Episode 1: Part 3
Night arrived quicker than expected for the players. The players were brought to a small hotel in the center of Delfino Plaza, a small building which seemed as if it could only hold enough room for the ten players, and none for any of the genuine tourists roaming around in the island.
"Why can't we go to Sirena Beach?" Yoshi asked, looking at the brochure. A picture of a serene beach with a grand hotel in the center of it was pictured on the page he was looking at.
"It's only the beginning, Yoshi," said the host, pulling out keys from his pocket. "And unfortunately, we only have five rooms rented for you guys." The players looked at each other, almost uncomfortably.
"Five of us have to sleep outside?" Wendy said, astonished. "No way! I'm going in." She went to grab a key from McHallyboo, who pulled it back.
"Absurd," said Bobbery. "We're sharing a room each. Ten players, of course." McHallyboo nodded.
"Room 101," he said, "Is for Rosalina and Luvbi." Both Rosalina and Luvbi nodded as he gave them their key.
"Room 102," he continued, "Boo and Diddy." Diddy grabbed the keys and looked at Boo, who remained motionless.
"Room, 103," said the host. "Bobbery and Yoshi." He handed the key to Bobbery.
"Room 104," McHallyboo said, looking strangely at the paper, "is Vivian, Wendy and Goombella." The three females gave each other a look of delight.
Goombella: I did slightly suspect one of the players assigned in my room to be the Mole. I was just anxious on how it would turn out.
"And, err, Wario, you have your own room in Room 105." Wario snorted.
"Well, at least I got elbow room," he muttered. A Pianta in a bellhop uniform opened the door of the hotel to greet them.
"Come in!" he said. "Welcome to your first night in Isle Delfino!" Once inside the hotel, the players travelled to their rooms; their first comfortable compartments since the beginning of the day.
Room 101
"I favor this place a lot," Luvbi told Rosalina, as they unpacked their luggage. All their luggage had been sorted out of their bags and placed into duffel bags, each of them having two things displayed on the front: the thumbprint logo, and their name.
"So how did you know that Journal 3 was the number inside of the durian?" Rosalina asked. "I don't think an oracle with that much knowledge is allowed on this show." Luvbi smiled.
"Did you look above us?" Luvbi asked her. Rosalina shook her head.
"Why would you ask that?" Rosalina asked back.
"Because," said Luvbi, pulling her journal out of her bag, "there were three durians right above us hanging on strings. Three was the singular number."
Rosalina: The way Luvbi acts and knows things makes me think that perhaps she knows a lot more aspects about this game then she should be knowing. It's both useful, but to me, extremely advantageous.
"It was quite obvious too," Luvbi added.
"That's a strange way to look at a sign," Rosalina commented. "You're like an astrologist. Of course, I can personally relate to such a thing."
"Yes, but not a sign," said Luvbi. "The producers set it up. This game performs like an immense mind puzzle." Rosalina took out a pen.
"I think you told me that you have an occupation besides being an oracle," she asked Luvbi. "What is that?"
Room 102
"I'm a experienced kart racer," Diddy said to Boo, as Boo wrote down the information in his journal.
"Ahh," said Boo, setting his bag down. "I've seen you around."
"Television and magazines?" Diddy asked him. "You don't get much from there about me. Which is good in a game like this." Diddy turned to Boo with a triumphant smile.
"I will right now," Boo said. "Who do you think is the Mole?" Diddy shrugged.
"I would say Goombella on first guesses," Diddy told him. "On second guess, me!"
"Way to give yourself away," Boo said with a grin.
"I didn't say anything." Diddy said, shaking his head. He turned to the first page of his journal.
"So, when's your birthday?" asked Diddy.
"I'm not going to tell you," Boo replied. "I don't have to, and I never will."
"This is a game," Diddy explained to him, "and one of us is the Mole. I already know you're a security guard. Tell me more."
"Nope, it's against my strategy," Boo stated.
Boo: Diddy wanted info. The only way to work this game out is to not let others know too much about you for the quiz. Of course, if Diddy was the Mole and falsely wanting my useless information, it was a good act.
"The more I know about you, the more I'll tell about me," Diddy said, flipping through the journal to count the number of pages. "It's called free profiling. I don't know anyone who would refuse to take the opportunity. Except for you."
Room 103
"The art of profiling," said Bobbery, "is the extrapolation of information about someone, based on known qualities and clear watching. Something you, Yoshi, must use as an upper hand in this game. Take that advice." Yoshi scratched his head, holding his own notebook in hand: Journal Number 8.
