Hi! :D
I will not explain….okay, that's a lie! I'll give a long explanation!
Skip below to THE FINALE (PART 3) to skip this long author-update intro.
First of all...this story WILL finish! That's a promise : ) I have a deadline of March 1 and there's an exciting reason to why that is! (I'm officially moving somewhere...muahaha! News to be updated later, unless you're one of the rare few who happens to be Facebook friends with me, then this news is as old as the Minus 1 glitch).
Well, let me explain a bit why this took so long! Writing the finale, I had been starting from the beginning of Agent's Elevation, tracking down notes every few paragraphs for each of the final three players, all the way from beginning to end. I wanted to make sure that no stone got unturned, nor any secrets or truths be missed. I would suddenly realize at random moments in my life (usually at 2AM while on Reddit), "Oh crud, I forgot to add in why Eclair said that weird line in Episode 5!" Or something along those kind of words, heh.
But then as those difficult aspects dragged on, so did life. And so the end result? A huge delay of writer's block.
But let me tell you the reason why I got out of that writer's block: every awesome, beautiful soul who has ever read my stories and reviewed my stories. And because of you all...even you, whoever amazing person you are, reading this exact sentence RIGHT NOW... the adventure has continued. And will continue, to its end. : ) Thank you so, so much.
But what else had I been doing for the past few months?
-Breaking my pescatarian diet. I've gone back to eating bacon and hamburgers! : D Sorry Twilight Town villagers!
-Reading Saboteur's Island again in its entirety. Since it was so long ago, as I was reading it all again for enjoyment, it felt like...someone else had written it. It was weird. There were things I would read that I never remembered ever writing. I'd be like, "When did Yoshi or McHallyboo do this weird thing?" There'd also be clever things I'd catch about the Mole and be like, "Oh, that was smart!" And then after a second I would realize that I had just complimented myself.
-Working 12-hour shifts five times a week D: Yikes! That'd make Mario's job of rescuing Peach look like recreational side labor.
-Watching all 17 seasons of the Netherlands Mole. Seriously, the Dutch KNOW where their priorities are! I'm only on Season 13, but geez the last three seasons I've watched have been….phenomenal! (tries to use a dutch word, doesn't use one to describe the season : / )
-P.S. IF YOU'VE NEVER WATCHED ANY INTERNATIONAL MOLE SEASONS, WATCH EITHER: THE UK MOLE SEASON 2 NOW OR THE MOLE AUSTRALIA SEASONS 3, 4, OR 5! International is where it's at : ) P.S. Of course, you should def. Watch the US seasons first, haha. Or either way!
Anyways! Ta-da! I'm back. At least before the players perished of starvation in the lobby.
THE FINALE: PART 3
"Hello!" McHallyboo faced the screen with a beam. All ten players, for the first time since the beginning of the game, were in the gleaming lobby. The lobby of mystery, and soon, truth.
"Welcome back to the finale of The Mole: Agent's Elevation! Just moments ago, we had revealed the final fates of the three finalists of the game. And to summarize these shocking events, Tiny was revealed as the final victim upon the roof of the building. Piantissimo, our winner, is the victor of our intense game and season, and Eclair...was our Mole."
"And what a great Mole she was," Dashell whispered..
"Anyways!" McHallyboo said grandly, "Welcome back to the building, final three! Are you happy to be back?" Tiny and Piantissimo, sitting next to each other, turned to each other.
"Are we?" Piantissimo commented, and everyone laughed.
"We're all...just happy to see everyone, so..." Tiny said, smiling and shaking her head. "I guess we're happy to be back in this building." Beside McHallyboo, all the players were smiling and calmed down. They were all reunited with one another, and although they were all settled down, something was still unsettled: the questions remaining about the game. The mysteries had only begun.
"So, to begin: who here is surprised about these results?" McHallyboo asked them all.
"Excuse me!?" Mimi called out, almost ridiculing the host's question. "Who ISN'T surprised about these results?"
"I'm not," Bowser Jr. chortled, patting Piantissimo on the back. "I knew you could do it, buddy!" Piantissimo grinned to the floor.
"Dry Bones, I must ask you: what is your reaction to Eclair being revealed as...the Mole?" the host asked him. Dry Bones just shook his head, his eyes almost still as wide as they were when the news of the agent was revealed.
"I'm...still in disbelief and denial," he said in a half-moan. Everyone laughed, as Eclair covered her mouth sympathetically.
"But I feel like everyone was just tricking each other and betraying each other throughout this whole game, so in my opinion, really," Dry Bones said with a shrug and a smile, "everyone is the Mole to me."
"Especially me, if I would add..." Snifit decided to pipe in. The room laughed again. Dry Bones sheepishly smiled.
"And of course, we have our princess….Eclair, our beautiful lady in green, joins us as herself, no longer unmasked." The princess smiled at McHallyboo, her green dress glistening to the others.
"Eclair, the question is...how do you feel, finally being revealed as the saboteur of this game?" the host asked, as everyone turned to the Mole herself. Eclair took in a breath.
"Well...first, I would like to say publicly to everyone, that yes...I am the Mole," she began. Everyone laughed.
"You must say it yourself for it to be official," McHallyboo said with a wink.
"I never suspected you...not one bit," Bowser Jr. said, shaking his head with disappointed yet amused eyes.
"I think you managed to slip my suspect list here and there," Zess said out loud to her with a wink, "but in the end, I got you, girl!" Eclair smiled.
"To say that I am relieved...would be an understatement," Eclair continued. "I am relieved, but just… very happy I do not have to commit any more sabotages, or say any more lies, or continue any further deceitful tasks or strange, covert missions. All of those acts...had a stronger impact on both me and everybody else than I imagined." Everyone listened to her words in silence. Eclair closed her eyes.
"When the game ended seven months ago...I still felt like the Mole." The other players only took in her words.
"It took time to readjust...and be myself once more," Eclair finished. The players nodded, Dashell nodding the heaviest out of everyone.
"Flurrie, you said before the reveal that you actually suspected Eclair as being the Mole," the host continued. "Which is interesting: you were unfortunately executed as our first player from our game. But what tipped you towards the truth afterwards?" Everyone turned to the cloud spirit, who pondered for a bit.
"I did realize and see, only after I was executed, little clues and spoken lines from Princess Eclair that made sense to Eclair being the Mole the whole time," Flurrie said with a little smile, turning to the princess. Eclair turned to face the cloud spirit with surprise and interest.
"But alas, the clues only pieced together in my mind only after my fated execution." Flurrie chuckled.
"Which ones?" Snifit asked curiously.
"All will be answered soon," McHallyboo said with a wink. "But first...let us begin with the story of our final, fallen player. A player of both self-courage and confliction. The one who made it to the top...despite that final drop." Everyone turned to the player sitting towards the left-side of the chairs.
"Well, I guess I'm in the spotlight now," Tiny realized out loud with a laugh, as everyone did so too.
"Tiny, you were the final victim of the game," McHallyboo began, "but something tells me that you never expected to make it that far." Tiny nodded strongly.
""I had no idea that I would've made it so far into the game, but...against all odds, I did. I...kind of didn't want to make it so far." The players looked at her with surprise.
"And you never suspected the Mole?" McHallyboo asked her. Some of the players looked stunned in surprise.
"Never," replied Tiny, looking surprised herself. "But…" She sighed with a smile, her memories going back to the past eight months of her life.
"The game was a game I can never describe in words," she finished, looking at the host.
"But through a momentous journey, Tiny did make it far," McHallyboo told everyone. "With will, Tiny had made it all the way into the symbolic final three. But what was her story? And who did she believe the Mole was?" He faced the audience.
"It is time to see...the truth of the final victim of the Mole.
And all of a sudden, the screen flashed. And Tiny's story became visible to everyone.
Tiny's Story
Tiny: Hi! My name is Tiny, and, well...to answer the question, I don't know why I'm here. I honestly am just here to maybe enjoy myself, and have a good time. My second reason to play this game? Well... I want to try and win...but that's stupid to say at this point. It's only the beginning, and nothing's happened yet except for this interview I'm doing right now. I'm really just scared for the first episode.
Tiny entered the game of The Mole: Agent's Elevation with only marginal familiarity with its concept and past seasons. Only having watched the past two seasons a few weeks before entering the game, she gravely underestimated its intensity. In truth, she initially joined into the game with the primary aim of having an enjoyable experience.
