The Mole: Pokemon/Digimon Edition
By: Gomamon
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
Episode 3 – Two Worlds
Inoue, Yolei/Miyako (Digimon 02) --- STILL STANDING
Ishida, Matt/Yamato (Digimon 01) --- STILL STANDING
Jessie/Musashi (Pokemon) --- STILL STANDING
Katou, Jeri/Juri (Digimon 03) --- STILL STANDING
Ketchum, Ash/Satoshi (Pokemon) --- EXECUTED FIRST
Kitagawa, Kenta/Kenta (Digimon 03) --- STILL STANDING
Oak, Gary/Shigeru (Pokemon) --- STILL STANDING
Sketchit, Tracey/Kenji (Pokemon) --- STILL STANDING
Takenouchi, Sora/Sora (Digimon 01) --- EXECUTED SECOND
Waterflower, Misty/Kasumi (Pokemon) --- STILL STANDING
For the full length of this story, visit my website!
The cameras loved Matt Ishida.
They loved his movie-star handsome looks. They loved his charming personality. They loved the confident swagger that he carried when he walked. But most of all, there was this unidentifiable magnetism that drew everybody's attention to this blonde bombshell. Matt Ishida loved every single bit of attention focused on him.
"It never hurts to have a striking girlfriend by your side, so yeah, I'm going to miss Sora." Matt confessed to the camera, wearing a toothy grin. Only minutes after his sugary girlfriend Sora was escorted out of the game, but this blonde's mood were in especially high spirits nevertheless.
"Of course...this also means I'm available again, ladies. I'm a bachelor now!" Matt let out a hearty laugh, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding."
From the superficial point of view, it might seem like the sleazy Matt loved women, and it was his ultimate challenge to make them head over heels for him. But he had other intentions. By using his irresistible charm to manipulate the ladies, Matt could juice any information from these gullible women with just a wink and a kiss. Yolei and Misty were already under his charming spell, feeding him valuable knowledge that would aid him in getting far in the game.
Everything was going accordingly to Matt Ishida's plans.
The next day, Matt arrived at breakfast shirtless, in pursuit of impressing the ladies with his broad shoulders, glistening chest and firm muscles. The women responded with awestruck fascination, as he had predicted.
"Put on a shirt, damn it!" Jessie said, half-laughing as she brushed past Matt to her seat. Three steps later, she turned her head around to take another glance at his backside, licking her lips.
"I think the Mole needs to be someone who is charming, slick and has the ability to manipulate any situation he is in," Jessie confessed in front of the cameras, while reapplying her lipstick as if it was a mirror, "Matt Ishida fits into all the categories like a glove. Do you see how he flutters his eyelids and suddenly he becomes the most charming guy in the world? Matt is very good at manipulating people like that. Hell, he can sabotage every challenge and all the girls will think he is flirting with them."
Although the overconfident teen would never admit it to a camera, Gary was definitely envious. However, he also realized that his roommate Matt's antics were causing strong dynamics within the group. And whenever there's trouble, Gary Oak was always ready to stir the pot.
"Now I know that Matt is using his sex appeal intentionally." The young professor confessed, "He is playing them all like a violin with his mind games. I think it's a brilliant plan. He is a clever player, somebody I am able to relate to intellectually. I'm looking forward to working with this beneficial ally."
Earlier today, Gary was able to corner Matt in their room for a private and critical conversation. Gary closed the windows and pulled in the curtains, and then locked the room door. His roommate Matt was sitting at the edge of a bed, somewhat amused at how cautious Gary acted.
"If I didn't know better…I would've thought that you're trying to hit on me," Matt chuckled.
"Oh shut up. Your sex appeal means nothing to me." Gary rolled his eyes, smirking smugly.
"So what is this about?"
"I would like to work with you in a final two coalition," replied Gary. His crooked mouth curled with a vindictive scowl, almost like it was warning Matt that he had every reason not to trust him.
"Sure, it's a deal," Matt answered with no hesitation. The more coalitions the merrier! Matt didn't expect to work with a man at this stage of the game, but it's a coalition that Matt was very willing to participate in nonetheless.
A smug grin plastered across Gary's face, his face muscles relaxed a little. The pair of new allies exchanged handshakes, confirming their partnership. Soon Gary made his departure from, leaving Matt sitting on his bed and rubbing his chin in thought.
He figured that Gary was a strong competitor, and it would be better to make a friend than an enemy in him. But he had a lot of words to express about this newly formed coalition, and as usual, the actor wannabe immediately jumped to the nearest cameraman for some more air time.
"I don't trust Gary as far as I could throw him, but just like I did with my other allies, I could manipulate Gary to my benefit. Believe me, that kid isn't that smart. I'll just keep feeding his big ego until he self-destructs, which will bound to happen very soon after I'm through with him."
Matt laughed, brushing his hand through his golden hair. Like many others in the game, he did not have kind words for the young professor from Pallet Town. Sure, he definitely got along with Gary, but it doesn't mean that he actually liked to hang around with the guy.
"Gary and I might be similar in some aspects, but I'm only pretending to be cocky and vain to get far in the game. Gary on the other hand...well, we all know what type of person Gary is by now. Let me just say that his arrogance is not an act."
"Good morning, Yamaki," chirped Matt in a singsong tone, pulling out a chair and joining the group for breakfast. Yamaki only nodded at his direction, finding the blonde to be unusually cheerful. If anything, he expected Matt to be crying under his blankets and longing dreadfully over Sora.
"You are in a happy mood today." Jessie took the words from Yamaki's mouth.
"Aren't I always? May you pass me the sugar please, Jeri?"
Despite the can of sugar being evidently closer to Matt than Jeri, she made the extra effort to stand up and offer it into Matt's hands.
"Thanks, doll face."
The little girl's face flushed like a strawberry as she returned to her seat, forking her waffle pieces repetitively.
"It's not like that! I mean, he has a girlfriend, you know," Jeri exclaimed in her girly voice when the producer asked her if she had a crush on Matt. It was a subject that made Jeri blush in denial.
"Besides, you have Takato, right?" added a producer standing behind the cameraman. That caused Jeri to laugh briefly, and refused to comment on the topic any longer.
Near the end of the breakfast, Matt was entertaining the entire group with some jokes. His hands were swinging animatedly, and his mouth moving mechanically. Everybody's attention was drawn to the young charismatic blonde.
"And then he said, 'Hands down? I thought you said pants down!'" The others roared in hysterical laughter. Even Yamaki had to break out of character to chuckle. That Ishida kid is pretty charming.
Yamaki quickly recovered though, and feeling the need to pull the concentration on him again.
"It is time for our next challenge."
Some of the players groaned, even though this means they'll be adding potential money into the pot.
"I'm going to introduce the neutralizer, which prevents players from winnin exemptions for one round. The effect will last until the end of an execution." Tracey coughed in shock. "Every time the neutralizer is used, $5,000 is added into the pot. I have four neutralizers right now, any takers?"
