The first episode is over, but the game has just begun. Enjoy the second!
P.S. If my promise keeps true, I'll be updating this story every week/end from now, haha.
Episode 2
Just two days ago, the journey of deceit and discovery for ten players had begun. But for one of them last night, their journey was cut short. Boo, the expert of this game and the most advantaged player of the group, or at least appeared to be, found himself last night as the Mole's first victim, leaving the players in a state of shock and perplexity. Little did they know that Boo's execution would be just one of the many surprises they would encounter throughout this game. Because forced to follow him until the end will be seven others. Who is the players causing this? That player is a fake, a betrayer who is sabotaging the efforts of the others. That player is…the Mole.
Who is the Mole?
Bobbery
Surname: Keelers
Birthday: August 17
Occupation: Admiral
Wario
Surname: Garlimo
Birthday: September 29
Occupation: Moneylender/Explorer
Rosalina
Surname: Galaxye
Birthday: January 5
Occupation: Flight Attendant
Yoshi
Surname:Dino
Birthday:April 13
Occupation:Fruiterer/Waiter
Wendy
Surname: Koopa
Birthday: November 7
Occupation: Singer/Dressmaker
Goombella
Surname:Frankster
Birthday:April 16
Occupation: Archeologist
Vivian
Surname: Shadens
Birthday:October 4
Occupation: Visual Display Artist
Diddy
Surname: Kong
Birthday: October 21
Occupation: Competitive Kart Racer
Luvbi
Surname:Nimbis
Birthday:May 5
Occupation:Harpist/Oracle
Wario: Boo's gone, which just kills me! If only he was still here, using his smarts to help me to the end, along with himself. It stinks all right.
Rosalina: Passing the first execution makes me really relieved. I'm very sad that one of us had to go, but I'm just glad it wasn't me.
Luvbi: I'm very fortunate to be here, and I hope the Mole won't be getting too much into our playing field for the rest of the game. But unfortunately, I'm sure that won't be so.
The morning after the execution was tiring, to say the least. For most of the players, it was a relief, with the smell of the tropical air being a reminder to them that their game was not yet over. But for one of the players, their awakening was quickly followed by a state of terror.
"Bobbery's gone!" Yoshi screamed, looking over at the bed besides him and getting up to his feet. "He's not here! Where is he?! Somebody, hellllpppp mee!!" Next door, Goombella stirred from her sleep.
"Who's that yelling?" she asked. Wendy turned to her.
"I don't really hear anyone," she replied. Vivian, who was already awake long before the other two, got out of the bathroom.
"Oh, we should go down now," Vivian remembered, "because McHallyboo said he wanted us down before eight o'clock." By that time, Yoshi had stopped yelling.
Rosalina and Luvbi were the first ones down from their rooms, or at least after Diddy, as the two of them saw him already eating his food at the breakfast table.
"Oh wow, you're a bit early," Rosalina commented, seeing Diddy minding his own business.
"I guess you can sleep better without a roommate," Diddy realized. Last night, Diddy couldn't help but feel the tiniest of awkwardness as he slept next to a bed that was just occupied the day before. He sighed, as Luvbi took a seat next to him.
"You're aggravated still, are you not?" she asked him.
"Well…I'm better from a six-hour sleep," he told her, then grinned.
"Hey, like what's up?" Wendy said out loud, coming from the set of stairs. "We all survived a new episode!"
"He's goooone!" shouted a voice from behind her, as Yoshi dashed her way past the startled Koopa to the table. He reached the other flabbergasted players, panting heavily and his hands moving in a motion of frenzy.
"I don't know where he is!" Yoshi said, his voice terrified. "He was right there last night, and I saw him last night in his bed, and now it's empty! Help!"
"McHallyboo?" Diddy asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Admiral Bobbery!" All three females from Room 104 finally met up with the other players at the table. Vivian went to grab a citrus fruit from the table.
"Wait a second," Goombella said, immediately reminded of an incident from the first season of their game. "In Season One, there was a mission where one of the players was kidnapped from their room and held hostage at a secret location."
