EPISODE 5 (PART 3)
All eyes were on McHallyboo, still in shock. The next second later, they turned to and were all on Dashell.
"...well." Dashell's face showed unprepared shock, matching that of his opponents. "My...my guess is...?" Everyone looked at him with anticipating looks.
Snifit: Could this be? The unveiling of the Mole?
Zess: Please, please, please say the name of a player who I believe might be the Mole! That's all I ask for, Dashell!
"The Mole's identity?" Tiny said with apprehension and disbelief. "That's just...impossible." But Dashell remained unresponsive in an answer. He seemed to be thinking hard.
Tiny: Dashell had the very identity of the Mole right in his hands. Whatever his next words were, he had the opportunity to reveal the agent of the game.
After a few seconds, Dashell declared his sentence.
"I think I said the quote. Yep. I said it."
"Wha...what?" Snifit stuttered. Everyone blinked. Dashell nodded.
"I'm sorry, but that's incorrect," McHallyboo declared to the team, and everyone was in a moment of disbelief. Dashell just smiled a bit.
"You said WHAT!" Zess exclaimed, not believing the answer herself.
"I'm...confused," Tiny told him, with disbelief on her face with a relieved laugh. "Well, I was hoping... but why?" Piantissimo jumped from his seat.
"WHY...did you say...yourself?" Piantissimo stammered with incredulity. "What was that for?! If you know you didn't say the quote? You could have revealed the Mole? WHY?" Dashell just folded his arms.
"I just want to prove to you guys that I'm not the Mole," he said with a declarative sentence, with a little smirk on his face. The rest of the players couldn't believe it.
"Just like I said in the very beginning of the game." Everyone at the dinner table at that second, including McHallyboo, was speechless.
"That...that was so darn clever," Zess realized, beginning to laugh. She began to laugh even harder, and harder. "Now no one will know who the Mole is!" She was now near a roaring laugh, even rocking back in her seat with each laugh she made.
Zess: Oh dog-gone it. That was the best move anyone could have ever done. Go, even-more attractive Dashell!
Eclair: I am still so perplexed by Dashell's decision.
Piantissimo: Hmm, well. It could always be a decoy quote, said by someone else. And Dashell could still be the Mole.
"We just lost the game," Piantissimo muttered with a breath of bitterness. "What kind of move was that." Zess just continued to laugh in her seat. Even Eclair laughed with a smile.
"Phew, well, I guess it's all over," Tiny said with a sigh, and smiled. "Well, I was hoping to win 15,000 coins...or whatever amount we would win." She gave out a disappointed smile. "But we did really good in this game, so we shouldn't let that get us down!"
"Well...Dashell..." McHallyboo began, from the front of the table, "you got me surprised. I'll have you on that. And not only that, but I've thought...you guys didn't do too shabby after al." He faced the table crowd, as everyone looked at him with surprised attention.
"Memorizing some quotes out there: I won't say that was an easy task," the host continued. "I've tried to remember the players' quotes all the way from Season 1, and truth be told, it's no easy brain game. Because you all did such a good job, and this episode really doesn't have much at loss for you guys anyway, I'll give you guys 10,000 coins to the pot for all the good brain work you just did." The players, with surprised elation, clapped with appreciation and cheer of their host's generosity, as the money was successfully added to the pot's total.
TEAM POT
130,000 Coins
"Oh man, thank you," Dashell said, bowing to the host.
"Says the one who just cost our money," Piantissimo pointed out with a frown.
"Every coin counts," the host said to the players at the table. "Try to win as much as you can before the end of this episode. Because I assure you...the Mole will do whatever it takes to make sure that your pot has lost enough money."
Dashell: A few of the players have already cost us money this episode. That's the job of the Mole, after all, so I can't blame them. Who knows what they have in store to sabotage in our last games.
"And one more thing." McHallyboo pulled out pieces of paper, then began to distribute them around the table. The players looked at these papers curiously.
"On these pieces of paper, I want you to write a Yes-or-No question towards each player in this game: a question that you have always desired them to answer." Everyone, after a second of reflection, nodded.
"I know." The scribbling of pens, with heavy thought, commenced.
Snifit: ...I wonder how these papers will come into play. It might hurt me, for all I know.
"Hmm...interesting task." As the players wrote, McHallyboo took a bite from his plate, as the others also simply continued eating, chatting away in their own conversations. He then put his hand up to his chin.
"Perhaps giving you all this 10,000 coins won't be a good move in the long run: I'm afraid I just motivated the Mole to strike even harder, right?" And with that, he grinned, looking with his own eyes at the devious Mole, as the Mole gave back their own smile. The night was over.
The sun in the town was bright for the new day. But for the refreshed day, two women had planned up a meeting outside a fountain within the town. There was a deal to be made.
"I hope she says yes..." Eclair sat on the structure's edge, looking around for the player who was to meet her around the watery structure.
