EPISODE 4 (FINAL PART)
"BRRR!" Dry Bones entered into the cabin door, startling everyone at the already-set table. The players looked shocked at the arrival of the player.
"It's...cold." His eyes were wide as he stared back at them, and they stared at Dry Bones with wide-eyes themselves.
"Why!" Zess sputtered, seeing the frozen player arrive at the door. "Will you look at that!" Dry Bones went over to their table to sit down, shoes still full of snow.
"I didn't take the exemption," Dry Bones said, voice and body chilled throughout. His head was covered in snow.
Dry Bones: It was the best feeling in the world. To be warm. And just to let everyone know that I'm not that kind of person to selfishly destroy the team. What would the players think of me then if I did that?
"Wait a second..." Piantissimo spoke up, seemingly caught off guard and voice surprised. "You didn't take the exemption into possession? Neither you...or Dashell?"
"At least I know I didn't take it! Haha...do I look better in your eyes now?" Dry Bones said, almost content. "I couldn't do that to you guys. Nope!" Everyone looked at him in happeier eyes.
"Hmm," Piantissimo commented with a small mumble, looking at Dry Bones sit down on a seat. "I thought you would take it."
"I made you a pastry," Eclair said, giving it to Dry Bones. "Please eat well." The entire group of players, knowing how unbearably cold it was in the outside weather of the cave, seemed welcoming. And with the fact that the money was still in play, they were all too happy to be welcoming to the arrived player.
"Wow well, welcome!" Tiny said, sounding relieved. "I was scared that no one else was coming out. Phew." She sighed. Snifit, next to her and looking at Dry Bones, nodded.
"Yes," said Snifit.
"Are you sure you didn't take the exemption?" Zess said with doubt, standing up suspiciously and looking at Dry Bones closely. "Did you stuff it into your pocket or something?" Dry Bones, surprised and with a smile, gave her a shook of his head.
"At least...I don't think so," Dry Bones said slyly, emptying his pockets for the older woman to see.
"How is Dashell doing?" Eclair asked Dry Bones, giving him a cup of coffee. "Is he doing okay? Is he healthy?" It was the sentence that turned everyone silent. Dry Bones stopped talking, not sure how to reply.
"I... really don't know," Dry Bones began honestly, facing her directly. "Last thing I know was that he was left in that cave. And...I guess the final choice is up to him to decide to take the exemption?" Everyone, for a short second, didn't say anything.
"I trust him," Eclair said softly. "He is for the team." Zess jumped in to join her.
"He's a smart fellow," Zess said with a laugh of support. "He wouldn't be dumb enough to risk freezing in a cave for an exemption." She laughed a little, then stopped. "Unless..."
"Unless he really pushed himself to want the exemption and stayed in the cave," Tiny said, eyes wide. "Do you think so?" Everyone seemed disturbed at the answer.
Tiny: It's beginning to enter that slightly competitive stage, where everyone would do ANYTHING for an exemption. Even freeze to death in a cave.
"Could he...possibly, you know... grabbed the exemption and escaped out of the cave too?" Snifit wondered. Everyone turned to him in thought, not knowing.
"That's not possible at all," Piantissimo spoke up, looking a bit worried himself. "Once you take the exemption, the green light shuts off. You're basically trapped...left like a piece of leftover meat in a freezer." Everyone seemed even more silent and tense.
"Do you not remember that there is a Mole in your midst?" Piantissimo decided to speak up with a small laugh, sitting at his side of the table. "You are all too optimistic for this game."
"Optimistic for...winning?" Dry Bones asked, not getting his message. "Why shouldn't we be?" Piantissimo looked confused himself, shrugging.
"Wel, Dashell could still be the saboteur. So...do not get your expectations up so high within this game. We cannot hope to win every game." It was almost like a reality check, his sentence to the rest of them. Piantissimo let out a laugh, trying to alleviate the mood from his words.
"There is nothing wrong with being optimistic...in a twisted game like this," Eclair spoke softly. The players were silent. Dry Bones looked down at the table's surface.
"I guess it's up to Dashell," Dry Bones said, shrugging. "It's his final choice. With none of us there to talk to him, the final decision is up to him."
The six players at the table continued to drink their hot chocolate in silence. Even after just a few minutes in the warmth of the cabin, the bodies of all the players within the cabin were in comfort. But as comfortable as all of them were in warmth, they were still shaking, locked with troubled minds. They were all in absolute uncertainty about what the results of their game would be, or what the fate of the final player had resulted to. They could only wait in silence in the cabin that served as their final home.
Dry Bones: So, could he have really been tempted to take that exemption? With none of us around him to support him? I didn't want to think it...(gulp).
Tiny: In a sort of way...I was counting on him to get it! He deserved it for staying that long. But none of us knew.
