Hi Everyone ! Sorry for the long wait, I have been kind of busy with college. ^^''
Since I can't answer to everyone by PM, I'll do it here ^^.
Champ : XD about the whole Flurrie thing. Well, don't you think she deserves more love ? Plus, she is the best partner in PM2, with her kiss that can heal her. (I love when she deals ten points of damage to an ennemy and recovers the same amout of health). Sorry for Kooper, I know you like him. ^^' And thanks for the review. ^^
DryBonesKing : Thank you for your review ! ^^ If I remember correctly I've already responded to it but I'm not sure...
Charz : I find it funny how you suspect the characters you don't like. XD And yeah, somehow I had to put you as a cameo in this story. XD Glad you like it and thanks for commenting. ^^
Tom Nooke : I'm really, really, really sorry for the mistakes... You don't have many tenses in English, but I have a hard time differencing the Present Perfect (which describes a processus (or so I was told)) and the Preterite (which describes an action anchored in the time). I tried my best for this chapter. ^^'''
For the Kooper issue... I knew it wasn't the best word to describe his job, but I didn't find anything else. I wanted to say that he was part of the crew, that he was assisting the producers, or something like that. I had this sort of problem with Noki too (she isn't an Air Hostess but a Flight Attendant (by the way, sorry Kris, I thought that a flight attendant was someone who was giving flying lessons *gets shot)).
I directly write this story in English. Our languages are totally different, so it would be a waste of time to put my story written in French in a translator. ^^"
As for Flurrie... Well... I'll be honest with you. She is one character that I really like. However, in the French version of the game, she doesn't have that much of a personality so I'm not really familiar with the way she speaks.
Thank you for your review ! ^^
Previously on the Mole, some players were in difficulty, notably Jojora and Noki, who were left alone with their part of the mission after their partners failed at their task, some were having little difficulties, like Toad, Kooper, Mario and Pauline, and surprisingly, the last two, being Flurrie and Bootler were doing great. Afterward, the six remaining players had to find the exact location of a treasure chest. Mario found out with ease where it was situated, but the team, unfortunately and ultimately, lost the challenge, despite the good thinking of Bootler and Toad. Soon enough, Monty Mole told the players that the first questionnaire would have to be answered at the end of the day. The players exchanged their suspicions and took the quiz. In the end, Kooper's '-1' penalized him and made him go home, as he was labeled as the Mole's first victim. Nine players remain... Who will be executed next ? And more importantly, who is the Mole ?
First name : Birdo
Surname : Ribbon
Birthday : May 15
Job : Fashion Designer
First name : Bootler
Surname : Majordome
Birthday : September 6
Job : Butler
First name : Donkey
Surname : Kong
Birthday : March 12
Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter
First name : Noki
Surname : Delphis
Birthday : August 7
Job : Air Hostess
First name : Toad
Surname : Phalloïde
Birthday : June 1
Job : Gardener
First name : Jojora
Surname : Teeheena
Birthday : December 27
Job : Sculptor
First name : Pauline
Surname : Celeste
Birthday : June 16
Job : Model
First name : Mario
Surname : Mario
Birthday : January 22
Job : Plumber
First name : Flurrie
Surname : Cumulia
Birthday : October 29
Job : Actress
5 : Searching for Greener Pastures
Toad : For me, last night was awfully long... Kooper's bed was empty and it was really awkward since it was occupied hours ago. That's a kind of waking up, I guess. We'll have to fight – sorta – if we don't want to suffer the same fate as him.
Flurrie : I awoke feeling splendastically great. Yes, Kooper is gone, and that's sad for him, but at least I'm still here. I will maybe seem egoistical, but we're in a competition. I was just glad I wasn't going anywhere soon thanks to my exemption. Well, and you know, bad news for some mean good news for others. That's how this game works.
Pauline : If Kooper was still here, I could have lured the others into thinking he was the Mole, that way I would have passed easily the quizzes, but that just won't do it now seeing that he's gone. I need to find a better strategy...or the Mole, obviously.
Being all alone in his room, Toad did not have much to do. He took a look at his journal, quickly jotted down a few more annotations and chose to head toward the Hotel's hall. Taking a seat at the breakfast table, he sighed, wondering what the others could possibly do this early.