The players looked at each other in silence. None of them were committed to the idea of giving up an exemption.
"If you volunteer to be neutralized, I will add $5,000 into your lonely pot."
"Don't everybody go volunteer all at once!" Yolei joked, grinning. A few laughed under their breaths, but nobody dared to speak or volunteer.
"I think Tracey should be neutralized. He already has two exemptions," said Gary finally, breaking the ice. Other players mumbled in agreement.
"I'm not giving up my exemption, never." Tracey shook his head, strongly opposing against the idea.
"It's like talking to a mule," Gary rolled his eyes. "I think anybody who had exemptions before should be neutralized."
"It's only fair," Jeri protested meekly.
"Damn straight," said Jessie, folding her arms.
"I'll do it."
Tracey turned his head in astonishment at the brave soul who spoke those foolish words. It belonged to Yolei, who selflessly sacrificed her safety to add money into the pot. Of course she did, he should have known. As smart as Yolei may sometimes be, she does tend to do a lot of stupid things.
"I'll get neutralized too," muttered Kenta. The chain reaction continued and Misty also volunteered as well in time.
"That's $15,000 into the pot out of a potential twenty. I still have one more neutralizer left."
"Tracey-"
"NO!" Tracey sprang up from his seat in anger, "I will not give up my exemption for you folks!"
"But you don't have an exemption as of now." Kenta untimely reminded the hot headed Pokemon Watcher.
"I would have expected it coming from someone as selfish as you," mocked Gary, igniting Tracey's anger like a vivid fuse.
"I'm not selfish! I'm just looking out for myself!"
"I'd like to nickname Tracey as the exemption hog," said Gary. While Tracey was growing redder in the face as he argued a losing battle, Gary remained cool as a cucumber through the process.
"Whatever. I don't need to argue with you." Tracey thumped down in his seat, pounding his fist threateningly on to the table.
"Hey, I'm not the bad guy here." Gary shrugged as he looked at the rest of table with an innocent face.
"If you are such the wannabe hero that you act to be, then why don't you volunteer to be neutralized!?"
"I never received an exemption, unlike you, with two."
"This has got nothing to do with my two exemptions!"
"Oh yes it does."
"NO!"
"Guys, guys, settle down, don't lose your cool," said Yolei. She was talking to Tracey half-heartedly. Then the bubbly purple haired girl dreamily snuck a peek at Gary, who smirked in conceited delight. Perfecto! He looks so hot like that.
"And the final verdict?" Yamaki asked.
"No."
"Okay then," Yamaki smiled at the fireworks he had been watching between Tracey and Gary, "$15,000 is added into the pot in the result of neutralizing Kasumi, Kenta and Miyako. The three of you will not be eligible to win an exemption this round."
POT: $82,000/$150,000
The eight players gathered around the lobby again for a challenge meeting with Yamaki. He was holding his trusty black little laptop in his hands. Riley and several producers were setting up behind him.
"I need two ambassadors for the game we'll be playing next, one from each series."
After exchanging several ideas, the group decided to select Jessie and Yolei as their ambassadors.
"You are divided into two groups. Ambassador Musashi will lead a team of Juri, Kenta and Yamato to the Pokemon World. Ambassdor Miyako will take her team of Shigeru, Kenji and Kasumi to the Digital World."
The announcement triggered delightful cheers from the group, and then everybody erupted into excited cheers. Kenta was the most thrilled of them all.
"Ambassadors," continued Yamaki, his voice drained from all the overlapping conversations, "Your job for now is to show the foeigners about your world. Do a good job and you'll be greatly rewarded."
"You'll have to wear these blindfolds while traveling the dimensions of the portal. We don't want to leak out any of life's great mysteries," Riley said quietly while she passed everybody tiny blindfolds.
"Awesome…" Kenta grinned as he awkwardly tied the red blindfold over his little eyes.
"Okay. I'll now bring Miyako's team to the Digital World…"
Misty groaned as she rubbed her sore back after a harsh but painless landing. As she stumbled to stand up, she realized she was sitting on Yamaki's back. Slowly taking off her blindfold, Misty smiled when she slowly scanned the colourful baby digimon and digieggs that surrounded her.
"My, my, my. I've been expecting some visitors."
Misty swiftly turned around, trying to find the origin of the mysterious voice. It came from none other than the great man of the Digital World. Short and bald, the old tiny man chuckled as he approached the group.
"Players, I'd like you to meet somebody." Yamaki smiled as the host got up to his feet, brushing the dust off his expensive suit.
"Genaii?" Yolei looked at the old man in confusion. The last time she saw the mighty figure, he was a very handsome young Jedi-like man. Did Genaii really age that quickly?
"Welcome to my world," Genaii grinned. He bent down and picked up a flower, giving it to Tracey. "Don't be troubled, my friend. The Digital World is a great place to clear your thoughts up."
Tracey looked up at Genaii in surprise and awkwardly thanked the man for his present. He held the fragile flower with great care. Genaii nodded and then turned back to the rest of the group.
"This is Primary Village and you will select your starter here," said Genaii.
"Starters?" That sparked an interest in Tracey as he asked enthusiastically, "Like Charmander?"
"Charmander? What in heavens is that!?" Genaii raised an eyebrow.
"Um sir," Misty raised her hand and asked, "Can you tell us what challenge we are going to do here exactly?"
"During these twenty four yours, your task is to destroy four digimon that had been possessed by a dark spiral attached to some part of their bodies," Yamaki said, "The four of you will need to locate these digimon spread all over the map and destro the dark spirals. For every dark spiral you destroy, you will add $10,000 to the pot."
"Very impressive," said Genaii, nodding his head and smiling.
"Also at the end, your teacher will then reward one of the battlers with an exemption based on their overall performance. So therefore he will be traveling with you over your journey, but will not be able to give any advice."
"Perfecto!" Yolei grinned, clapping softly to herself.
"So take your pick," Genaii smiled, swooping up a little digiegg in his egg from the ground.
"Aww, they are all so cute!" Misty squealed in delight as she kneeled down to play with a few of the habitats. As she does so, some of the other baby digimon started to crowd around her, making her easily the most popular person in the village already.
"If you are into talking heads…" Gary made a face at the infant digimon. He tried very hard not to step on one of them before picking up a pink bobblehead-like digimon.
"Hi, I'm Koromon!" The digimon in Gary's hand said. Out of surprise, Gary almost dropped the digimon to the floor, but Genaii dashed forward and caught it. He carefully handed it back to Gary.
"Be careful, my comrade. Digimon are beings too," Genaii's squinty eyes tried to meet with Gary's to get the message across. The teenager nodded and then uncomfortably shifted his eyes to inspect Koromon thoroughly as if it was a test subject.
"Poromon!" Yolei exclaimed in joy as she picked up a legless pink bird from the floor. This was the pre-evolved form of Hawkmon, her best buddy in the digital world. And although this was not the same digital partner, Yolei felt satisfied in the new replacement.