Eclair: I had proposed to meet Zess that morning. It was mutual, but it was I who had initiated the encounter.
"Ah, well look who it is!" Zess voiced out, as Eclair saw her. "I thought you'd bail on me too." Eclair bowed, as Zess sat down on the fountain's edge as well.
"Hello Zess," greeted Eclair. "I'm sorry if this meetup troubled you..."
"Not at all," Zess began. The two of them of them took their comfortable spots on the fountain's border.
"So tell me: what was the reason you wanted to meet up?" Eclair cleared her throat, looking at Zess strongly and nervously before speaking again.
"Well, I am here because...well..." Feeling nervous, she then paused, to take a breath.
"I would like to make a trade with you in this game," she said, in a voice of declaration. Zess slowly nodded, her eyes lighting up with surprise. Eclair continued her offer.
"I know you have a Plus One, and I have a Minus One," Eclair began with truth. "But if I had your Plus 1...I would no longer be at fear of disadvantage for the next quiz."
"I see..." Zess said slyly, slowly understanding.
Zess: A trade-off. How brave. I understood her dilemma, being at a huge disadvantage for the quiz. But just what did she have that I could possibly want, in exchange for my Plus 1? A makeup kit? Not for my coin!
"And, what do you have in store for me?" Zess replied with questioning, challenging smile. "You don't have an exemption on you, now do you?"
"No...I do not have an exemption," Eclair stated, looking down. "But..." Taking a deep breath, Eclair reached into her pocket, then carefully took out 3 important, each of them folded in half and concealed from view. Zess' eyes widened.
"The three clues from the tent," Eclair offered, determination in her voice. "I will give one of them to you...if you give me a Plus 1. If you give me it, you may take one." Zess put a hand to her chin.
Eclair: Was a clue strong enough of an incentive for Zess in this game? Was I not assertive enough?
"A measly little paper is quite petty for an entire point on a quiz," Zess told her. Eclair nodded with a little anxiousness of rejection, but remained still.
"But you see...these are very vital and may help you solve the Mole," Eclair replied, face determined. "I assure you, maybe and possibly you will be able to find the saboteur with them." Zess hesitated for a small second.
"I'll give you this: give me two clue papers...and the Plus 1 is yours," Zess decided after a moment. Eclair thought for a long second.
Eclair: As much as I desired to keep the clues for myself...I knew I needed that Plus 1 to survive into a new episode. What is a clue without survival?
"I accept your offer for a Plus 1." And as quick as that, Zess grabbed two of the slips of paper from her outstretched arm with some consideration. And right after, Zess pulled out a coin from her possession, then gave it to Eclair. She looked down at it with appreciation. The transaction was finished.
"Thank you." Eclair said. She stood up, and bowed to her teammate. Zess nodded, reading the two clues in her hand quickly. She then grinned as well
"A good transaction," Zess said with a wink. "Maybe we can both bargain again some other time in this game." With that, the two ladies left the arena, each of them with a large, new advantage.
Zess: Now the question is: just who got the better deal out of the two of us?
He was walking rapidly on his two feet as he traversed across the shoe store. Knowing that his options, life, and image itself had changed drastically over the past few hours, he built the store with a strong-willed and excited mind. Four walls were full of rows of shoes, pairs of every color and style, as Dashell tried on every pair he could in his time that day.
Dashell: I had the power to wear them now. Why not try them all for this short-lived time in the game?
"Ah...for you had created this store. Not a surprise." Piantissimo walked into the store, both with surprise and lack of surprise at seeing Dashell. Dashell turned to him.
"I heard you opened up a shoe store, so I decided, why not stop by it for my own benefit as well?" Piantissimo said to him nonchalantly. He turned to the walls, looking at the plethora of shoe attire as well.
"Yeah, it's awesome," Dashell commented, his face shining as he bent down to finish tying his twenty-sixth pair. "You're a runner too. You would relate. A shoe place is awesome. I never knew how great it could be. And I'm sure you change shoes often." Piantissimo only shook his head with a laugh.
"I stick with the same shoes," Piantissimo snickered. "I don't go poking around others' shoes."
"Oh yeah? Really Il Piantissimo?" Dashell's eyes suddenly changed.
"Unlike the time you went poking around my Mole journal?" Piantissimo paused at Dashell's sentence, his eyes wide with off-guard surprise.
"I...what are you talking about?" He let out an anxious laugh.
"The truth. I know exactly what you told Eclair in the haunted woods," Dashell replied, facing directly at him. Piantissimo didn't know what to say.
"You knew that I lied to her," Dashell continued, "when I told her that Bowser Jr. came up with the megaphone plan in 'Saboteur Island Sabotage'. And so you used that against me, didn't you? To stir up drama?" Dashell was facing down at his shoes.