However, nothing would have prepared her for the ferocities, severities, and difficulties that she would later encounter until the very end..
Episode 1...
In the beginning, Tiny was able to make an immediate friend: Mimi.
Flashback Piantissimo (in the lobby): I am Il Piantissimo, athlete extraordinaire! Or you can simply call me Piantissimo."
Flashback Mimi: (whispering to Tiny) "More like 'Stuck-Up Extraordinaire." (Both Tiny and Mimi laugh)
In the first episode, Tiny and Mimi were first able to share time together by being placed as roommates for the first night in Yold Desert. The two of them used this secret time to their advantage, trying to see if the other player in their pair was truly trustworthy.
Flashback Tiny: "I don't know, but...a player telling me they aren't the Mole, no offense, is just a LITTLE suspicious. (Mimi laughs)
Flashback Mimi: "Well, it is a little suspect that you don't want to be friends in this game.. Could YOU be the Mole?" (They smile at each other, suspicious but warily trusting)
But none the less, they both agreed to help each other in whatever way possible. In sublt teamwork, they agreed on a plan to heighten the suspicions of one another, and they carried it out. For example, in the Purchase of the Desert game, Tiny told Dashell that she believed Mimi was the Mole, just to help her.
Flashback Tiny: (During the Desert game) "I think it might either be Mimi or Piantissimo. Mimi...Mimi is definitely suspicious with her innocence and character."
Flashback Dashell: (pondering) "Yeah…hmm...I never thought about that."
But even since Episode 1, Tiny began to feel the effects of one of the most common, personal aspects of the game: being accused as a suspect. Even though she wasn't the Mole at all, Tiny felt aggravation and dejection from the distrusting nature of the game and from being perceived in such a negative light. She felt these negative effects even since the very first episode of the game.
(In the Desert before Execution 1)
Flashback Tiny: "So, Dashell kept on giving me these weird looks after the Desert mission. And I don't know what was up with that! Maybe he suspects me of being the Mole...whatever." (Tiny looks disheartened, as Flurrie and Mimi listen to her)
Flashback Mimi: (giving her a hug playfully) "Don't worry Tiny, I don't think you're the Mole at all!"
Flashback Flurrie: "And You did do a good job digging too, I had heard! (Tiny smiles with appreciation at Flurrie)
Flashback Tiny: "Thanks, guys. This game is just...so frustrating to play."
Episode 2...
And as the game cycled an episode, another negative, deadly aspect of the game took a toll on Tiny: executions. The toll of losing one of her friends, Flurrie, was hard on Tiny. She knew that it would only get worse from then.
(In Room 260 at the beginning of Episode 2, Tiny was looking outside the window, at the fountain outside of the inn. Mimi, noticing her position, walked up to the window as well).
Flashback Mimi: "Hey Tiny...what are you looking at?" (Tiny keeps looking at the fountain)
Flashback Tiny: "Oh, nothing, it's just…no matter how beautiful that fountain looks, it'll always have this…image of a shadow. As if it's just ominous." (Mimi notices that her voice sounds dejected)
Flashback Mimi: "Oh, don't feel too down, Tiny. Flurrie had this niceness in her that we have to keep alive. And you do, as well!"
Flashback Tiny: "I guess you're right." (Tiny manages a smile, and the two of them are silent together)
However, as Episode 2 came into play, the game just got only harder. In the first mission of the episode, suspicions arose when it was revealed that one of Tiny's camera photos were deleted. All players then had their suspicious eyes on Tiny.
(On Isle Delfino in Episode 2)
Flashback McHallyboo: "The blank image on the camera's screen signifies a VERY strong possibility that someone deliberately deleted the photo." (everyone falls into a hushed whisper, looking at Tiny)
Flashback Zess: "Huh? That's impossible. Nobody could have deleted that photo. It must be an error!"
Flashback Bowser Jr: (scoffing) "An error of the Mole?"
Flashback Tiny: (stunned and looking at the ground) "I...didn't delete it. I really didn't.
After the game, Tiny even confided with the Mole herself about the stress of the game when they were together in the room.
(In the Hotel room with Eclair in Delfino Plaza)
Flashback Tiny: "And the photo was…just gone! I should have checked the camera beforehand. But I really didn't see anything wrong with it."
Flashback Eclair: "That is so odd. Please do not mind me asking, Tiny, but did you delete the photograph yourself…perhaps on purpose to attract suspicion?"
Flashback Tiny: (exasperated) "Only a Mole would do that. I feel like this game is totally against me."
However, it wasn't the Mole who deleted the photo of Tiny, nor was it a technological error.
It was Mimi's doing.
Mimi: (secret confessional) As the game was almost ending, there was ONE quick second where I was like, 'Tiny, can I see your picture of Wendy?' Tiny agreed, and I took the camera. And that's when I had to opportunity...heehee! I deleted the photo right there and then.
In the last three minutes of the game, Mimi had asked to see the photograph that Tiny had taken of Wendy, and was able to grab it out of her hands.
Flashback Mimi in the Island Sabotage mission: (after taking Tiny's camera) "Wow, nice picture! You really got a good shot of Wendy. Better than I did of Goombella!"
(as Mimi feigns appreciating and looking at the photo, she presses the 'Delete' button on the camera, then turns the camera back off"
Flashback Tiny: "Thanks!" (hands the camera back to Tiny, as Tiny smiles)
Mimi did it, all in their teamwork bond of adding suspicion towards her friend. And in fact, it worked. Bowser Jr. had fallen right for this. Having been an expert on Seasons 1 and 2 of the show of the Mole, Bowser Jr. remembered how in Season 2, Yoshi had made a screw fall from a table he was serving at. However, most players didn't suspect Yoshi for the suspicious act because they believed that the Mole wouldn't have done something so obviously close to them in proximity and chance. It was a moment of reverse psychology that Bowser Jr. perceived as history repeating itself.
Bowser Jr: (secret confessional) Just like Season 2. 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. I'm not letting this tactic go unrecognized. Tiny probably deleted her photo, and I'm sure of it. It's an ongoing trend. She has to be it.
He went for Tiny for a third of his quiz questions, and it was enough to send him away in the wrong direction. He was executed.
BOWSER JR. - EXECUTED
Episode 3...
Starting Episode 3, Tiny had finally chosen a new, top suspect whom she believed was truly the Mole: the chef from Rogueport, Zess.
Tiny found Zess's actions suspicious in the Isle Delfino challenge when she was unable to click a camera shutter correctly to take a photo. And in Episode 3's start, she found Zess' betting choices in the Mario Party Minigames to be odd.
(In Episode 3, the Players are in the Mario Party Betting Room)
Flashback Dry Bones: (in Minigame Madness) "So who do we think's gonna win in Dungeon Duos? Dashell and Snifit, or Eclair and Mimi?
Flashback Zess: "I have hope in the girls! I know that Éclair is surprisingly strong. And Mimi might have been rejuvenated from her last loss, and…my speech lesson." (Zess lets out a laugh, as Tiny looks at her, not convinced of her reasonings).
But as time went through the episode, everything still got worse for Tiny, mentally. She began to discover in herself that she wasn't enjoying the aspects of the game as highly as she had hoped to. Even though she had a small, growing desire in herself to win, she realized that the dark constituents of the game were taking an impact on her. She also felt like she wasn't a true, worthy competitor in the game of the Mole.
Flashback McHallyboo (during the Three Door Monty minigame): "Find...Boo!"
(flashback of Tiny messing up in the Three Door Monty Game, holding up the wrong sign and looking at it in shock)
Flashback Tiny: "The right answer was A?" (Dhe sighs, realizing her cost to the team and to herself.)
And that led to one of the final moments in Episode 3, when the players were all given the life-changing bribe to exit the game.
Flashback McHallyboo at Execution 3: "Thirty-thousand coins. Going once…twice..."
Flashback Dry Bones: "It's…it's right there…!" (the players are all shocked, anxious at the offer)
Flashback McHallyboo at Execution 3: "Going twice…"
Flashback Tiny: "I..." (Tiny's hands are on the sides of her chair, her body lifting of the seat slowly with a look of determination on her face)
As the offer went up and up, and the chance to self-executed grew higher, Tiny was just seconds away from taking the bribe herself. But she was stopped. Someone noticed and saw Tiny on the edge of taking the money. And that player was none other than her friend, Mimi.