"I'll pick Motimon," Tracey gently wrapping up a pink blob with his hand and bringing it in front of his face.
"And I'll take Tokomon," Misty smiled, as her petit digital partner rested happily on her shoulder. All the infant digimon groaned as Misty stated her choice and quickly dispersed all over the village again.
"Okay, we're all set!" Yamaki said, "It's time for me to go send the other group to the Pokemon World. Be ready for some heated battles!"
Jessie was the first person to arrive through the portal and curiously glanced around the dull walls and bookcases. This brightly lit room brought familiar memories to the Team Rocket member, for it was not too long ago when she first stepped into this place. A tall skinny man wearing a long white lab coat walked past her, neglecting her presence since he was so deeply absorbed into the thick book that he was holding. Agitated at the ignorance, Jessie ripped the book out of his hands, revealing the unhealthy looking Professor Elm.
"Whoa! Trespassers!" The lanky professor screamed in fright, reaching for the phone to call Officer Jenny.
"No, professor!" Yamaki leaped up from the floor to stop Professor Elm from dialing the number, "We are from the Mole game, remember?"
Professor Elm tapped his finger to his head, trying to remember about the meeting. While the other players looked on in disbelief to his blank face, the professor finally nodded and smile.
"I remember now. I'm supposed to give you each a starter pokemon right?"
"I want a Pikachu!" cried Kenta.
"Uh...no, I'm afraid I don't have Kanto pokemon here," Professor Elm gave him a weak smile, "I only have Cyndaquil, Totodile and Chikorita."
"Chikorita sounds like a sassy name," Matt said, pulling out the green pokeball from Professor Elm's hand.
"I guess I'll take Cyndaquil," said Jeri, politely taking the standard red pokeball.
"And I'll pick Totodile!" said Kenta a little too loudly.
"I have a special pokemon for you, Musashi." Yamaki grinned slyly, taking out a pokeball from his pocket and releasing it. The lovable Seviper popped out and hissed.
"Seviper!" Jessie cried out in joy. The snake-like pokemon hissed, and Jeri timidly retreated to hide behind Matt, horrified at the sight of a large hissing snake. Kenta could only grin in astonishment at his first sight of an actual Pokemon.
"For your challenge, you will need to face a one-on-one Pokemon battle against four gym leaders tomorrow. If any of you win against a gym leader, you will add $25,000 into the pot. In addition, I will add $5,000 for every victory a foreigner took on, which excludes Musashi."
Jessie nodded her head and retreating Seviper with her pokeball. In her mind, this battle was going to be a piece of cake. In fact, it would almost be too suspicious if she had actually failed, given that she was so experienced in Pokemon and all…
Which gives me all the reason in the world to fail… thought Jessie as a vile smile faintly appeared on her face.
"Also, the professor will have the power to give one of you an exemption. But he can only give it to the players who won their battles. If nobody wins, then the abassador will receive it."
"Ha! Ha! Ha!" The tall and lanky professor laughed, patting Yamaki on the back, "I have all the power for the next twenty four hours."
"That's right, and I must get going…" said Yamaki before quickly disappearing into the portal.
"You have received your starters…so go out and get some battling experience. If your pokemon ever faint, then come back and I'll recover it. Oh, and here are some Pokeballs…" Professor Elm said, searching his lab coat for some pokeballs.
"Pokeballs? Are these like Pokemon eggs?" Jeri asked.
"No, no. They are the items that carry Pokemon around," explained Kenta.
"I'm impressed!" Professor Elm said, raising an eyebrow at the enthusiastic child. He then handed each trainer six pokeballs. "Now go out and catch some Pokemon!"
Kenta grinned as he marched out of the lab, gloating in silent pride. For possibly the first time in his life, the humble little boy who liked to hide behind others was finally leading the way.
Tracey Sketchit sat under the blissful shade of a tree, quietly sketching a picture of his digital partner Tokomon. Like a musician playing the piano, the hands of this Pokemon Watcher moved gracefully across the paper, sketching with great accuracy and care.
"The Digital World is…" Tracey paused at the cameras, trying to find the right word, "…serene. I have never seen a more beautiful place like it. And the digimon are all so unique. They all have so much spunk and personality that I instantly fell in love with them. It's a great place here."
Deep down, Tracey was a pretty nice guy. In front of Professor Oak, he presented himself as a polite, courteous and pleasant young man who was eager to learn. But unfortunately the Pokemon Watcher got off the wrong start at the game that led him to the wrong situations in the game.
"I didn't like arguing with Gary this morning," Tracey said uncomfortably as if it was a sensitive topic to talk about, "I was never a fan of confrontation, but unfortunately that is the one thing that feeds to Gary's huge ego. I guess he is so insecure that he can only feel better about himself by trashing other people"
Tracey rolled his eyes at his archrival from Pallet Town. It was actually the first negative comment Tracey ever said about anybody in the game. Even though everybody resented the Watcher in the game, Tracey actually liked most of them. Even Matt was charismatic and charming enough to not get on Tracey's bad side. After all, Tracey was a very tolerant person and very easy to get along outside of the game. But it was Gary who turned Tracey against the whole group. It was also Gary who ensured that he doesn't get off the hook at anything. And it was Gary again and again who made the social aspect of the game a living nightmare for Tracey.
"I have been trying so hard to be friendly with everybody, but it's just so damn hard when everybody hates my guts. I'm like the plague that everybody wants to avoid." Tracey sighed, frustrated with how he gotten into this situation, "For some reason, Gary hates me. I think he is still angry with me for taking the exemption on the first day. If there is anything that punk is good at, he is damn fine at holding a sissy grudge."
Gary just reached a new low this morning after Sora's execution: he managed to convince the entire group to give Tracey the cold shoulder. Nobody had yet to speak a single word today to the Pokemon Watcher. Only Misty would occasionally glance at Tracey with sympathetic eyes for a few seconds before turning away. And frankly, he was sick of this all.
"How does it feel to be the most hated person in the whole damn game? How does it feel when nobody even wants to talk to you?" Tracey mock laughed, rolling his eyes again. "You know what? They could keep playing their childish games with me because it isn't going to affect me one bit. At the end of the game, I only have two words I want to say to these people."
Tracey grinned vindictively, as his gentle side faded away from the cameras. The game is on again.
"Screw YOU."
"Where is Jessie? She is supposed to be the ambassador and lead us around the place!" asked Jeri, folding her arms in irritation.
"This is getting out of hand. We are in the middle of this Newbark Town with no direction at all," Matt added, feeling the same helplessness as his teammate.
"This is awesome!" Kenta shouted merrily. Oblivious to his teammates' concerned, Kenta was having fun running around back and forth through the grass fields to find more Pokemon. Right now, he was chasing a tiny Sentret around.
"I've never seen Kenta this enthusiastic about anything before," Jeri said to Matt, still smiling, "He is usually very laid back about stuff like this."