And then the door opened.
"Huh?" Before they could perceive what was happening, Dashell fell through the door into the vicinity of the cabin.
"DASHELL!" Most of the players ran up to the get the player who stumbled in and crouched down on the wooden floor with disorientation. He was shaking and drenched in wetness from the snow, but after a few seconds and with the help of his teammates, was now using all his strength to stand on both feet and looking up with wide eyes around him. Everyone was on their feet.
"What happened?" Dry Bones asked. "Did they get to you? Did you get out? Did McHallyboo bribe you with winter belongings like he bribed Snifit?!"
"B...bribe?" Snifit repeated, dumbfounded. "What bribe?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Dashell began, almost wanting to shake everyone off. Everyone took a step away from the arrived player.
"I'm good." Everyone's faces were all in position for the same question.
"Did you take the exemption?" Dry Bones asked, voice in excitement. As everyone looked at him, Dashell paused for a second.
Dry Bones: Did he? Did he?!
"No," he said, and everyone seemed to jump with relief and happiness. The money had been won.
"AWESOMEEE!" Dry Bones jumped up to hug the player, and the atmosphere in the cabin was happy. Everyone either gave their share of hugs or handshakes to Dashell.
"Dashell, you're amazing!" Tiny said, going up to the player and giving him a hug. "You did it! You...you totally saved our money!" Dashell, finally realizing the new warmth of the house, started to grin as well.
Dashell: Being a hero. How could it be better.
"Oh," Eclair said happily, pleased among the buzzed crowd and not being able to greet him personally.
"Hip hip, hooray!" Zess said, grabbing the new-found player and bringing him over to the table to finaly relax. "You deserve a mug of hot chocolate, that's for sure!"
"More like a gallon," Dry Bones grinned gleefully. The crowd of players were now together, warm and settled. With the test of temptation over, they all knew that none of them would be spending the intolerable duration of their night in a cave of agony. 15,000 coins were won.
"Anything to say, Piantissimo?" Zess said with a little tease of a nudge. The player didn't say anything, but he couldn't help but give a slightly sheepish grin.
Piantissimo: Okay, I must admit...it was a nice moment for the group when Dashell came back with the money. Strangely, I missed the feeling of success with a group. Perhaps the group can use a few celebrations, from time to time.
"Toast." As Dashell sat down, taking a mug for himself, he turned to the seat next to him.
"I am happy...to see you here," Eclair said, a little bashfully.
"I'm happy to see you here too," he replied. She looked down with a smile, as they turned to look at everyone else.
"I'm happy to see all of us here, frankly!" Dry Bones said, lifting up his cup. "Maybe we never have to experience something so dastardly like this ever again!"
"Besides, well...the upcoming execution," Snifit spoke up, then immediately regretted his decision of saying the sentence with meek look. But hearing this amidst a moment of temporary happiness, everyone in the group laughed lightly.
"I'd rather face the execution then that cave again," Tiny said with a dreadful chuckle. But there was that unavoidable uncertainty buried in the back of their minds, that for the length of their night, they all tried to avoid. Though even still, for that night, they were free and happy. For that night, no one would be leaving the game as the Mole's next victim.
"Aren't you worried at all?" Dry Bones asked Dashell, as the two of them proceeded to pack their bags for the next morning. The sun was hitting off the blanket of snow that had formed outside the night before.
"Nope," Dashell said, face unaltered. "If I leave, what am I leaving behind? It's cool if I get executed." Dry Bones thought for a second, confused.
"I thought that...you know...you wanted to win and all.." Dry Bones laughed. "Come on. What happened to that winning attitude? You've survived three episodes, and now you're going to give up and say you don't care?" Dashell shrugged.
"Aren't you and Eclair kind of getting closer again?" Dashell didn't say anything for a small second. He stood, paused.
"I...don't even know if she trusts me...or at least anymore," Dashell said honestly, looking at the ties he planned to place into his bag. He looked out the window.
"And plus, even if she does at this moment...what's to say I can keep that trust until the end of the game." He sighed.
"Eventually, when the suspects list goes down, she's going to one day think I'm the Mole. So I guess either, way I'm screwed. She's not going to trust me." Dry Bones, wide-eyed, looked stunned at his words. He shook his head.
"You're completely wrong: she trusts you!" Dry Bones told him. "When we were all in the cabin, before you came, Eclair said that she trusted you with all her heart to take the money over the exemption. And you did." Dashell's eyes seemed to light up in surprise at Dry Bones' sentence.
"She...said that?"
"Yep. And even when Piantissimo tried to put less hope into all of us, do you know who fought up in your stance? She did. She put hope in us. That's how much she trusted you." Dashell was at a loss for words.