Flashback McHallyboo at Execution 3: "Fifty-thousand coins." (all the players gasp)
Flashback Mimi: "I'll accept it! Me, mememee!" (Tiny and all the other players look at Mimi in stunned shock)
Mimi: (secret confessional) There were so many reasons on why I took the bribe. But these are my top two. First of all, fifty-thousand coins is a lot of money. Everyone deserves a well-deserved vacation. I wanted to explore the world with my soon-to-be-found-from-television-fame boyfriend. But the second reason? Well...this is something I'll only tell to a few others. I was watching my friend and I saw that she was about to take the bribe. She was getting up from her seat, and was in that position for almost ten whole seconds. No WAY. And there is NO way I am letting someone as smart and AMAZING as Tiny take a bribe out of this game. She was my friend, so I couldn't allow that, right? I did it right before I could let her kick herself out.
Because of her friend's sacrifice, Tiny went on and survived in the game.
MIMI - BRIBED
Episode 4...
Starting Episode 4, and no longer with a coalition partner, Tiny knew that she had to play the game more heavily. She started to focus heavily on her biggest suspect: Zess.
Tiny: A lot of people don't suspect Zess as the Mole, and that really kind of scares me, because I don't either. What if she really is the Mole? She's not as old as she seems at all. She could almost just be as young as any of us mentally.
Starting Episode 4, she was suspicious of Zess in the Snowball Shootout game.
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 on the snow track.
In the Ice Cave mission,Tiny questioned the elderly lady's actions once again as possible, potential Mole actions.
(Flashback in the Ice Cave, the green light comes on for a player to cross the ice)
Flashback Zess: "Go, Snifit! Go!" (pushing Snifit forwards)
Flashback Piantissimo: "What! After betraying our team, you trust his will to not touch the exemption?"
Flashback Zess: "We have no choice. "Go, fast! Press the green button!" (as Snifit makes his way across the ice, all the other players are alert in surprise)
Tiny: She sort of just pushed Snifit across. What was the good in that? Someone might have panicked and ran too, and then the ice would have cracked. I am just….really, really suspicious of her.
She continued to focus on Zess. As Dashell, Zess, and Piantissimo had their own suspicions, Tiny had her own too. The three of them were head-locked on their suspects...but none of them were suspecting the true Mole of the game.
Episode 5...
Tiny knew that she had to plan and take out her own sleuthing actions to discover more about her prime suspect. In Episode 5, she wanted to be as close to the chef as possible, both in and out of the games. In the Tentways of Fate game, she purposely chose the tent path that would battle Zess for the Plus 1.
Flashback Snifit: (encouragingly before Tiny entered the tent pathway in Episode 5) Maybe you can challenge her [Zess] for it.
Flashback Tiny: (nods) "Okay, I guess I'll go. Just...wish me luck." (stepping into the tent path hesitantly)
In the Tentways of Fate game, when Tiny and Zess had to race and duel for the Plus 1, Tiny let Zess have the Plus 1. She analyzed the two possible outcomes of this: If Zess was the Mole, the Plus 1 wouldn't have had any incentive or advantage for the chef. But if Zess wasn't the Mole...then it was Tiny's speculation and hoping she'd be nicer to Tiny and tell her more of the truth, if Tiny got the chance to talk to her biggest suspect. This action, of letting Zess win the Plus 1, roused the suspicions of the other players.
Flashback McHallyboo (At dinner after the Tent Mission): "It was very interesting though...Tiny, you seemed to slow down at the end of the tent pathway. Cameras showed that it was almost as if you...let Zess win." (the players look with surprise at her)
Flashback Tiny (Thinking of a lie): "Well, I kind of thought over it around in my head...and I felt like Zess wanted it more anyway, since she showed initiative before me. I guess I was willing to sacrifice that."
Flashback Dashell: (confused) "Isn't it risky though for a player to give up a Plus 1?"
Flashback Tiny: "Well, I just felt like I didn't need it. They're just a point on the quiz, anyway, so...I was willing to give it away, despite the risks." (the others look with suspicion at Tiny)
But Tiny felt like she only knew her suspect, Zess, within missions, and realized that outside of the games, she had never spent any personal time with Zess. So during the players' free day to wander in Episode 5., she invited Zess for coffee in the town plaza. She wanted to get to know her better...and see if she was truly the Mole.
Flashback Zess: (sipping coffee in the cafe) So...you're not the Mole, are you?"
Flashback Tiny: (shaking her head) "I guess I'll say to you that I'm not. I just want each other to have a better understanding and stance of each other, you know? "
Flashback Zess: "Well, we won't get much from just a simple coffee and tea meeting." (Tiny nods, disappointedly understanding, but then Zess winks at her)
Flashback Zess: "But my gift to you for letting me have the Plus 1 is my honesty. And that is: I am not the Mole." (At this line, Tiny's eyes widened)
The game got darker for Tiny, and more confusing. Although Mimi saving her from quitting reinvigorated her, there was still a side to her that was not engrossed in the game. And secretly through the game, Tiny was unsure of how she would be able to continue in the game. She disliked secrecy, sabotage, and betrayal: all the components that were not in her nature. For this reason, Tiny didn't want to play mysteriously. She didn't want people to think she was the Mole, and she did just that for five episodes. She had made no effort to make people believe at all that she was the Mole.
Until the chair.
Before the Lie Detector game, Snifit brought up a good point during their conversation at the park bench that she never realized in herself: she was a very good candidate for being the very Mole.
(On the Park Bench in Episode 5)
Flashback Snifit: "Please don't take this the wrong way either, but you are a good suspect too." (Tiny stops, surprised at his sentence)
Flashback Tiny: (laughing and doubting) "O...kay. How have I been suspicious in this game?"
Flashback Snifit: "That camera sabotage you did in Episode 2, losing the gun in Episode 4, and now recently, giving Zess a Plus 1. However...no one really suspects you though, at least, not openly and out loud. 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).
And from this, Tiny realized something: that maybe she could use an act of influencing people to think she was the Mole to her advantage. And in the next game, she tested these waters. That is why she made her decision to not answer the final question in the Lie Detector chair.
Flashback McHallyboo: (facing Tiny in the chair) "Question 3...are you the Mole of this game?"
Flashback Tiny: "I guess I'm going to have to forfeit." (Everyone in the room looks shocked at her decision)
Zess: She answered it to me! So I don't see how she couldn't answer it in the chair.
Dashell: That was suspicious, Tiny's action of refusing to answer the question. I don't know what to think of it. I think most of us wouldn't have been bothered to answer that question.
And just as she anticipated, she was put onto the suspect list of some of her opponents, including Dashell and Piantissimo. However, what Tiny didn't anticipate at all was the executed victim of that episode's execution. To her bewilderment and astonishment, Zess, her Number 1 suspect, was executed from the game.
(As Zess gets executed and gets up to leave from the plaza, Tiny looks at the innocent chef with a shocked face)
Tiny: When Zess faced the red screen last night, I was like..."What? No way". She was my top Mole suspect. Now I'm stuck in...suspect limbo. And I didn't like this feeling at all.
Tiny had to start over. There were four suspects left to choose from.
Episode 6...
Starting Episode 6 anew, Tiny needed a new suspect, all from scratch. And then she reflected on the strange conversation she had with Snifit earlier.
Flashback Snifit (in Episode 5): "The Mole could be anyone. Do you know who it is?"
Flashback Tiny: "Well, if I knew, I'd probably not be so nervous before each quiz, like I always am. Don't tell anyone though...but I really think it could be Zess. Or...or Dashell. Who do you think it is?"
Flashback Snifit: "I don't have to think. I know who it is." (As he looks at Tiny directly in the eyes, she laughs a little bit, but also uncomfortably)
Also, Tiny was suspicious that Snifit had survived Execution 5 with a Minus 1 from the Tentways of Fate game.
Flashback McHallyboo (At the Dinner after the Tents game): "And Snifit...you have a Minus 1."
Tiny: It doesn't matter that Snifit had a Minus 1 last episode. What if he's the Mole anyway, and doesn't need any points?