"I personally don't see what is so fun catching these pets," Matt sighed as he threw his pokeball up into the air. He caught it with ease.
"Ash was really good at this though, right?" asked Jeri, feeling slightly intimidated talking to Matt.
"Forget Pokemon." Matt waved his hand dismissively, "I want to talk about something else."
"Uh…like what?"
"Like a coalition…between you and me."
Jeri swallowed at the proposal from the dashing blonde. Was she dreaming? Was this actually real?
"Of course!" said Jeri too quickly, not thinking twice before accepting his proposal.
"Perfect. I needed a new coalition partner since Sora left, you know." Matt winked at her.
"Thanks Matt," Jeri blushed softly, finding a place on the floor to look at.
"I'm glad we could work together…but keep this a secret between the two of us, okay?" Matt Ishida grinned, adding another coalition partner into his long list. Oh this is too easy.
Without replying back, Jeri Katou turned to watch her friend Kenta who was making a loud commotion from a distance in the grass fields. He clutched a pokeball in his right hand and then began waving his arms maniacally while jumping up and down like a monkey. Just watching him getting excited was enough to bring a sincere smile to Jeri's face.
"I caught an Abra, guys! Did you guys see it!? I caught my first pokemon!!!"
Gary, Yolei, Misty and Genaii gathered around a table in Digitamamon's Chinese restaurant, ignoring the fact that their fourth teammate Tracey was not present. Gary had just spent the last hour figuring out the exact location of each digimon, impressing both Yolei and Misty immensely.
"According to the map, I think the first digimon with the dark spiral is nearby this restaurant," Gary said after carefully analyzing a map of the digital world.
"That's great! We could battle it after we finish with lunch!" Misty exclaimed.
"I don't really know how to train these things though, man." Gary said, looking at Koromon with indifference.
"Hey! We aren't things! We're digital monsters!" Koromon corrected, glaring angrily at Gary.
"May be they could earn some experience if we did battling…I don't know," suggested Misty, scratching her head.
"Lenient battling. Digimon are not soldiers but warriors of peace," said Yolei, trying to sound like a professional ambassador. Instead, she just came off as the goofy happy-go-lucky schoolgirl she had portrayed herself.
"That sounds like a lot of bullshit to me," Gary laughed.
Misty frowned at the harshness of Gary's words. But like always, Yolei wore a pleasant smile on her face, seemingly oblivious to Gary's snide remarks. Why can't you wake up and smell the coffee, Yolei? He is an asshole!
"I know! You're so right about that!" Yolei giggled, putting her hand on Gary's shoulder playfully with a hint of flirting. Gary didn't say anything, but had an uncomfortable look on his face.
"I'm sorry but I just can't get excited about raising some digi-"
CRRRAAAACCCKKK
At the other side of the restaurant, a green horrid-looking digimon was striking the walls with a huge white club in its hand. There was a dark metal ring attached to the neck of the digimon.
"It's Ogremon," said Genaii in a calm tone. While the other players jumped out of their seats in panic, he seemed unnerved by the appearance of the wild digimon.
"Attack it in the neck!" Gary yelled, pointing at the dark spiral.
"WHAAAA?" Koromon screamed in panic. The newborn infant was not custom to battling on command.
"Just attack it!"
"Bubble blow!" Koromon spitted a small bubble at Ogremon's neck, but the black ring remained intact. Ogremon turned around to see the direction of the attack, finally noticing the group for the first time.
"Ahhhh," Ogremon grunted, "Ogremon likes to have company!"
"It's under a dark spiral! It has no control, so watch out!" Yolei warned, clutching Poromon close to her chest. Although she had been in this scenario for many times, she was still not adjusted to battling. It was always the goggle-head leader Davis who led the battle. Yolei never had to step up to the frontline like now than contribute from the sidelines.
"Do something, Koromon!"
"I'm trying! I'm trying!"
Ogremon stomped its way to the group now, as they backed up to a corner of the restaurant. The green ogre passed and ignored Genaii, targeting the three trembling heroes and their in-training digimon. It smiled deviously, swinging the huge white club in its hand in front of their worrisome faces. Ogremon pointed a green crooked finger mere inches from Gary's face.
"I think I'll kill you first."
At that moment, Koromon jumped up from a table in surprise, knocking the white club from Ogremon's hand to the floor. While the three players scrambled away, Koromon began to glow in a white light and slowly digivolved to Agumon, the tiny orange dinosaur.
"Koromon digivolve to…Agumon!"
"You're dead!" Ogremon said, bending down to retrieve its white club.
"Pepper breath!" Agumon blasted a small orange fireball at Ogremon's neck. The ring is catching on fire.
"That's it, Agumon! Keep attacking it!" Gary said, clasping his hands together.
Meanwhile Ogremon, obviously not the smartest digimon in the digital world, began whacking itself with the club to extinguish the fire. Agumon continued to blast multiple attacks to its neck, until the ring is burnt to ashes.
"Perfecto!" Yolei boosted her fist in triumph as she watched the battle from a distance. Ogremon began to stumble its way to the exit of the restaurant.
"Don't let it get away!" Gary commanded, and Agumon continued to shoot numerous fireballs at Ogremon, weakly dragging itself to the door. It didn't even have enough strength to counter the attacks. Finally after a dozen of consistent attacks, the green ogre collapsed onto the floor unconscious.
The group quietly got up and left the restaurant, leaving the bare body of Ogremon lying eagle-spread and helplessly on the floor.
In the Pokemon World, the trio is slowly coping with the Pokemon World with the absence of their ambassador Jessie. Kenta was cheerfully leading the way of the journey, presenting more confidence than ever before. Jeri was walking pleasantly beside him, absorbing in the beautiful scenery and cuddling to a Marill in her hands. Matt trailed behind, juggling two pokeballs in his hand.
"It's getting late, we should be heading to a Pokemon Center and rest," said Matt. Traveling with two kids has their drawbacks, after all Matt didn't want to be the person responsible for missing their curfews.
"Aw c'mon! We're just getting at the good part! There are exclusive Pokemon that only appears at night!" Kenta protested.
"We need to eat dinner, Kenta. Our Pokemon must be hungry." Jeri giggled, nudging his friend in the shoulder.
"Alright," Kenta groaned and turned to the direction of the nearest Pokemon Center in Goldenrod City.
Meanwhile in the digital world, the ferocious digital saviors were trekking through a dense forest. Agumon and Gary led the way of course, keeping a cautious eye for any unsuspecting predators. Misty and Yolei giggled as they continued their girlish gossip from behind, while Genaii trailed the group silently, keeping mental notes in his head.
"There's the second dark spiral!" Yolei whispered loudly, pointing at a gigantic orange bug hovering above them. There was a dark ring wrapped around its sharp scissor-like claw.
"We aren't being noticed yet. Let's attack the digimon in stealth," Gary whispered back to Yolei. In curiosity, Misty looked up to see what caused all the quiet commotion to Gary and Yolei. She instantly regretted the action as she caught sight of Kawagamon.