"Optimism, my good friend," Dry Bones said to him with a wink. "If you're going to be executed, at least leave on a good, warm note. That what I would want to do, at least." He looked out the window, seeing some of their players present in the snowy outside.
"Though I guess some people like to think in the snow?" He looked out at Snifit, curious and still thinking hard about the player in red.
"So the quiz is at 6pm today, am I correct?" Tiny Kong said, wanting to confirm it in her journal. Zess nodded, and Snifit sat with them outside on a snowy-covered bench.
"I like having you back around," Zess said, giving the silent-since-the-morning Snifit a arm's length of a pat. "You're like a little ball of red fluff for this game! Everyone's suspicious of you...but it's funny, because I'm not!" Snifit, both silent and slightly bashful, just sat on the bench.
"I guess," Snifit said, not sure what to say. "That's...great."
"You seem a bit quiet, Snifit, being back and all," Tiny Kong said to him, looking over at him on the bench. "Are you...adjusting to the atmosphere all right?" Snifit, looking around first, then at Tiny, then simply nodded.
"I'm adjusting all right," Snifit said to her. "It's just, it feels like I'm here for the very first time or something." Zess laughed.
"Maybe it's the fake food that we've been eating," Zess chuckled. "How about that?"
"I...don't want to think about it," Snifit replied, making him laugh a bit too.
"Do you know what else I don't want to think about?" Tiny said, sitting on her side of the bench. "The possibility of one of us being the Mole's victim tonight." She sighed, looking a little down at the snow.
"Girl, you can't let every execution bother you like this," Zess said with dignity. "Smile strong! And we have as much as a chance of getting out as you. So it can be one of us gone instead of you tonight." Tiny covered her mouth at her line.
"I suppose..." she said lightly.
The two players were both in line to get food at the inn. At first, there was a strange air of uncommunicative talk, as if they shouldn't speak after last mission's events. Then finally, they decided to speak.
Dry Bones: He was a bit obstinate in talking first...well, maybe a lot. So I needed to say something. I started the conversation. Nothing too much.
"Is that so?" Piantissimo said, raising an eyebrow at the player beside him. "You seemed a bit out of character yesterday, so I SUPPOSE it could be true, that we are not ourselves in this game."
"Yeah, I feel like the missions in this game just get the worst out of us," Dry Bones spoke, clearing his throat. "Can we shake hands?" Piantissimo, with little heistance, stuck out his hand to shake his, still standing straight in posture.
"Yes, we shall," Piantissimo decided to say, his glove shaking his hand strongly. "I shake your hand, Mr. Secar." He then withdraw his hand and grinned.
Dry Bones laughed. "I mean, last night after the game was over, we all confessed and the two of us were the only people who said we would have taken the exemption. That doesn't make us bad people!"
"You would be surprised to know that in some cases, I am quite the honest person," Piantissimo told him in reply. "Many people, even though I am a bit of a show-off in this game, still trust me for who I am."
"Good," Dry Bones said with relief, sighing and grinning. "We're cool now? We're on similar levels?"
"Hahaha," Piantissimo said, laughing himself. "That is, if you're not the Mole, trying to secretly make friends with me before my demise this episode." Dry Bones laughed, a bit uncomfortably though.
"No...just promise me that you are someone I can trust." Dry Bones laughed again.
"It's not like we are making a coalition," Piantissimo pointed out, voice still the same. "We are simply...shaking hands. It doesn't mean we have to trust each other."
Piantissimo: Sorry Dry Bones, but you are stil not earning my trust in this game. How can I trust you if you can definitely still be the very Mole of this game?
"Oh.." Dry Bones stuttered. Before leaving the inn store back outside, Piantissimo faced back at Dry Bones.
"I do not trust you at all, Mr. Secar...but at least you appear as a better individual in my eyes." And with a competitive smile, he left, leaving Dry Bones standing with a bagel in his hand.
Dry Bones: Oh well. At least I tried to make ammends after last night's hostile fighting. But for the most part...I think it worked! I'm sort of proud for myself. I can make ammends and clear tensions that easily. Where has that skill been all my game? Overall, I'm just pretty happy.
"Oh, would you look at that?" In the center of the table full of toasted bread and duck, similar to a Christmas feast, were slices of a yellow fruit. Its scent was so strong that not even the sweet aroma of the cake beside it could take out its pungent smell.
"Blech," Tiny said, wrinkling her noise. "That durian is really strong. Though I must admit it's not that bad tasting of a fruit."
"Scent," McHallyboo began, as everyone turned to him one by one at the table. His silence, strangely got their attention.
"Did you know that actual Moles are blind?" McHallyboo explained to the players. "They use their nose. As a guide. In this game, the Mole is like the same...except they use their nose to sniff the innocent natures out of their opponents..." McHallyboo, with emphasis, gave a sniff through the air himself much to the confusion and amusement of the other players.