Toad : I miss Kooper, because he was really a great guy to be around with. It's very unfortunate that he was the first to go, I expected him to go all the way to the finals.
Somehow, the Mushroom boy became bored and started wandering aimlessly through the many corridors of the hotel. As he was making his umpteenth turn, he faced a wall on which was written an interesting thing.
'THE MOLE IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU'
"Well, well, well... What do we have now ? I'm feeling pretty lucky today !" He then paused a minute. "It may be a valuable clue, but I really don't understand it. Errr, I should probably write it somewhere before I forgot it."
He wrote it on a piece of paper, and proceed to erase the message from the wall.
"Please don't think of me as a selfish person. It's a game, and I have to use every tricks in the book if I want to win it," he winked.
As usual, Flurrie was late, and thus, was the last player to arrive at the hotel's entrance, most to the annoyance of the others. Suppressing a few grunts, they all agreed to follow Monty Mole to wherever he wanted to take them.
"So," he started, trying to strike up a subject of conversation, "how did you feel after Kooper's execution ?"
Donkey shrugged. "We didn't get the chance to know him that well, so in a way, it doesn't feel really different, you know ?" Toad spoke up.
"It felt pretty wrong waking up besides an unoccupied bed. And rather awkward, to tell the whole truth."
"I did think that his execution was rigged a little... But after thinking about it, it didn't make much sense. I think he was just the unlucky one of the bunch," confided Pauline.
"He should have seen it coming, though," added Flurrie. Most of the players rolled their eyes.
"Please Flurrie, there was no way he could have known that he would leave the game first," reminded her Toad, who was then backed up by Mario's nod.
"Not to forget that even the Mole can't control the game. Everyone just plays their part and hopes for the best."
Birdo : Kooper's elimination has been a shock for everyone. I mean, it was so sudden and all, there was no way to prevent it. Everyone was kinda glad that they weren't the one eliminated yesterday, but at the same time... We've all felt guilty for maybe taking Kooper's place into the game.
Thereafter, Bootler, who had had enough of all this discussion, decided to voice his opinion. "I would suggest that we start talking about something else, because it has become terribly annoying after a while."
Nodding, Noki asked Monty Mole a question. "Hey, where are we going right now ? I'm impatient to know what we'll need to do, actually." Monty Mole chuckled a little.
"Right on time ! Here we go, door number seven !" he said as he led them toward the end of the pipe.
The players discovered in amazement that the room was very similar to the one which was beyond door two. Mario was the first to comment. "Isn't that strange ? I mean, last time, during Mario Party Seven, we were on this gigantic boat. And it was leading us toward every destinations we wanted to go to..."
"Well, obviously, when they built this complex, they did not want to disturb the princess, nor did they want to ask her for her boat. They also thought that rooms and halls were more easy to link thanks to warp pipes, so it all makes sense in the end, don't you think so ?" Everyone accepted his answer, showing it more or less energetically. "Well, we will be going to Windmillville, so take the exit four. I will see you there once you will be dressed up ! See you soon !"
Bootler followed Monty Mole through the Warp Pipe, and soon, the others did the same. They were going to the locker room to change clothes, much to the disappointment of some players. Disguised as farmers, those who possessed feet had to wear uncomfortable clogs, tight pants or wide dresses, depending on their genders, traditional farmer hats as well as loose-fitting tops. Needless to say, they were pretty unnerved.
"Oww !" yelled Noki. "Oh man... It seems we're in for a world of hurt ! Ugh, that's so frustrating !"
"I am really thankful for being a Boo," laughed quietly Bootler, watching the other players' struggle.
Flurrie threw her hands up in the air. "This just cannot be ! Grr... I'm so going to sue these producers !"
"Oh, shut up !" shouted Jojora. "You don't have to put clogs, so shut up ! Really !"
"Errr... How am I supposed to put that on ?" asked a mystified Donkey. Mario put a palm to his forehead.
"Donkey, you put it back to front. It's no wonder you haven't managed yet to put it on..."
Donkey : I hated that part. I just looked like an idiot in front of everyone on national television.
Mario : Pauline and Birdo were cute in their disguises. However, we weren't.