"BUGGGGGGG!"
"Oh shit! Scram!" Gary mumbled, running with Agumon to hide in a nearby bush. Kawagamon dove down from the air, flapping its scissor-like claw and missing Gary's head by mere inches.
"Nova blast!" Agumon blasted its fireball attack, but Kawagamon easily dodged it in the air.
"Poromon, you have to digivolve to Hawkmon. You can attack it in the air! Can you do it?" Yolei whispered to her digital partner.
"I hope I can." And the pink bird squinted, tightening all the muscles on its body as it began to glow... "Poromon digivolve to…Hawkmon!"
"Buzz Saw!" The red hawk flew up to the sky, swiftly slashing the ring on Kawagamon's claw with its own razor-sharp claws. While it made a scratch to the ring, it did not destroy the dark spiral at all.
"Yolei, keep distracting Kawagamon while Agumon goes for the kill," Gary whispered.
"Hawkmon! Fly around Kawagamon in circles!"
"Pepper breath!" Agumon sent another fireball attack at Kawagamon. The bug digimon was too busy chasing the agile Hawkmon in the air, leaving it completely open to Agumon's attack. It groaned in pain as it slowly elevated to the ground, trying to escape from Agumon and Hawkmon.
"Keep going! Keep going!" Gary shouted eagerly, pointing his finger at where Kawagamon is.
"Pepper breath!"
The first fireball attack delivered hit Kawagamon in the neck and the digimon wailed in agony at the burn. But the dark spiral still did not break.
"Pepper breath!"
The second attack hit the bug digimon at the same spot, finally removing the dark spiral off Kawagamon.
"Pepper breath!"
The third attack hit Kawagamon's body, destroying it into tiny digital fragments into the air…
After a quick dinner and rebelling against Matt's restrictions, Kenta was search for more Pokemon under the setting sun. With a pokeball in his sweating hand, he never felt more alive in his whole life. For anybody who knew Kenta closely, they would definitely consider this to be an out-of-character moment.
One personality trait that Kenta always took pride in was being uncompetitive. And he soon found out that his laidback attitude was making him a sore thumb out of the aggressive players in this game. Even his friend Jeri was vicious at the right occasions. But Kenta didn't care about winning or losing, because he hated to compete, which was pretty ironic considering the game he is playing.
"Not everyone could be the hero, because someone must clap for the heroes in the sidelines." said Kenta in a confessional. He thought it was a noble sacrifice on his part to lose in order to let somebody else win.
Along with his slacker personality, Kenta was also incredibly thick-skinned too. People may make fun of him that he wasn't taking the game seriously, but Kenta was content to be one of the few people here who can honestly admit they were here for the experience.
By the third day of the game, Kenta mastered an under-the-radar strategy to perfection. He managed to convince many players to dismiss and basically forget about the quiet player known as Kenta. It wasn't too difficult of course. He was a very forgettable person.
"I bet they don't even consider me an option for the Mole. They always underestimate me," said Kenta in blatant mockery. He didn't really mind the lack of respect he got from the other players. He didn't come here to worry about what other people thought of him. Sorry, but that just isn't Kenta Kitagawa's style.
At eleven o'clock, little Kenta was simply ecstatic when he entered the Pokemon Center. It was past the curfew that Matt had set on him, but he had a giddy feeling that would make him sleepless for the entire night. He had a legible reason to be happy too. After all, how often does a newcomer to Pokemon win their first Pokemon battle AND catch a Totodile in the wild? It was a good time to be Kenta Kitagawa.
"Too bad we don't get to keep these pokemon. At least they return to their natural habitats," Kenta whispered to the cameras with a hint of remorse in his trailing voice. His head peaked up again when he caught a glimpse of Jeri walking toward her room.
"Hey Jeri," Kenta said, with a humble little smile on his round face. His glasses drooped down his nose like always. He resembled a little lost dog without a home, "Where's Matt?"
"I last saw him talking with Nurse Joy," Jeri giggled, covering her mouth, "I think he entered into her office without a shirt an hour ago. He hadn't come out ever since."
"How does he always get the ladies?" Kenta said in exaggerated exasperation. He turned to Jeri and they both shared a jovial laugh.
"You finished catching Pokemon?" Jeri asked, still clutching Marill close to her heart. She was already in her pajamas, ready to retreat to her bedroom and call it a night.
"Yeah. Can I talk to you for a second?"
"Sure!" Jeri's voice was cheery as she studied Kenta's smiling face. Although they knew each other the best in this game, the two youngsters were hardly close to each other.
"I was wondering," Kenta stammered, with little confidence in his shaky voice, "If you wanted to share notes with me before the next quiz."
"Like a coalition?"
"Yeah."
"That'd be nice, Kenta. I'm glad you asked," Jeri smiled sweetly. She still fondly remembered the coalition she formed with Matt earlier. But surely it wouldn't hurt to have another one with Kenta. Besides, seeing Kenta's dopey face, it would crush his already low self-esteem to deny the offer. Jeri didn't have the heart to say no.
"So who do you think the Mole is?" Kenta asked.
Jeri was a little thrown off with the question. She actually didn't expect Kenta to be so upfront. She always thought Kenta was going to talk in circles until he came to the point. She was definitely not prepared for this.
"Uh…Jessie. She is a Team Rocket member and you know, stuff like that. What do you think?"
"I think it's Gary," Kenta said, sounding confident for the first time, "He sabotaged so many challenges, yet he got off the blame from all of it. I'll talk to you about that later."
"Hey Kenta," Jeri called for her friend, stopping him midway in his tracks, "Do you know if Marill likes to have a bath before battles?"
"Tell you what…why don't I give you this pokedex? I learned a lot from it. I'm sure it will help you too," said Kenta, taking Ash's pokedex from his knapsack and hand it to Jeri.
"Thanks." Jeri courteously thanked her friend, and then slowly watched him leave. She smiled faintly to the cameras, putting the pokedex in her pocket.
"There is something different about Kenta. Either some Pokemon aliens abducted him or something about this trip gave him new motivation," Jeri said, "The old Kenta will never start a coalition with me, he definitely changed. Whatever it is, I think his new attitude in this game makes him very suspicious for the Mole. It's almost like he is a completely new person, or may be he is just revealing his identity as the Mole."
Meanwhile in the digital world, the third heated battle was taking place. Once again, Gary took center stage in battling their opponent while Yolei and Misty were just standing by their side, watching the battle with awe. Hawkmon would sometimes contribute to the battle, but it was Agumon who stole the show.
"Agumon digivolve to…Greymon!"
"Nova Blast!"
A huge fire orb escaped from the masked dinosaur's mouth, destroying the dark spiral on Seadramon in one direct hit.
"Finish it off!" Gary sneered, growing too comfortably confident at Greymon's strength.
