and enticed.
"Now, what is under my bed!" the old woman exclaimed, lifting off the ground mattress. Flurrie turned around, as they both looked at the green-colored book.
"Well well," Flurrie realized, putting a finger to her chin with interest. "The secrets in this game just keep increasing."
"You know what I think a Mole is?" Dry Bones went on. "Someone who is like…sabotages…but then doesn't bring it up," Dry Bones explained to his two teammates, who seemed to either just stare at him blankly or was more interested in other things.
"The eliminations depend on the quizzes, right?" Dashell said, looking at his journal carefully.
"Okay, quizzes," said Dry Bones, ranting on. "Now, I don't know how the heck they work, but I heard they're on computers, and man, sometimes my hand just slips, being all boney and all…I might be the first eliminated!" He stopped rambling, then looked at Dashell.
"You're known to be speedy….fast…you're the speed Pixl who's known to run 50 knots per minute," Dry Bones realized. "You probably wouldn't have trouble on the quizzes." Dashell nodded at him.
"Do any of you have a pen?" Dashell spoke up. Snifit looked over at his bag, and then pulled out something from its side pocket: a pen.
"Thanks bud...where'd you get this pen anyway?" Dashell asked, looking at him strangely. "I thought we were only allowed to bring clothes."
"Home." Dry Bones stopped talking, and looked at the player with wide eyes. Snifit's eyes widened too.
"I do a lot of paper work at home, as a sheriff," Snifit replied, shrugging. "At least that's what I've been told I do."
"Suspect 1," Dry Bones spoke out loud, as he wrote. "Flurrie. Caused confusion on the case of her question. Suspicious Level: Moderate." He turned to Dashell.
"Who else sabotaged?" Dashell asked his two roommates. "I have this sure feeling that the Mole messed up in the first game."
"A bunch," Snifit answered. "You have to take into account the influence that other players had on the player who was about to jump. The host must have added that rule just so that the Mole could find an opportune sabotage."
Dashell: What do you know? Snifit, as silent as he is, is smart. Maybe I can use him as a shield.
"Come on, I know I sabotaged by not helping Tiny with her cucumber question, even though I'm a horticulturist," Dry Bones said, laughing. "But I was completely worried about having to jump. I couldn't focus on anything else . And to think of it, you sabotaged that first game too! We both...kinda messed up."
"That we did," Dashell realized. He put his journal down, almost in a giving-up way.
"This game is harder than I thought," the player said, looking at the other tent across from their from their own tent's entrance.
"What has the Mole gotten themself into?"
It was morning time. The players were gently awakened by not only the light-leveled bustling of the people outside their tents, but by the sun as well. The level of lightness was bright above their heads.
"Well, Day 2! Are you ready for the second day of this game?" Tiny Kong said to her two teammates, getting her clothes ready. She was up and ready, but made sure the night before to keep her journal hidden from either of the other two over the night. She had hidden it under her pillow while she was sleeping.
Tiny: I don't trust many people in this game, and it's only understandable that I don't. One of us is the Mole, and it could and might be anyone. Even a roommate.
"Yes!" Mimi said, who was actually delighted to be up. "I can't wait to play more of this game. The other players are simply…easy to manipulate."
"I hope you don't think that about me," Tiny said jokingly. "Cause I'm not ready to fall into anyone's traps." She looked over at Éclair, who smiled.
"I am ready to go…but I had the most peculiar dream last night," Éclair said, who was still seated in her bed mattress.
"Dream?" Mimi asked, interested.
"I do not remember...everything..." began Éclair, sounding dazed. "But I do remember there was a black shadow. In my dream, there was dark, black orb, following behind me. And I felt like the black shadow was…a person. This person, or black orb, was of great speed. They were running really fast...speedy. Almost like it was chasing me, and only me. And then..."
"Oh my gosh," Mimi said, completely engaged. "Go on!"