Thinking that Snifit was hiding more than he was letting on, she carefully watched and monitored his actions through Episode 6. And from there, she continued to fully suspect him as her Number 1 suspect.
But with her keen observation skills improving, she was also able to study all of the other players' actions as well. And in the midst of monitoring everyone's actions, Tiny was able to catch closer glimpses of suspicious gameplay from another player in the game whom she never seriously suspected: Il Piantissimo.
(At the start of the Destination Sail game, Tiny is waving her left flag to signal them to sail in the left direction)
Flashback Piantissimo: "What is she saying? Red flag? Red flag, raised...five times? The Letter E?" (as Tiny waves her left flag again in frustration, Piantissimo continues speculating, uncertain)
Flashback Piantissimo: "What...is she trying to say now? She waved it three times now...the letter C now?" (from the bottom of the ship, Tiny moans in frustration)
However, Tiny's suspicions of Piantissimo at Episode 6 were far from robust suspicions, and she continued to suspect Snifit the full way due to his overall, long-lasting, suspicious nature since the first episode.
Tiny: Ever since the first episode...when Snifit got that exemption from the Desert sand...I've secretly and honestly been suspicious of him. And every exemption after that.
As the numbers dwindled down, another strong player left the game: Dashell.
Flashback McHallyboo: (at the end of Episode 6) "Dashell...come with me."
(Flashback of Dashell getting the red screen and getting up from his seat. As Snifit looks at him with sorry eyes, Tiny shakes her head, strong in her remaining Mole suspect).
When Dashell, the second potential suspect on her list, was executed at the end of Episode 6, Tiny was almost certain that her choice of Snifit being the Mole was correct.
Episode 7...
Entering Episode 7, the game took a twist of intensity, something extremely threatening for a player who had already found the game to be difficult ever since the first episode.. For Tiny reaching this level of the game...it was almost fatal.
Tiny: I'm...trying to act happy in this game. But it's killing me. It's the final four.
At Episode 7's beginning, Tiny slipped up and let her dissatisfactions out to the others.
(Flashback to in the Beginning of Episode 7. The players are travelling by the sea cliff in the van to their next location).
Flashback Tiny (In the Van to the Others): "It's the final four, and one of us is still the Mole, and who knows what she or he will do this episode to make the rest of the players suffer, or what's going to happen to us, or where…!" (Exasperated, she finished her speech with a large breath, sitting back down. The other players look at her in surprise)
Flashback Snifit: "Are you okay, Tiny?"
Flashback Tiny: (sighing and looking out into the ocean) "Sorry, I'm just a little...apprehensive on how hard this game is going to get for me."
The beginning game of Episode 7, the City Scavenger Hunt, was emotionally taxing on Tiny. Being the second to final round of the game and being surrounded by three strong competitors, her failures in the mission had lowered her confidence as a capable, succeeding player. From losing the flier paper, to being persuaded by Piantissimo to leave behind the ticket at the casino, and to even unsuccessfully trying to submit in a pair of faulty sunglasses, Tiny felt as if her presence in the game did not matter.
(In Neon Heights, at the End of the City Scavenger Hunt mission)
Flashback McHallyboo: "You were close...but these sunglasses don't pass." (Both Tiny and Piantissimo's faces were suddenly astounded)
Flashback Piantissimo: "What? But why so?"
Flashback McHallyboo: "The point of this game was for it to be a city scavenger hunt…a hunt within the city. And these glasses…were found in your backpack, Tiny. In your posession already. Not in the city." (As everyone looks at Tiny, Tiny gasps and looks sadly at the ground)
While every other player had found at least one object for the team, she had found nothing. Tiny was the only player who didn't contribute to the team, starting off the penultimate episode with nothing.
In truth, Tiny was scared of what was to come next in the final two episodes of the game. Something within her sensed that further awful things would be arriving later in the game, something that later, she would discover was right. With this realized nervousness, along with her already-hesitant status, she was ready to quit.
Tiny: (secret confessional) I...don't know if I can even continue anymore. This game is not the game that I had expected it to be. I really just don't feel like I belong here. Why am I still here, anyway? It just doesn't make sense. Me being here...doesn't make sense. And...I think I'm ready to leave and go home. But not by the Mole doing's. To leave on my own.
In Episode 7, Snifit had stumbled upon Tiny's room. Right into the scene of Tiny packing her things and planning to leave the game.
Flashback Snifit: "You're packing up….as if you're…the next…executed victim. Why…exactly are you packing, anyway?" (Tiny turns to face him, silently)
Flashback Tiny: "Snifit, I know you don't care, but...I can't I just can't go on. This might seem out of game, but at the next execution…I'll be self-executing myself. I'm sorry." (At hearing this from her, Snifit looks shocked)
Flashback Tiny: (continuing sadly) "I...I can't go on. I'm tired of hiding it. I really just joined this game to have fun. And I did have fun...but only in the beginning. Now, it's too much. I've played my game already. And now that I have played, I think I'm just ready to go back now." (Snifit looks at Tiny in surprise)
But the artificial intelligence, with the heart and compassion of any other human or living creature, encouraged Tiny to continue on.
Flashback Snifit: "Do not quit. Don't. You're stronger than any other player here." (Tiny looks up at him, surprised)
Flashback Tiny: "But what if I don't win at the end of this?"
Flashback Snifit: "The only definition of losing, as my programming tells me...is if you stop playing, Tiny. That is how you lose. You can do it...you can win." (As he leaves, Tiny's mouth is still open, realization in her heart)
Tiny was encouraged to a new level by Snifit's words. In fact, Tiny's personal storyline of almost quitting the game was so emotion-inducing and unique that it captured the host, McHallyboo's, attention. He decided to twist things.
(With Snifit in the hallway of Neon Heights' hotel)
Flashback McHallyboo: "And Tiny said that she feels like quitting the game…is this true? Just ten minutes ago, in her hotel room?"
Flashback Snifit: "Affirmative. It'll make good television drama, no?"
Flashback McHallyboo (Smiling with ingenuity): "Yes...but let's not make that story for her. I think we should give this imagery of a poor victim, who just wants to leave the game...to someone else instead. And I have a plan. Just give me a few minutes, my humble servant." (Winks at Snifit, who nods back)
The emotional turmoil only increased for Tiny as one of the most severe missions of the entire game took place that episode: the Apocalypse game. And at multiple times during the mission, Tiny felt like quitting...in parallel to how she had felt throughout the entire game. It was a mission that Tiny described as "beyond hell".
But she persevered, surviving until the final second.
Tiny: If I was able to survive this mission….this scary, horrible, terrible mission….then I can be able to survive what's in store for the final episode of this game. I...I can't quit. For Snifit's words, and for myself. And I have to thank Snifit and his humanity for helping me decide to go on.
Tiny went to the moon that episode, still damaged, but not damaged enough to quit the game. But she went into the penultimate quiz of the game voting completely for Snifit.
But everyone, even Eclair herself, was shocked beyond belief when Snifit was executed from the game that episode. He was not the Mole, and in addition, nor was he even a player, or a person. And from then, Tiny's game had completely changed.
Tiny: I...am entering the final episode with two people whom I had never suspected before on the quiz as the Mole.
The Final Episode...
Now, it was the final three.
It was down to herself and Eclair and Piantissimo, her final two opponents.
(flashback of Eclair and Piantissimo, smiling together on the moon and waiting for the elevator. Tiny looks at them both from afar, then, taking a breath, walks across the land of the moon and over to join them)
The most intense episode had come, and Tiny needed her final suspect. It was only down to two others, and she didn't know what to think. In fact...she had no time to think.
Tiny: This is it. I have to choose correctly. This is my only chance.
And she chose her suspect with confidence.
But in the end, she chose wrong. She had decided that PIantissimo was the Mole.
Entering the final episode, Tiny reflected on all of the suspicious activities from Piantissimo's past gameplays. In fact, out of all the other players in the game, she had been paired with him the most throughout the season. She had questioned his suspicious activities during the Destination Sail and the City Scavenger Hunt game, and during the Retro Ocean game, when the two of them had to retrieve the star from the end of an eel, Piantissimo had been the one to drop the star in which she had thrown to him.
All the memories and suspicions in the back of Tiny's mind were all coming back to her.
