The next episode! The games get heavier, and we're down to our final half.

Episode 6

And next, we find ourselves deeper into the game, with only half of the players remaining since the very beginning. Bobbery, the grandfather of the game, had been sent home. With his wise words gone, each player now has to focus on their own personal navigation to move on. The missions get more complex, and more tense. For every move, there is a consequence, and the players must decide just which moves to take as the traitor continues to play in this game. Those wise moves have to last though, because the traitor will be playing nonstop to the game's very end. Playing both recklessly and against the others, that person is the Mole.

Who is the Mole?

Vivian

Surname: Shadens

Birthday: October 4

Occupation: Visual Display Artist

Goombella

Surname: Frankster

Birthday: April 16

Occupation: Archeologist

Wario

Surname: Garlimo

Birthday: September 29

Occupation: Moneylender/Explorer

Yoshi

Surname: Dino

Birthday: April 13

Occupation: Fruiterer/Waiter

Luvbi

Surname: Nimbis

Birthday: May 5

Occupation: Harpist/Oracle

Goombella: Bobbery was definitely a suspect for me, but he wasn't my top one, which just relieves me and confuses me even more.

Luvbi: People tell lies here and there. I mean, honestly, I think I've told at least a handful of lies up to this point. But it keeps me in the game.

Yoshi: Bobbery might have been telling me the truth about his whole game, or he might have been lying. I'll probably never know.

Vivian: I think it's weird that people think I'm a suspect. Luvbi said I've been a suspect by more than one person in the past. I guess they have reasons though?

Wario: We're dead center in the game. I really don't know what's happening, or who the Mole is, so any thoughts could switch for me at any moment. I have to find a solid strategy.

The game was down to five players. Once double the amount, the number had dwindled at an exceeding rate. In soon time though, there would only be three.

The players were taken by another helicopter away from the event-filled Pianta Village, and were back brought to Delfino Plaza. Returning to the now-familiar location, the players got their belongings and were relieved to discover that a mission wasn't in store. Instead, three hotel cards were given to them, assigned to rooms within the hotel.

"Hey, three?" Wario questioned.

"So?" McHallyboo told them all. "That doesn't stop at the fact that you all can share. Share cards, share rooms. Feel free to relax. These aren't your sleeping rooms though." The players entered the hotel and scattered immediately among the assigned rooms. Of course, this only meant more free time for discussion.

With last night's events lingering in their heads, Goombella and Yoshi had headed to a room themselves. Knowing that from every executed player came an adantage, the two of them were attempting to recollect every piece of information that existed within Bobbery before his ultimate leave.

"But he suspected Vivian," said Yoshi. "She was the only person Bobbery talked about the day of the quiz. Who else could he have gone for?"

"Yoshi, unless you actually physically saw Bobbery take the quiz that night, you have no idea what his last thoughts were," she pointed out to him. "I mean, for all we know, he could have been...well, lying to you. Who knows?"

"Bobbery wouldn't lie to me, would he?" Yoshi said, sounding uncertain.

"I think anyone would lie in this game to win," Goombella said, looking down at the carpet.

Goombella: Have I lied to people in this game to get here? In honesty, not really. But I might have to turn that certain direction if I want to stay in this game.

"If Bobbery lied, then I'm not mad," Yoshi said, shrugging. "He was playing the game like any other good player would. I don't blame him." Goombella nodded, giving out a small smile.

"He was a good player," Goombella agreed. "I'm happy he made it as far as he did. But I'm afraid his strategy failed, whatever it was." Yoshi picked up the hotel card on the floor that was between the two of them.

"Don't you find it odd," he wondered, "that McHallyboo didn't give us enough hotel cards? Do you think he wanted us to discuss stuff by being in the same room?"

"I'm trying to get an idea," Goombella thought. "I wonder who's by themself. Three rooms. Two and two. One left alone."

Unsurprisingly, it was Wario who was sequestered alone for now, and Vivian and Luvbi who took the last room besides him. The two females were discussing last night's events, but not solely on Bobbery as an individual. With a suspect gone, they could focus more on the three remaining players that existed besides them. But in truth, their suspect range held four, if they counted each other.

"Bobbery suspected you, I think," Luvbi said, as Vivian's eyes widened.

"But speaking which, I don't believe you're the Mole anyway," Luvbi continued.

"And neither do I," Vivian said. The two of them smiled.

Vivian: I think Luvbi is trustworthy enough to speak to. Out of all people since the very start, she was the one I had trust in from the very beginning.

Luvbi: Vivian is a good person to talk to. She's easy to take advantage of, so being with someone who could be the Mole would be the worst for her.

"We have three suspects," Luvbi listed. "Goombella, Yoshi, and Wario."

"Well, I've been thinking about those three for hours now," Vivian admitted. "Ever since this morning, I've been trying to decide my heaviest suspect out of those three."

"Well, we know Goombella and Yoshi are together in one of the rooms," Luvbi recalled. "So Wario's alone?" Vivian nodded.