"The shadow reached me, and was gone," Éclair told them. "I believe…it sounds crazy…but…I am not sure if I should even continue-"
"What, what!" Mimi said eagerly and fearfully, almost screaming at the top of her lungs. "What was it?!" Tiny listened, looking a bit skeptical.
"I believe the dark figure…was the figure of the Mole," Éclair finished. Tiny and Mimi both turned to each other.
"Oh, hah! Well, that isn't surprising," Tiny Kong said, almost as if she was laughing it off. "This place is just so crazy. It's no wonder you were having crazy dreams like that. I'm surprised I haven't had a crazy dream yet."
"Oh my gosh…I totally believe in dreams though," Mimi said to Éclair. "Maybe it's a sign."
"I believe in more logical stuff," Tiny Kong continued to Eclair, "so I think it's just a mixture of everything that's happening in these games. It probably doesn't even mean anything. Don't worry about it too much!"
"Perhaps," Éclair said, smiling and trusting the Kong relative's words. But Mimi only shook her head.
Mimi: Hmm. I think it was a sign. Some dreams hold signs of the future. I want to see what dreams I get in this game. Maybe it'll tell me who the Mole is too!
"I had a weird dream, too," Bowser Jr. went on, as the players were eating at the same exquisite location which had served them lunch.
"What happened?" Piantissimo asked.
"That I won this game." Everyone rolled their eyes, but some of them even chuckled at the player's words.
"I had the same exact dream," Piantissimo said, pompously, "but it was not a dream. It was a vision."
"No, but besides that," Bowser Jr. said, shaking his head, "I had this weird, other dream." He shoved a macaron into his mouth, food which had been saved and was still fresh from the day before.
"What was it?" asked Flurrie, interested in such things as well. "I tend to believe a lot about what our dreams tell us. They might even tell us of events to come in the future."
"Well, it's funny. I was hopping on a metal object. Not sure what it was. It was cracking, and breaking and the object was getting destroyed. But the object spoke to me, 'Are you sure you're destroying me?' But for some reason in my dream, I just said to the object, 'Yep. I'm sure I destroyed you'. But the reality was, I didn't destroy it." The players all looked at him, slightly interested but unsettled.
"Sounds like you're hiding something in the back of your mind," Dashell commented. "Maybe a secret or something."
"I'm getting shivers," Dry Bones said, sinking back into his chair. "I don't like all this creepy dream talk."
"Why are we all suddenly in this game getting dreams, McHallyboo?" Tiny asked, after hearing Bowser Jr.'s testimony. "I mean, there has to be a logical explanation to it. Did it happen to the past Mole players as well? What's the meaning of them?" McHallyboo finished swallowing his piece of pancake before talking.
"Frankly, I don't know the real answer," said the host, being as honest as he could. "But it must be something with the illusion of this entire virtual setting being variegated up with your reality. Everything is mixed up, and your imagination…flows. Your imagination is larger than ever before, as long as you are in this building." Everyone looked at McHallyboo, then at everything around them. They were all in a constructed setting: a small, stranded tent in the middle of an enormous, scorching desert that stretched for miles, and they had all walked those miles with their own two feet. None of it seemed fictional to them.
"So that's why your dreams have been so large," McHallyboo explained. "Your level of imagination in your brains has been forced to increase, as you walk, breathe, and live in this fake world. And the more you live in it…"
"The more real it will seem to us, and the more our imagination is magnified," Flurrie finished.
"And the greater our imagination is, the more we dream at night," Bowser Jr. said, thinking hard.
"There's something really evil about this building then," Tiny said, thinking also and looking at the food on her plate. "Really, really evil."
"Why, I think it's rather intriguing, and beautiful," Zess T. spoke up from the front of the table. "But it is kind of scary that this can all get into our heads like that."
Zess: All these players: they all have these strategies to win this game. But we're thrust into this setting that we're just all so unfamiliar with…and so we have to all start from scratch, and make sure our strategies work! I just sure hope mine holds weight!
"Players…we will be travelling a farther distance to your next location," McHallyboo told them all, standing up from his chair. "Once we arrive at our next location, Mission 2 will begin swiftly."