"And then you told Eclair exactly that...so she would lose her trust in me and never trust me again," Dashell continued, his voice no longer calm. "And the only way this could have happened was with you looking into my journal. I deduced it." Piantissimo was silent, his eyes troubled.
"You think you're the best in this game. So perfect. And so flawless. Just remember that you aren't."
"Well...well...how about you!" Piantissimo retorted, sounding hurt from Dashell's words. "You're think you're perfect and flawless, as a human. It doesn't make you any better!"
"Well, maybe I am perfect and flawless, the way I am now," Dashell spoke in a low voice, looking into one of the shoe mirrors in the shop and seeing his whole face. With his own fingers, he combed his hair.
"But what makes you say otherwise?"
"You think it's great being all human again?" Piantissimo argued, his voice stronger. "To be able to run as many track laps as you can until you exhaust? To tie hundreds of shoes onto your feet before you collapse?" Dashell stopped combing his hair.
"If you were human permanently, that's all you'll be doing for the rest of your life," Piantissimo told him, looking at him angrily. "Instead of appreciating the other beautiful things in life, you'd only care about yourself." He turned around, as Dashell suddenly looked at the shoes in his hand with realization.
"Just...know who your true self is," Piantissimo said, looking down. "Like I'm still trying to figure out too." After a small pause and with a dejected look, Piantissimo quickly left the shoe store, exiting out.
"Shoes..." Alone and with himself only, Dashell remained, looking at his face in the mirror. All of a sudden, his face changed, as if snapping out of a trance.
Dashell: And then it made me question, for the first time in that episode: Was being human a good thing for me? Or a curse?
"Three males...three females." Snifit was marking down circles in his journal. He was sitting on a park bench by one of the intersections, near the inn they had stayed at for their previous night.
Hey, Snifit!" Tiny Kong appeared from around the corner of their inn, and with a little bit of hesitation, made her way to the bench. Snifit looked at her with surprise, then continued to draw into his notebook.
Snifit: It was Tiny Kong. What should I say to her? Should I be direct?
"What are the chances that the Mole is a male?" Snifit continued, as Tiny looked at him curiously. "Or the Mole could be a female and no one would suspect it." Tiny looked at him, a bit baffled, then sat down beside him.
"You don't really think that's a good method to find the Mole, do you?" she asked him, her face still in curiousness at his writing.
"It's better sometimes to take things theoretically. At least that's what I think." Snifit shrugged.
"Well, maybe," Tiny Kong said, twirling her pony tail. "But I like to look at people directly, like approach them in person, and see if they're the Mole."
Tiny: I have a very practical way of finding the Mole. I like to see people in person and determine from their characteristics if they're the all-wanted saboteur. My mission is to find them.
"The Mole could be anyone," Snifit asked slowly, facing her. "Do you know who it is?"
"Well, if I knew, I'd probably not be so nervous before each quiz, like I always am ," Tiny voiced with gloom. "Don't tell anyone though...but I really think it could be Zess. Or...or Dashell. Who do you think it is?"
"I don't have to think," Snifit said, without looking up from his journal. "I know who it is." Then after a second, he looked up, facing Tiny directly in the very eyes. She laughed a little, back away and folding her arms.
"So much confidence," she told him in a jealous voice. "It makes me wonder how sure you are all the time." Snifit looked down at his notebook.
"I'm not that confident," Snifit said, a hint of humbleness in his voice.
"Well...don't take this the wrong way," she replied. "but like, you're kind of suspicious, for the things you've done in this game."
"You are too," Snifit murmured, as he continued to draw in his journal. Tiny stopped, surprised.
"O...kay," she said, laughing a bit. "How have I been suspicious in this game?"
"That camera sabotage you did in Episode 2..." Snifit spoke up. "It reflects what Yoshi did in Episode 2 of his season with the screw and the table...being so obvious with an action, that everyone else dismisses that it was you." Tiny looked at him, taken back and silent for a second.
"I haven't seen Season 2 at all, so I don't know what you're talking about," Tiny Kong, face in a bit of triumph as if she won the battle. "I wish I had that kind of advantage." She paused, contemplative.
Tiny: Snifit knows a lot about the past games. Could the traitor actually be Snifit, who knows so much about the past seasons in our game?
"No one really suspects you though," Snifit said, looking up at her. "Thus, it makes you a good Mole candidate. Why wouldn't someone pick you as the saboteur?" Tiny Kong nodded , thinking hard at his sentence. She suddenly hopped up from the bench.
"Well, then I guess it was me!" she declared, making an imaginary camera gesture to him. "I deleted my own camera photo in Episode 2, when Mimi and Zess weren't looking my way." She was up on her feet.
"Nobody saw me delete the photo from the camera's hard drive!" She made a small jump through the air, to Snifit's surprise. With a face, Snifit joined in.