"And then with their nose, they guide them to a terrible fate: execution."
"Yikes," Dry Bones shuddered, eating his food. "That sounds awful." He grabbed a piece of duck, not durian, from the center.
"Hmm, but in my opinion," Piantissimo said skeptically, "Vision, or hearing, or even touch are stronger senses than just using the nose! Am I right?"
"But for a mole, who is blind," Snifit pointed out to the others, "it's all they have. Right?" The players looked back at the durian slices.
"Why are you mentioning this, anyway?" Dry Bones asked, his voice wondering. "Is there a reason to mention this right now at this very second?" McHallyboo just waved his hand away.
"Just a trivial trivia fact, to keep your minds off the quiz," the host said to him. "In case you've forgotten, your quiz is after this dinner. For those who didn't know."
"Yeah...let's use our noses to sniff out the answers on this next quiz," Dry Bones said jokingly. "That is what McHallyboo is telling us to do!" The group, amidst their nervousness, were able to laugh at his sentence.
"More like a Christmas banquet to me," Zess said with a chuckle, grabbing a chicken leg for herself. "This will be a last good meal before I leave! Why, I even wish I can get executed this episode. I'd be leaving on a full stomach!"
"Don't say that!" Tiny said, shaking her head and smiling. "We...we should just all take the quiz in our best state of mind." She nervously faced the plate below her.
"With luck," Eclair spoke, feeling her grey, winter gloves, but they were not strong or layered enough to keep her from the cold. Dry Bones nodded.
"And with optimism and confidence," Dry Bones added, trying to get everyone else to smile. "You need confidence." He raised his glass.
"To the executed player, who I will miss as well." McHallyboo announced his sentence with a low voice, rising his glass of sparkling apple cider. "Whoever you are. Please leave...well." Everyone raised their cups as well, and when they toasted, they all secretly hoped individually that it wouldn't be them to be leaving the game.
One of the rooms in the cabin was reserved for just the quiz. The wood oak wall structures of the room were just as hard as the quiz the players were required to take, and as time ticked, they could only worry as they were forced to answer the all-crucial ten questions about the saboteur. The lowest scorer would be leaving. And as the rosewood table that they took their quiz on stood rigid, so did some of their thoughts as well in who they believed that agent was.
Dry Bones tapped his laptop deck, answering his first question with a forward mind.
1. In the beginning of the episode, when did the Mole enter the elevator?
-First
-Second
-Third
-Fourth
-Fifth
-Sixth
-The Mole did not enter the elevator.
Dry Bones: I think we have to stick to our guts on the quiz. There's no use going back and second-guessing yourself...or actually. Is there?
Zess looked a bit carefully at the small text of Question 2, trying to select her correct answer amidst the many choices.
2. Which game was the Mole present for in the first two missions of this episode?
-The Snowball Shootout
-The Snow Tours
Zess: I think Dashell could have done a better job in our first game. We had him as a leader, and he just seemed to go off and not pay attention to how the rest of us behind him were doing. Why, that was mighty suspicious to me!
As Dashell clicked his answer for Question 2, he was then faced with the third question of the quiz and picked his answer quickly.
3. Was the Mole present in the second half of their first game?
-Yes
-No
Dashell: Tiny is a suspicious character. Looking back, I don't see how Tiny couldn't have had enough time to fire her gun. That was definitely a strange action when she got hit, and right in the beginning of the game too.
Tiny looked at the quiz, and clicked Question Four with a bit of certainty yet uncertainty.
4. How many other people did the Mole share a cabin room with for the first night?
-1
-2
Tiny: I...have to think that maybe Zess still stays as one of my top choices as the Mole. She could have gotten hit by that tranquilizer whenever she wanted to in the game. Being of older age, she already got applauded for just making it that far.
5. Was the Mole one of the last three people to remain in the cave?
-Yes
-No
Lookin at Question 5, Eclair slowly thought and picked her answer.
Eclair: Some of the actions of the players in the cave game, I felt, did not reflect their true personalities. Piantissimo, I felt, would have take the exemption, but for some odd reason...he did not. It is so strange...and I wonder.
6. In the beginning of the game, from the pedestal's point of view, in what position was the Mole standing against the wall?
-First
-Second
-Third
-Fourth
-Fifth
-Sixth
-Seventh
Looking carefully with beady eyes, Piantissimo chose his answer for Question 6 of the game.
7. How many pieces of winter attire did the Mole purchase in the cave?
-None
-Two
Piantissimo: I am pretty stumped, usually, when it comes to the quizzes. But maybe Snifit is up there for some reason. He is the type of fellow who you think could not be the Mole because he is too obvious, but then in the end, he may just be the saboteur. It is a tricky one for me.