"Nova Blast!" And the deadly attack sent Seadramon into total obliteration
"We only have one more dark spiral to go!" Yolei merrily announced, wrapping Gary and Misty in a short embrace.
"Do you think we should worry where Tracey is? He was gone for all three battles…He could be seriously injured," asked Misty.
"Nah, he'll be fine." Gary grinned and gave Agumon a pat on the head as it rejoined the group again.
"I don't think we are being cruel to Tracey. He deserved everything that is happening to him right now." Gary said casually to the cameras in a private confessional, "Had he not been too greedy and hogged all the exemptions, he wouldn't be unanimously hated by the entire group."
With an arrogant smirk and a careful selection of words, Gary continued,
"Tracey is an excellent candidate for the Mole. I think he is my biggest threat in the game, believe it or not. He is a great observer of details, data oriented and very analytical. With those credentials, it would be a waste to put him as a player because he obviously can't win against me. So I think the producers assigned Tracey as the Mole to give me a little challenge in the game. Right now, I'm testing him to see if he can handle the pressure like any good Mole would. If Tracey doesn't buckle and lose his composure, then I know he is the Mole. I'm still not too sure yet."
Kenta stared out of the bedroom window from the gym arena. It was an optimistically sunny day with a comforting cool breeze brushing against his face. From a distance, Kenta could see a flock of Pidgeys frolicking in the clear blue sky.
It was the day of the $40,000 battle.
Kenta can sense it. It was going to be a good day.
"Where's Jessie?" Yamaki asked, looking impatiently at his watch.
"I don't know. She abandoned us since she arrived," replied Matt.
The Team Rocket member finally arrived twenty minutes later, waving her hand and slowly approaching the group with her diva mannerism.
"Sorry guys, I was trying to find James and Meowth, but I didn't know where they were."
"You were looking for your friends!?" Jeri said with utter disbelief.
"Yeah, yeah. I actually have friends, missy," Jessie's lips curled up to a smile.
"Okay. You'll be fighting individual battles against four predetermined gym leaders of the Johto regin. If any of you win the battle, you will add $25,000 into the pot. If Kasumi, Juri or Kenta win their battles, they will also add $5,000 into the pot," said Yamaki.
"Let's get the first battle started!" Professor Elm said, "The first one-on-one battle is between Matt and Whitney of Goldenrod City!"
The bubbly gym leader skipped over to the arena, almost tripping over her shoelaces carelessly. Her pink cuddly Clefairy stopped her fall, and Whitney laughed as she walked over to join Matt in the battle.
"Let's hope you're not that much of a klutz in battling!" Matt teased, running a hand through his golden blonde hair. His Growlithe barked in a parallel mockery.
"Begin!"
"Ember!" Matt commanded. His loyal orange canine partner leaped and sent a blazing fire attack at the seemingly harmless Clefairy.
"Dodge it! Then give Growlithe a doubleslap!"
Clefairy dodged the flame easily, and then smacked Growlithe powerfully with its little pudgy arms. Growlithe didn't even have a chance to counter back.
"Flamethrower, Growlithe!" Growlithe opened its mouth and shot Clefairy a dominant ray of fire. Clefairy tried to dodge it, but its hand was severely scorned by the flame.
"Are you okay, Clefairy?" Whitney asked.
"Clefairy!"
"Great! Try Meternome!"
"Cleeeeefffffaaaarrrrreeeee" The little pink Clefairy dosed Growlithe with the attack Water Gun, spitting a strong stream of water at the dog. Growlithe shivered as it tried to shake the water off its fur.
"Finish it with a Pound attack, Clefairy!"
The final blow was enough to cause an unguarded Growlithe to collapse onto the ground unconscious.
"Growlithe is unable to battle! Whitney is the winner!" Professor Oak announced.
"Good battle, I underestimated you," Matt grinned as he called Growlithe into retreat with his pokeball.
"Don't they always overlook the pretty ones?" Whitney winked, and then walked back into the sidelines.
"Next battle…Jeri against Brock from Pewter Town!"
Little Jeri bowed down courteously before battle, sending her petite Marill against the massive Onix.
"You have a type advantage, Jeri. Use it effectively!" Kenta shouted.
"Begin!"
"Uh…" Jeri scanned her pokedex for the weaknesses of Onix, "Marill, try Bubblebeam?"
Marill shot a weak beam of bubbles at Onix. Despite the type disadvantage, the attack seemed to do no damage to the mighty rock snake.
"Onix, slam against Marill with your tail!"
Onix flexed its stony tail against the blue round pokemon, delivering a fatal blow to the pokemon and not even giving it a chance to escape. Marill squealed in pain as it landed near Jeri's feet.
"Oh my gosh, are you alright Marill?"
"Maaarill…" Marill tried to get up with every last bit of energy. But it fainted instead.
"Marill is unable to battle! Brock is the winner!"
Jeri scrunched her eyebrows as she leant down and gently picked up her water pokemon. It was almost embarrassing when she saw the final results. She was defeated effortlessly with one attack, even when she had the type advantage. Instead of using it effectively, Jeri completely flopped at the battle. Heck, it wasn't even a close battle. All Onix needed to do is move its tail and Marill instantly fainted.
"Battling isn't my forte, I guess," Jeri smiled weakly. Matt gave her an apologetic pat on the back.
"If it makes you feel any better, at least you didn't get your ass kicked by a ditz who dyed her hair pink," Matt grinned, causing Jeri and Kenta to giggle in fits of laughter. It was a Matt specialty, he was able to manipulate a tragedy and turn it into a comedy.
"Our next battle…Kenta against Bugsy of Azalea Town!"
Kenta inhaled a deep breath before looking up at his purple haired opponent. After a landslide defeat from both Matt and Jeri, Kenta had every reason to doubt a victory right now. Usually Kenta would be shaking in his boots nervously in a situation like this, especially with so much pressure on him. But it was different this time. The boy felt total ease at the arena as if it was his domain. He almost felt like Ash for a second.
He could sense it. It was going to be a good day.
"Electro Shocker!"
Kabuterimon sent a purplish glowing orb was shot at the dark spiral around Meramon's wrist. The fourth and final dark spiral was destroyed.
Standing at the base of a volcano, Tracey greeted his digital partner Tentomon in his hand. After an intense training yesterday, he was able to push his digital partner outside of his comfort zone and digivolve into a champion form. Unfortunately, he had no reason to exercise his new power until now.
"Should we just let him go?" Tentomon asked Tracey, watching Meramon hiking up the volcano in a distance.
"Yeah, he won't do any harm."
"I wonder where Yolei and the others are…perhaps they destroyed the other three dark spirals? Cross your fingers?" Tentomon asked.
"I have no idea. They pretty much ditched me to go on their own adventure, don't you think?"
A few minutes later, Genaii and the rest of his gang emerged to meet with Tracey.
"Hey guys, what's up?" Tracey asked. Yolei only smiled at him sweetly without a reply, and Gary was staring at him with a bitter vengeance.
