Episode 1: Part 2
Wendy braced herself as she and her tandem instructor floated down onto the airport platform.
Wendy: It was exhilerating! Just remembering the way I fell freely gives me the shivers. But it was so fun!
"Well Wendy, congratulations!" McHallyboo said with a wide grin as she went up to him. "You are the sixth person to have made it down here."
"That was so much better than I thought it would be!" she said admittingly.
Goombella was next to jump. She looked in front of her, at the flying scene of blue that seemed to change every second. Her tandem instructor handed her the ear piece.
"Hi Goombella!" shouted Wendy. "Don't be scared!"
"Thanks!"
"The combination is...oh my gosh, I forgot it totally!" Goombella stood still, tense but confused.
"What did she say?" asked Diddy, stepping towards her. Goombella listened closely to hear what else Wendy had to say, but heard nothing else. The signal was disconnected.
"She said that she forgot the number," Goombella replied. The other three looked at her, their faces displaying equal confusion.
"Much convenience," Luvbi said rolling her eyes. "What is there to do now?"
"She didn't forget," Bobbery said in a stern voice. "That combination costs 10,000 coins! She must be mad!"
"Sabotage indeed" Diddy pointed out. Luvbi shook her head.
"What use is there to sabotage in the first mission?" she questioned.
"Name one player here who wouldn't name that as sabotage," Diddy said with a laugh, looking at the others.
"I couldn't care less if this was sabotage or not," Goombella told them. "Now what do we do?" The monitor at the front of the plane switched on, displaying a live video feed of the host below. His wide smile glared at them.
"Good morning players," he said. "Right now, I just got the news that you are all in a state of confusion. Here are your options: You can keep on jumping and add money to the team pot, as well as continue with your combination. Or, you can simply bring the plane down here, losing your chances at jumping and costing the team the potential 4,000 coins, one thousand for each of you who didn't jump. However, if you all decide to forfeit, we will then be looking at the combination spoken by fifth-jumped player, Boo, as your final combination answer. If he's correct, you win 10,000 coins. Make a decision." The screen turned off.
"I say we continue with the combination," said Bobbery, "Objections present?"
"Why continue if we have no idea what the combination is?" Diddy said to them. "I say we stop jumping." Bobbery scoffed.
"That's a 4,000 coin loss," the admiral said.
"Well, I'd rather win 10,000 coins, wouldn't you?" Diddy said back. Bobbery frowned.
"Okay, how do we know if Boo's combination was correct or not?" realized Goombella. "If he's wrong, we have no chance of getting the 10,000 coins anyway. Luvbi, what do you say?" Everyone turned to Luvbi.
"I vote we stop," Luvbi stated, adjusting the necklace around her neck. "On my legal counsel."
"Legal counsels," Bobbery repeated.
"What about that?" Luvbi asked, looking at him. Bobbery ignored her.
"Make that two," said Diddy. Bobbery nodded in agreement.
"Is that a game end?" one of the tandem instructors asked them. Goombella nodded reluctantly.
The tandem instructor behind Goombella reached over and shut the door of the plane, leaving them in a tranquil state of puzzlement. In short time, the plane had already descended thousands of feet to the waiting airport below. All ten players had landed safely.
"What! You chickens," Wario mocked, learning that the remaining four players had not jumped. All four players aboard the plane had met up with the others, those who had landed themselves minutes before. Their confusing story told, the players only waited as the host and Boo made their way to the others. McHallyboo went up to them and cleared his throat.
"Welcome back, all. Because only six people out of the ten had actually skydived, that gives you 6,000 coins right there into your team pot," the host informed them. The players cheered, half-enthusiastically.
"And now comes the other half," he said, looking at Boo. "Boo, for ten thousand, coins, what was your combination?" All players looked at him, nine of them in hopes of a success. Boo repeated the digits over in his head.
"It's...eight, four...six, five, one," Boo stated. "Final answer."
"Incorrect," McHallyboo confirmed, as the others groaned. Boo shrugged.
"I tried," he told them.
"A wrong combination does not win you guys your other half of this mission," McHallyboo announced to them, "and you have lost 10,000 coins. But failed not! Your team pot now stand at a value of 6,000 coins."
TEAM POT VALUE
6,000 COINS
"Yes, what a first mission indeed," McHallyboo said, the sun reflecting against his grinning teeth. The players couldn't have agreed more.
Rosalina: I was just one of the first to jump, and it was impossible for me to have messed up my combination. But just falling from that high, it's easy to forget very simple things, especially numbers. I don't blame Wendy at all.
Wendy: I do not, like, skydiving. Worst first mission ever.
Bobbery: Speaking of sailing suspicious, Diddy went right ahead with agreeing to sacrifice 10,000 coins. I'm not sure whether it could have been genuine instincts or something other.
Diddy: Goombella was all hesitant on agreeing on what to do. But if you look on the outer picture, we would have been at a loss either way. She's a heavy suspect of mine.