7. How many mugs of coffee did the Mole consume on the night of the Icy Escape?
-None
-One
-Two or more
8. Did the Mole wear a scarf in today's weather?
-Yes
-No
Snifit: I think I could have an advantage over the others, for sure. Being back in this game, my suspects...err, they're pretty much new. But I think I'll stick with two suspects, them being Dry Bones and Zess. And...we'll see how it goes from here.
9. Did the purchase food at the Inn convenience store today?
-Yes
-No
The Mole answered the final question with a rigid mind as steady as the wooden walls of the room themselves. They knew what the correct answer was.
10. Who is the Mole?
-Dashell
-Dry Bones
-Eclair
-Piantissimo
-Snifit
-Tiny
-Zess
The cold was not spared for the execution. Nobody knew what to expect when McHallyboo told them that the execution would be taking place outside. Bags outside were brought out in a row and took their places in the snow, the landing white flakes almost concealing each name that was imprinted upon each one. The players were in a winter wonderland once again, but this time around, it was for the festive celebration of an executed departure instead of happiness.
"I can't believe...we have to have it out here," Dry Bones shivered, shifing among the seats of players before McHallyboo.
"The cold is the least of my worries right now," Tiny Kong said with a sigh. Everyone sat in the wooden chairs that were brought outside from the inside warmth of the cabin. Their coats and lingering warmth from their seats were the two things that kept them from freezing out in the cold temperature. A third thing was the heated nervousness within each of their bodies, existing from the worry of one question: who would be leaving the game next?
"Welcome...to Execution 4," McHallyboo said, voice chilled but still staying strong in announcement to the players. "You have all taken the ten question quiz about the Mole. Ten questions that will determine your fate of staying in or leaving this game." The laptop screen, brought outside with the table beneath it as well, seemed no fit to be in the middle of a snowy land. But it was fit to be there for an execution.
"If I enter your name into the screen, and it turns green, then you are safe into the next round of this game," McHallyboo began. "And...if it turns red..." The players all seemed still, from both the cold and from the game's deadly rules.
"Then you will be executed, and must leave this game right away." He turned to the television, then back at the players. He seemed to nod.
"Are you all ready?" The players nodded back.
"Let us begin..." McHallyboo sat down on the chair he was sitting on. Suddenly, his eyes perked up.
"Snifit," the host suddenly said, standing right up again as if he was zapped on his chair. Snifit's eyes turned wide, and then the host held something green up in the air that everyone in that game desired at that very moment...especially right before an execution.
"I owe you this," McHallyboo said, holding the exemption in the air. "This is yours. I'll swipe it for you. You shouldn't touch it, because after all, there might be some sort of rule malfunct...I mean...never mind."
"Thank...thank you," Snifit said, a little wide-eyed. And on his table, like that of a credit card reader, he swiped the exemption card for the exempt player.
S-N-I-F-I-T
...
...
...
...
...
GREEN
"Zess," McHallyboo said, giving a look at the player who shook her head with a smile.
"Oh boy...it seems like my time has expired," Zess said with squinting eyes of nervousness as the host typed her name in letter by letter. Then, the host pressed Enter.
Z-E-S-S
...
...
...
...
...
...
GREEN
"Oh, well, cook me for another day," she exclaimed, smiling from ear to ear. The rest of the players nodded, but with dread.
"Dashell," McHallyboo said out loud, and the player nodded and faced the screen. He looked over at his bag, then at the host, then back at the screen. As the host had his name on the screen, he pressed the Enter button.
D-A-S-H-E-L-L
...
...
...
...
...
...
GREEN
Dashell sighed, looking at the ground and snow with a look of surprise as well.
"Piantissimo," the host announced, and the player jumped at the fact that he didn't expect his name to be called. Piantissimo faced the screen with beady eyes, and as the host typed his name in letter by letter, he only waited for the result to come.
P-I-A-N-T-I-S-S-I-M-O
...
...
...
...
...
...
GREEN
He let out a fist in the air, then mumbled something under his breath before relaxing again in his chair.
"Eclair." The princess looked up at her name being called, and saw each letter get typed in one by one. She grabbed onto her grey dress, almost as delicate as snow itself.
"Eclair." As the host drew in to the final letter of her name, she took in a soft breath.
E-C-L-A-I-R
...
...
..
...
...
...
GREEN
She faced the snow below her with a heavy breath. She was safe for another episode.
"Two players left," McHallyboo announced, and it was Dry Bones who gulped and Tiny Kong who shielded her eyes just a little bit. The rest of the players, with anxious eyes, turned to the final two players who were left to be determined in fate.
"Oh no. I'm gone. I'm gone, I'm gone, I'm gone," Dry Bones stuttered in a panic, covering his eyes. Everyone else faced the two unfortunate players left in the row.