"If only one of us had seen the entirety of that season," Vivian said. The others were suddenly reminded of their fellow teammate who had met his unfortunate fate just the night before, as they seemed to all share a moment of misfortune. Vivian shrugged.
"Well, I guess none of us here has," Rosalina said gloomily.
"Wait, hold it," Wendy said, looking around at the others. "Wario's also gone."
"Ah, perfect timing," said McHallyboo, appearing behind them. The players couldn't determine whether McHallyboo had rapidly walked down the set of stairs before any of them had noticed him, or if he had been hiding behind one of the numerous tables located around the eating area all along, timing his moment to come into view. Either way, the players were baffled by his sudden appearance.
"I see you're wearing the same clothes from yesterday," McHallyboo noticed, looking at Diddy. Diddy frowned.
"I didn't have a roommate to borrow clothing from, much like some others did," he reasoned. The players turned to Yoshi and saw that he was wearing a thin sweater, too large for his size. The clothes Goombella was wearing were a perfect match for her, to no surprise.
"Well, today's mission has nothing else at risk besides money, so no worries," the host informed them. "Now, you may have noticed that two of your teammates are missing. This morning, they were both brought to an island."
"Why would you ever do that?" Vivian asked.
"Well, of course you don't know why," the host continued. "They're preparing for the party you guys are going to host." The players stared at McHallyboo, bewildered.
"For your next mission, you'll be hosting a party on an island at 3 P.M. sharp," he explained. "And your goal is to obtain at least 750 coins from the entire thing, which of course would all be donated to charity in the end. If you're successful, we will add 20,000 to your pot. But we'll award you with 10,000 coins if you are able to earn just half of that."
"Oh, wow," Goombella said, laughing. Everyone seemed anxious yet excited, especially Wendy.
Wendy: I live on parties and fun, but a party during a game like this? Totally sweet!
Vivian: Just the whole thought of it was crazy. I knew it would be fun, but at the same time extremely difficult.
"In order to make this mission successful, you'll have to even out the parts," the host went on. "Both Bobbery and Wario were selected to prepare the party and actually set up the darn thing, so you guys will have nothing to worry about that. The seven of you are only responsible for two things: giving out the fliers and finding auction items. Each ticket to the party will cost five coins, so each person who decides to go adds that much towards your goal."
"So if one hundred and fifty people decide to attend, we win, right?" Rosalina questioned. McHallyboo nodded.
"You'll also have the auction to help you out," McHallyboo told them. "You will be hosting the auction right before the end of the party, and the money earned from bids will be added to your goal pot. That being, you must find the objects for your auction. You are not allowed more than five, and you cannot buy them."
"So technically, people have to give us the items," Diddy confirmed.
"That's correct," said the host. "You should hope the people around Delfino Plaza are generous." The players nodded in understanding.
"Well, the boat to the island will be leaving at 2:00 P.M, so might as well start as soon as possible," said McHallyboo. "Your mission begins now." He tapped the silver button on his watch.
"Okay, let's go!" Yoshi said out loud, grabbing Diddy's arm.
"Wait a slight second," Luvbi noticed. "Where exactly are the fliers for this party?"
"You are free to use the computer on that table to make them," McHallyboo said, pointing. "However, the printer is set to a three-hundred page limit, so plan accordingly if you can." All seven of them headed quickly towards the computer in the back of the eating area. As Diddy shook the mouse to turn the monitor on, he immediately faced a Word document on the screen. It was an unsaved file.
"Wait, what is…this?" Diddy asked, not bothering to read the words on the page. "I think somebody must have typed something and forgotten to close it."
"If it's information about this game, I wouldn't dare read it," Luvbi said, looking at it hesitantly.
"No, it's a message from Blooper!" Vivian said quickly, seeing the writer's name at the bottom of the page. The seven of them immediately turned their attention to the letter, directed to none other than them.