(Under the ocean) Flashback Tiny: "Noooo!" (as Piantissimo genuinely struggles to catch the star, it slips from his grasp and falls to the bottom of the ocean)
And the suspicious actions of Il Piantissimo continued right into the final episode, and Tiny fell victim to them. During the first mission of Episode 8, the Three Questions Game, Piantissimo had used a coin clip to determine their choice for the final question.
(In the Island Factory, during the Three Question Game)
Flashback McHallyboo "If you believe Tiny chose Eclair for this question of stealing her precious coin, choose the left door, but if you believe Tiny chose Piantissimo on this question...choose the right door."
(Piantissimo takes a coin out from his pocket, smiling and shrugging)
Flashback Piantissimo: "We're asked a question about a coin…let's answer it with a coin." (Both Eclair and McHallyboo both look surprised at his decision, even sharing a secret glance of befuddlement between each other)
Tiny's suspicions had risen completely. She began to solidify her final suspect.
Flashback Tiny: (on Donkey Kong Island) "I still don't get why you used a coin flip...of randomness...to decide our games winnings." (Piantissimo only shrugs and smiles triumphantly at her)
And in the final episode, for the final, two genuine players...McHallyboo had set his own traps as well.
In the Pinsonneault farmlands, after the Burn Home Burn mission, Eclair herself and McHallyboo had an exchange for a question on the final quiz of the game at the bottom of the leafy hill: something that a Mole would never have to do.
Flashback McHallyboo (on the leafy hill in the farmlands): "This may help you...or not help you at all, Eclair. It all depends on what you do with this treasure and how you decide to utilize it in the next twenty-four hours." (Eclair looks confused at his words, but never the less, nods.)
Flashback Eclair: "Thank...you." (As McHallyboo turns to leave, he looks back and winks at her)
However, it was a trap set for the other two genuine players. They wanted to paint the image that Eclair was a genuine player, desiring heavily to win the game and doing everything she could to be the victor. And in prediction, McHallyboo had predicted that someone would watch them. He predicted that if anyone would spy on them from the opportune, view-giving top of the hill, it would be Piantissimo who would witness the unneeded paper trap was set.
And the host was correct...but almost. In the end, another player did see the exchange. However, in opposition to the host's prediction, it wasn't Piantissimo who saw it. It was Tiny who had waited at the top of the farm's hill and who had fallen victim to the false imagery.
(flashback of the farmlands; from the very top of the leaf-covered hill, Tiny Kong stands with folded arms, staring down at the encounter between McHallyboo and Eclair. She paused, sinking in the encounter she had witnessed with conflicted feelings)
And now, Tiny's final gameplay was spiraling down: she believed Piantissimo was the Mole and she believed Eclair was just genuine player, climbing up towards victory with her advantage.
But despite all the attacks from the people around her, the final and biggest attack on her would be not from another person, but from herself. It was her own choice in the last moments of the game that was her final blow: making a decision that would almost cost the game the entire pot.
In the final episode, Tiny made a choice of pivotal, fatal decision.
(On the Patio in the Final Mission of the game, McHallyboo is with Tiny)
Flashback McHallyboo: "This dossier, with the name of the Mole and all the information about him or her, will come at a cost, and I will give you just thirty, important seconds to decide."
Flashback Tiny (shocked): "What...thirty seconds, I can't decide!"
Flashback McHallyboo: Half of the team pot...for the dossier." (Tiny faces the host with shock and disbelief at his offer)
And in genuine panic...and having a desire to win the game...Tiny took the offer.
(As time ticks down, Tiny looks up at the host who is holding the green folder in his hands)
Flashback Tiny: "I'm, I'm...okay! I'm just going to take the dossier! (After thinking of what she says, Tiny covers her face, sad and in shock at her own decision)
It was a decision that surprised everyone, even herself. But in a final moment of redemption, the offer was not to be. Tiny would not end her time in the game at an absolute personal loss, but with a win for both herself and the team. She rescinded her offer successfully and the team won the game.
(The world shaking around them, Tiny lets out her final proclamation in the final mission)
Flashback Tiny (at the end of the final game): "I want to take the offer back! I wasn't thinking of anyone else...anyone else but myself! But now I see what truly matters in this game. And I'm...I'm sorry."
Right before the final quiz, Tiny believed that she and Eclair were up against each other, both suspecting Piantissimo as the Mole in the game.
(As Tiny and Eclair walk down the hallway to the final elevators and final quiz of the game, they share a an exchange of words with each other)
Flashback Tiny: "What I think is...you and I...we might be more on the same track than you think." (As Tiny smiles at her, Eclair looks confused)
But it was a fatal error that was not the truth at all. In fact, the Mole was not at all Piantissimo...they were right next to her.
On the final quiz of the game, and in the final elevator, Tiny had went for the wrong player as the Mole. And for that reason….she became the final victim of The Mole: Agent's Elevation.
Flashback McHallyboo (on the rooftop of the building): "And I am sorry to say...that you are the Mole's final victim. You are the final victim of The Mole: Agent's Elevation."
(Tiny, full of sudden disappointment, looks to the ground in sadness but acceptance)
But though her ending may have been in a loss, Tiny was still a victor in her own individual game of triumphing defeat and self-doubt. In the end, Tiny looked back, knowing that she had played her adventure over the game's many days with confidence, victory, and from her heart, strength. She had showed an endurance unlike any other player had shown in the past: wanting to stop at many moments throughout the game, she always discovered a new strength in herself to go on.
(Flashback of Episode 8 in the Lie Detector Chair)
Flashback McHallyboo : "Why? What made you go on and not leave? After wanting to quit so many times, Tiny?"
Flashback Tiny (looking with determination and realization at the host): "Maybe...maybe there is a small side to this game that I actually like. Despite how evil it may be, maybe a part of me in the end...really just wants to actually win."
As much as Tiny never wanted to think such, in the end, we all discovered that one thing was certain: she meant for a game like the Mole after all.
Tiny: I really don't know what to say. If there's a reason I'm still here in the final three...maybe it's because I really did have everything that was necessary to succeed. And I guess that's the only truth there is. I have it. I really do.
And making it to the final three, even as the final victim of The Mole...Tiny was truly a winner.
Everyone clapped loudly with happiness and acknowledgement for the fallen player, as Tiny looked around at her teammates, smiling with memory, humbleness, and appreciation. Her story, intense and of truth, had been told.
"Tiny, you played a tremendous game," McHallyboo spoke to her, as the clapping slowed down ans everyone listened. "You had your roller coaster of emotions, and we all saw it. We really, REALLY saw how difficult the game was for you at many times. Did you really feel like genuinely quitting at different points of the game?" Tiny could only nod with the heaviest of nods to the host and to the other players.
"I REALLY, genuinely felt like giving the game away at so many points," Tiny told them, closing her eyes in memory. "I felt like, with every episode that I entered, I was like, 'Okay, this is the last one! I'm quitting.'" She laughed, and so did the other at her sentence.
"But I didn't think I'd actually make it to the end."
"Congrats to you for being so strong-hearted and truly believing in yourself," Flurrie spoke, as everyone nodded with agreement.
"I didn't do it alone," Tiny admitted.
"Mimi, you helped Tiny a lot in her first steps of the game," the host said, as Mimi beamed at his statement. "So Tiny, I ask you: if Mimi wasn't there to support you in the beginning, do you think your game would have been as smooth?"
"I think I would have just crumbled in Episode 1 and 2," Tiny said truthfully, looking down. "There's no way I would have survived the game's beginning without a friend like Mimi. So thank you so much, Mimi!" Mimi smiled at her, teary-eyed.
"My game was made SO much better playing it with you," Mimi told her emotionally.
"Bowser Jr, having finally realized who had truly deleted the photo in Episode 2, how do you feel?' McHallyboo said, facing Bowser Jr, who just looked back at him in amusement.
"What do you expect me to say?" Bowser Jr. retorted. "Intelligent? Not dumb or not stupid?" Everyone laughed.
"I had a good time," Bowser Jr. finished. "And I was too influenced. Yoshi and Eclair aren't the same person. I was too influenced by the past."
"Zess, did you know that Tiny suspected you so heavily throughout the game?" McHallyboo asked her. The chef of Rogueport shook her head with a surprised look.
