Hi guys! Whoo!
Updating before finals. I had to finish this chapter before my finals start next week. I knew I'd be dead then xP
Please enjoy! THIS IS THE REAL CHAPTER.
Episode 6 (Part 3)
At hearing the revealing words, both Snifit and Eclair stood still in the center of the vast boat. Dashell just faced the water that flowed calmly ahead of the ship.
"Wha...what?" Snifit stuttered , his voice uttering. "You...you? But..."
"What about me?" Dashell simply continued to turn the wheel of the ship, still not turning around.
"You just admitted that you threw the others off the boat," Eclair voiced, perplexed. "Is this truth or...false speaking?" At this sentence, Dashell didn't reply for a second. Then, after a silent breath, he spoke, but he still didn't turn around to face them.
"Yes, it's true," Dashell finally said, the human looking off into the distance of the fictional, real sea. "It's true." Eclair covered her mouth. Snifit just stood his ground, glaring slightly at Dashell.
"My mission since the beginning of this game of the boat ride was to rid everyone else for this exemption offer," Dashell continued. "And I'm halfway finished." The line sent a small chill through Snifit and Eclair.
"Tiny and Piantissimo wouldn't have been a help to me," Dashell told them.
"But...why did you throw off Tiny and Piantissimo first?" Snifit said, his voice a little wary. "Why not us? Why not me or Eclair?"
"Simple," Dashell informed them, turning the wheel right. "I knew I had to rid of all of you eventually, so I just started with the easiest and most advantageous people to throw off." He pointed outwards into the ocean with his fingers, and with his other hand, took something out. The two other players saw that as Dashell pointed out, he was also glancing down at a secret metal device in his coat pocket.
"Tiny Kong was leading us in the completely wrong direction," Dashell started, looking at the circular compass he was holding. "I knew it as soon as my compass became askew. I have no idea why she was leading us down a wrong path, but..." He waved his hand.
"That doesn't matter now. I just knew I had to get rid of her, so I could led this boat to its correct end and seal that exemption for me." He flipped his hair, trying to look out at the last remaining sunlight that existed in the world.
"And Piantissimo?" Eclair asked, a little cautious.
"Well, he's physically one of the most athletic, besides me" Dashell reasoned, looking into the horizon. "If he was alive at this point where two people had been already thrown off, he's know something was up and suspicious. He'd have no hesitation in ridding of me himself. So I had to get rid of him next. And you two..." Dashell didn't continue, but he just shrugged.
"You knew none of us would attack you...so that's why we're left," Eclair said softly. "You...trust us two the most. Is that why?"
"So then..." Snifit asked, stepping back, hesitating carefully before asking his next question. "Who's next now?" The question sent a terrible feeling through Eclair and even Snifit himself. Dashell finally turned around from his wheel to look at them. The two other players saw that his eyes were not as energetic as they looked earlier. They looked tired, and darker in color than the regular blue shade they usually were.
"I wanted the two of you on my boat because...I know you wouldn't turn against me, and frankly...I like you two the best," he stated to them, his face getting a little bit less tense. "And right before we reach the final destination, which is coming up in less than a mile, I want you to just simply jump off the boat to the side." Snifit and Eclair looked stunned at his words.
"So according to the rules, I'll technically still win the exemption." Dashell, with a little warm smile, then turned back to the front of the boat.
"It's easy," Dashell said, sighing. He let out a victory smile. "I'll win the exemption."
"No," Snifit spoke. Dashell stopped turning the wheel.
"...what?" Dashell said, his face changed as he turned around to look at him. Snifit gulped, but he stood his ground.
"I won't...I won't allow it," Snifit said firmly. "I will not allow you to get this exemption. Not one...not one bit." Eclair gasped. Dashell, surprised at the words of Snifit, only looked down at the boat floor with an unfortunate look.
"Really?" Dashell repeated, looking at Snifit. "Even if it's just jumping off at the end, and we win the money still." Snifit's face was motionless, but his head made one slow movement that displayed his answer to the human: a disobeying shake left to right.
Eclair: Snifit was disobeying the captain. And I realized I had to, as well, for us to survive.
"I...I will not either," Eclair said, standing her ground. "I will not let you get this exemption, Dashell." The captain sighed.
"Then if you won't cooperate with me, like I warned you," he began, his voice calm, "then I must get rid of you. Like I had done the others." And then he turned his body fully towards the other two, stepping towards them at the same time. Both Eclair and Snifit gasped, as they both backed away from him.
"You can't push us!" Snifit declared, and he got in front of Eclair. His arms outstretched, he was protecting the apprehensive princess behind him with his short stature. With intent look, he stared at Dashell. Snifit's eyes narrowing with fierce emotion.