Dear players of this second game,
This game will be nothing short of hard. As soon as you realize how complex it is, you're already out of the game. It's like a car hitting you when you lose, because you never know if what you're doing is good and bad, or right or wrong. And as soon as you think you have victory, the losing side suddenly snatches you up like a velociraptor, having been preying on you from the very start of the game.
But it's also nothing short of fun. The game you are playing will bring you into the most diverse world you can ever imagine, full of adventure and deceit. And when it's all over, you're going to realize how much you miss it.
One thing is sure: you're definitely in for a vacation. Nothing else left to tell you, but good luck.
Signed,
Blooper Inke
"Why did they pick me to do all of this?" Wario complained, picking up a chair and tossing it to its side insensitively. Bobbery had already begun setting up the eating tables for their island party, dusting the sand off from the surface of each one. Surrounding them was a plethora of sea water: they were both left alone on an island, with only one or two camera men hiding in the tropical bushes to record their every move.
"Stop blabbering and help me," Bobbery said, flipping over the last wooden table to its correct position. "To set up a party, you have to make it visually nice. We need a welcoming banner, for sure." He turned to the large pile of decoration supplies McHallyboo had left for them to use.
"All right," Wario muttered, having no choice but to work. "Say, if I set up the eating tables, then you have to set up the banner." Each table consisted of enough room to hold twenty party-people.
"Hold it! I already set up the tables," Bobbery pointed out, furrowing his eyebrows. "But perhaps you can put the chairs up in their proper places , and maybe give the table tops another clean through." He tossed a container of disinfectant wipes to Wario.
"That's all we have to do, right?" said Wario. Bobbery frowned.
"Why, I've already planned everything in my head!" the sea captain told him. "The banner, the eating tables, the dance arena, the auction arranging…did I mention the volleyball game?" Wario let out a groan of displeasure.
"Yep, it's done!" Vivian said, as Yoshi and Diddy went over to see what the females had come up with.
"You made our flier on Microsoft Word," said Diddy in a ridiculing voice.
"Hey! At least we didn't just sit around and not do anything," Wendy snapped. Yoshi smiled at the design.
"I like it!" he said, giving it a thumbs-up. "Uh, great job. Though I have to say that the title sounds kinda violent." On the top of their page was the title of their party: Island Bash.
"Free drinks, volley ball game…dance floor?!" Diddy read. "On an island? Since when?"
"Don't ask us," Luvbi told him. "It was the host's order to incorporate it." Diddy scrutinized the page even more.
"Take away the hearts," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Too many." Yoshi face dropped as Rosalina deleted the various heart designs situated on the border of the flier.
"Good now?" Goombella said finally. Diddy nodded. The design of their flier had taken around twenty minutes to create, and the clock already read 8:48 in the morning. As they pressed the Print button on the computer, the printer seemed to take a mind of its own as it rapidly printed out 300 copies of the same exact paper. Once it had finished its job, it was 8:50 A.M.
"So let's go!" Goombella said, grabbing the papers. They proceeded to exit the hotel, only to be stopped by the host.
"Wait one second, players," McHallyboo said, taking out a megaphone and handing it to Diddy. "I think you'll find this helpful." The seven of them then exited the building, ready to start the first mission of their second episode.
"Okay, so let's plan," Diddy announced, once they were outside. "We need people to give out the fliers, and people to find the objects for the auction."
"Oh!" said Yoshi, getting an idea. "The dock will probably have new tourists coming in every thirty minutes, so if I just wait there and give them fliers to our party, they might be interested in attending."
"Smart," Diddy told him, handing him approximately one-hundred fliers. Yoshi looked pleased.
"Rosalina and I will beg for items," Goombella said jokingly.
"Count me in with you guys!" Wendy said, going to Rosalina and Goombella's side. "I would rather search for objects for an auction than just give out paper to random people."
"Okay then, the three of you will be the auction hunters," Diddy confirmed. "I think Luvbi and I will be using the megaphone. And Vivian, you can go wherever you want and give out the fliers." Vivian looked immediately unsure.