Yoshi: It was weird that Bobbery was helping me. I don't know why he would do that. He's like a grandfather almost...I hope he stays long!
"But can't you just ask people to tell you about yourselves?" Yoshi asked.
"Nonsense," Bobbery replied. "Nobody would do that."
"That's how you knew Luvbi was an oracle!" Bobbery nodded his head.
"Her choosing of the word 'counsel' while on the plane was the perfect giveaway," the admiral explained. "Let me try you. You love food."
"Yes."
"You work in a place related to food."
"Yup!"
"You're very active."
"Yup indeed!"
"You are a waiter!"
"Yup, yup, yup!"
"You find it hard to sleep at night."
"Err...not really. Why do you say that?"
"You must have a lot of sugar in your blood," Bobbery said. "But at least I was on a roll, no?" Yoshi nodded, impressed.
"I hope you don't mind me asking," said Yoshi, opening his journal to the first page. "But who do you think is the Mole?"
Room 104
"Huh?" said Wendy. "It's only Episode One. I don't know who to suspect. Vivian, who do you think it is?" Goombella turned to her as well.
"I'm...I think it's Boo," Vivian told the other two girls in her room. "He knows a lot too much about Season one. A Mole would want to know a lot about the first season of this game and learn from it."
"You sound really sure," Goombella told her. Vivian shrugged.
"He's my initial choice if I had to choose one," she told them. "What about you?" Goombella set her bag down.
"Did you guys notice that whatever Boo said as the combination determined whether we would win the ten thousand coins or not?" Goombella said. "That was sabotage."
"Okay, I just want to say ONE thing," Wendy said quickly, "and it's that I did not try to sabotage that first mission. I don't want you guys disliking me because of that, because I'm sure I'm not the Mole." Both Goombella and Vivian looked at her, unsure of what their reaction should be to Wendy's statement.
"I believe you," Goombella finally said. "Maybe someone before Boo messed up the combination. Who jumped out of the plane before Boo?"
"Rosalina, Yoshi, and Wario..and me," Vivian remembered, being the first player to jump from the aircraft.
"Out of those three, I don't trust Rosalina for some reason," Goombella said carefully. "She's so mysterious. Nice, but mysterious."
"Something tells me it could be her," Wendy said with consideration. "Same with Wario, because nobody should trust him! How about Yoshi?"
"Possibly," Goombella said. "A hyper Mole." The three of them laughed.
"But the players with me aboard the plane wanted to land, even though the combination was already wrong," Goombella told them. "Do you think one of them could have known that the money was lost already? That did cost 4,000 coins." The other two nodded, contemplating every possible situation of sabotage.
"Or maybe the Mole didn't sabotage yet," Vivian said quietly.
Room 105
Wario was in his own room. To his disfavor, the producers had entered his compartment in hopes of an interview.
Of course, if Wario was the Mole, then the interview would be completely useless and a complete lie.
Producer: Good evening Wario!
Wario: Bleh! Good night for me! I'm going to bed.
Producer: I know this game is tiring, but after tonight you'll be living in it. How's the game so far?
Wario: Besides tiring, it's like a movie. (scrolls down on remote) Say, how much do these movies cost on this television service?
Producer: How is it like a movie?
Wario: A lot of spy work. And also, this game relates to me!
Producer: How so, Wario?
Wario: Money! I'm keeping it all when I win.
Producer: You are an explorer. Could you relate that to this game, since we'll be exploring and traveling to very diverse locations throughout the course of The Mole?
Wario: Diverse? We're staying in Isle Delfino for the whole trip! This is wimpy walking compared to the exploring I do on my free time.
Producer: What would be your initial strategy for this game?
Wario: Trust no one!
Producers: (looks confused) Well, uhh...so any idea what tomorrow's mission will be?
Wario: These missions are just a distraction. They're blocking me from getting the money! They make them more complex so that you forget all about the prize value in the end. Of course, that's the only thing that'll be on my mind for the entire trip, so I won't forget about that.
Producer: A great opinion, Wario. Thank you for your time.
Wario: Opinion? That was a fact! Well, good night to all of you camera men. And I'm locking the doors when you leave!
In safe paradise, a number of the players immediately fell asleep. The idea of another mission tomorrow, however, kept a majority of them awake. Including the Mole.
The players woke up to the sound of the crying seagulls, flying aimlessly from outside their windows. Those who slept through the sound of the noisy birds were awakened by the delicate glare of the sun. If neither of those had waken them up, it was then the buzzing of an alarm clock.