"Oh no." Snifit backed away, with a feign of terror, acting on in enjoyment. "Please don't sabotage the camera." Tiny Kong spoke again.
"I am...the feared...true Mole of this game." She did a little cape gesture, and then laughed again. As Snifit then forced a chuckle, the two of smiled.
"I guess the Mole could be anyone." Their light-hearted conversation continued for most of the day, as the fictional town setting they were in continued to get darker and darker.
But for as much as they talked, they couldn't help but feel during their conversation that day that they might have spent the afternoon talking, with the slimmest of possible chances, to the actual Mole.
It was a large, metal-like building. McHallyboo had created it for the sole purpose of the players' stress-inducing game for the episode's end. As the six remaining players entered the visually-abandoned building cautiously one by one, as directed by the host, they couldn't help but realize that things would not be pleasant. Suddenly, they entered the main room of the building, and gasped.
"Wires...many wires," Snifit spotted edgily, as they entered into an indoor setting that resembled one of a laboratory.
"This is...scary." Large cylindrical-shaped tubes littered the back of the large rooms, filled with liquid, as they looked at it with tense nervousness. Around the room, electronic devices littered its inside.
"Don't touch anything," Dashell warned Zess, who was curious and about to touch one of the large metal devices in the room.
"It's not like I was going to push a button," she chortled. "I don't want to find myself being an electrocuted test subject." She shuddered.
"I'm guessing our next game has to do with one of these machines?" Tiny said with a voice of displeasure, her eyes looking around the area. "Whatever it is, hopefully it won't do too much mental damage to us." The players walked on in the lab-like setting.
"Are we in for a game, or a torture test?" Piantissimo said, managing a nervous laugh.
"Truthfully...the line hasn't been too defined this season," Dashell said, whispering loudly to the others. Then, they saw McHallyboo, make his way from one of the doors in the room into the center, meeting the players once again for their next game.
"Welcome, welcome," he began, as the players looked at him. "Welcome to the final game of your episode, in where you can add up to..." He paused.
"A potential 60,000 coins to the team pot from your loses." The players gasped, with stunned and hopeful eyes. It was a large, unprecedented amount.
"Oh man...that is a lot," Dashell realized.
Snifit: If the amount is 60,000 coins...then I automatically knew that the game wouldn't be an easy one at all. Nope. It was going to be the most difficult game ever. One that would test our mind strength.
"But what is the game exactly?" Eclair asked, her voice in nervousness .
"It involves...this." And when he moved to the side, they saw something behind him. A chair, as ominous as the other pieces of equipment that had existed with the room, was seen by the players. A superfluous number of wires emerged from the metallic chair's back, connected to another metal block of machine off to the side. Tangled and messy, the wires were seen to have electric pulses, both going visibly in and out of the machine, and got stronger by the second as McHallyboo talked.
"This is a lie-detector chair," the host introduced to them, and each of the players were suddenly hit with a feeling of heavy anxiety for their next game, as they turned to each other in shock.
Snifit: This game...would not be pretty.
Tiny: We keep lies from each other in this game, almost every day. I didn't want people knowing all of my unimportant secrets of this game.
Dashell: A lot of us, at that moment, were just like: we're screwed, no matter what. There are things that are better left unrevealed.
"You will be strapped to your own set of wires as you sit down in this chair," McHallyboo told them. "And then, you will be delivered three questions each. Questions...that you all wanted to ask each other." Finally realizing the play of the questions they had given to McHallyboo the night before, they all nodded silently, if not some of them excitedly.
Eclair: I had written some questions that I never thought would ever be answered by my opponents in this game. Now, this was the chance for me to finally know the truth.
Zess: Bring it! I have nothing to hide. I'm ready to tackle any question sent my way, any day!
"For each player who successfully passes their three questions, 10,000 coins will be added additionally on top of the current pot," McHallyboo told them. "And for every player who gives an incorrect answer...or refuses to answer all three questions...5,000 coins will be subtracted from the winnings." All players nodded with a bit of determination at the high stakes. McHallyboo then took out a manual.
"Oh, and one more thing," he added. "This chair on average has a 93.70 accuracy. So like most true life-detector devices...it can still be flawed. There still lies that small margin percentage of false answers and sabotage. Nothing is perfect." Piantissimo let out a small snicker.
Piantissimo: An excuse for the Mole, to say that the machine is faulty, when their answer is determined as not true.
Piantissimo stepped up, facing the chair.
"I would like to go first. To show the others that this challenge is just easy. And that we could win the 60,000 coins." Everyone faced him in surprise.
"Very well Piantissimo. Please come and sit down." With a face that showed no fear and confidence, he went and stepped up, into his chair of truth determination.