"I don't feel confident giving out fliers alone," she admitted. "Can I stay with you guys instead?"
"Of course," Luvbi said quickly. Vivian nodded, grateful.
"Okay," Diddy said, going over the list of roles in his head quickly. "We're all ready. Let's get this party prepared!" The other shouted lightly in unison, as the three groups headed off in their separate directions.
Vivian: I didn't want to be alone, because being in a group and handing out advertisements is so much better than being left alone and trying to do the same thing.
"I'm finished with the table cleaning, so you better--- wheouw!" Wario said with surprise, looking up at the banner Bobbery had set up. It was approximately fifteen feet in length, and held up by two poles on both sides so that the arriving guests could easily walk right under it as soon as they were to get off the boat. The banner read, "Island Bash" in a mixture of green and beige colors, having the title of their party matching the theme of an island.
"Oh, great work!" Bobbery stated, glancing over at the dining area that Wario had set up. "It's spick and span, and presentable." Wario grumbled.
"You forced me to do it," Wario told him.
"All for the success of a mission, no?" Bobbery reminded him. "From what McHallyboo said, the guests are free to refund their tickets if they don't enjoy the party."
"What?" Wario replied in disbelief. "Those cheapos! I'll sue whoever decides to do that." Bobbery turned his eyes to the two leftover poles remaining on the sand.
"That's why we should make the party fun," he continued, "So they won't bother to refund. And to make it fun, we have to make a volleyball net."
"No, I'm not making one," Wario said gruffly.
"You're making one, and that's quite final," Bobbery said in a definite voice. "Unless you don't want to eat…" Wario turned to him with a laugh.
Bobbery: I've been quite experienced in psychology, and the way to make somebody do something they don't want to do is if you include a threat somewhere in your sentence.
"You can't do that to me!" Wario said mockingly. Bobbery gave him an unfathomable look, giving Wario the feeling that perhaps Bobbery did have a concealed way of preventing him from eating anything that night. Wario looked at Bobbery, more unnerved than ever.
"Uhh, I'll do it right now," Wario told him, hurriedly picking up the poles from the sandy floor.
Yoshi leaned against the side of the building, stacking his papers in an orderly fashion. In front of him was the Delfino Plaza dock, the spot where all new tourists would be passing through as they entered into the resort. Yoshi hummed happily, waiting for the boat of of new visitors to arrive.
Yoshi: I did have a slight feeling at first that the next boat wouldn't be until two hours later. It was rather embarrassing just standing there.
After considering for a moment where the best spot for their publicity would be, Diddy, Luvbi, and Vivian settled for the middle region of the plaza. The dock for the passageway of water that invaded into the middle section of the plaza was located directly in front of them.
"Well, here's a good spot," Vivian decided, smiling.
"And right in front of a dock!" Diddy assured, taking out his megaphone. "Best spot ever." Luvbi looked at the incoming boat carefully and shook her head.
"I assume that the dock is only for importing and exporting materials," Luvbi told him. But Diddy just switched on the megaphone from behind his back.
"I'll be the speaker," he decided. "The two of you can split this paper pile fifty-fifty and hand out the fliers."
"Like, just give it to them?" Vivian asked with uncertainty.
"Be as forceful as you can," Diddy suggested. "Forceful, but greeting." Both Luvbi and Vivian took an equal amount of fliers into their hands, ready to give them out to anyone who passed by.
Vivian: I just felt so nerve-wracked at that moment. Presenting myself in front of people is something that I obviously don't specialize in, so I was extremely nervous, even with two other people on my side.
"Ready?" Diddy whispered. After a moment, they both nodded.
"Ladies and gentlemen, vacationers of all sort, we are proud to announce the existence of our upcoming party that will take place this very afternoon!" Diddy said grandly into the megaphone. Vivian and Luvbi flashed their best smiles as the people around them, mostly tourists, stopped suddenly in their tracks and looked in oddity at the three of them.