The players met downstairs for their first breakfast. To the delight of the players, especially one of them, a fruit bowl was positioned right in the center of their table.
"My, this freshens my day indeed," Rosalina said, looking at the table before her. She sat down contently.
"That alarm clock woke me up!" Wario complained, sitting down. "I give this hotel a 1-star rating." Luvbi rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, before Yoshi gulps the whole thing down, I'm limiting only five pieces of fruit per player," Diddy said, looking at Yoshi closely. Yoshi looked at him with disappointment.
"Stop limiting the poor fellow," Bobbery said sternly, grabbing a piece of bacon and putting it on his plate. Wendy looked at the plate of bacon in front of her with confusion.
"Where would you-"
"Transported on the plane you guys were riding on for your first mission, " said McHallyboo, swallowing a large piece of grapefruit. The players looked appalled.
"Only kidding, players!" McHallyboo told them. "Apparently you guys think everything in this game is possible. That's not true, which is good for you guys. The bad thing is, it's true for the Mole. He or she is capable of doing, if not everything, almost everything they want." The players looked at each other from their side of the table.
"Oh, did I tell you guys about the mission we're having today?" the host remembered.
"Is it right now?" Boo asked the host, filling his plate up with a plethora of waffles. "I'm eating."
"Well, go on and tell us," Luvbi said to McHallyboo. The host grinned.
"I can't tell you it here," he told them, passing the plate of eclairs around the table, "because then you wouldn't be able to understand the mission, would you? Unless you were as smart as an archeologist." Goombella looked up from her plate and smiled.
"I'm just a player like everyone else is," she said modestly. The players continued with their tranquil eating.
"Are we...going out now?" Vivian asked. "I think we should start our second mission as soon as possible."
"I think we should," agreed the host. He sat back and watched everyone else eat, but this time, the players were rapidly engulfing their breakfast, apprehensive and excited for their next mission.
This only gave more time for their personal belongings to be stolen.
The players only had to travel to the other side of Delfino Plaza for the location of their second challenge. But strangely after exiting the hotel, McHallyboo brought the players to a still boat located near the dock where the players had arrived at the day before. The banner displaying "Welcome, Mole!" had fallen on the ground, stepped on and trampled repeatedly.
"Let's take a relaxing boat ride before your next mission," the host told them. The players nodded, confused but agreeingly.
Boo: Right before we're about to do a mission, McHallyboo tells us that we had to take a boat ride. There was something definitely up.
"We just went on a boat trip yesterday," Boo pointed out. McHallyboo coughed.
"This will only last twenty minutes," the host explained. "You guys just arrived here. Why don't we travel to another location while we're at it?" He pointed to a beach in the distance with a pointy structure.
"Gelato Beach?" said Yoshi, looking at where the host was pointing. "Wow, that's far." McHallyboo looked around, frantically.
"Anyone have a camera?" the host asked.
"Pictures!" Wendy said, suddenly jumping up. "We sooo need pictures! I have a camera!" The players spent the next fifteen minutes taking pictures, much to Wendy's satisfaction.
After taking pictures and going sightseeing around half of the island for twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the beach; their proper destination for their next mission.
To their left was a tall lighthouse that they had been able to see from their hotel windows, and to their right, unoccupied beach parasols stuck up from the ground. But in front of them, floating stationary in the blue waters of the beach, were twelve floating objects lined horizontally in a row. The entire row of floating duffel bags were a fair fifty feet from the shore of the beach. The players stood still, flabbergasted.
"No way," said Goombella, stepping closer to the water and taking a closer look at the floating objects, "Those are our bags!"
"What! Are you serious?" Wendy said in disbelief. The players were shocked, some of them amused, but some of them feeling more unnerved than anything else as they wondered what would be happening for their second challenge. Their bags floated gently before them.
"Ahh, well, I took most of my things out anyway," Diddy said to the others, staring at the floating containers. Vivian gave out a sigh of relief.
"Me too," she said, "But there are still a lot of things in there I need."
"My clothes are getting soaked!" Wendy exclaimed. "I hate water! Get them out!"
"Welcome to your second mission," McHallyboo announced from behind them. The players turned to him.
Mission 2: Bag Savers
"This mission that you will be playing is called Bag Savers. While we were busy taking pictures and touring this capital, our producers had snuck into your rooms, zipped your bags closed, and stolen them." The players laughed nervously.