"You have to push me first," Snifit declared. Eclair grabbed his hand, as the three players were in a moment of stalemate. Dashell shook his head.
Dashell: So I had to do what I had to do.
"Then...I...will!" Dashell shouted, jumping forwards with his arms towards Snifit, as Eclair screamed. But in this leap, Snifit ducked out of the way and avoided the attempted pounce by Dashell. Hitting the wooden floor of the boat with his head, it took a second for Dashell to regain his balance. Snifit backed up against the side of the boat, his eyes wide with terror.
"We don't mind you winning an exemption, Dashell," Eclair cried, hurriedly running to the back of the boat. "It is just the way you are achieving it that makes us...disapprove of this!"
"And we can always win the money, without you getting an exemption!" Snifit added. Dashell frowned.
"Why can't you just give it to me?" Dashell continued, almost in a sudden pleading voice as he stood back on his feet. "I worked...worked so hard for it. You have no idea how hard it was to push the others off the boat. It was mentally exhausting. Just..." He paused, ending his talk. He turned directly to Snifit
"Fine. I have no choice, my friend," Dashell stated. His eyes gleamed, as he picked up a wooden oar from the floorboards of the boat. He pointed the weapon directly at Snifit.
"You should have worked with me," Dashell whispered in a low voice. Snifit turned around, and realized to his horror that he had inadvertently backed up right on the edge of the boat.
"Dashell...we can all win! Don't do this...please!" Snifit pleaded to him. But it was too late, as Dashell used the oar to push Snifit with full force. Snifit's hands grabbed the oar, but it wasn't enough to stop him from falling overboard as both he and the wooden plank fell right into the open air. With a small stunned shout, Snifit and the oar fell, many feet until they reach the raging water below.
Splash! Stepping over to the boat's edge, Dashell looked and saw the water of the ocean: Snifit had already sunk below the surface.
"Three down..." Dashell turned around, facing Eclair as she stood in the back of the boat, frozen.
"Are you going to make it hard too?" Dashell said, in an exhausted but frenzied voice. Eclair didn't say anything for a second.
"No...I won't make it hard..." Eclair's replied, and to Dashell's surprise, her voice was firm. She was standing at the back of the ship, but surrounding her were the barrels located in the ship's back. She closed her eyes.
"I will make it very easy for me to go down..." And Eclair held something up in her hand that Snifit had given her. It was metal, small, but could be seen from miles away if turned on for its purpose. As Dashell was taken back with shock, Eclair only looked back at his eyes strongly. For a second, their eyes met, as they both knew what it was. It was a lighter.
"And you will go down, too," she whispered Then, with swift motion, she held the object up to the barrel behind her and closed her eyes. The fuse was lit.
"Goodbye, Dashell." The barrel sparked.
"No...Eclair...don't!"
BOOOOOM!
Debris from the boat floated on the surface of the water. One by one, each piece of wood from the remains of the majestic ship sunk to the bottom of the ocean, burnt and cracked into splinters of useless timber. What once was a voyage well sailed for its first half was now nothing but evidence of a destroyed vessel, killed and destroyed by the greed of one player.
"GAH!" Dashell struggled to keep his place above the water, swimming desperately to try and grab hold of one of the floating planks that remained. A barrel nearby floated to the surface, and he recoiled with shock from it.
"Eclair!" he yelled. He splashed his arms, looking around.
"Help me!" he gasped. "Help! I can't swim! I-"
And it was at that second that something arose from below him. It was blue in shape, metal, and large enough to take him and five other people as well in it.
BEEP...BEEP...
As it surfaced just a bit above the water, Dashell blinked, being saved from the very ocean he had sentenced others too. The circular vehicle rose just enough to open a hatch, and Dashell was let inside by a person in a blue top hat.
And when he entered, everyone else on board the submarine was not happy to see him.
"We concluded that there has never been a player on the Mole as...as insatiable and greedy as you," Tiny voiced straight-forwardly, sighing angrily and looking at Dashell. "That's just...I can't believe you did that to me." The five of them were situated in a pod-like area that protected them from the outside water, as the vehicle continued to venture on towards the ocean floor. They were all in a submarine.
Eclair: We were saved in the device...every one of us. We were rescued from the water, and for some us, rescued from ourselves.
"Didn't have to push me off either," Piantissimo said heatedly, drying off his shoes. The small submarine shook a little, as it began its full descend further into the ocean's depths.
"Where are we going?" Snifit asked, a little worried of the game's current status.
"Who cares?" Piantissimo snapped. Then he faced Dashell with a shatter of anger.