"I guess this is the end for me," Tiny Kong said dejectedly with a heavy sigh. "I'm...I mean...it could be me." McHallyboo's fingers waited at the keyboard.
"Who would like to go first?" McHallyboo said, putting a finger up. Both players on the risk of execution, sitting next to each, turned to face each other.
"Me!" Dry Bones volunteered first, before Tiny Kong could speak up.
"But..." She, with worried eyes, just looked at the screen as well. As Dry Bones' name was typed in, the tension was at his highest. One of the two players, with just a click of a button, would be determined as the next victim of the game. Both Tiny Kong and Dry Bones held their breaths.
D-R-Y B-O-N-E-S
...
...
...
...
...
...
RED
"Yep, I knew it," Dry Bones announced, standing up from his chair and with a sheepish grin. "I'm the dead one. It's been great! Bye guys!" The rest of the players were of both surprise and sorrow. The red screen made the snow before it a sickly color of blood, as if marking Dry Bones for the victim of the ceremony.
"I am sorry, Dry Bones," the host began slowly, as the snow in the air seemed to come to a stop.
"But you have been executed from the game. Please grab your belongings... and follow me." All the players with shocked eyes seemed to want to reach out to the player got up from his seat and went over to his bag of luggage. But it was too late, as he followed McHallyboo off into the snow's distance.
"Dry Bones..." When he left, all that was left was the imprint in the snow from his heavy bag when he picked it up, and his disappearing footprints as well.
"Ah, it was such a world of twists and turns being in this game," Dry Bones said to the host, shaking his head with everything that was running through. "I didn't know who the Mole was! I thought...thought way too much. And then it's done! It's all done cause I thought too much...this game killed me." He sighed, then laughed.
"But guess what, you little virtual world," he suddenly said in a louder voice. "No more antagonizing stress from thinking! You don't own me anymore! I'm FREE!" Dry Bones shouted out into the snowy sky above him. The host, heavily amused, cleared his throat.
"No use looking and thinking back now, is there?" McHallyboo reminded him. "Aren't you happy you don't have to think anymore in this game?"
"Of course I am!" Dry Bones said with acceptance. "I can't wait to get out of here!" They ventured through the snow together.
In the falling snow, the players remembered their departed player one by one. To most of them actually, they considered him a friend, a friend now gone from the game of the Mole.
"Since he stepped foot into the building, he was awesome from the beginning," Dashell said, remembering with reminisce. "I never thought he could be the bad guy. Even with his countless sabotages."
(flashback Dry Bones during Purchase of the Dessert): "It's reverse psychology! Maybe a male picked this dress!" (Flurrie and Piantissimo face him with confounded confusion)
"Oh my gosh, like, he did things that were just out of the ordinary," Tiny said, laughing a bit. "That must have been all him! Just him being himself." The players paused for a moment. Now knowing that everything he did was genuine and not of deceit, the players could only smile with a bit of sadness.
"None of you would have believed your eyes," Eclair spoke to the group, a twinkle in her eye, "if you saw Dry Bones deliver the joke on the bus...he had found his confidence."
(flashback Dry Bones on the bus): "Because pepper makes them sneeze!" (as the bus laughs, Dry Bones grins with new-found courage)
"He did that in front of all those people?" Zess exclaimed. "That's...wow! I can't believe that." Some of the players, never knowing of such an event, suddenly felt a hit of sadness within their feelings. Eclair, shedding a tear, took out a hankerchief, and Dashell was quick and somewhat ready to wrap an arm around her. Zess sniffled as well. Even Piantissimo seemed put down, not talking in his seat and muttering something under his breath with a blank, sorrow look. But Snifit, head focused, just continued to try and make out Dry Bones in the snowy distance of the land. He knew that he was executed for a reason.
"I guess...he must have chosen...an incorrect Mole," Snifit said silently, not being able to see Dry Bones anymore.
"Well, that's impossible!" Dry Bones replied to McHallyboo's question. "Favorite moment...err..." He suddenly laughed, looking at the snowy sky above him, then at the host.
"Oh, I know. Remember when I first arrived in this land?" Dry Bones said to the host, trying to make him remember.
"And then I didn't think any of it was real. I didn't think the grass was real. Or the mountains in the distance of the world. Or if it was even real if you cut yourself on a rock. Or..." He stopped, and just continued to walk with memory across the snow in silence.
"Yes," McHallyboo reassured, holding a genuine smile on his face himself. "I remember. I certainly, with every rock existing, remember." Dry Bones chuckled.
"You should read my diary," Dry Bones told McHallyboo. "All these questions. I didn't care about the Mole when I first arrived here or who it even was. I really didn't at all. It was this false world that fascinated me! This fictional...world. I won't forget it ever. I won't." He nodded to himself and smiled.