At least they are acknowledging my existence now. That's a start. Tracey thought, smiling faintly to himself.
It was Genaii who broke the ice between the players, "Congratulations, you have destroyed all four dark spirals…meaning that you have added $40,000 into the pot!"
POT: $122,000/$190,000
"And I will now present one of you an exemption. Since Misty and Yolei are both neutralized, they are not eligible to win the exemption."
Gary nodded and patted Yolei in fake sympathy. In his mind, Gary was confident that he would win the exemption. Sure, Tracey contributed to the challenge by destroying one dark spiral at the end of the game. But it was Gary who came off as the real victor. He was the one who managed to destroy not one, not two, but THREE dark spirals. It was a number that would obviously put his opponent's number in shame. And most of all, he already won two exemptions, while Gary had none
Tracey smiled softly. Unlike Gary, he saw this fight for exemption to be a fifty-fifty chance. He hoped Genaii would not dismiss his hard efforts into the challenge. He didn't believe in the statistics or the three to one ratio presented. Tracey never saw how Gary deserved this exemption more than him. It was an equal battle in his eyes.
Finally Genaii rose from his seat at the benches. He didn't smile at any of them. He only glared angrily as he shook his head. He opened his mouth to speak, preparing to say some of the most shocking words one of these boys will ever hear.
"That was the biggest disgrace I have ever seen in my hundreds of years of life. I am very disappointed."
Gary blinked at Genaii, looking confused. He turned to watch Tracey, who reacted with equal confusion. Why was Genaii saying all these unkind words?
"If battling was a sport, then you had horrible sportsmanship," Genaii was looking at Gary as he uttered these unfriendly words to the young professor from Pallet Town. Gary was still looking surprised and baffled, not truly absorbing the words in from his mentor.
Genaii paused, his eyes burning passively. Tears seemed to be forming at the corners of his tiny eyes.
"But then you continued. You left no mercy to your opponents. There was no point in destroying Kawagamon or Seadramon after the dark spirals were destroyed, but yet you did it for the thrill of killing. When Ogremon was down, you have to give it one final kick just to make sure it would never be up. The number one thing to battling is mercy. Not knowing when to stop a battle is the number one error. Because of that, I cannot forgive you and reward you with an exemption, Gary."
Yolei and Misty looked stunned. Neither of these girls had been seeing the battle from Genaii's point of view. What they thought was a dramatic end to the battle turned out to be so ugly and inhumane from Genaii's words.
"So congratulations, I reward Tracey with the exemption," Genaii finally smiled at the Pokemon Watcher. Tracey wasn't sure how to react, but he clumsily smiled and firmly shook hands with Genaii.
"Thank you…"
Gary bit his lips and stomped away coldly as Yamaki continued to utter some final words. He couldn't hear anything. His mind was scrambled with a mixture of fury and confusion. No, how could this have happened? It was supposed to be HIS exemption. Genaii wasn't making any sense. Why did he give it to Tracey, who had done nothing in battle!? Gary Oak won that exemption fair and square, but why can't the short old man see it?
And then he turned around to see Tracey's gleeful smile. Gary loathed that moment. Tracey had just won his third exemption. It was his third goddamn exemption already in this game! He never took a single quiz yet in the game! Most of all, it was the exemption that belonged to Gary! It was rightfully his!
Why does he always get lucky every time? Why is he rewarded for sabotaging challenges? Why!?
At that moment, Gary swore to make sure Tracey's remaining time in the game as miserable as possible.
He could feel the oily sweat clinging onto the skin of his forehead. While he used a tightly clutched fist to wipe the sweat, he shifted his eyes everywhere around the room, his eyeballs intensely bulging almost to a point where they would touch the lenses of his glasses. He felt an itch on his left bicep, but he was too occupied to worry about something like that.
Nobody could believe it, but Kenta Kitagawa was winning the battle. He had the upper hand.
"Teleport!"
His Kadabra disappeared not one minute too soon before the furious Scyther slashed its sharp scythe into blank air. Bugsy muttered a cuss word under his breath, and the usually calm gym leader was fretting fearfully.
"Sword Dance!" Bugsy cried out, as his Scythe spun in a rapid circle like an uncontrollable tornado while increasing its Attack score.
"Psychic!"
Kadabra reappeared in front of the spinning Scyther, and hurling it up in the air with its mental attack. Then in a harsh and fatal move, Kadabra threw Scyther onto the ground with no mercy.
Kenta looked on with bugged eyes, gulping and breathing loudly as he watched Scyther lying on the floor with no movement. It took a few seconds before Professor Elm made his announcement.
"Scyther is no longer able to battle. Kenta is the winner!"
All of his teammates were applauding and cheering delightfully from the sidelines, hollering and shouting loudly in joy. Bugsy uttered a chain of cuss words at the ridicule of being defeated by an amateur trainer. It was all music to his ears.
"Congratuations, you have added $30,000 into the pot by winning that battle," Yamaki said.
POT: $152,000/$220,000
"And the final battle…Jessie against Lily from Cerulean City!"
"Forget it, I'm not battling."
The cheering fainted when the players heard Jessie's response. It was an answer they didn't quite expect from the competitive ambassador.
"Eh? I can't add any money even if I won my battle, right? So what's the point?"
"Actually if you don't win this battle, you will not be able to win an exemption," Yamaki corrected, "Nobody here will receive an exemption then."
"That's alright. I don't feel like battling today," Jessie said.
"But…why?" Kenta asked, confused at the Team Rocket member's logic.
"Because I'll get creamed even if I tried," Jessie chuckled, "Just like in old Team Rocket fashion."
While the three other players looked at her with suspicious eyes, Jessie put on her best innocent smile to the players. Missing out on a potential exemption wasn't critical to her – she expected to lose embarrassingly even with all her experience. Instead Jessie opted to surrender the 1 chance of winning the exemption and chose to do something very wicked.
Judging the looks on the players' faces, it's safe to say that she accomplished her goal.
"Okay then, you'll be having your third execution quiz tonight in the digital world. You can share your stories with the other players there."
And the eight players reunited at the digital world, with hurtful gossip and clueless speculation passed around the hot topics of "How come Tracey keeps winning those exemptions??", "Why did Jessie give up a chance at an exemption?" and the most popular subject for all of the players: Kenta Kitagawa.
In front of the cameras, Matt expressed his thoughts after witnessing the Pokemon battle victory first-hand,
"I have never suspected Kenta to be the Mole although he was acting really strange today. But that boy gave me a lot to think about today. The way he dominated in pokemon battling, I almost thought he was a pro. You know, I never gave Kenta a second glance, but I'm finally starting to notice him. He had been playing under the radar for too long and too good. It's time to see if Kenta is the Mole or not."