"Because YOU, human, were so greedy, we don't win the money, the ship is destroyed, and we don't know where the heck we're going!" Piantissimo shouted. "For all we know, we're travelling to the bottom of the ocean, away from the real games on land this episode that could earn us money." He turned away with a glare.
"Trying to sabotage our money," Piantissimo muttered, angry.
"I wanted to win the money too!" Dashell retorted with a shout.
"But you also wanted the exemption," Tiny breathed, hands on her hips. "Do you really think we're going to forgive you for what you did? You pushed us into the water."
"I just wanted to sail peacefully, but I knew you guys wouldn't let me," Dashell voiced, standing up. "And I just did what I could do to survive in this game!"
"You were greedy. Sorry, it's the truth," Snifit said meekly, looking down." Everyone turned to Snifit, who just turned to look out the circular window and into the ocean depth. Dashell looked down as well.
"Indeed, you were," Piantissimo pointed out to him. Dashell snapped back at him with irritation, standing back up.
"You think you wouldn't have done the same thing in my position?!" Dashell argued, facing Piantissimo as the two of them locked angry eyes. "You were ready to slaughter people in that ice cave two episodes ago! You're the one who should be blamed for being so exemption-hungry."
Dashell: He was a hypocrite. And I didn't want that to skip his mind.
"At least I was not drowning people to get it," Piantissimo scoffed crossly. "Do you think we enjoyed how that felt? Drowning in this game?!"
"You didn't even feel like you were drowning!" Dashell shouted. "McHallyboo told me that he was just bluffing about that!"
"So what if we didn't actually experience a drowning feeling when we fell?" Tiny shouted with a sigh, shaking her head. "The fact that you thought we would experience actual drowning just makes you just...just..." Tiny sighed, stopping herself.
Tiny: I was just so angry with these results. We could have done better. And now, all this instead.
"Well, you know, I wouldn't have been so keen on getting my exemption if you were sailing in the right direction in the first place," Dashell pointed out angrily to her. "Like I said, what were you doing, Tiny? Why were you getting us lost?" Everyone faced Tiny, as she looked startled.
"What?" she began, then sighed in frustrated reply before continuing.
"Umm, if you knew how difficult and cramped it was down there, I think you'd be making a few mistakes too," Tiny replied irritably, rolling her eyes. "You can't blame me for making a few navigation mistakes that you wouldn't even be able to do yourself." She looked at Piantissimo.
"Spelling a word wrong on the flags," she added, looking at Piantissimo straight in the face. "That was sabotage."
"We had merely sixty seconds to come up with that communication!" Piantissimo said defensively, angry. "If anyone's to blame, it's the people who made that communication system!"
"What!" Dashell said with a laugh, but he was offended. "Don't blame me for being the perfect captain who made that amazing communication system. It was perfect! You all messed it up. I'm a perfect captain."
"You are not a perfect captain," Snifit said quietly, and everyone turned to him. Snifit, this time, wasn't facing out the window. He was facing right at Dashell. It was this statement that made the submarine go silent.
Tiny: We needed a break. The entire group...needed a break. From this game.
After a few seconds, Eclair sighed. She had been looking down with closed eyes during the entire conversation, recovering from the blast she had endured minutes before. But now she finally spoke.
"Stop..." Eclair pleaded, and it was the first time she spoke in the submarine. She was rubbing her hand, her finger burnt from the explosion of the barrel that destroyed the ship thousands of feet above them.
"Just please...please stop it all." She looked at all the players, sorrow in her eyes. And then, the submarine was still except for the sound of the low-volume motor than brought them deeper and deeper into the sea.
Dashell: And that was it. We just stopped talking in the submarine. And we let it bring us closer to the unknown of the ocean floor. It was one of the darkest moments in our game.
Piantissimo: There is a reason why that ship sank. It's because one of us is manipulative. And made sure that it wouldn't make it to the finish.
Tiny: An evil Mole. A really, really evil Mole. And I couldn't wait for the day that he or she gets unmasked.
"Whoa..." Snifit's eyes widened, as he was the first one to see the construction out of their submarine window come into view. The ocean floor was finally reached, visible to them, lighted up by the own lights of their travelling submarine. The mysterious natures of the sea glowed with colorful seaweed and corals which sparkled brightly in the shining lights. But it was after a moment that the players not only realized that they were at the sea's bottom, but at the steps of something else.
"Is that a..." Tiny gasped, as her eyes were struck with confusion. As if looking out of a window of a plane, the five players saw a grand building, boasting a plethora of lights that illuminated all of the dark ocean around it. The players stared in awe.
Snifit: What was that? An ocean rock under the sea? A...a large building?