"I didn't get as close to him as some of you did, but even with that...I'll still miss him being around," Tiny Kong said to the others. "He was one of the last guys in this game who you knew you could trust, and didn't take things too seriously." She laughed. "I wish...I got to see him sing during the dinner mission."
(Flashback Dry Bones singing in the dinner mission) "If you wanna be the Mole, there's one thing to do...just lose all the money, for me and you! (Luvbi, Wario, and the rest of the players laugh with appreciation)
"That was...really fun to witness," Dashell said with a chuckle. "Man, I'm really going to miss him." He nodded, remembering something.
"And in the Cave mission, he really did own up to himself. In the very last mission he was in."
(flashback Dry Bones in cave, teeth chattering): "I…thought I'd be greedy but-but-but…teamwork is the best. I-I-I….sorry. " (puts head down)
"Yes...it seems like the players left here are all people who won't be able to match Dry Bones' humor," Piantissimo said, appearing a bit dejected himself. "I'm going to miss his enthusiasm, no doubt...even though at times, he definitely such a bother." He snickered, but he was joking.
"No...I will miss him, as he is gone." The players nodded together.
"Six players," Snifit said, looking around at the others in the group.
"Yep." Dashell nodded, facing everyone else. "Six left."
"It's only a matter of time, before we're down to the halfway point," Tiny Kong said. "I wonder...who will be leaving next." Even though someone had just left the game, the idea of another execution still loomed onto them.
"Well...ready?"
The edge of the snowy land was gone, but it was what was below the edge that made Dry Bones stare in awe. Below it, swirling snowflakes and little drops of white were flying through the air, but the fact that the snow was compiling within the vortex was what made it an unbelievable site. The little existences of snow, rotating and compiling together, were no longer small anymore as they combined into larger pieces of snow, into giant chunks of snow, and eventually, colossal snowballs. It was almost as if an avalanche of unbelievable portions were swirling around in the vortex, snow balls crashing into each other and then with spiraling motion forming back again.
"I'm...wow." Dry Bones was speechless, looking down at the whirring snow below his feet. He was at the edge of the land's end.
"It's a winter wonderland," he gulped, and then face McHallyboo.
"Ready to leave this land forever...this fictional, nothing-is-real land?" the host said with a wink. Dry Bones nodded with a laugh.
"Unless you have any last questions about this world." Opening his mouth, Dry Bones thought for a second.
"Well, I have just one more question..." He grinned. "Will I be safe jumping into this vortex?" McHallyboo chuckled, then faked an imaginary hesitation, and then finally nodded.
"Safer than you'll be in this world." Dry Bones sheepishly laughed.
"Okay. No more questions. I promise." He took in a heavy breath.
"Three...two...GO!" And with that, he jumped into the grey vortex of flying flurries below him. His body flew with the snow, avoiding the large pieces of ice which crashed upon each other as it slowly began to turn into fictional holograms the more Dry Bones went down.
And within just seconds, the vortex, spinning snow, and Dry Bones were all gone.
The fate was decided! It was Dry Bones who had met his end for the end of this episode!
I am sorry to say that yes, Dry Bones was one of my personal favorites. And writing this story with him in it, he reminded me so much of myself and I based a few of his characteristics upon what I am in my real life. So having him gone...it's like a part of me has left as well ; . ;
I...I can't believe he's parted. I just can't. Why do I get so attached to the executed players?
Let me reply to your reviews before I lose it big time:
sixthsense6 : Manipulation is awesome! If I were in a real Mole game, even if I wasn't the Mole, I'd def. use some manipulation techniques to heck around with my opponents. And then when it comes down to it, deceive my most trustworthy friends...wait what. I'm not that evil. Hehe. And yes, you brought up a good point about a certain player not using manipulation and still maintaining a Mole-like disposition. Good thinking. It's very possible!
fredthemontymole : I have no idea where in the series where I switched McHallyboo to a sadist mode. Because I sure as heck dont remember creating him to be a sadist in the first place haha! If I had to remember correctly, the Bell of Endurance mission rules...yep. Wow, finding clues in the past journals! Kudos, and thanks for reminding me that I need to make another one so people dont get bored of the old ones, lmao. And word! Everyone hates ice levels except for us. We bond!
Fanfict1315125 : Haha yep, I can't believe they all escaped either. I mean, they are ruthless people...but I guess not that ruthless. You never know how nice a Mole could be ; ) and haha! Imagine if they bought all the items in store. In fact, I have this feeling that McHallyboo brought more items into that cave than the players could even buy...so what was up with that, McHallyboo?