"Oh, how splendid," Flurrie said, almost excitedly. "We have to make up for our losses in that horrid first game." For the others, this was another opportunity to add more money to their pot.
Bowser Jr: We definitely need more money. Especially since one of us has the job of like, keeping money away. We have to counter them, or else we're all just being suckers to the Mole!
"Pack your belongings, because we're off to a more civilized and proper civilization!" The players could not be more ready to start their next game, most of them having a feeling that a two-hundred and twenty-six foot cliff would not be involved.
The players left at approximately 9'oclock that morning. All ten of them were delighted to see in front of them two awaiting carriages, and were also delighted to know that they would not have to take the travel to their next location on foot. A little apprehensive on where they were going to be located next, the players took the three hours of time to travel to their next location to form scenarios in their head of what their next game entailed. Most of them took this time to write in their crucial journals.
"My, the heat in this carriage is quite sweltering," Flurrie commented, who was using a fan for herself. "But I would be foolish to be complaining. How happy I am that we have reliable transportation in this desert."
"And how happy I am to tell you all that we're almost there," McHallyboo said, "because I think I see the town. I think we're here…yes, we are!" It was an interesting, small town that was much more advanced than the settlement where they had settled the night before. Buildings were placed here and there, and they could see that there was more life present and existing in this bigger town.
The two stage coaches holding the players stopped right before where the desert cut into the urban pavement land. The doors of the stagecoaches opened, as the players eagerly stepped out.
"I don't know why…but my feet," Tiny said, stretching out her long legs as she hopped onto the ground, "are so, so happy to be on the ground. That was the longest three-hour ride ever."
"Oh, I gotcha," Dashell said, holding out a hand to Éclair who had stumbled while getting out from her carriage.
"Thank you for the assistance," she said to the speedy Pixl. The players, all out of their carriages, looked forwards.
"Quite a town," Piantissimo commented.
"Where…are we?" Mimi asked.
"You have arrived in Yold Town," McHallyboo told them all. "This is the actual civilization site within Yold Desert, opposed to where you stayed yesterday. So you'll see more people here than at the tent pit stop." The players could see the town ahead of them, and though it wasn't big, it was still populated to a significant amount.
"Please, follow me," McHallyboo told them all, as the crowd of them followed behind the host on the laid-out pavement. The players seemed a little bit more relieved, seeing their first views of other social, normal-living life while entering the town.
"Welcome to Yold Village!" called out a soldier in a red uniform. Some of the players waved out to him.
"Huh…these kinds of people are just funny and block-shaped," Bowser Jr. realized, but then figured that it was how the civilians appeared in the actual world of the town. McHallyboo led them to the direction of a shop.
"An old shop?" asked Zess T. But McHallyboo did not stop at the shop. Rather, he jumped a small ledge, back onto the sandy land that was not part of the town. As the players followed him curiously, they noticed that the host was leading them directly behind the shop, slightly away from the town, to another part of the desert.
"Hey, why are we going behind the…!" Right behind the shop was a large sight for the players. It would have been a normal patch of sandy terrain, if it was not for the immense mechanical structure that lay before their eyes. Standing over twenty feet high, it was an item that was very appropriate to be standing in a blank, diggable, area of land.
"This is my excavator…I call her, "The Mole Digger", McHallyboo said, almost in a proud voice. "One of you will be using her in this game. Now, before we begin…" He faced the players.
"Before we begin, I need to know the three players in this group who know everyone else the best. So, please choose those three players." The players all looked at each other.
"Hmm, I believe we should choose this team on individuals who know the most…factual knowledge of each other," Flurrie said to everyone.
"Yeah, I agree," Dry Bones called out. "People who studied each other's profiles the most!"
"I believe I would like to volunteer myself," Flurrie spoke up, facing the others. "I feel like I am most comfortable, of this group, in knowing most of you, as well as a few of your qualities."
"I would nominate Flurrie too," Tiny Kong others nodded, agreeing too.