Wario: Wendy's fault! Ha!
Goombella: When everyone's looking at Wendy, everyone's forgetting the real player who cost us 10,000 coins, and that was totally Boo with his wrong combination.
Boo: Wario told me the wrong combination. If anyone blames me, they're blaming Wario. Nobody thinks he's the Mole behind that chubby disguise. It is actually a good disguise, no doubt.
Vivian: I do feel kind of bad for not helping the team more in this mission, but at least I did my part of the mission, no matter how little.
Luvbi: Wendy completely forgets her combination? That made me clearly suspect her. Well...thank heavens I didn't have to jump. Money was lost, and money was won. Is it only I who feels indifferent?
Yoshi: This is just the beginning of our adventure. I guess the Mole will have to embrace him or herself from now on, cause tropical paradise, here we come!
The game had only started. For the ten of them, it would be a whole new adventure, but on top of that, a whole new setting of mystery and paradise as they traveled to the very center of the island, to where they would be located for the next few days: Delfino Plaza.
"This is Delfino Plaza, the capital of this majestic island," McHallyboo informed them, acting almost as a tour guide to the bewildered players aboard the boat they were on. The players looked in awe.
"I smell a sea," Bobbery said, almost in his own nostalgic trance.
"It's coming closer!" Wario growled in wonder. "It's a huge floating block!"
"Now, we're moving towards it!" Yoshi said. "I think?"
"You guys are too funny," said Goombella, laughing. "This place is wonderful." In the distance, they players could already see a banner set at the edge of the dock they were approaching, reading a welcoming message: "Welcome, Mole!"
"The Mole," Rosalina said, curiously.
"It's weird how the sign doesn't greet the rest of us," Diddy stated.
"Oh my gosh," said Wendy. "Are we staying here?" She squealed in delight.
"Yeah, this definitely beats Season One," Boo said from the back of the boat. A majority of the players turned to him.
"What exactly...happened in Season 1?" Vivian asked him.
"Like I said, Toadette was the Mole," Boo replied. "Luigi won, surprisingly."
"That's a female, right?" Wario asked. Vivian looked at him.
"Luigi's a male," she told him, amused.
"I'm talking about Toadette!"
"Are you dim?" Luvbi said with disbelief. "Toadette is indeed a female."
"A female Mole, eh?" Diddy said to the others.
"What? What would that mean?" Vivian asked. Diddy nodded and grinned.
"I'm not sure what the producers chose, but---"
"Females make better Moles than you guys!" Wendy blurted, as the others laughed.
"Guys are better!" Wario protested.
"Ya know, this is kind of getting sexist," Boo spoke up. The rest laughed even more as the boat finally reached the awaiting dock. Excitedly, the players stepped off onto the wooden platform, under the banner that was strung above them.
"Cool," said Diddy.
"The banner?" Rosalina said, looking at it. "It's nice."
"Wow, hi!" said Wendy, waving at the camera. "We're on TV!" The camera men had no choice but to record the hopping player.
"I'm just happy we're here," said Diddy walking ahead of the others. "Where do we go?"
"It's lunchtime!" said Yoshi happily.
"No, it's undoubtedly game time," Bobbery told him. "Yoshi, this game is The Mole. No time for breaks. No time for leisure. This setting is merely a distraction. We're here to work, to discuss, analyze our---"
"Actually, it is lunch time," said McHallyboo from behind them, tugging onto the wooden dock a large suitcase. "Head right in front of you." The ten of them entered through the set of doors in front of them, into the Durian Cafe.
Even from inside the restaurant, the players could still feel the aroma of tropical paradise. Durians hung from a netting strung from the ceiling, and in the middle of each table, a durian fruit. The players waited for their food.
"Eww," said Wendy. "I don't even like durian." Luvbi looked up at the three durians hanging directly above their table, not in a part of the netting, but from pieces of string that existed no where else on the restaurant ceiling except for above their heads.
"Didn't Durian..." said Boo, but then stopped suddenly. He simply sat in his chair.
"Where's our food?" Wario asked, looking around for the waiters. "Hey, are we even eating here?"
"You guys are, not me," said McHallyboo. "But don't worry. This restaurant isn't limited to everything durian." A Pianta waiter approached them with a piece of paper.
"A nice morning," he said. "Would anyone care for durian juice?" Only Vivian and Yoshi raised their hands. The waiter wrote their names and left.
"Err, did he just...write my name?" Yoshi asked, unnerved and not bothering to look behind him.
"Hey!" said Wario to the disappearing waiter, "What about our food?"
"I'm not that hungry anyways," Vivian told him. "Are you?"
"I mean, we did all just come from an hour long boat ride," Diddy said. "I guess we all are." McHallyboo opened up the suitcase he had brought with him from the boat and set it upon the table. The players looked in curiosity as McHallyboo pulled out a small black-colored book with the design of a green thumbprint displayed on its front. In its top-right corner, the number 1 was printed.