"Activation." Suddenly, the chair seemed to make a large whirring sound, almost as if mechanical gears were clicking it way into function. Large metal arm straps immediately folded over the arms of the chairs, almost as if trapping Piantissimo to his seat by his upper limbs as he let out a shout of surprise. Then, they seemed to glow, little by little, the arm restraints glowing little volumes of blue every other second, hitting the eyes of the other players. It came to their realization later that the light was the very heartbeat of Piantissimo.
"The game...has begun." McHallyboo grew a small smile on his face. Piantissimo could only let off a quasi-confident look.
"Question 1..." McHallyboo then took papers out of his pocket, and it was a pile that the players immediately knew that they had produced themselves the day before.
"Have you ever," the host began, as he faced Piantissimo in the eye, "looked into anyone else's journal in this game without their permission?" Everyone's eyes seem to widen with surprise. Piantissimo looked at the players, looking at one of them in particular with a shrug, then nodded.
"Well, no use to not come clean on this one," Piantissimo told out loud, as he was looking straight at Dashell. "Yes, yes I did."
All of a sudden, they saw the blue lights suddenly turn into a different shade: the color of green. It was an indicator of truth.
"The truth," McHallyboo began. The players seemed to edge up in more anticipation and nervousness, and so did Piantissimo He moved onto another card, through random shuffle. Then, he settled down on one.
"Question 2: Was your friendship with Bowser Jr. an opportunity to deceive him off the right track?" The players gasped, as they all faced Piantissimo.
Dashell: Questions like these could ruin friendships.
Then, with a defiant look, Piantissimo laughed.
"No. It wasn't. I can answer that honestly. Who thought of that?" The others waited, and then suddenly, the chair let out waves of green once again. Two questions, asked by the host and cleared by the lie detector chair, were finished.
"This is...your final question, Piantissimo," McHallyboo began, and the players waited for the final question with heavy curiosity. The host stopped flipping, and looked at the question before him.
"Have you ever sabotaged on purpose in this game?" There was a silence of subtle shock. Piantissimo, eyes suddenly crossed with surprise, looked at the host. His eyes then turned to the players, then back to the host once again.
"Well...you see..." All of a sudden, they players saw that the waves of the chair, unmistakably, were travelling at a faster rate. Piantissimo's heart beat had gone up.
"What's wrong?" Zess asked from the crowd, face smiling. "Scared to admit something, like you said you wouldn't be?" Piantissimo let out an angry look, then turned to the players.
"Well, as a matter of fact, no," he snapped. "I did sabotage in this game, maybe once or twice. But I did it, just like any other player would. So they could be suspected as the Moe."
"Is that a yes or no to the question?" McHallyboo wanted to confirm. Piantissimo paused a bit.
"Yes." Suddenly, green waves lit up once again from the wires, and the answer was cleared. The restraints suddenly disappeared as Piantissimo abruptly got released from his chair, as he stumbled forwards and off it. The first round was complete.
"Congratulations: the pot just earned 10,000 coins." McHallyboo motioned for Piantissimo to go back to the rest of the players. With a look of displayed victory, he joined the other back with a confident smile.
Piantissimo: I did it. I proved to the others that I'm not just a sucker for losing games. As if they thought that about me. Who was the one who just earned 10,000 coins for the team?
Eclair: But that last answer of Piantissimo...we will never know the true meaning of it. Piantissimo may have sabotaged once...or many times. It is uncertain.
"I would like to move on to the next player: Zess," McHallyboo began, and the old lady, with a breath, took her steps forwards.
Zess: Oh boy. You never know, just what could be delivered by this machine. Or by McHallyboo. I just crossed my fingers that I wouldn't screw up.
"Yeow!" The machine suddenly closed onto her arms, just like it did to McHallyboo. But never the less, Zess faced the host with a ready smile. The chair started to emit lights of blue again.
"Question 1...Zess," McHallyboo began, as he cycled through the papers randomly, then looked down. "At the end of Episode 1, were you the one who put the note in the middle of the cake?" Everyone, with surprise eyes, turned to the player in the chair at the question. Zess closed he eyes for a second.
"Well," Zess began, saying her sentence with exclamation, "I would like to say to the others, that no, it was indeed not me!" And then, the lights of the chair turned green, emitting out lights of truth. Question 1 was cleared.
"You see?" Zess said, with a triumphant look on her face. "It wasn't me! I swore before, and I sweared again."
"Hmm..." said Tiny, looking carefully at the player herself and speaking out loud a bit.
Tiny: She still could have...definitely...had someone else put it there instead.
"Question 2," began the host, shuffling through the cards again. "Do you sometimes think that your age makes you a bit discriminated in this game?" The players pondered for a second, as everyone looked a bit surprised at the question itself.
"I will have to say...," Zess thought for a second. Then, she finally answered.
"Well, with no shame in my answer, I'm going to have to say 'yes'" Zess told the host. "There's nothing wrong with believing my older age, with more knowledge, gives me an advantage in this game over the others. But it also gives me some flaws as wel."