"Look at that..." The palace had glass walls in certain places of its exterior and windows of crystal quality that shined with the light emitting from it. But the amazing building wasn't outside on a piece of terrain: it under the sea, and it was a sight they had never seen before. The magnificent fortress-like building was rooted into the ocean floor's bottom and stuck out to them like a lost treasure at the bottom of an endless deep.
The players, for a second, could only stare in incredulity.
"Welcome to the Ocean Palace Inn," McHallyboo told them, in a voice as wondered and in awe as the other players.
As the forks were set before them and the plates were served, it was the ocean surrounding them that made them eat slowly in amazement. It was like being in the largest aquarium they had ever seen, but nothing in comparison to any underwater viewing attraction they had ever been to before.
"The walls are glass," Eclair realized, turning to her left and right. With everything made out of glass except for the floor, it only made the players more aware that they were indeed at the bottom of an ocean floor. The only presence and proof of dryness was the floor they were standing on and the yule log fireplace that existed next to the dinner table, glowing brilliantly like the Mole itself. The true wonders of the sea were visible by their eyes.
"Would you imagine this is how it would be, dining at the bottom of the ocean?" McHallyboo told them with a grand voice and a smile. The first dishes began being served.
Eclair: The beauty of a building like this... is something that would never exist in the real world. It was an ephemeral sight to enjoy. We would never see it ever again in any world.
"Wow..." Dashell said, shaking his head with wonder. Sandy ground and rocks were parallel to their current position. Fish swam by, and the players would occasionally glance up and look at them as they began to eat.
"This...seafood...is..." Snifit couldn't help himself from saying, eating every single bite from his plate within a minute, then looked up with a foolish smile. "Yummy." A waiter served another plate of oyster shells to the table's center, and then another one with a scallop and calamari combination, which only fueled the players' hunger and magnificence for their location. The dining room itself was large, and even without its marine surroundings, was still a magnificent place to be.
"I have to give it to the Mole, for thinking about something as marvelous as this," Piantissimo said, holding his glass up to the others as another waiter filled his cup. "This is a location that we will never see somewhere else again."
"A little egotistical with that statement?" Tiny told him jokingly. "Giving yourself praise is funny."
"Oh, I was just complimenting you, Tiny Kong. That was all," Piantissimo replied back smartly with a chortle.
Piantissimo: I've begun to realize how everyone in this game could be a suspect for me. Just everything that people say in this game can make you look one way or another.
"Very funny." Tiny rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time. Dashell paused to look around at his environment of the surrounding ocean sea.
Dashell: It was indeed a stunning sight ,being at the bottom of the Earth's most mysterious creation. It kind of took away for all the events that happened in the first part of this episode. This water palace was like the mediator between peace and evil, I guess.
"I hope you all enjoyed the first mission of this episode," McHallyboo spoke from the table's front, after a majority of the players finished their first plate of food. "You win no money, and the pot remains as it is."
TEAM POT
135,000 COINS
The host paused, as the yule log fireplace flickered, then he continued. "Let it be to show you that some games, which may at first look like games of teamwork, may actually be challenges designed to tear you apart."
"Or fix things in the end," Eclair whispered softly. She looked at Dashell, who looked back with almost a thankful look.
"I want to apologize formally for my behavior in the past challenge," Dashell announced out loud, putting his fork down. "Thank you...some of you...for stopping me." Almost no one said anything. Dashell looked back down at his dinner plate.
"I think...we're over that," Tiny tried to say. "As long as most things in this world are fake, like that water we had to endure...then it's fine. I'm just...whatever."
"What's real and what's fake though?" Snifit piped up, and the others silently took in the words he said.
Piantissimo: Even if it was a fake boat...and a fake sea...those feelings and attitudes we felt were real. Greed. Anger. The list goes on.
"You're quick to forgive," Piantissimo said with a bit of shock to Tiny Kong. He faced Dashell.
"Snifit, you were brave on the boat," Eclair said, putting down her cocktail. "I just wanted to say so. Thank you...for protecting me." Snifit, usually not smiling at compliments given to him, managed to somehow smile sheepishly at her words.
"You're welcome," he replied. McHallyboo stood up from his seat, surprising everyone at the aquatic meal.
"Well, before you guys rest tonight in this magnificent building under the sea," McHallyboo started to speak, "I would like to introduce you to...a mini-mission before tonight's end."
"Oh?" Everyone at the seafood dinner turned to the host, realizing that they all suddenly had an uneasy feeling. Even within the underwater palace, they knew that not all could be safe from the dangers of the game.
"One by one, you will each be brought into the main hallway of this sea manor," the host told the five remaining players. "There will be ten aquarium tanks on your way to the end of the hall." After pointing towards the directions of the dining hall's door, he continued.
"Each aquarium has a certain fated prize. Some to the pot. Some...for yourselves." Everyone seemed to quietly nod, as their eyes looked at the host with wonder and interest.