"They only took whatever was remaining in the bag," he informed them. "I'm aware that all of you had removed your journals from your bags last night, so they are still in the hotel rooms, safe and sound. Your other belongings that were still in your bags, however, are at risk." The players suddenly looked uncomfortable, for a reasonable reason.
"I barely took anything out from that bag," Goombella told McHallyboo.
"As you can see, they're floating in front of us in the ocean," McHallyboo continued. "Each of them is tied to a sandbag below. In approximately forty five minutes, the bags will be absorbed with so much water that it will sink to the ground floor of the ocean. At that point, they will be unreachable, even by diving standards." The players were appalled.
"Ha, I'm getting mine first," Wario said nonchalantly.
"However at this point there's approximately only thirty minutes left of time to retrieve your bags," McHallyboo informed them.
"For heaven's bid, commence with the rules already," Luvbi said impatiently.
"Only three people are allowed to retrieve the bags," McHallyboo explained. "They will be the Swimmers. They'll be tied down by combination locks to those parasols over there,." The players looked to their right at the beach umbrellas sticking out from the sand.
"The only way to free them is to get the combinations for the locks holding them in place. One player will be the Number Messenger. Their job will be to receive the numbers through a walkie-talking and free the swimmers, so that they can start with their bag savings." McHallyboo pointed to Yoshi and Vivian.
"You two were the only ones to order durian juice yesterday at the restaurant," he said to them. "You'll be getting the combination for Parasol Swimmier #1. Travel to the Durian Cafe, the place we had stopped at for lunch yesterday. There, you will be taught how to make durian juice. Once you get a pint full of juice, you will be given the combination." He handed them a walkie-talkie, then looked at Diddy and Wario.
"You two were the first to dig into the lobster at yesterday's lunch," McHallyboo said. "You'll be getting the combination for Parasol Swimmer #2. In order to do so, you must travel to the shore near that lighthouse over there." He pointed to their left.
"In the water, a fisherman had tossed a few lobsters into the beach water for the purposes of this game. Once you find one, you will receive the combination." He turned to Luvbi.
"Luvbi, because you had chosen Journal 3, you will be the Number Messenger. Out of the remaining players, choose three of them to be swimmers." Luvbi nodded and looked at the five unassigned players; Boo, Rosalina, Wendy, Goombella, and Bobbery.
"Bobbery, of course," Luvbi said. "Goombella, and..." She looked at Wendy, who glared back at her.
"Wendy." Luvbi tried her best to hide her smile as Wendy's mouth went wide.
"What do you not understand about me hating water?" Wendy exclaimed. "I don't like this! I'm not being tied up!" McHallyboo cleared his throat.
"Bobbery, Goombella, and Wendy will be the swimmers," repeated McHallyboo. "Is that correct?"
"Confirmed," Luvbi said with a sly smile.
"Ugh, whatever," Wendy said in an exasperated voice. "I'm not going to swim anyways."
"That leaves you two," the host continued, pointing at Boo and Rosalina. "Your combination is at the hotel. The combination will be right outside the door. You might not realize its importance, but it is there. That combination will unlock Parasol Swimmer #3." He handed the third walkie-talkie to Rosalina.
Roles for Bag Savers
Swimmers:Bobbery, Goombella, and Wendy
Number Messenger: Luvbi
Durian Combination:Vivian and Yoshi
Lobster Combination: Diddy and Wario
Hotel Combination: Boo and Rosalina
"Are all of you clear with your parts?" McHallyboo said to them. All of them nodded, still keeping their eyes on their floating luggage, something that proved precious for all of them. The three swimmers were tied to their umbrellas, their ropes being irremovable due to the combination locks then went through the holes of each umbrella pole.
"A swimmer can only retrieve one bag at a time," McHallyboo said. "Every freed swimmer is worth 5,000 coins. Every luggage bag saved is worth 1,000 coins apiece. One of the bags floating among the others in the ocean contains money. If you retrieve that bag, you will add 5,000 coins to your pot." He looked at the swimmers.
"Every bag you do not save will sink," he warned. "Time starts now!" The three teams of two ran to their designated places. Luvbi held her walkie-talking, alert and worried. The tied swimmers had nothing to do but adjust themselves and hope for the best.
Diddy and Wario reached their location first. A Pianta fisherman was dumping a crate full of lobsters in the sea.
"Wait, don't!" Diddy shouted. "We need one of those!" They watched as the rest of the lobsters fell into the blue water.