Zess: A lot of the players in the beginning probably thought, 'Oh, this old lady! She wasn't going to make it to Episode 1 or past it at all!' And truth be told, I feel like I get just a bit of discrimination, just cause of my age. But I'm darned happy to have proven them otherwise!
Eclair: I do not...feel that way at all about Zess. She is a kind spirit. I would like to talk to her after this game, to assure her that she is just like one of us. We are equal.
As some of the players seemed to nod, McHallyboo moved to the last question of the elderly toad's round.
"Question 3: Did you really think your straws method would work in the Exemption or Bust game in Episode 2?" Zess, with a small laugh, turned to the rest of the players, her eyes focusing on the three players who were with her during the mission itself.
"Well, if someone wants to know this question so much, then I'll answer it," Zess said with a little chortle. "No. I knew from the beginning it'd be a bit of a time waster. Didn't mean to make it that way though!" The players waited for the final determination of an answer, as the lights changed color. They held their breaths.
"It's...green," McHallyboo said, with a nod. "Congratulations. You have added more money to the pot." With a little sound of victory, Zess grinned as she was released from the chair itself. It was 20,000 coins for the current winnings, and whether it would rise or lower would be the result of the other players.
"Dashell," the host called.
"Oh man..." The human stepped his way in front of the crowd, then made his way to the chair before him. His arms now securely strapped and properly place into the restraints as well, he found himself trapped, as his round of questions finally began.
Dashell: First thing I was thinking was: this is the end of me. Because I have such a guilty conscience most of the time. I just had to tell the truth though.
"Question 1," the host began, looking at Dashell and delivering it out loud. "Have you been using the 'Don't vote for me' tactic just to get people to actually vote for you?" Everyone, with still eyes, looked at Dashell with expectancy. The players saw the blue waves of the chair increase just the slightest.
"You know...Im going to answer this one for myself...yeah," he said, as most players looked at him with surprise.
"Hmm, I see how you play now," Piantissimo said, almost in a low whisper. The host moved on to the second question. As it was delivered, there was a gasp.
"Are you pretending to have feelings for Eclair, just so you could use her in this game?" A few gasps were heard from the crowd of players at the question.
"Oh." Everyone turned to Eclair, whose eyes had shock in them. Dashell too had eyes of shock, but for a different reason.
Dashell: Whatever I said...it would change the way Eclair and I looked at each other forever.
"Oh, my gosh," Tiny moaned, covering her eyes. "I can't..." The silence continued, until Dashell raised his head. Everyone held their breathes.
"My answer is no."
"No..." McHallyboo confirmed.
The chair seemed to decrease in speed, and all of a sudden, the lights emitted from the chair. They were the color of green. Dashell grinned.
"That is true," McHallyboo declared, and everyone seemed to sigh with stunned relief. Eclair, her face now shining with happiness, smiled at the player in the chair.
"I knew it," she said, whispering with a small smile.
"Question 3," McHalyboo continued, as he faced the human once again. As Dashell got ready for the question, McHallyboo delivered it.
"Ever since becoming a human, do you like being human better than your actual Pixl self?" There was a small moment of silence, as everyone looked at Dashell. Dashell's eyebrows furrowed, as if having a small moment of difficulty in answering the question himself.
"I...yeah. I mean, I do," Dashell answered. "I really do. I like myself as a human. Of course!" He nodded.
"The answer is yes." He sat back into chair with a satisfied relief. He had answered the question.
"Yes," Snifit commented. "We won again."
"Congratulations Dashell," McHallyboo began. "You have successfully-"
BREEEERMP! The blare was loud from the machine in which the chair was connected to. All of a sudden, waves of red began being emitted from the chair, as if a glowing fire had suddenly spread through the metal. But after a few seconds, it vanished, and Dashell sat where he was, stunned.
"I am sorry...but that answer was not answered truthfully," McHallyboo announced.
"It's not?" Dashell rose from his chair, now free. His face looked bewildered. "I...but..."
"Please return back to the others. 5,000 coins has been taken away from your current winnings." Dashell, face still in confusion, only got up from his freed restraints and walked back to the others.
Piantissimo: Hmm. I should have known the Pixl would fail this game.
"No win?" Snifit said, his voice sounding negative.
Snifit: This game. It was just going to get harder, as the round went. Almost as if it was designed that way.
"Eclair," McHallyboo called next, as the princess went her way to the chair to be strapped in. The arm restraints clamped harder than usual, making the princess cringe just a bit, but she maintained her strength to face the host.
"Question 1," the host began, as he shuffled through the set of cards at random in his hands. "Do you think that you deserve to win, just because you are a princess?" Everyone turned to Eclair, waiting for the answer as the princess thought for a second. Then, she turned to the host.