After a little while, everyone was more or less ready for whatever was awaiting them. Little did they know that their second task would be nothing short of an annoyance...
"Greetings everyone !" smiled an enthusiastic Monty Mole.
"We've already seen you today," pointed out Jojora.
"That's great Jojora, can we move on now ?" asked Pauline, clearly irritated by the fairy's attitude.
Monty Mole thanked her. "Well, thank you Pauline. Here we are, in Windmillville, where your challenge will take place. I would like you to look at this marvelous landscape, don't you think it is a picture of nature ?"
"It's so beautiful it has caught my eyes !" ironically exclaimed Jojora.
Jojora : Actually, I like to annoy Monty Mole and the other players. I still don't know why, but I find that really fun to see their faces each time I say some nasty remarks...
"Anyway... Oh yes, I almost forget !" recalled the host. "You will not be participating in the same challenge. So here we are, I need four persons who love animals, and five who love flowers ! You have one or two minutes to choose, so be quick !"
"Okay, I definitely think that Toad should take part in the floral challenge !" threw out Mario. "I mean, as a gardener he could help us win money !" Toad did not look pleased.
"Well, since I'm usually surrounded by flowers, I guess I should do it... But that's the exact reason for which I won't do it. I'm not here to do the same things as usual, you know."
"I'm not that much into flowers either. Sure, they are as beautiful as my self, but I really want to do animals ! I sense that this challenge has an adventurous side !" exclaimed Flurrie, delighted.
"Don't count on me for the flower thing ! Flowers are useless !" claimed Donkey.
"Well, they aren't as useless as him," murmured Birdo to Noki who responded by a soft giggle.
Finally, Jojora raised her hand. "I'll do animals too. Hopefully it won't be boring."
Monty Mole nodded. "I will start with the four of you. Flurrie, Donkey, Toad and Jojora, the challenge you will play in is called 'Twenty Thousand Bucks Under The Sheep'. I guess its name explains what you have to do during this challenge, but I will give you further instructions anyway."
"Your goal is to run after the sheep and to retrieve the money that is tied to their belly. However, be careful, there is more than meets the eye ! Head to that path over here and follow it, for it will lead you to your destination. Take this radio. Once I will give you the signal, you will have thirty minutes to retrieve as much money as possible ! Good luck, you will need it."
"Huh ?" questioned dumbly Toad as he was dragged by the other three.
Flurrie : Obviously, Monty Mole was saying that the task would be difficult, but I think there is something else to his words. Something that the others have yet to fully understand...
Monty Mole then faced the five remaining players, all of them eager to hear about their challenge. "I'm sorry, but once again, you will have to choose roles. I need one player who thinks that people have to suffer to be beautiful, one player who knows how to use their brain and three others who are good at following orders."
"Can I be the one who thinks that one has to suffer to be beautiful ?" asked Birdo to the two other girls. Pauline shrugged while Noki nodded.
"I'm still a little tired... So can I please be the smart one ?" quietly inquired Noki.
"Yeah, that's okay," confirmed Mario. "Plus I'm not in the mood to give directions right now."
"Why yes, do not worry, you can have this role," elegantly replied Bootler.
"This mission is called 'Floral Composition', your goal will be to find five Bub-Bulb seeds scattered around this gigantic greenhouse. Noki, the smart one, will have to direct you to the places where the seeds are hidden. However, she is strictly forbidden to show you a picture of the flowers near which are located the seeds, and she cannot give you their names either."
"Wait. How are we supposed to find where are hidden the Bub-Bulb seeds if Noki can't tell us anything ?" cut him Pauline.
"I have yet to finish my explanation, Pauline. Noki cannot tell you the flowers' names, but she can describe them. For example, she could tell you that something is located near red beautiful flowers which possess thorns."
"And what about me ? What will I do ?" asked Birdo.
"Well, you see... That's the funny part," started Monty Mole, trying to hold his laughter. "As the masochist one, you will act as a hourglass. As long as you run on this windmill wheel, the game is on. But should you stop at any point of the game, you will make everyone lose twenty thousand coins."
"I'm not sure I will like this one bit," whispered Birdo, biting her nails. Noki comforted her.