"Never in a million years!" Zess replied. "I never actually really made an effort to look like the Mole at all. Not for one second ever!"
"Really?" Snifit commented, surprised. The others were too.
"Truly, my game was to have fun!" Zess replied.
"I really admired that about you," Tiny said, smiling at the old lady. "Now after knowing that you weren't the Mole, I really looked back at how you played and you did do everything for fun. And..." And then, Tiny turned to Snifit.
"Snifit...because of you...I pushed past that final round into the final episode," Tiny told him emotionally. Snifit smiled back at her.
Well…" Tiny laughed out loud. "I guess I would've been fated to have made it to the final three anyway, since you were destined to leave anyway before the final three. But...you prepared me for that. I wouldn't have been prepared without your words to me." She held back a tear.
"Just...thank you, so much." Snifit also winced too, emotional.
"It was my pleasure," Snifit said humbly.
"Something tells me that the entire game wasn't all fun and games for you, was it?" McHallyboo asked the runner-up. Tiny nodded heavily again.
"But that's okay," she replied. "I had fun! And that's something I'm surprised that I had at all towards the end. So it was just fine anyway." Everyone nodded, some of them realizing that indeed, the game, despite its times of hardship, was fun.
"And we have the story of our grand runner-up, Tiny Kong, told. But before we continue on, I wanted to face a player who has been...a bit silent this entire reunion." McHallyboo looked with a little gleam towards the player to his right.
"Dashell." At his name, the Pixl seemed to stand straight up in his seat. Everyone laughed. Dashell spoke on, facing everyone.
"I just have a lot in my head that I'm still processing right now…" Dashell said, but he was able to manage a smile that let the others know that overall, he was okay.
"That's what's explaining your reticence, Mr. Pixl," Zess said, folding her arms with a chortle. "But it's an understandable reticence." The players all nodded.
"I just want to know...the truth," Dashell said, but then he shrugged. "But I guess it doesn't matter in the end. I'm glad how I played and I wouldn't change anything. Even if some things in the game...weren't what I thought they were." At this sentence, Eclair looked down, her face showing sadness.
"Well, no truths will be held back in the video we will see," McHallyboo said with a wide smile, and his eyes gleamed mischievously. "Every truth, and every true emotion, will be told within Dashell's story."
"Oh, yes!" Dry Bones exclaimed excitedly. "This should be good!" Everyone laughed at his outburst, but they all agreed: what was Dashell's true story?
"This is a good, terse story we will be seeing, albeit a shorter story compared to those of the final three. But still, we shall see the tale of Dashell Knot," McHallyboo explained.
"Oh no…" the Pixl groaned silently, as everyone around him chuckled. "Did you really...all right."
Then, the video came on. And another story of another player was told.
Dashell's Story
Dashell began the game with an interesting strategy.
(in the beginning lobby of the game) Flashback Dashell:: "Okay well, hey, what's up. I'm Dashell, and it's cool to meet you guys. But like I said, I'm not the Mole. So don't vote for me on the quizzes."
Flashback Mimi: "That is a really odd thing to hear! Who else would say that, except for the Mole?"
And it was exactly that. By pretending his best that he wasn't the Mole, his strategy was instead for people to suspect him. In fact, Dashell was one of the most well-prepared players to set foot into the game. Dashell had a formed plan in his head of how he would play the game, months before he had entered into the building of distrust of Season 3. He planned his list of strategies, potential actions to take out in missions, and even trained himself on quizzes to be the fast quiz taker. Everything seemed planned and set.
But nothing would plan him for his falling in love with the very Mole of the game, Eclair.
(At the top of the Cliff in Episode 1)
Flashback Dashell: "Well, jumping with a pretty girl, no complaints.
Flashback Eclair (blushing): "I must thank you for your compliment."
But there was something else unique to Dashell's gameplay and character that contrasted from everyone else: he was haunted by memories of his past. Dashell used to be a human, and throughout the entire game, the producers knew about his story. This would lead to his significant change later in the game that the producers had planned since the first few episodes.
Overall, he was reminded of his humanity by Eclair.
(In Yold Desert, in Episode 1, the Players are Traveling to their First Lunch)
Flashback Dashell: "Well, Dry Bones, I'm sure it's your second-nature to suspect people in this game...along with everyone else. We're not here to make friends."
Flashback Eclair: "It is also second-nature for individuals to be friends with one another. Human nature, as well." (Eclair smiles at him, and Dashell realizes)
And all the way back in Episode 2, there was a foreshadowing of Dashell wistfully looked into his wardrobe.
(Flackback to Episode 2 on Isle Delfino; Dashell looking into his closet)
"Hmm…well, with my limited options, this looks cool." Dashell took out something from the wardrobe in their room that made him look at it with admiration: a suit, one which could only match that of a human form. He laughed out loud.
"Ah, well," he said, almost in a reminiscing voice. "Only in the past could I have worn this. If only time went back." Snifit turned around, and though his interest was grabbed by the Pixl's line, he didn't ask anything.
Eclair wasn't the only person Dashell made a tight friendship with. One of his earliest semi-coalition partners was Snifit, and the friendship lasted all the way until his execution.
(In the Yold Desert tents in Episode 1) Flashback Dashell: "Who else sabotaged in the first game? I have this sure feeling that the Mole messed up in the first game."
Flashback Snifit: "A bunch. You have to take into account the influence that other players had on the player who was about to jump." (Dashell looks at Snifit, impressed)
Dashell: What do you know? Snifit, as silent as he is, is smart.
And Dashell appreciated Snifit's openness with him. In fact, it had made his self-esteem and self-happiness in the game higher.
(In Episode 2 of Isle Delfino) Flashback Dashell: "Snifit...I feel like I was the first person you actually talked to and opened up to…it was probably the first night in Yold Town, right?" (Snifit looks surprised, but nodded)
Flashback Dashell: "That's cool, cause if it's the case that you opened up to me first, that means it says something about me. So maybe I'm approachable naturally to certain people. And people would like me." (Dashell smiles to himself)
One of Dashell's first suspects of the game was Tiny Kong. He was tipped off by her having an extra coin in her pocket while in the dumpster during the Purchase of the Desert game. In addition, the camera sabotage planted by Mimi also led him to face Tiny even more.
(flashback of Tiny having the coin in her pocket, laughing and treating it nonchalantly)
Dashll was also one of the most alert and astute players in the game. He was observant and keen, noticing things and performing things that normal players wouldn't have thought of doing. In the beginning of Episode 2, for example, he noticed that the elevator only had seven floors, even though if a player were to be executed each round, it would total to be eight episodes.
(In the Elevator to the 2nd Floor) Flashback McHallyboo: "We will be there soon."
(Dashell looked at the lights above the doors in front of him, seeing seven circular orbs)
Flashback Dashell: "Seven floors? Why are there only seven floors?" (McHallyboo ignores his statement)
And in the Subliminal Dinner mission in Episode 2, while on the cruise ship in Isle Delfino, Dashell thought around McHallyboo's wordings and was clever in finding a way to bend the rules, guaranteeing a success for the team.
(Flashback of Dashell coughing furiously on the cruise ship in Episode 2, much to Eclair's surprise)
Flashback Dashell: "Twenty coughs. During the time of dinner. I didn't have to be in the presence of Luvbi and Wario. They'll never know what I did."
Flashback Eclair: "That is very clever, Dashell."
Éclair: He was a clever player. It is hard to not be...impressed by his actions.
The room couldn't help but burst into laughter. Eclair blushed. Dashell couldn't help but grin sheepishly at her words on the screen.
"These are the confessionals that we never got to see," Zess said with a wink.
"Or the ones you hoped we wouldn't see," McHallyboo added mischievously.
But while Dashell was as clever as can be throughout the show, he was sometimes a little...airy. And didn't make the best decisions.
(On Delfino Plaza, planning the Sabotage Game) Flashback Dashell: "This might seem crazy, but I'm going to suggest something: Dry Bones, you will be the one to run and grab the megaphone."
Flashback Dry Bones: "M..me?!"
Flashback Bowser Jr: "Wait...why should Dry Bones run for the megaphone?"
Flashback Dashell: "I genuinely think you're the best runner, out of all of us. Even...me". (Bowser Jr and Dry Bones look at Dashell with incredulity and raised eyebrows)
And in Episode 5, when asked to identify a spoken quote, he had guessed...himself.