"No," she said, and the electricity waves from her chair were calm. "I do not believe that. I believe I am just like everyone else here in this game. " As she answered, everyone waited for the color. The waves turned green.
"Correct," McHallyboo confirmed, as he moved onto the next question. He then opened his mouth.
"Question 2, asked by a player: Have you ever thought through the course of this game that Dashell was an ominous individual, trying to trick you?" There was a look of uneasiness on some of the players' faces. Dashell's face turned to one of both shock and hurt.
"I..." Everyone turned to Eclair's face, and they all saw that her face was full of hurt as well. The game was taking a toll on her.
"I...I must answer truthfully," Eclair stated, and a tear formed in her eye. "Yes. I believed so. Near the beginning of the game." The host and everyone else looked at the lights from the chairs: they were green.
"The...the black orb shadow dream from the first night?" Tiny Kong wondered out loud, with sudden realization.
Zess: I was thinking: Who asked that question? What benefit did it have on you? Nothing! It was almost as if these questions were picked to be difficult to just sabotage our pot.
"I am sorry," Eclair voiced. As her eyes had tears in them, as Dashell head remained upright with strength.
"Last question, Eclair," McHallyboo said, shuffling the cards. Then, even his eyes looked troubled at the question.
"Question 3: Have you ever thought that Dashell could be the Mole of this game?" There was a silence in the room. Dashell, mouth agape, looked at Eclair. The princess averted her eyes.
"I cannot answer that," she concluded. "Please remove me from this chair." At her words, the arm restraints were let go. Everyone's face was in a moment of surprise, but mostly, with upset. While some of them were upset at the loss of money, most of them were upset at the nature of the game.
Snifit: I didn't like it. It was morally wrong.
Piantissimo: That last forfeit though...by Eclair...it just proves it. She actually suspects Dashell.
"I hope a game is never like this again," Tiny said with a shudder. Dashell stood still, as Eclair made her way back to him. They stood, distant.
Tiny: This game just got worse. Just what could be next?
"And now we are down to our last two people," McHallyboo informed. "Will you guys stay truthful to the game? Or add to the loss? I would like to choose..." Both Tiny Kong and Snifit looked at the host with unwanting eyes.
"Tiny Kong."
"All right guys," she said with a smile of misfortune. "Wish me luck." Tiny Kong stepped forwards, and sat in the chair before her. The metal restraints once again secured her, just like the other players, and then like all the other rounds before, the blue lights began to emit from the chair itself. Her turn in the chair had begun.
"Are you ready?" the host said to her.
"I guess I have no other choice, right?" The restraints in place, the machine and the round began. McHallyboo got his first question ready.
"Question 1: Do you write false things in your journal to divert other people?" Everyone turned to Tiny, their faces astounded. The player hesitated for a second, then answered McHallyboo's question.
"I do," Tiny stated. "But I do it because I don't want other people stealing everything I know about the Mole. You have to be extra careful in this game." The host and the players waited for the light to come.
"Green." As the lights were emitted, the host continued, his cards flipping as he came up to Question 2.
"Question 2: Do you believe you know who erased your camera photo at the end of your camera task in Saboteur Island Sabotage?" The players turned to Tiny with unknowing eyes. The lights on Tiny's chair seemed to rise just the tiniest bit.
"Well, I have this inkling of a suspicion, but I have no idea if it's true or not of who did it," Tiny began in her answer. "I think...I'll have to say yes. I think I know who might have maybe deleted it...if I'm correct." The lights in the chair seem to flicker just the tiniest bit. Then they turned green, as Tiny smiled with relief.
"Two down," McHally confirmed. As he got ready for the next question, he shuffled the deck. Then, looking down at the next question that came into store, even his eyes showed a little bit of nervousness for the next question to come.
"Question 3...are you the Mole of this game?"
And that is the third cliffhanger I will give to you guys.
Well, anyways, the identity of the saboteur is always a tense topic. And you know what else is too? Executions!
Speaking which! The First Execution is in video form on the official website! It took me a while to get it all perfect! Let me tell you: it's SCARY. And more tense than I originally planned it to be. If I were a player in this game I probably would have gotten a heart attack.
Also, I updated some Saboteur's Island material on my profile, for those who want to look back at the awesome past season's clues : ) they were deleted after foolishness, lol.
Dark Punxysaur: Ah! As an ex-player in my fanfiction Mole game, you actually get the reference to McHallyboo's line saying, "other hosts in other worlds have hosted this game". Yep. That' s me! Muahaha. Ah, memories ahoy from our awesome game. And hmm, a fake quote line or an honest one? That quote is up for debate! And hmm, perhaps the line was said off-screen for no one, not even a reader, to have ever heard or seen. Muaha.