Snifit: Just what could be lurking in this game? What more things?
Dashell: When McHallyboo said prizes for yourself...the first thing I thought of was the object I fought so hard for in the past mission.
"Go on," Dashell spoke, his eyes looking up with attention to the host.
"Once you stop at an aquarium tank, and you may only stop at one, then the prize in that tank will be rewarded, and it will no longer be in play," the host finished. "But...if you decide to pass it, you cannot turn back to a previous one."
"Oh..." Snifit coughed. "Cautious steps, then." The players nodded cautiously for themselves.
"So what kind of things exactly are in the aquariums?" Tiny asked, but McHallyboo shook his head, refusing to answer.
"I have one piece of advice for this game," McHallyboo spoke instead, as everyone looked at him.
"What...is that?" Tiny asked, a little nervous and talking for everyone.
"Don't...be...greedy. It will cost things greatly." The players were silent.
"All right..." Piantissimo spoke, giving a weird look. Dashell just shook his head.
"Good." McHallyboo stood silent, and seemed to look as if he was about to say something. But instead, he took out a list from his pocket.
"The order you will be sent out will be the order in which you were knocked off the boat, after Snifit's rescue," McHallyboo announced, beginning the game. As everyone turned to each other, they realized that it was Tiny Kong who would be going first for the aquarium hallway.
"Tiny Kong, please follow me to the hallway first." As McHallyboo stood up, Tiny stood up as well, a surprised look on her face as she stepped with ambiguity to the hallway that would hold her and the game's fate.
The beginning of the grand hallway seemed belonging to any five-star rating hotel that would have been on land. But looking more and seeing that the carpet was lined with cerulean fabric, it only created an interior atmosphere that made Tiny realize that she was still thousands of feet under the surface of the sea. Ahead of her, glass and blue glistened on several pedestals positioned along the hallway. The ten glossy tanks stood, as she took a long look at them from far away
"As the first walker of this path, let me reiterate the rules to you," McHallyboo told her, as she turned her attention to him. "As you walk these tanks, you may only choose one of them. But if you decide to pass one, there is no walking back to it." She took a small breath, and nodded.
Tiny: I had no idea what I was going for. One part of me wanted to go for the money, but another one of me was taking the temptation of being the first one to go.
"If you want a prize...you reach in and grab it in the water," McHallyboo added to her. She turned to him, smiling nervously with thought and uncertainty.
"Okay...I got it," she said, after a short moment.
"You may begin your walk." As McHallyboo stepped back, Tiny knew she had to take the steps alone. She hesitantly began her journey, peering around the hallway itself before reaching the first aquarium tank.
"First one..." she spoke to herself, as she went to face the tank directly. It was a medium-sized fish tank, and three green fish swam within it, as if taunting her to read and become tempted by the piece of paper floating within the tank's watery interior.
TANK 1:
THREE PLUS 1'S
"Wow..." she said to herself, wide eyes. As she looked at the fish tank harder, she couldn't help but turn her head to the rest of the hallway and tanks of water which lay ahead.
Tiny: As great as this first offer sounded...I just had to know that there was something ahead that might be more. And also, who knows? I was still split between adding money to the team pot...or possibly getting something else. Like I said, I had no idea, what I was going for.
"Nope...I will be passing this one," she concluded. Tiny took just a few steps to come across the second tank, which was situated on her right. A large golden fish swam within the tank, bigger in size as the previous ones she had just passed. The fish seemed to stop in front of the paper sign, as Tiny read it in her head with wide eyes.
TANK 2:
20,000 COINS TO THE POT
"Oh wow..." Tiny thought for a second, looking at the sign with a mixed face.
Tiny: This was...a HUGE amount of money. All I had to do was choose this tank. That was all I had to do! But...what was stopping me and why did I go on walking? I couldn't believe myself. It was like, testing my limits and morals.
"There's probably another one with more money...this is just the second tank," she said with predicting voice, almost as if running the thoughts through her head. She shook her head, and continued on.
Tiny: I walked away from the 20,000 coins tank...but SOMETHING in me told me that I might have regretted it.
"Tank 3," she stated, turning away from the second aquarium. It only took a few steps for her to reach the next fish tank, smaller in comparison to the one she had just refused. She read the sign.
TANK 3:
1,000 COINS TO THE POT
"Oh...drat," she said, sighing. Her eyes turned backwards, at the previous aquarium. Letting out a regretting sigh once more, she looked at the current aquarium she was at, shook her head, and moved on.
Tiny: Now I knew just how much regret certain choices would be in this game.
Tiny continued on to the third aquarium in the hallway. It was of medium size compared to the three previous tanks before, and in it, two little fish swam in the watery inside together like a small duet pair. Her eyes widened.