"I know a lot about everyone too," Piantissimo immediately volunteered. "So I will volunteer for this role as well." Some of the other players exchanged glances, a little hesitant in choosing the player in purple.
Mimi: The only person that Piantissimo knows most about is like, himself. What did he know about the rest of us?
"I know every single detail about every one of you, from ever nook and cranny," Piantissimo said, giving off a dashing smile. "And, my brain is simply the biggest."
"Oh...my gosh," Mimi groaned and muttered.
"Well, if no one else wants the last role…I guess I know some facts about everyone as well," Dry Bones said, shrugging and raising his hand. "I'll do it."
"All right, so the three of you?" McHallyboo confirmed. "You will be the three archeologists of this game."
"Archeologists? Not anthropologists?" Dry Bones asked.
"Please, follow me to the end of the town. Everyone else, please stay here." Flurrie, Piantissimo, and Dry Bones followed the host out of the area. The final earnings of the game would lie in their hands.
"Now!" said McHallyboo, arriving back to the remaining group of players. "Now that those three are settled, I need three players who like to spend their time searching for treasure, and four of you who can do nothing better than the action of spending money."
"Oh my gosh," Mimi shrilled up. "Spending for me. Though, searching for treasure sounds fun too!"
"I will do the spending role as well," decided Éclair. "I have a slight feeling that treasure hunters will have to dig in the sand, and I'm afraid I am not ready to perform such actions." The others nodded, looking at the sandy patch.
"Well, I'm not afraid to get down and dirty, if I have to dig up treasure," Tiny Kong said, excited. "I'll dig up some gold!"
"Me neither, but I think someone with more energy will be better at digging than me," Zess T. decided with a small laugh. "I will be put onto the side with the money spenders!" She joined the team of money spenders, while Bowser Jr. turned to Dashell and Snifit.
"Do any of you want to take the last spender role?" Bowser Jr. said. "If not, I'll take it." Snifit looked indifferent.
"You know, maybe I would make a better shopper than a treasure hunter," Dashell said, looking at the players on the respective team.
"Nah, I think you could be a good digger, since you have a lot of speed," Tiny Kong said suddenly, butting in. "I think Bowser Jr. should stick as a money spender."
"Okay, fine with me." While Bowser Jr. joined the shoppers, Dashell had no other choice but to join the team of treasure hunters.
Treasure Hunters: Tiny Kong, Dashell, Snifit
Treasure Spenders: Mimi, Éclair, Zess, Bowser Jr.
"I would like to introduce the next mission," said McHallyboo, seeing everyone in their places. "This next game is called, Purchase of the Desert. Teamwork is needed, and communication, both directly and indirectly, is of the essence in this game" He pointed to the sandy lot in front of the group.
"Hidden in this area of land," McHallyboo explained, then pointed to the empty land of sand in front of him, "are many, many coins. Treasure Hunters, you have half an hour to retrieve as many coins as you can from this sandy land." The host pointed to the large vehicle in the middle of the lot.
"One of you will be controlling the excavator," the host said, as the three treasure hunters turned to each other with stunned enthusiasm. "As the excavator digger, you will be able to dig up the most grandest of treasures in this game," McHallyboo said.
"Whoa…now that looks fun!" Bowser Jr. said, a little jealous.
"The grandest of treasures?" repeated Eclair.
"Who would like to take that role?" the host asked. The three of them faced each other. Snifit looked at the excavator, then raised his hand.
"I think I might be familiar with some of the mechanisms," Snifit told the host. "I have maybe some prior knowledge with vehicle buttons and what not." Snifit took the role, as Dashell and Tiny nodded.
"Then Snifit, while you control the excavator, you must dig sand up into the claw," McHallyboo explained. "The other two must physically collect the coins." The host pointed to a large object against the back of the shop.
"The two of you, Tiny and Dashell, must stand in this bin," McHallyboo said, and he pointed to a large container that was placed against the back of the shop's back wall. The players at first had mistaken it as either being a garbage or recycling dump, but the two treasure hunters could only fear the worst.