Soliddude1175: Hey! Thanks so much : ) I'm glad you've become a Mole fan because of it! Yes yes. Ah, a Kooper avatar! You deserve my highest high-five, hehe. Truth is, a lot of people have become fans of the actual show the Mole just from this Mario category on fanfiction. It's magical and reviving the series all again! I'm glad. I And that last line quote from the mission...ah, forever a mystery. Until the final episode, perhaps, we shall finally see the answer?
sixthsense6: Oh pfft, you're awesome. Harhar! And ah, I see! So your suspicions have risen on the character of sunshine proportions. You have some good pointers, I must say! And you never know: sometimes the ones you want to win in this game are the ones that will strike you from behind. It's all about getting trust from you, then sucking it back in! Hehehe. The terrible game of the Mole...
NintendoMLP: Ah, good question! So what would have happened if Eclair went into the tent instead? Well, I might make a longer author's note on this, but I always had in mind that Eclair turned into a poor woman, an alternate dimension of her wealthy royalty self. And I made Dashell turn human for fun, not to make him easier to write as! I even have more trouble combining his human characteristics into the last chapter honestly, hehe. And oh gosh! A pairing story of Dashell and Eclair? You really have some good ideas : ) and a good eye in many points in your review! Just who could the Mole be, with these clues? And you really analyze well, for example, noticing Dashell's line saying "for the better" and analyzing that line itself. I'm so impressed by that and it makes me happy! And no worries: Dashell will be his Pixl, true self for the unmasking of the Mole.
Perianth: Oh hello my friend! Good seeings of you : ) Hehe, Dry Bones! He is...well was...a bit of a wild card who could have been executed at any moment in the game. I never saw him as that way until you mentioned that, hehe. That made him pretty nifty I guess! And ah, a due appearance by Yoshi and Vivian! Do not fear, for I have no forgotten about the little sly dino and that blossoming shadow siren. They are to make quite nice entrances before this story ends : ) You are also very predictive as well, for example, a bargaining tool for Eclair! I planned that before reading your review, I swear! Hehe. And the new Dutch season! Oh goodness, thanks for pointing its existence! (Im ashamed to have not known!) I'm totally gunning down on Jennifer as a suspect. I don't know why, but her reactions do not seem genuine at all! So Im sticking with her. I completely love Tygo, hope Freek survives, and really like Daphne and Aaf for some reason. Also, Aaf is at the bottom of my list, so if it's her...wow good work!
Luigenius: Hi theree! Ah yes yes! I totally see human Dashell making much sense, with the Dashell and Eclair, dynamic! Human Dashell for the win! But then it comes down to an important, reflective question: is being human truly the best for Dashell? Despite its positives, are there some hidden negatives we don't see at first that just outweigh its goodness? That's what makes it so conflicting : ) Ah, and yay for strong, disadvantaged players! I tend to cheer for my own select players in my own stories (is that a strange and plausible thing at all? haha). Did you call Dashell dumb?! I chuckled at that line in your review though, you have a point there in his dialogue, lol. Oh, and I totally owe you a clue. You know the, -cough hrhur- one you kinda found in the tentway yourself? I'll give it to you next chapter, I cross my fingers on that! If not, then the beginning of Episode 6...oh gosh, I procrastinate a lot : /
Fanfict1315125: Ah, they indeed failed the game! But thanks to McHallyboo, not as much as they had expected to have! We can always rely on him to brighten the players' day here and there, on some occasions. And hopefully the Minus 1 does not hurt poor Snifit that much! Speaking if he's not the Mole, of course.
FireKai: Hey! Yeah, smaller chapter, which I then inadvertently made longer xP And in the tent, right? Pathways Number 1 and 2 for the win. Though honestly, I'm those suckers who went till the end and ignore all other offers. I really wouldn't do so well in these tent pathways at all. And character groupings! Yes, I try to explore all dynamics of character pairing permutations. For example, in this chapter...the pairing completely changed. But even I'm surprised that they fit as well! I feel like there are such distinct relationships between each pairing of characters. Tenseness here, less tenseness there, in-between elsewhere...ah, thanks so much for the review!
Guest: Wow! Caught you right at last second. Hey there! Ah, thanks for that! Also, that line by Snifit, it was purely in his character. A bit of just dry humor I guess by him, because it was apparent that they could have gotten more. It was a def. "ya think?" moment. Also, awesome about your story inspiration! I'm honored. Update me if it happens : ) And before I forget, do you go by another nickname on this site?! I totally think I asked you this before, but forgot! Hehe, my apologies.
Thanks guys! And the next update will BE THE EXECUTION. Someone is gone.
I was contemplating whether I should have a poll or not this chapter. And I decided, I guess I will! So I put one on my profile! : ) It'l probably have less votes, since there's less time to vote since there's a high chance I'm finishing this episode before this week ends.
If you want your vote in give it before the end of this week! Thanks guys : )
Stay tuned for the next chapter, where a player is sent away from the game forever.