TANK 4:
TWO PLUS 1's
She swallowed hard, and looked at the tank again. The paper displaying its prize out to her, she thought for a second, and then took a step forwards.
"I...probably will regret this if I don't grab this," she said to herself. She looked at it, face troubled.
"But at the same time, I will definitely regret choosing this too." Then, with a bleak smile, her hand reached into the cold water that consisted of the aquarium's inside. The two fish seemed to scatter to the side, as Tiny Kong carefully took out the wet paper from the treasure-filled aquarium. But now, the treasure was in her possession.
Tiny: I felt at that moment that I had lost any chance at the money...so I just grabbed it. And it felt so greedy and terrible. But it's one of those things that make me realize I am changing in this game...and it's something that, for me, is scary.
"She went first." Dashell said in a tense voice. "She's going to get all the best options before us." The other four still at the dinner table could not help but transition their luscious meal eating to a discussion of the current game taking place.
"But she is type to choose the well-being of the team over her individual self," Eclair reminded the others. "Is she not? I do not think she will be greedy."
"You never know how people can change," Snifit said quietly, and even he himself was eating a little less in anticipation. All of a sudden, the doors to the large dining room opened. In stepped the host, and Tiny Kong walked in behind him, looking down at the tiled floor. Everyone was silent.
"I wonder what she chose..." Dashell said, whispering to Snifit beside him.
"Piantissimo," was all McHallyboo said, alerting Piantissimo to turn to him. The player called by his name stood up, glancing at Tiny Kong suspiciously as she sat down. As McHallyboo began walking out, Piantissimo followed up, the fate of the game to lie for him next in ten containers of water.
Dashell: I did not think Tiny would take the exemption...but Piantissimo? He would. And I just crossed my fingers and remained my composure in hopes that he wouldn't.
Entering and seeing the grand hallway, Piantissimo looked carefully at the path ahead of him. All tanks, except for one, held their own separate prizes that would either benefit himself or the team in total. Piantissimo turned to the host.
Piantissimo: Going before Dashell makes me quite relieved. Thank you for pushing me off the ship.
"I am ready. May I proceed?" Piantissimo asked the host. McHallyboo nodded.
"Please begin." Piantissimo stepped forwards, and walked to the first tank. Seeing the green fish, he read the sign with a look of startled interest.
TANK 1 :
THREE PLUS 1'S
He paused for a long while
"It is a trick." Piantissimo stood at the tank, thinking for another second. Then, he shook his head.
"This is something, but there is probably something better than this one," he said nonchalantly. "This is simply Tank #1. Who knows what great treasures lay in store past this one?" He moved on to the second tank, and encountered the large gold fish in the aquarium that Tiny had encountered before.
TANK 2:
20,000 COINS TO THE POT
Piantissimo raised an eyebrow. The choice gleamed to him like the gold fish before him.
"Hmm...there is probably better options than these first two," he stated to himself, and moved on. As he encountered the third tank, he immediately frowned.
TANK 3:
1,000 COINS TO THE POT
"This will not benefit me, or the team much at all," Piantissimo stated, his frown still present. He continued on, seeing a tank with two little fish in it, but was surprised at first to see no paper within the fish tank. Then, clicking in the fact that Tiny had taken the paper, he only shrugged on and moved to the 5th tank. Piantissimo's mouth opened with hesitancy.
"This...is an option that seems rewarding," he said with thought.
TANK 5:
PLUS 1 + MINUS 1 FOR ANOTHER PLAYER
Piantissimo: I remembered the very words I said in the Carnival tent game: that you would not know what other misfortunes lay ahead in a game. I may be greedy, but I still have a mind of self-control. This seemed like a good choice, anyway
He reached his hand over the tank, and with a swift movement, he grabbed the paper for himself.
The third player was brought into the hallway of the palace building. It was just one corridor within the large building, but undoubtedly, the most important one. Snifit stood, trying to prepare himself.
"You're next, Snifit...do you have any questions about the rules of this game?"
"Err, not really..." Snifit, looking precariously at the hallway that was laid out before him, didn't really bother looking at the host. As the third person to travel in the game, he knew that only eight tanks remained with its various and unknown rewards. But he was trying to plan his steps carefully for his round of the prize-staked game.
Snifit: It was my turn...but I had no strategy. Hmm, should have thought of one. I just knew that maybe the best choices were gone, since Tiny and Piantissimo had already gone first.
"What's your strategy, by the way?" the host decided to ask him, curious as Snifit hesitated in taking his first step down the overwhelming hallway. "Are you for the team, or going for yourself?" Snifit faced the luring tanks ahead of him.