"Why would we be standing in there?" Tiny asked, looking confused.
"Because the excavator must drop the sand in that bin, over there, where the two of you will be standing in." McHallyboo explained. "You must stand under the excavator as it pours gallons of sand upon you." Tiny and Dashell's mouths dropped open.
"Oh…my gosh…what?" Tiny laughed, shaking her head. "Really?"
"As the container fills with sand, you must search within it, for treasure...like in a playground," McHallyboo said, and then he winked. "Like some say, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
Dashell: They took that phrase way out of whack. I wasn't going to particular enjoy it, but hey, it's the game.
"Huh…well," Bowser Jr. said, wide-eyed. "I'm not jealous of your roles anymore."
"The coins that Snifit are able to dig up will be transferred to the people in the shop," the host said, and he pointed to the four treasure spenders of the group. "You must use that money to purchase four important items."
"What's the nature of the items?" Zess T. asked. "Like, can it be just any regular old item?"
"You must each purchase an object that you think…represents you the best," McHallyboo said carefully. "Choose carefully: after the forty-five minute time limit is up, the three archeologists will examine these four objects. They must then determine which object was bought by which player." The four shoppers nodded, understanding.
"For every correctly identified object that is identified to a player by the three archeologists at the end of this game, 5,000 coins will go into the team pot," said McHallyboo. "So once again, you can win up to twenty thousand coins. But can you actually win it all this time?"
"Yeah, I hope so!" Zess T. said, remembering last mission's results and shaking his head. "We gotta be smart. I'm pretty noggin' at choosing what objects are important, what not."
"Yes," said Éclair. "We must choose the best objects that will best describe us, for our part of the game."
"Oh, and one more thing," McHallyboo warned the players. "The objects in the shop aren't cheap. So you might want to hustle on earning as much money as you can. Good luck." Tiny sighed, then looked over at Dashell.
"So, partner, are you ready to get some treasure?"
All players were in their respective places. As the two treasure hunters stood in their trash dumpster with uneasiness, the four shoppers stood beside them, wondering what the rest of their game actually held in store. The most unique position of the game, however, was Snifit's place in this second challenge. He had been provided with roughly twenty minutes of technological training before being literally strapped to his seat of the excavator.
Snifit: I have the knowledge of a police officer and we have complicated vehicles with a lot of buttons. I was figuring it was the same thing.
"Oh wow, look at him," said Tiny, shielding her eyes as the sun hit the metal of the machine. Both she and Dashell, luckily and thankfully, had been provided with goggles to wear as they would slowly get buried with sand inch by inch.
"I wish we got ear and mouth plugs too," Dashell said, looking at the sand ahead of them.
"Remember, any money that you find, just give it to us right away," Bowser Jr. told Dashell. "And then we'll all run to the shop to buy something. We got this in the pot."
"Hoping that the Mole doesn't screw us up in the end, that is!" Zess reminded them all.
"Are you ready to start your game?" McHallyboo announced to the entire group. "Hunters? Spenders? Archeologists, even?"
"Alive and ready to win," said the voice of Piantissimo, speaking into the walkie-talkie between the host and the players. Flurrie and Dry Bones nodded as well, from across their location in the desert town.
"Yes!" all players called out in unison. Snifit gave a thumbs up from his machine.
"The game begins, in three...two...one…now!" The machine roared to life, as Snifit started its engine. At first, the excavator lunged forwards, which would have thrown his figure from the seat of the machine had it not been for his seatbelt.
"Easy!" Bowser Jr. shouted from the area of the trash containers. "It's a sensitive machine."
"Gotcha." Snifit slowed down his moving, and then stopped to the vehicle. He looked at his number of buttons, and saw the one button that he had been given careful instructions in using.
"The arm." He simply pressed it down, and the arm of the excavator reached down, then slowly picked up a large amount of sand into its container bucket. With a slow, simple scoop towards the ground, he raised the arm up again, and it was full of sand.