(At the Dinner Table in Episode 5) Flashback McHallyboo: "Dashell, this is the quote for you. Who said this? 'So if I were to cut myself on a rock, in this say, virtual world, of fake objects and projections, I wouldn't really get cut, would I?'"
Flashback Dashell: "I...think...that actually sounds like something I would say. Like my kind of line. Because I honestly don't remember anyone at all speaking that line." (Everyone turns to him, surprised)
Flashback Tiny: "Umm...what?"
Flashback Dashell: "So I guess myself...I guess." (Everyone in the entire room, including the host, is in disbelief)
As the game went on into Episode 3, his gameplay and emotions were mixed. His feelings for Eclair grew. As Dashell entered Episode 3, it was the highest point between him and Eclair in terms of a connection. But then in that very episode of Episode 3, one of the strong pillars that held up Dashell's personality tumbled, when Eclair revealed to him that he had lost trust in him.
(In the Forest, before Execution 3) Flashback Eclair: "Perhaps it is best…if we stay away from each other more. I am saying this because I have lost trust in you." (Dashell's face is in shock)
Flashback Dashell: "Eclair...I'm sorry that you trusted me in this game. And I'm sorry that I trusted you too. We aren't supposed to trust anyone. This is the game of the Mole, and we can't trust anybody, can we?"
Flashback Eclair: "Good luck on the quiz, Dashell." (Her eyes slowly formed tears as she turns away to leave. She stops for a second, hesitating to say something to Dashell, but instead turns and walks away. Dashell is left alone in the forest, at a loss of words).
For almost over an episode, they were no longer together.
Dashell: I just didn't think something like this would happen. None of this. I didn't want to connect with anyone in this game, and then all of a sudden, I wanted to. And at the very moment I wanted that connection to last...it was gone.
Éclair: Dashell will change a lot. I believe it is because he has disconnected from important people this round, and he is alone….I do realize too that I myself am alone in this as well.
Episode 4 began, and Dashell was indeed changed. Now, he was no longer on a death trap by having a connection with the game's very Mole, Eclair. But even if their connection was cut off, he still did not suspect her. And it was a dangerous thing not to do.
Episode 4 began, and Dashell decided to focus more on his friendships and coalitions with the other players, specifically Snifit and Dry Bones. He still needed his friendships and connections with the other players to help him on and survive in the game.
Dashell: Things are extremely sad and mucky. Not going to lie. But even so, I still have other people on my side who can help me. For example, Snifit's on my side. He's been giving me a lot of his valuable insights on who the Mole is, and I trust him…Mole or not. And Dry Bones...what's not to like about him?
Dashell formed a sturdy friendship with Dry Bones, one that grew to its highest point and pinnacle right before Dry Bones' death. Even in a blistering episode of weather and winds, Dashell and Dry Bones were able to form a genuine friendship. In Episode 4, the two of them were the last players in the ice cave during the episode's final game.
(Flashback of Dashell and Dry Bones in the Ice Cave from Episode 4, shivering but still not giving up)
And before the execution, Dry Bones gave a final, encouraging string of words to Dashell.
(In the Log Cabin before Execution 4) Flashback Dry Bones: "Aren't you worried at all about the execution?"
Flashback Dashell: "Nope. If I leave, what am I leaving behind? It's cool if I get executed."
Flashback Dry Bones: "I thought that...you know...you wanted to win and all...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? And aren't you and Eclair kind of getting closer again?"
Flashback Dashell: "I...don't even know if she trusts me...or at least anymore."
Flashback Dry Bones: "You're completely wrong: she trusts you! "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 light up)
Flashback Dashell: "She...said that?"
Flashback Dry Bones: "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 is at a loss of words)
Flashback Dry Bones: (winking) "Optimism, my good friend. If you're going to be executed, at least leave on a good, warm note. That what I would want to do, at least."
One of Dashell's high points was at the end of Episode 4. He had selflessly chosen to add money to the team pot over an exemption for himself.
And for a while, it seemed like everything was back to normal in the game. He was rekindling his relationship with Eclair, and had his head back in the game. He was now playing a straightforward, uncomplicated game.
That was, until he turned human.
(Flashback of Dashell gasping in disbelief, tripping over his own feet then looking at this reflection outside the tent in Episode 5)
Flashback Dashell: "Wait...what? "No...it's...no...it's not...it's not possib..."
It was a change that nobody expected, but one that the producers had planned from episodes back. They needed the right moment and perfect excuse to change Dashell into his human image. And with Eclair and Snifit's help throughout the Tent mission, it was influenced and fated that Dashell would have gotten the final tent pathway. If you looked closely back at the players walking through the tend in the mission, both Eclair and Snifit had used words of influence to fate Dashell to end up for the final path.
(Flashback of the players in Episode 5, looking at the 2nd tent pathway, deciding who should go down it)
Flashback Dashell: "A plus one? I'd like to...have something along those words." (Eclair looks slightly panicked, then steps up)
Flashback Eclair: "I think you should take it, Zess. I believe most of us would like to see what else lies past here. Dashell, wouldn't you think so?" (As Zess smiles and enters the path tentway, Dashell looks a little disappointed)
And so, Dashell was changed. The game did one of the most supernatural, inconceivable manipulations, making everyone and even Dashell himself view himself as a human. From his previous self of a Pixl into a human, it seemed like everything was better. And at first, everyone liked how he looked.
Flashback Tiny: "You look...good actually. Like, really sharp! A sharp kind of guy."
Zess: Hooty-nanny. Dashell has a human gives me the heebie-jeebies. Don't care what the people on television are going to say, but phew-ee! He's as hot as a melting bowl of porridge! Ladies, you've just given Eclair some new competition, even if you try your best not to.
Flashback Snifit: "Nice to meet you, Human Dashell." (As Dashell goes up to shake Snifit's hand, everyone laughs)
Eclair was happy too, but she sensed something different right away. It was slight nuances in his personality that made her know that perhaps becoming human wasn't the best change for him. She hinted that this change wasn't the best when they were at the race track.
(Flashback at the Track Field in Episode 5)
Flashback Dashell: "I think I just miss the feeling of being connected to the ground. Now, I feel...grounded. Secure. It's...it's a good feeling."
Flashback Eclair: "I understand what you are saying. But...you can still be like that. Even as a Pixl." (Dashell nods, knowing she is right)
And nobody told Dashell more straight-up about his negative change than Piantissimo did. At the iconic shoe store, he and Dashell had a fervent, life-reflecting exchange of words.
(In the Shoe Shop during Episode 5)
Flashback Dashell: "You think you're the best in this game. So perfect. And so flawless. Just remember that you aren't."
Flashback Piantissimo: "Well...well...how about you! You're think you're perfect and flawless, as a human. It doesn't make you any better!"
Flashback Dashell: Well, maybe I am perfect and flawless, the way I am now."
Flashback Piantissimo: (shaking his head, vehement) "You think it's great being all human again? 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? If you were human permanently, that's all you'll be doing for the rest of your life. Instead of appreciating the other beautiful things in life, you'd only care about yourself." (Dashell is in silence at his words)
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?
Dashell thought, with full-steam ahead, this his change was for the better. But if there was a moment that revealed that his subconscious told him otherwise, it was in the infamous lie-detector chair. In the game, Dashell was asked a final question, one that only fueled his confliction about his new image and self.
(In the Lie Detector Mission, Dashell is sitting in the chair)
Flashback McHallyboo: "This is your last question, Dashell: The question is: Ever since becoming a human, do you like being human better than your actual Pixl self?" (everyone else in the room is silent)
Flashback Dashell: "I...yeah. I mean, I do. "I really do. I like myself as a human. Of course! "The answer is yes."
Flashback McHallyboo: "Congratulations Dashell! You have successfully-"
(Without warning, the chair emits a loud beeping sound, making everyone jump. Dashell looks stunned.)
Flashback McHallyboo: "I am sorry...but that answer was not answered truthfully." (Dashell stares down at his chair in disbelief...and denial)
Dashell was torn between the halves of his two personalities: his old self as a Pixl, and his new-reclaimed human image. But the latter was stronger: he thought he was the most powerful player. Thus, when Episode 6 began, he wanted the exemption.
Even if that meant drowning his friends.