"Depends on the options left," Snifit voiced, still sounding unconfident overall. McHallyboo had nothing else to say.
"You may proceed," McHallyboo said to him. Snifit walked carefully, forwards. The daunting hallway ahead of him, he walked down it, the blue waters of the aquariums reflecting on the carpet and walls. It took Snifit a second to finally face the first aquarium that came up on his left, as he looked at the first sign within the shimmering fish tank.
TANK 1 :
THREE PLUS 1'S
"Wow..." he said, with a stare of incredulity.
Snifit: Why had Tiny and Piantissimo not chosen this one? Err...was it a trick?
"Well...if it is deception...oh well. I played a good game." Snifit took a deep breath, and then reached into the fish tank, surprising both himself and the fish with his sudden choice as he withdrew the soaked prize of three points.
Eclair stood at the beginning of the hallway, her eyes looking at the tanks that lay ahead of her. It was her turn to take the fated walk, but she was prepared. She looked down at the carpet for a small second.
"I am only to choose one," she repeated with clarity. "And I cannot go back." McHallyboo nodded.
"Please walk ahead." At the host's words, Eclair then began walking forwards. Only seven aquarium tanks remained ahead of her, most of the first ones having their prizes fished out and gone. She walked up to the first tank, understanding that one of the first players had taken it. As she approached the large fish tank with the prized value of coins, her face was filled with both joy at its words, but uncertainty.
TANK 2:
20,000 COINS TO THE POT
"Such large value," she said to herself, and she touched the front of the glass, in heavy thought. But after a few second, the rest of the path compelled her, and she moved on to continue on in the game.
Eclair: Perhaps I should have thought a bit more...but I continued on. And it was a error.
She came across the third aquarium.
TANK 3:
1,000 COINS TO THE POT
She smiled unfortunately, realizing her blunder.
"It can be said that sometimes I play the role of the fool," she spoke to herself, and continued on down the hallway. The further she walked, the more she realized that her past players had taken opportunities in which she would never grab herself. She sighed at the possible lost gifts, but continued on with a strong head high.
"Tank 6..." she counted, coming up to an aquarium that finally had a paper sign in it.
TANK 6:
NEUTRALIZE ANOTHER PLAYER PERMANENTLY
Eclair looked at the fish tank, thinking for a small second. But she turned to continue on down the hallway, as the captivating tanks caused her to move forwards with well.
"Oh..." Her eyes lit up with strong feelings as she saw the seventh aquarium.
TANK 7:
10,000 COINS FOR YOURSELF
"It is...a choice that is a bit rewarding," she said, admitting to herself as she walked towards it.
Eclair: There were certain aspects of this game that were simply tempting.
Her hand was raised above the aquarium, and she smiled grimly.
"I...but there is much more things in this game that are valuable than simple immediate money," she slowly said, and then withdrew her hand back. She turned her direction to the eighth tank, and read its sign, the grey fish within swirling among the corals inside the appealing tank. Its word caused her to pause slightly in tracks.
TANK 8:
PRE-GIVEN QUESTION FOR ANY FUTURE QUIZ
"A...quiz question?" she repeated. Her eyes looked at the sign, and she read it in her head over. Then she realized something.
"Even for the final quiz.." she realized, covering her mouth.
Eclair: I have always been told, that sometimes...delayed gratification may be the greatest reward of all. And this was something that I felt in my heart was an example.
"This might help me," she said to herself silently. Then, she took a breath.
"It is my choice." Taking off her glove, she dipped her hand into the aquarium and grabbed the question out of the tank.
Dashell stood at the beginning of the hallway. Having waited patiently the entire time, his will to act was now stronger than ever before. His foot was tapping nervously, and his own heart was racing.
"I need that exemption...that exemption..." he whispered, trying to stop his body movements that were all still too foreign to him. His determination prevailing well over all the past players who had travelled before him, he just looked forwards. The tanks, the fish now sleeping and glass not as well-light as before, still held their possible treasures within them.
Dashell: I needed that exemption. If someone else had already taken it, then my entire plan for this game was over. I wasn't going to stop. I had the prize in my mind from the beginning.
"Tiny, Piantissimo, Snifit, and Eclair are all back in the dinner room, with their respective prizes," McHallyboo informed him.
"I...I know," Dashell said, trying to block the thought off as he stared ahead edgily. "Just let me walk now."
"As the final person to go, Dashell, I just want to emphasize that just six of tanks remain with possible rewards," McHallyboo said to the player, who was only staring straight down the water-holding hallway. Dashell didn't even reply to the host anymore, as McHallyboo simply stepped back.
"You may proceed to your fate." Dashell walked forwards right away, gripped with steady eyes and strong will. He saw the first tank, and then power-walked past it.