"Well, that's all, I guess. Okay, let's go to the great windmill."
"This shall be interesting," simply noted Bootler, before following the host and his partners.
Bootler : I had no idea as to what was going to happen during this challenge. Entering the game, I first thought that my aged personage would not last long, because I would have been handicapped sooner or later being the oldest of the cast. Fortunately, this game is not about who is the strongest or the smartest of the bunch. You just need to have the ability to analyze every little thing that happens throughout this journey.
While Birdo and Noki were heading upstairs in the Great Windmill, Monty Mole led Bootler, Pauline and Mario to a gigantic greenhouse wherein were standing multiple kind of flowers, all more pretty than each other.
"Wow... That's really awesome !" exclaimed Pauline, taking some photographs with her digital camera. "I've never seen anything like this ! I just don't know what to say..."
"I must say that it is rather remarkable," commented Bootler, his mouth agape. Mario smiled, having already seen this greenhouse before, and took a few more steps in.
"So, when will we start this challenge ?"
"As soon as Birdo starts to run. Each of you, take these earpieces. The three of you will communicate with Noki with these. Well, I think that it's about time, so I will watch you from above. Good luck !" He then sped toward the Windmill, supervising everything.
Mario : I've already been here, that's true. However, I've just visited. I've never really paid any attention to the flowers' emplacements. That will be tough.
Suddenly, a sound was emitted from the earpieces. "Noki's here ! Hmmm... Is someone hearing me ?"
"Yes Noki, we are receiving you loud and clear. Could you assign us to our first task ?"
"They are hearing me !" shouted an overjoyed Noki. "Okay Bootler, hmmm... You have to search for a red flower !"
Birdo looked a little disappointed at Noki's instruction. "Be more precise or else we will never win..."
"Got it ! Well... I'm not really good at describing things... The flower you have to find is very frail, its petal are very soft and can be ripped pretty easily. You have to be careful when you take one in your hand... What else can I say... Hmm... Oh yeah, I doubt it is really worth anything... But I think it holds some sentimental value. What ? Hmmm no. Remember that I can't give you its name. You can find it in the country. Yeah, that's about all. Sorry, pops."
"Do you guys have any ideas as to what we should be searching for ?" asked Pauline.
Bootler was pacing back and forth, his mind furiously thinking about Noki's last words. "Eureka ! Thank you for the hint Noki, you are really smart !"
"You are welcome," replied Noki through the earpiece.
"Mario, Pauline. Noki just gave us a clue about the flower we have to search ! Don't you think that it is rather strange that she said 'Sorry, pop.', considering her shy nature ?"
"Sure, it is. But I don't think I'm following you..."
"The flower we have to search for is a poppy ! It was a very smart move."
Pauline : Noki could be the Mole. She just gave us a clue like that, not knowing whether or not she had the right to do so. I'll watch her every moves from now on.
"I think we should go our own ways to cover more field," exposed Pauline. Mario shook is head in response.
"If one of us miss the place where the poppies are, we will lose too much time, so I think it's best if we stick together," argued Mario.
"Let's inspect every nook and cranny," suggested Bootler.
The three of them were randomly searching the many tables on which were placed many pots, as well as the flowers planted in the rich and fertile soil, forgetting a valuable piece of information that Noki had provided them earlier.
Toad, Flurrie, Donkey and Jojora finally arrived at the sheep's enclosure. Unsure of what to do, they walked to a bench and sat down on it. Jojora started to speak with Donkey, but was soon interrupted by Monty Mole's voice, coming from their radio.
"You may begin now," allowed them the host.
"Let's catch them !" yelled Toad, as excited as usual.
"I think we have this in the bag, seriously. Except for that fat mass over here, we are the most athletic of the group. Let's go Donkey !" told him Jojora.
"Well, that was uncalled for !" spat Flurrie. Unlike the other three, Flurrie took her time to analyze the situation she was in.
Flurrie : Well, I might look like I'm just a snob, but I can assure you that it is not the case. Did you really think that an actress of my rank was that dumb and superficial ? I certainly hope not. Anyway, returning to the challenge. There were twenty five white sheep and only one black. This immediately caught my beautiful eyes.