"Too late," Diddy mumbled, hanging his head. "Now we actually have to try and look for them." He stepped his way slowly into the shallow water and began to search, but then stepped back onto the sand.
"If I step on a lobster, that's the end of me," Diddy said, groaning.
"Good luck," the Pianta replied, laughing to himself. Wario faced the fisherman.
"Thanks for being useless!" Wario snarled. The Pianta only laughed.
Vivian and Yoshi entered the Durian Cafe. The waiter at the bar, who was busy placing a pitcher of liquid into the refrigerator behind him, turned to look at them.
"We're here to make durian juice," Vivian told him. "Can you show us how?"
"Hurry or our bags drown!" Yoshi added. The Pianta looked baffled.
"Are you Yoshi and Vivian?" he asked. The two players nodded.
"Oh, by all means, welcome!" the waiter greeted them, closing the refrigerator behind him. "Use that blender on the table. Here, I'll show you." They followed him to the center table of the restaurant.
Boo and Rosalina had traveled to the building where they had originally departed from; the Plaza Hotel. The bellhop stood besides the door and looked at them.
"The answer is right outside the door," Rosalina said, remembering McHallyboo's words. Boo looked up at the sign of the hotel name.
"The Plaza Hotel," Boo read. "Maybe the combination is 3, 5, 5." Rosalina looked at him.
"For what?" she asked.
"The combination of course," Boo said, pointing up. "Look at that: three letters, five letters, and five letters. This is right outside the door too. If that's not the combination, I don't know what else is." Rosalina turned on the walkie-talkie.
Luvbi made her way over to the tied swimmers. Bobbery was too focused looking out at the sea, enjoying the view. Goombella looked up at Luvbi.
"Hey, maybe you can use that knife over there to cut us free!" suggested Goombella, pointing her head at the sharp object in front of her. Luvbi went over to it with confusion.
"Do you think it possible?" Luvbi asked, picking it up. Bobbery turned to look at it.
"It's inferior," he stated. "I'm assuming that since our bags are tied to sandbags underneath the water, we cut the string attached to it in order to bring it ashore." The four of them looked at the row of twelve bags floating in the sea in front of them.
"Well, if you're going to try and cut us free with that small knife," Wendy said with annoyance, "then try it on me first!" Wendy struggled to free her arms, but to no accomplishment. She then began tilting her body to one side in the attempt of pulling the umbrella pole out of the sand. Luvbi laughed.
"Your thinking is opaque," Luvbi commented. "I wouldn't want to to travel to the sea while still tied to an umbrella. You'll be helpless."
"Well, what would YOU do?" Wendy snapped. "You put me here. It's all your fault!" Bobbery kept on staring out at the sea.
"I see twelve bags," he said, furrowing his eyebrows. "But there are only ten players. Take a look." The others took a closer look at the row of duffel bags in front of them. Before anyone else could speculate the meaning of the extra two bags, a voice suddenly came from the walkie talkie.
"Hello?" spoke the player on the other end. "Luvbi?"
"It's Rosalina!" Luvbi said, picking up the phone from the sand and pressing the button to speak into the device. "Rosalina, is that you?"
"Luvbi, we think our combination is three, five, and five."
"Based on what?"
"Just enter it to Wendy's lock," Rosalina said back. "If it's right, we're done." Luvbi went over to the umbrella Wendy was strapped to and grabbed the combination lock, then began to turn the dial according to the numbers that Boo and Rosalina had decided as their answer. After turning it to the three digits, Luvbi pulled down on the lock. It didn't budge.
"Tell them to stop giving me false hope!" Wendy complained.
"That combination was incorrect," Luvbi spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Keep searching for one."
"Okay," replied Rosalina. Luvbi let go of her walkie-talkie button and sighed.
"One bag is full of money," Goombella realized, looking at the floating bags in the ocean. "McHallyboo told us that inside one of the bags, there was 5,000 coins we could bring back. That explains the extra duffel bag." Bobbery looked hard at the last floating bag in the row.
"Then what does the twelfth one have?" As he stared intently at the final bag among their luggage, he noticed it move. But it wasn't due to the diminutive waves that splashed against the shore. Something, or someone, was placed inside it.
Mission 2 has started! Tying people up to umbrellas on a beach is not exactly the best aspect of a mission. Nor is threatening important luggage. But will all the bags be salvaged before they sink to the depths? Or will the Mole be merciless?
And watch for hidden clues! Like last season, there will be 65 million of them (or close to that, haha). Happy clue (and Mole) hunting.