"Over the next few days you'll be using these," McHallyboo explained, holding the book up for them all to see.
"These are your journals. In these, feel free to write about your experiences and anything else you would think useful to record. Each of them are numbered from 1 to 10, one for each player. So, if you'd like to pass these around." McHallyboo passed the journals to Rosalina, who took one and passed the others down to Luvbi. Luvbi remained hesitant for a second.
"Does the journal number you receive matter" she asked McHallyboo, looking up at the ceiling.
"Go ahead," the host replied. Luvbi grabbed Journal 3 and passed the rest down to the other players, a journal disappearing with each handover. The final two journals ended between Wendy and Goombella.
"Nine or seven?" Wendy asked Goombella.
"Umm, doesn't matter," Goombella said. Wendy gave her Journal 7.
"So, now that you all have your journals," McHallyboo told them, "You can now look inside the durian over there." All players stared at the fruit in the center of the table, baffled.
"This one on the table?" Rosalina asked, looking at it carefully. McHallyboo nodded.
"What does that have to do with this?" Vivian asked him. McHallyboo only made a head motion towards the spiky fruit.
"Why, we open it," said Bobbery. "Simple as that. I knew our game wasn't yet over. Yoshi, may you do the honor?"
"I'd probably eat the whole thing," Yoshi replied. Bobbery turned to Wario.
"What do you want me to do, eat it?" Wario asked, ridiculed.
"You showed your strength at the beach,"
"All right, all right," said the obese adventurer reluctantly. "But I need to go outside for this." Without any wait, he grabbed the durian and exited through the doors of the restaurant. Seconds later, the players heard the sound of a think smash from outside the doors, as if a heavy object had splattered against a wooden dock. Wario came back, a small circular chip in his hand.
"Number 3!" he shouted. The other diners looked at him with confusion as he slowly made his way to the table.
"We're not blind," said Wendy. Wario made a face of ignorance to her.
"Who has Journal 3?" McHallyboo asked. Luvbi looked at her journal.
"Me," she said, holding up her book. Boo looked at her with incredulity.
"How the, how the heck do you know that?" he asked her. "You chose that one out of all of them!"
"She's an oracle," said Bobbery. "She knows all kinds of minor things." Boo just stared. Luvbi turned to Bobbery in surprise.
"That's...that's cheating," Boo stated, shaking his head. McHallyboo took the chip from Wario and wiped it off, then handed it to Luvbi. She took it.
"You'll be choosing the roles of the mission tomorrow," McHallyboo explained, closing his suitcase. "The money will depend on you."
"Tomorrow," Goombella repeated. "That's soon." She then smiled.
"But the sooner the next adventure, the better." The pianta waiter behind them set down a plate of lobster onto their table.
"The adventure is already happening right now," Diddy said out loud, digging first into the lobster. The others ate their first lunch in paradise.
For the remainder of the day, the players got to roam the capital of their location. Not knowing that this would give them an upper hand in the next mission, the players decided to take this as a time for enjoyment and leisure. Staying as a small group, the players, or rather tourists, traveled and toured the stunning island.
But for some of them, this was the very first opportunity at a coalition.
"Wow, it's...bright," said Boo to the player besides him. Wario turned around and looked at Boo.
"Ha!" Wario scoffed, kicking his foot at the beach water that suddenly rose up to their feet. "You're going to get executed first. Bad luck." Boo rose an eyebrow.
"Thanks," he said nonchalantly, "Mole."
"Mole?!" Wario turned his full attention to Boo, almost in a threatening matter. Boo stayed unalarmed.
"Well, I don't know about you," Boo continue, "But you messing up on that combination just raised a red flag in my head."
"So what?" said Wario. "It's good if others think you're the Mole." Boo nodded, then stopped.
"So you're not the Mole then," Boo said. "I don't think you are. Seeing how ambulatory you are with numbers I can't imagine it being you."
"Yeah, you don't seem witted enough to be the Mole either," Wario admitted. "Say, let's make a truce."
"Oh dear," Boor replied. "Like what Blooper did?"
"Who are you talking about?!" Wario asked, his voice filled with an equal amount of annoyance and curiosity.
"Never mind," said Boo, then grinned. "Coalition or what?" Wario nodded, kicking the sand off from his shoe.
"Meh, why not?" Wario replied, grinning. Seeing the others turning the corner from behind them, the two players split off in different directions on the beach. Luckily for them, it appeared to the others as if they had never talked at all. At least not about a secret alliance.
Things are just starting!
And in honor of a complete season this time, the players finally get journals of their very own. But just how helpful will they be? And the ability to trust is definitely not the best attribute to have in such a game, hehe.
Stay tuned for the next mission! And after that, the appalling first execution and the Mole's first victim.