"The fliers!" Diddy hissed. Luvbi suddenly jumped up.
"Ah yes, uh, in schedule for this afternoon at three P.M. sharp!" Luvbi said in an enthusiastic tone, as the first brave individual grabbed a flier from her hands. "The party is set on a rather majestic island, consisting of the most luxurious island food, and complete with a dance floor and a volleyball game for all ages to take pleasure in."
"Umm, if you, umm," Vivian started, suddenly becoming timid in front of the various strangers before her. Luvbi opened her mouth as if saying to her, Go on and talk; you're on the top seat.
"If you…want to have a good time then just come to the party," Vivian finished quickly.
"I want to have a good time!" said a Pianta in tourist attire, stepping forwards. "What time is the boat leaving?" As more curious and interested people went to take a flier each from them, Vivian smiled in relief at Luvbi, who winked back. Diddy simply kept his talking, his contented voice projecting over the entire square and being heard by anyone within it.
Rosalina, Goombella, and Wendy were busy with their own separate task: finding objects for the auction that would take place at the end of their party. If the money earned from their tickets wasn't enough, then the auction would be their only available boost to reach their goal of 750 coins.
"Okay, so like, what will we need?" Wendy asked. The three of them had only just begun their exploration for their auction merchandise.
"Well, these will be in an auction," Goombella said to them, thinking. "So we have to go for items that people will want to bid on. We don't want to select junk, because according to logic nobody would want to buy junk."
"But people will have to be willing to give these items away," Rosalina remembered. "I mean, not to be covetous or anything, but if I were asked to give things away I'd give away my junk objects first." Wendy laughed, sharing the same thought as well.
"I would so do that, also," Wendy said, as the three of them turned the corner of the walkway.
"Well, maybe the people here are generous," Goombella considered. "It's all cheerful paradise after all, and surely the people around here can give a lending hand." The three of them noticed a row of fruit sellers against the side of the building, directly behind where Diddy and the other were giving their party promoting.
"Fruit?" Wendy said hopelessly. "I wish though."
"Well, yeah," Goombella told her, her hope fading. "I was thinking of perhaps making an exotic smoothie, but…that probably wouldn't sell for too high around here."
"And we can't really sell a smoothie at an auction," Rosalina added, amused. "Say, why don't we stop by that boat house souvenir shop and search for an object there?"
"What boat house shop?" Wendy asked, looking at Rosalina. "I don't remember a souvenir shop at all!"
"No, I saw one right by the dock where we got off," Rosalina told her. "I stopped by there the other day and saw some really interesting things."
"Well, it's worth a try," Goombella said. "Seeing that we're kinda…is that Diddy's voice?" The other two stopped and listened to the dominant voice that seemed to come from the air above them. The three of them laughed.
"Wario, err, punch if I must say," Bobbery ordered, directing Wario's attention to the sand.
"Hey!" Wario suddenly remembered, glaring at Bobbery. "You're the one who called me foolish for punching the sand!"
"Since when?" Bobbery replied in denial.
"When we all got off the boat in the very beginning," Wario said heatedly. Bobbery seemed to nod slowly.
"Well...might as well not argue now," he said, pointing to the sand. "So punch the sand so we can be finished sooner." Wario did so, his punch this time around being visibly powerful than the one he had done at the beginning of the game. He and Bobbery lifted the pole up and plunged it into the hole that was created, then smoothed the leftover space with sand. Their volleyball net was finished, or at least half of it was.
"This is pathetic," Wario admitted. "We're having a party on an island."
"This is something I've done countless times when I was young," Bobbery countered. "No big problem."
"Yeah, sheesh," Wario muttered. "Like people would want to party on an island in the middle of nowhere." The two of them proceeded to set up the second half of their volleyball net, as the clock struck ten in the tropical morning.
How successful will the players' party be, if at all? And will anything go wrong? (a question quite pointless to ask with the fact that the Mole is among them).
Please review! Episode 2 continues, as the players take part in their third mission!