Princess Toady : Which reminds me that I should read your story fuuu! I'm happy we are updating on synchronized schedules, despite being across the globe from each other : ) Oh shoot, the image of some of the players raging while stranded in the cave...why did I almost laugh too? Oh goodness, I AM a sadist myself. Seeing your line about Dry Bones in your review almost made me tear. "has a rather important place", at least he made an impact before he left...UGH. I'm gonna cry. Lastly, I REALLY love your predictions on who's going to be eliminated and who's not! So much intense smart logic in it, it's awesome! I look forward to the next one!
FireKai : Thanks for coming back! Nah, no worries of being up to date or not, your review are still so great either way ; ) You may be not the first who has a small dislike for Snifit. My little brother, reading my story, expressed a little bit of fear of him from the way he was so quiet. So you are def. not alone! I must say though, I believe you are in the minority, so be ashamed...hehe, for I am just kidding! Anyways, you brought up some good analyzing points! Thank you for catching up my friend!
Luigenius : When you said "double take" in your review, for some reason I pictured you doing a dramatic reading-text double take to that certain spot in the story (though such a head movement is probably miniscule compared to a real one haha). Hehe, thanks for the visual! Good clue hunting, good points. Good predictions! (even though your execution prediction was wrong, you still had good points hehe!) Oh, and you are too kind with the whole "finals, stressful, take your time" end note. Even though I am done, that was still a happy feels. : ) Arigatou!
Perianth: I'm glad to see youuuuuu back! Yes, it's been a small while, and of course! I do hope the spring (and the summer, yes, the summer) shall bring more autonomy to our writing lives heh. Ah, I miss Mimi and if it were the case that she were to come back, I wouldn't complain for that girl of sass. So anyways, your comparisons list of this season's players with last seasons was a complete mind/mouth drop. I literally loved it : D And you mentioned some pairing that I didn't even think twice about and made me smile (e.g. Dashell - Blooper , Snifit - Vivian/Wario). Herm, maybe I miss the characters so much from past seasons that I make a small part of them live on in this seasons. It's beautiful. And yes I have caught some Dutch Mole seasons! The cinematographic scenery...so well done and I give it to the Dutch for that!
PaloozaChu : Ahh! You know what you made me do? Go all the way back and read The Skilling Game USTS Win. Just from that one line of yours, I went back and read nearly the entire story again. Kudos, kudos. You are very influential in making people do such actions that took up almost an hour of my time. I love it! Anyways, ah, December birthday! A happy birthday (either belated or early) to you! : ) Unless it coincidentally happens to be today, heh.
Guest : Ah, I am all for the suspense! Hehe. I am a sadist on making readers wait! I'm sorry, I've been notorious for it. But you know what, good scrutinizing of detail. WHERE DID MCHALLYBOO GO? As soon as Piantissimo left for his switch, I seemed to have let him go out of the story...well, I'll say here that he left shortly after Piantissimo hit his switch and exited the cave. No other option would have made sense, hehe. Good eye!
DavM : Wow! Good memory going back into the past on clues. Kudos, kudos. Really admirable job there, and it shows you keep a good track and list of things. I wish I did that for some of the Mole seasons I've watched! Anyways, good suspect and suspicion points! You have my honor : )
Thanks guys! You are all wonderful!
As well for that, below are the results of the poll that asked you who was the Mole! With two votes for each voter, here were the results and the majority!
TINY KONG: 5 VOTES (18 percent)
PIANTISSIMO: 5 VOTES (18 percent)
DASHELL: 5 VOTES (18 percent)
ZESS: 4 VOTES (14 percent)
DRY BONES: 3 VOTES (11 percent) EXECUTED
ECLAIR:3 VOTES (11 percent)
Snifit: 2 VOTES (7 percent)
And those are the Mole results! We have a three-way tie for first place! Between Tiny Kong, Piantissimo, and Dashell. Then Zess, then the Dry Bones and Eclair (the former being sadly gone from the game) and then Snifit. Well, you spoke guys! And these are the fated poll results. Just how true or false do they stand?
Oh...and...
MERRY HOLIDAYS/CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL! Or happy holidays rather : ) I wanted to finish this chapter/episode before christmas came, so hehe, consider it an early x-mas gift. If not christmas, hannukah or kwanza or other holiday of the happy December seasons!
Also, didn't this Episode just end PERFECLY with a snow-filled season feeling? It was almost like fate, ending at this very moment. It is magical...our game is synchronized with the game of these Moley fellows. : ' )
Ah, and before I forget, check the website for a few new updates either today or tomorrow (the intro video has been changed minorly, and either today or tomorrow, there will be a new video uploaded: an execution video for viewing purposes!) So yes.
And journal entry tomorrow!
Thanks guys! I cannot wait to see you next episode...and, well...things definitely get interesting.
Yes...definitely. Definitely interesting. Because this virtual tower can make almost anything possible. Including a change in some of the players.
Stay tuned.