Flurrie immediately darted for the black sheep, but he scurried away, making her attempt a failure. The others were not so lucky either, so they chose to create a plan.
"They are way faster than I would have ever imagined !" complained Jojora.
"We have to surround them, or else we won't be able to catch them," stated Toad. Donkey looked exhausted.
"Tell me something I don't know," grumbled the big ape. "And these damn clogs aren't helping us either."
Toad was watching Flurrie in the distance, who was trying to jump on the black sheep. "Hey, you know, she has good ideas sometimes. We should try to lure the sheep somewhere, so that a third person could jump on it. How's that ?"
"That might just work, actually," nodded Jojora.
The three of them entered the enclosure once again. Jojora and Toad started chasing around some sheep, to make them flee toward one corner. The sheep tried to turn around but it was too late for one of them. Donkey jumped on it and snatched a bag from his belly.
"Woohoo ! Success !" shouted Toad, happy to see that his strategy worked.
Jojora ran toward where Donkey was and asked him a question. "So ? What's inside ?"
"Are you kidding me ?" roared Donkey. "They say I have to take my shoes off ! These stupid sheep shits everywhere ! No way I'm gonna take them off, and that's final."
"Well, I understand..."
Toad : We really sucked during this challenge.
Knowing henceforth how to work as a team, Toad, Jojora and Donkey tried their best to snatch money from the sheep.
Mario, Pauline and Bootler were clueless. Despite Noki's intelligence, they were still searching their first flower. Bootler, sensing that Pauline was more and more reluctant to search for the flower, decided to ask something to Noki.
"Noki, could you please tell us where we should search for that poppy ?"
"I guess you should search for it outside of the greenhouse. I mean, it's a country flower so I doubt it would be cultivated here," replied slowly Noki through his earpiece.
"I heard it Bootler, leave it to me !" exclaimed Mario before rushing out of the greenhouse. Minutes later, he unleashed a successful yell. "I have it ! I have the first Bub-Bulb seed !"
"What do we have to do now ?" inquired Pauline in a tired tone.
"You have to search for a flower linked to the sun. It's a really big flower, with yellow petals."
"Okay, easy one ! It's a sunflower guys !" smiled Mario as he went to the place where were placed the sunflowers and retrieved the second seed.
Mario : It was actually a good idea to search every place of the greenhouse, because after that we knew where were situated the flowers. We lost time, but our loss made us win more time thereafter.
Noki was more and more worried for Birdo as the minutes added up. Her partner was sweating profusely and looked one the verge of collapsing.
Noki : Birdo looked so weak... I really thought she was going to faint. That's why I had to do this...
"Noki, we need our next instructions !"
"Mmmh... You have to find a purple flower which name can be sometimes used as a very pejorative adjective !"
With that, Noki glanced one more time at Birdo and started to run down the stairs leading to the greenhouse. She looked around for a bottle of water but couldn't find one. The flight attendant decided to exit the greenhouse to buy some water for Birdo, totally forgetting the three searchers...
"Yay ! Finally !" cheered Flurrie as she took the bag tied to the black sheep's belly. "So let's see, what did I win..."
Congratulations ! As the finder of this letter, you have a chance at winning an exemption ! You only need to find five bags and to throw them into the river that is near the enclosure.
Donkey : I caught a look of Flurrie, and it seemed like she was reading something. Maybe it was just me, but I think she was reading instructions the producers had given her. She is sneaky, we can't trust her.
"I've got it !" yelled Jojora, a bag of one thousand coins in her hand. "Let's put it over here."
The threesome once again chased after sheep. Unfortunately, Toad tripped on something and caught himself to a barrier. Donkey continued to chase after the sheep and retrieved one additional one thousand coins, but Jojora stopped in her track and stayed at Toad's sides.
"Are you okay ?" she questioned him.
"No... Uuugh... My ankle, it seems sprained..."
"Donkey ! We need some medical assistance over here !"
"Okay, I'm going to look for them ! Stay here !"
"Well, it's not like Toad can move..."
In the distance, Flurrie threw a bag of coins in the water. As she was returning to her sabotage, she saw Toad and Jojora, as well as something else ; it was a perfect opportunity.