And Misty had a completely different spin on the whole concept,
"Matt told me how Kenta oddly resembled Ash at battle today, ruling the gym arena like he had done this a thousand times. But I just can't see the connection between them, you know? Kenta and Ash are two totally different people from two colliding worlds. I may be the odd duck from what everybody else thinks, but I am confident that Kenta is not the Mole, even after the lucky stunt he pulled off this afternoon. Besides, and I hate to jinx Kenta with this comment…but do we all remember what place Ash ended up with in this game?"
Players are separated in different sections of the digital world while taking their execution quiz on a computer, ten questions about the identity of the Mole.
Question #1: What is the gender of the Mole? Gary Oak scanned over the question quickly with his eyes before clicking on an answer.
"Tracey never ceased to astonish me in this game. The man sabotages so many challenges that people think he is too obvious to be the Mole. That's how good he is. Everything seems too coincidental…Tracey refused and sabotaged the neutralizer challenge, and in result, he gets rewarded with a blasted exemption. Other players just gave up and overlooked him when he is the biggest and most obvious suspect of them all."
Yolei Inoue casually answered the third question on the screen, her usual grin replaced with a stern look at the monitor screen.
"Tracey is a pretty nice guy until you say the word 'exemption' to him. Then he turns from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde and suddenly leashes us like a rabid dog. As much as he wants us to believe that he is the Mole, I know he isn't. Tracey just tries too hard. He is a transparent guy and everybody here knows his real intentions. Tracey isn't sabotaging the pot because he is the Mole. Tracey is sabotaging because he is a very selfish man."
Misty Waterflower pressed Purple for an unknown question near the end of the quiz.
"I'm guessing the Mole is Yolei but I wouldn't bet my lunch money on it. She is very happy-go-lucky and bubbly, I love her to death as a friend but it just doesn't come out right in the game. I keep on feeling that she is playing as a role and the girl is a lot smarter than she lets out to be."
Finally Kenta Kitagawa read the most important question on the quiz: Who is the Mole?
"Gary is a very likely Mole. Sure he is nasty and cold toward everyone, but he does a lot of suspicious things in the game too. For example, he managed to avoid being put on the spot in the neutralizer challenge by putting Tracey on the spot instead. Just because he is a big jerk doesn't exempt him as being the Mole either."
In front of Digitamamon's restaurant, eight of the players sat on horizontal benches, four on each side. Grim Reaper Yamaki appeared at the scene and sank behind his laptop, ready to suck out another life from the game.
"Welcome to your third execution, players. For one of you, your journey ends here. I will randomly begin typing your names into the computer. When your name comes up, if the scren flashes green, you are safe. If the screen flashes red, you are the Mole's second victim."
Yamaki took a deep breath before entering a name.
"Kenta."
Kenta slowly shook his head apologetically in a manner like a student who did poorly on a test.
tic.
tic.
tic.
tic.
The screen flashed green.
Kenta nodded his hand and closed his eyes, as the young boy tried to absorb the sight of the green into his head.
"Miyako."
Grinning ear to ear, Yolei tilted her head slightly and gazed upon the screen.
tic.
tic.
tic.
tic.
The screen flashed red.
Yolei sighed softly, but the large optimistic grin was still plastered on her face. May be if she smiled enough, the screen would automatically turn green again.
"Yolei, you are the Mole's third victim. You've been executed from the game, please follow me."
The popular purple haired girl was greeted with hugs from everybody in the game. Even Gary reluctantly got up from his seat to give her a short – but memorable embrace. Misty looked sad as she whispered a farewell to her new friend from the Digimon series, waving her a slow goodbye gesture before she left with Yamaki through a portal in the laptop.
Matt said, smiling to the cameras, running a hand through his blonde hair.
"Yolei is quite a character, I tell you. She is so easygoing and spontaneous that it's hard for anybody not to like her. Through the highs and lows of this game, she always has a big fat smile on like everything is going to be okay. Keep on grinning, smilie!"
And Misty smiled too, not wanting to get misty with the farewell speech she was giving to her new best friend,
"Her smiles are contagious and I know she won't like it if we are moping over her execution. Win or lose, the only thing that is important in this game is to have the most fun. In that category, I say she definitely succeeded. Perfecto!"
It was unbelievable. Yamaki looked at the purple haired girl, wearing a grin that shines even in the midst of darkness. How could anybody be this happy about losing? All through the game, Yamaki and Riley both thought the happy-go-lucky girl was an act – a persona Yolei adopted to fool the other players. But after the game, she was still grinning eternal sunshine. It actually even irritated Yamaki.
"Why are you still grinning like a two year old? Aren't you disappointed with losing?"
"Sure, I'd like to win too. But I had fun, and that's all it matters. I met a bunch of great friends I'd like to meet afterwards. I'm not going to lose any sleep over losing the money," Yolei shrugged, not truly taking the loss seriously.
"I don't know whether to call you stupid or optimistic."
"You can call me both," Yolei grinned, nudging Yamaki in the shoulder, "Come on, you shouldn't be too serious all the time. Put a smile on, it won't kill ya!"
Yamaki rolled his eyes behind his shades. He still didn't buy into the bubbly personality or superficial answers she was giving. Nobody could be that happy all the time! That's when he knew he had to hit on the key subject that would crush Yolei where it hurts:
"How is your relationship with Shigeru? What is going on with that silly crush?"
"I'll stalk that sexy little thing after the show is over. I'm making a memo about it." Yolei giggled girlishly, brushing a strand of purple hair from her face. "Or I'll find someone else to fall head-over-heels at the losers' lounge, you never know! Life is full of surprises"
Even the most vulnerable topic Yamaki could think of didn't break Yolei's merry barrier. Finally he gave up his prisoner and watched her skipped and climbed in the mini tour bus. He had to accept the fact that there was such a thing as a triumphant loser. The living example was standing right in front of him.
And smiling too.
The bus door closed, driving slowly away and eventually vanishing into the lonely streets of Toronto.
END OF EXECUTION #3
Next Episode: Let's Play Mind Games
A silent auction turns ugly when one player makes an unexpected bid over an exemption…
Author's Notes
You've waited long enough for the third installment, but this was one of the chapters that worked so much better in the script form than a narrative (I divided it into two parts). Many parts just turned to out to be way too long and boring and I've to redo the whole thing. (I also can't include a Ryo/Rika scene here, so that totally sucked, hehe) Plus, I'm busy with other stuff that really drags down the writing schedule and I'm really sorry. But I did manage to rewrite and revamp the first two chapters, and I strongly recommend you to take a look at them again.
Reviewer Jackslvr made an interesting note that Yolei was the Mole based on an earlier reference to her inner thoughts. It would seem like that they are obvious giveaways to who the Mole is, but most of them are very misleading, as you could see with the case of Yolei. I use them to shove you in the wrong direction. And it's the same thing with confessionals, don't be fooled! With a wildcard character like Yolei, I think it's pretty believable for her to be more enthusiastic over a potential boyfriend more than the Mole.
The next episode contains an infamous challenge that some of you will be very familiar with from the script form. Hopefully I'll have it before the new year comes. Keep your fingers crossed!