"This way!" Tiny shouted. "Move the machine this way!" Snifit moved the large machine slowly towards the end of the sand area, to where the shop was located. Within seconds, he had reached the trash dumpster which held the two waiting players.
"Oh no…I'm not ready for this." Looming over them like a dark shadow, the excavator was like a large, menacing figure to Dashell and Tiny. Very soon, they were about to meet their first sandy assault.
"Are you ready for me to pour the sand in?" said Snifit, not knowing how unready his two teammates were.
"Hold your breath!" Dashell said to Tiny, as they both were fearing the worst and bracing themselves.
"Three…two…one…go!" As Snifit pressed the green button, the gallons and gallons of sand from the excavator poured over the two poor players like a terrible shower of gravel, emptying into the container that held them. The four players standing beside the dumpster stepped back with a gasp as the teammates were buried with their first shovel of sand.
"Oh my goshhhhhhhhh!" Mimi shouted, going up to the dumpster, after the sand dust had cleared. "Are you guys all right? Speak to me!"
"I'm okay," said Dashell, standing up from the sand, which had only covered half a foot within their container. "But bleh. It could have gone better."
"The sand! …eww, it's in my hair," Tiny said, standing up and shaking her pigtails rapidly left and right. "That was rough! But, hate to admit it, fun." She shook her head again.
"Hey whoa, please stop," Dashell pleaded, trying to block the player's whips of sand. But then he looked down at the floor of the container they were in: in the pile of sand that had covered the floor of the dumpster were the hidden treasures of their game.
"Coins!" Both he and Tiny rapidly tried to pick up as many of the coins as they could, handing it to the treasure spenders as fast as they could.
"Yes…can't wait to spend all of this good moolah," Bowser Jr. said, almost in a slightly greedy tone. "It's ironic: spending money to get money!"
"Well well, I am glad to go shopping, never the less," Mimi said, excitedly.
"Is this all the money you have?" Éclair asked, taking the final coin from Tiny's possession.
"Yeah...oh wait," she said suddenly, lifting her foot and seeing a lost coin there. She bent over to pick it up.
"I missed one," she laughed, giving it to Éclair. "There's so much sand in this container, it'll be a miracle of we find all of the coins that are hidden in this container at the end of the game."
"Now, let's all go and buy something rich!" Zess T. announced to the crowd.
"To the store!" With the discovered coins in their hands, the four players quickly and eagerly made their way to the front of the shop. Wondering what would lie inside the manipulated building, the players entered the store to do the necessary but very tricky part of their mission: to personify their own selves through a single, crucial object.
Mission 2 barely unfolds! I apologize for that, heh, however, the next upload will unfold the entirety of its unique gameplay!
This chapter explored a lot of the players' deepest characteristics and crevices…even some of them subconsciously! But the truth is, they're all here together to solve one question, and that is, who is the Mole. And at the end of this very first episode, one of these unfortunate players will be going home.
Anyways, I am just so thrilled and humbled to see the number of reviews I got for Chapter 2 *_* I am….beyond grateful of words and you all just seriously inspire me a lot to keep on going. You really, really do! To everyone who reviewed, you all have my greatest greatest thanks and I SHALL REPLY TO YOU ALL! :D Let us see….
sixthsense6: Why yes! I do (and they probably don't even) realize how rude or pretentious they are in this game! This chapter, I tried to shine light on some of those aspects of those characteristics. Maybe some things are different for you…or still the same! : )
Champ 15: Haha! I even noticed myself it was a quicker update than usual and I was shocked, because I had not updated that fast even in Saboteur's island! xD. And thank you for the "twist" compliment! I felt like it was very Mole-gameish, and felt like the jumping aspect just needed one more spice, so just added that last second, haha. And about the entire Tiny/Candy fiasco, heh, you can either take that as a clue, or simply my mixup of characters from my playings of Donkey Kong 64.