Flashback Piantissimo (on the ship): "What...no!"
(Flashbacks of Tiny and Piantissimo being mercilessly thrown off the sailing ship during Episode 6)
In Destination Sail, one of Dashell's most controversial moments arose when he attempted to throw off Tiny, Piantissimo, Snifit, and Eclair into the ocean for an exemption for himself. All of a sudden, he had lost all control. The words spoken to him by Piantissimo in the shoe shop portended the truth: as a human, all he cared about then was himself.
Flashback Snifit (on the boat): "I won't allow it. I will not allow you to get this exemption. Not one...not one bit!"
Flashback Eclair: "And I will not either. I will not let you get this exemption, Dashell."
Flashback Dashell (staring at them in disbelief) "Then if you won't cooperate with me, like I warned you...then I must get rid of you. Like I had done the others." (he lunges at Snifit, and the battle for survival begins)
Dashell thought that in his new image and self as a human, he was perfect. But he was not. He had in himself a dangerous superiority complex that was nearly inextinguishable.
(Flashback of the Players in the Submarine after the Destination Sail mission)
Flashback Tiny: "I just can't believe you threw away the game like that. None of us can believe it."
Flashback Dashell: "What! 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."
Flashback Snifit: "You are not a perfect captain." (Everyone is silent. Dashell looks confused.)
He got hungry for power, consumed by his own self-importance and greed. But from this new personality, it wasn't just him that suffered: the entire team did. And in the Ten Tanks game, it cost the entire team 50,000 coins.
(Flashback of Dashell holding the wet paper in the 10th fish tank during the Aquarium game, the words, 50,000 Coins Reduced from the Pot shimmering upon it)
It was almost as if there was no redemption left for Dashell. And Dashell would have left the game, affected by this change in a negative, everlasting shadow.
But then, almost by saving grace in the very last moments of his game, he regained his humanity. It was through seeing Eclair sacrifice herself in the underwater eel game that Dashell realized the humanity of putting others before yourself.
(Flashback the End of the Underwater Eel Game)
Flashback Eclair: "But even if I get taken into the abyss of the eel's mouth…I will still be able to clean the last tooth."
Flashback Dashell (shocked): "No…you don't mean…you're not going to sacrifice…I won't let you do this! I can't…."
Flashback Eclair (smiling sadly): "I have to…"
By being greedy, he realized that he had lost the people most important him. And he had to gain them back.
Flashback Dashell: "Grab onto me, Eclair!"
(the two of them fight the force of the eel's suction together fearfully, grabbing onto a rope and each other from being pulled in)
And in that action, of saving another, that Dashell realized in himself that the most important thing wasn't to focus on oneself: it was to give the gift of life and self-worth to others. It was a lesson he learned right before his disappearance.
On the edge of the ocean cliff, after he was executed, and right before he was sent out of the game forever, he answered a final question, truthfully.
Flashback McHallyboo: "Dashell...are you happy with the way you played your game?"
Flashback Dashell: "I think the answer to that question changed throughout my game. In the beginning of this game, I was happy with what I was doing, and who I was. And then when these past two episodes came...when I changed human...I found myself playing a game that I never thought I'd ever play. A ruthless one. A selfish one. And at points…I didn't care about any of the others. I didn't care about anyone else but myself. I didn't know why I was playing that way, but I continued to do it."
Flashback McHallyboo (nodding): "I understand."
Flashback Dashell (thinking): But standing here now…I look back and realize my flaws these past few days. And now I recognize just how wrong they were. I feel like the good things I did throughout this game will impact me for the rest of my life. I realize how different those good acts were from my earlier, selfish acts. Those good acts I've done through this game….that is how I should be living the rest of my life. That's my final answer: I'm happy the way I played this game. I'm happy that whatever had happened had happened. Because if I didn't have those faults, I never would have reached the new level of understanding and happiness that I have now of myself. In the end, I guess I'm happy the way I played it."
And seeing the end result, the others were happy with the way Dashel had played his game of The Mole: Agent's Elevation as well.
Everyone clapped loudly. It was a great finish to a great player of the game. The untold story was told and done.
"That was like...such a nice, final quote!" Mimi squealed.
"Here, here for Dashell!" Dry Bones cheered. Everyone continued to clap even more. Dashell looked at the others, only just nodding to acknowledge them of his appreciation. He smiled, and McHallyboo cleared his throat.
"I am afraid that we had to concede to the fact that yes, we did plan your transformation into a human as early as Episode 2," he told them. "With some side insurance that you didn't make it past then." Dashell shrugged.
"And I'm happy you changed me," Dashell replied. "But why?"
"We knew that you had a wish that was stronger than any of the other players'...that you longed to be human, just once more again" McHallyboo said with a wink, "So why not just one instant in the building of mechanizations and wonders? We wanted to see what you'd do. What you'd say. But most importantly...what you'd feel." Dashell nodded slowly.
"Any last words or questions?" McHallyboo asked.
"Just...to make everything clear...and to be at peace..." Dashell said quickly, and he got up from his seat. The rest of the players saw him walk over to Eclair, a little hesitantly but never the less firm. As he stood in front of the princess, she seemed surprised. The entire room seemed hushed, as he stood.
"Eclair...I just want to ask you, and any answer that you give me will be wholeheartedly respected and accepted by me...about your own feelings. And whether your feelings were true or false throughout this game." The vast lobby was silent.
"So...I ask you with no qualms...and no negative emotions...with no judgement and full acceptance to your answer," he continued, standing before her and his voice form, "Were your feelings towards me real...or not true? Because if they were not true...then I completely understand, with every ounce of understanding in my body, why they weren't. In the end of everything...this entire thing was a game. It was...it was all a game." Dashell ended his question looking down at the ground, almost dejected.
All eyes were on the princess, her eyes in surprise and emotion. She closed her eyes. Then, Eclair opened her mouth to answer, as everyone held their breaths for her answer.
"Dashell...there were times where I displayed by feelings genuinely and times in the game where I displayed them not genuinely at all," Eclair said softly. They all awaited the next words from the princess.
"But when I was with you...it was not a game." Dashell's eyes lit up.
"There were many fictitious elements in the building of this game...but my feelings towards you were not one of them." And for once, since the beginning of the finale, Dashell looked at peace.
"That is...sooo sweet," Mimi whispered, sniffing. The players could only feel a little bit of relief themselves as well. All answers were truly coming out.
"I think we will all learn the whole side of the story when your story is revealed, Eclair," Flurrie said out loud to break the silence, as everyone nodded.
"Well, there you have it!" McHallyboo announced, truly breaking the silence as he looked straight at the television. "The story of the runner-up and our Pixl, revealed! Tiny Kong takes her place in the game as the final victim of the Mole, and Dashell, a redeemed player. But what about the final player who wasn't a victim in the end of the game? What is the story behind the winner of the game and the unveiler of the very Mole of our game? Next...we will uncover...the story of Il Piantissimo."
"Here here!" Bowser Jr. announced, giving his friend a large pat on the back. Piantissimo grinned. The winner's truth and tale was yet to be told.
"We'll be back in a minute," McHallyboo winked, as everyone clapped again with happiness and got up from their seats. Mysteries still had to be uncovered, but in short time, no questions would remain anymore.
"So, umm...does this mean it's okay to eat food again?" Dry Bones said, eyes darting eagerly to the back room.
TA-DA!
There it goes! The tales of the fallen...and everything revealed.
You know! Originally, Dashell's story was not going to exist and was going to be scrapped. At first, I planned to, but starting a month ago, the plan was to scrap it. I was going to decide that there wasn't enough time to add Dashell's story.
But then I thought….years from now, will I regret not telling the story of such a multifaceted, complex character who had such a personal connection with the very Mole herself? My answer? I sure would!
Next, not only will the entire story of Il Piantissimo be revealed...but the very entire story of our very Mole, Eclair Choux.
So hey! If you have any questions that you want answered for the finale, be sure to put them in a review and I'll do my best to get to them! xD
Also KUDOS to people finding clues and secret elements in my story in the reviews you've written!
Overall, thank you everyone over this long hiatus for being supportive of me! If you're reading this...you're truly one of the best, and truly the reason I have continued this story : ) And will finish it to the end.
So thank you so much. AND STAY TUNED!