"Not it," he said quickly, and as he passed the 3rd tank, he barely even glanced over the words in the tank before passing it as well. He shook his head as he power-walked faster, almost laughing at the offer that tank had to offer. But Dashell's walking slowed as he passed the fourth tank, empty and award-less.
Dashell: For all I know, someone else had taken the exemption. And my game was over.
He skipped the empty fifth tank as well, and after looking at the sixth tank, he walked past it even faster.
Dashell paused for only a small second when he saw Tank 7, shimmering out to him like the goldfish that sat within it.
TANK 7:
10,000 COINS FOR YOURSELF
Dashell: Money. Guaranteed money to me. Right here. I could have chosen it.
"Ten thousand coins...is nothing compared to the other thousands of coins I can win," he spoke to himself, shaking his head heavily as he walked on. His eyes continued to follow the rest of the tanks, skipping the empty eighth tank before reaching the ninth.
"Nine..." he said, finally calming down. He read the sign, slowly.
TANK 9:
10,000 COINS TO THE POT + 5-MINUTE PEEK AT ANOTHER PLAYER'S JOURNAL
"Five minute peek...at anyone's journal." The option stared out at Dashell. He paused for a second, thinking.
Dashell: The value that statement had. Maybe it'd help me in the future. It was one of the most richest things in the game.
"But it isn't my exemption," he decided, and with heavy feet, he moved on. He was going to the final tank of the game. And in the time that he had been moving his way to the last tank, McHallyboo had made his way as well down the second path, to the end of the hall as well.
"Well..." The host stood next to the final aquarium and blocked its sign, and as Dashell approached him, the host looked at him quizzically.
"Greetings Dashell," the host told him in a grand voice. "I see you've reached the end of this mini-mission. You refused every single tank before this." Dashell nodded, standing straight and high.
"It's the player who risks the most that wins the most...and I saw four empty tanks up to this point," Dashell replied, using his fingers to count. "No one was brave enough to reach this last aquarium. I guess no one wanted that exemption enough." With that statement, he even had a little curl of a smile on his face. McHallyboo nodded, taking in Dashell's words.
"Welcome to Tank 10." Stepping to the side, the tank was revealed to the player
"Yes..." Dashell whispered, his eyes lighting up. And the final aquarium, a tiny one, was finally visible in full to Dashell. It was the most beautiful tank of all, with sand that glittered in almost every shade of attractive beige, and corals and rocks that hit almost every color of the rainbow. A single page, like every other tank had in the start, was situated within the tank. Even the white paper itself, in a strange way, was stunning.
The phrase on the paper, "50,000 reduced from the pot" was stunning as well.
And...I ended with a chapter that wasn't really a cliffhanger, hehe, cause can't believe I revealed what was on the paper before continuing the next chapter. This is kinda reminiscent of the jacuzzi mini-mission in the past episode and how a paper was revealed as blank...paper revealing.
BUT...what a final tank reveal that was.
Anyways, thanks guys! Since last chapter was not a real chapter, and Im running so late on time before updating this, I am going to answer question seen in the reviews directed to me! I know Im lame D: but you guys are all awesome so it evens my un-awesomeness out.
1. In this fake universe was that really what Dashell looked like or was that part of him getting his exemption and was just saying this is what he looks like as a human? Answer= Nope! That was an April Fools Day joke.
2. Wouldn't Dashell not die because him being human is an illusion so wasn't he just stabbing an illusion? Answer= Nope! That was an April Fools Day joke.
3. When Dashell died, shouldn't he turn back into a pixl now that the illusion is over? Answer= Technically I guess he would, but Nope! That was an April Fools Day joke.
4. Should I be questioning an April Fools Day joke? :P Answer= Haha! That's basically the answer! Pretty much answered everything in the end. Keep the questions coming though NintendoMLP, cause I like them!
Bookreader: No problem! Haha, I'm curious myself on my story's stats! These are its stats:
The Mole: Traitor Aboard: 53,052 views, 75 faves, 19 alerts
The Mole: Saboteur's Island:55,158 views, 75 faves, 55 alerts
I would like to attribute my "success" though to the fact that my story has been just existing and fermenting for a long while for now xD but it's all to you guys as well being so supportive! So thank you all! : )
Anyways, sorry for the quick chapter ending!: 1 I'm literally running out of time as I type this. I hope to get to you guys soon with the last climatic mission of this chapter! YOU'RE ALL GREAT!
Also by the end of this week or in a few days, hopefully by wednesday, check out the bottom of the Videos page for a new updated intro for Episode 6! And possibly a video of past executions. Mmm, executions. Okay, what am I saying? Enjoy and stay tuned!