PSULucky: Ah, it is an indeed pleasure to see you again! Your character anaylizations were just GRAND : ) Some of your character descriptions were right one…indeed, some characters turn more into outcasts, while other players just aren't as bad as they seem, heh. And I'm actually also glad with your words saying you think this possibly might be the "best "season out of the trio…I really aim for it actually : ) so I really just appreicate that! And your comment about the chapters possibly following Super PM made me go like "Oh SNAP, it really does coincide!" But haha, hopefully, Episode 2 will solve that answer quickly!
Moley Koopa: Ah, I am actually quite eye-opened from your comparisons of the past seasons to this season in your suspectings. That's actually something I like to personally do a LOT in different series of the Mole. I will not reveal whether you are right or wrong about your track, but just wanted to say that you and I think VERY alike, when it comes to Mole suspicions! Hehe, joy with us!
FireKai: Firekai, your words and reviews have given me so much encouragement from the start and I cannot be more happy and thankful to see your name once again. It never gets old and makes me smile to see you still reading my stories that even in my own eyes have rusted, you have continued to read so HELLO DEAR FRIEND and thank you for being back! Also, your suspicious-activity-moment analysis with Mimi and Dry Bones, even be it right or wrong, shows your always-present smartness!
AdmiralBobbery: Why, I am very happy to hear those words! Thank you grandly. Too flattered to hear I am inspiration, I don't react well to that haahaaa. I am also glad to know that you will be following the story this time around as it updates, I guess it does give a Mole story a different feel : ) I hope you enjoy the new change!
fiction idea: Thank you! And I am always intrigued by predicted lists of execution order! Perhaps you are right, or perhaps you are wrong! (lol, what an needless statement, I apologize x.x) But, whenever predicted lists are wrong, they open my eyes to how WOULD a game go, if they were to be booted off that way actually. So that's pretty cool : )
bookreader233: A great pleasure to see you back! And why yes, sometime a first episode has to be rolling before the Mole pops his or her head out! No blame, no blame, lol. : ) And yes yes yes with your last line! (I honestly don't know where I got that phrase…it sounds very Hunger Game-ish, lol, so I always suspect it got rooted partially from there, lol.
The Smart One 64: Ello there, oh good sir. INFECTED CLUE LOL. And aren't we just lame to each other? I'm pressuring you to share your smartness, even if it might be wrong, and you're like "No I wont post it!" and Im like "Ugh, share your smartness. Gosh" and you're probably like "Gosh" in reply. Anyways, I am glad to hear you have eliminated a suspect! Your whole comment of "Not even an interview that I figured would be mandatory" made me laugh cause yah, I picture McHallyboo forcing the players behind a camera to do confessionals against their wills, even if they didn't want to. And is that a Journey reference I am hearing? Are you bringing music to the Mole's ears? Preposterous…
Blucad: Very large pleasure reading your review! It was much appreciated : ) And I'm too glad to hear you are a fan of the actual Mole series as well! Isn't the show in general just…breathtaking? The only downside is, I have to stay away from getting any similarities from the actual series into my own stories! (Traitor Aboard…oh gosh! Haha, though that wasn't tooo similar). I'm also glad you like the game's setting! It totally came up to one day for the story, and at first I was like "…nah, it couldn't work". But then I put it to paper and it actually played, heh. Anyways, thank you for your words! : )
Whoa! So many replies, I ENJOYED writing every single one of them! And if you guys ever have questions in your reviews (as long as they are not like "Who is the Mole?" D:) I'll be sure to answer them : D thank you so much guys! You keep everything rolling and so amazing! I just cannot thank enough.
I plan to upload the entirety of Episode 1 before next week arrives. So, do expect fast updates until Episode 1 is over (Unless you are those kinds of people who in restaurants, don't want their food served too early…are you serious? A waiter asked me that the other day, and I was flabbergasted beyond words. I was like, "WHAT FOOLS EXIST IN THIS WORLD WHO DON'T WANT THEIR FOOD TO BE SERVED EARLY?"
Ahem, sorry for being judgmental, heh. Part 4 to come soon!