"Isn't it weird that Wario's alone all the time?" Luvbi said. "He did it yesterday the entire day before the execution, remember? And now, he's doing it right now."

"Maybe it's just his strategy," Vivian considered. "I sometimes stay alone to concentrate. Maybe Wario is concentrating." Luvbi looked at her door, picturing a room of her own with no individuals around. She twirled the card key in her hand.

"I doubt it's simply a strategy," Luvbi said, "but regardless, that keeps us from knowing what he might know. We have to go after him, at this very moment." Luvbi got up to her feet.

"But wait...how are you going to do that?" Vivian said with confusion.

"I'll knock on his door," Luvbi replied simply, and headed out, leaving Vivian alone by herself.

"Yeah, hey...wait, what do you want!" Wario said, startled at seeing Luvbi at his doorstep. Nearly dropping the journal in his hand, Wario turned to face her. Peering behind his body, Luvbi could see that his belongings were scattered within his temporarily-owned room, as if he had claimed it already for himself.

"Oh, nothing," Luvbi said, trying to keep a straight face. "I've been kicked out by Goombella, I'm afraid. She wants to be alone."

"Wasn't Goombella with Yoshi?" Wario asked, looking puzzled. Luvbi let out an exaggerated sigh.

"It appears I'm unwanted by them," she stated to him. "They're tight on discussion." Wario only seemed to block the doorway even more with his body.

Wario: Out of all people, it had to be the most cunning player who wanted to enter my room. And I had no idea what she was up to or had in store in that mind of hers.

"Well, you've come to the wrong place," he said, becoming even more agitated, "cause I'm not letting you in here. I got the card first, and now here I am. I think you should S-C-R-A-M."

"Then we don't have to enter the room," Luvbi reasoned. "How about we sit at the lobby? We can attempt to get privy on certain secret information from McHallyboo."

"Okay, first of all, McHallyboo's probably not even in the lobby," Wario said to her, his foot stamping once, "two, even if he happened to be down there, I wouldn't go with you. Going with you would probably make me even more lost."

"Oh, how so?" Luvbi scoffed at him. "It's not just me you're avoiding. You're being...solitary."

"Solitary? You're more solitary than me!" Wario said, his voice getting even more heated at her. "Find somewhere else to go. Conjure up a storm with someone else. Anyone but me." Luvbi just stood her ground, unmoving.

"Well, if you insist," she said finally, and turned around, hearing a door close immediately the second she turned one-hundred and eighty degrees.

Dinner was eaten nowhere else. The Durian Cafe was open to them all, and the players felt a weird sense of nostalgia bring in the room. They were in good moods due to the fact that the episode had just begun, but a gut feeling told them all that a mission was in store for them that very night. With this in mind, they couldn't help but notice the pile of coins located in the very center of the table they were eating at.

"Did someone leave their tip on the table from last time?" Vivian wondered out loud.

"A waiter never leaves a customer's tip," Yoshi said with certainty. "Take my word."

"Well, I'm sure McHallyboo knows nothing about it," Goombella said with heavy sarcasm, turning to the host besides her. They were all seated at a circular-shaped table, and as the end of dinner approached, the waiter did something he usually didn't do: he left a small slate on the table, and on it, their amount to pay for the meal.

"Well, so who's paying the bill?" Wario questioned, folding his arms. "You're not getting me to give in anything."

"There's a plethora of coins in the middle of the table," Luvbi said plainly, "and apparently they will pay for us, right?"

"But why not give in what you already have, instead of making it a hassle and reaching for other things?" McHallyboo reasoned to them. The players all looked at him curiously, taking in his spoken words. Vivian slowly reached into her pocket.

"I have a coin," she said. Yoshi immediately reached into his own pocket and took out a coin as well, and the two of them put it on the waiter's slate. Goombella had a red coin in her pocket, and placed it as well onto the table.

"Well, I have two, luckily," Luvbi said, showing a small sense of want in giving in her own money. All remaining eyes turned to the player who was yet to pay: Wario.

"But there are coins right there!" Wario said with disbelief, pointing at the visible pile. "There's no point in wasting our own money. What are you trying to do anyway, you host?" McHallyboo remained unresponsive.

"It's either we all do it or we all don't do it," Goombella said to him. "So are you going to?" Wario turned to her, then to the remaining others, but the direction of his head was fixed at the check and donated coins.

"Please?" Vivian said. "We don't know what's gonna happen. But let's just try it. Let's all pay for the bill." After a short moment, Wario finally reached into his pocket, his face and hand reluctant as he dropped the final necessary three coins onto the slate. Their check was finally paid in total.

"So...what happens now?" Yoshi asked, as everyone turned to face McHallyboo. The host gave a shrug.

"Oh, nothing really," McHallyboo said, sounding confused. "Except that you all generously decided to pay for the bill instead of us. Much appreciated kindness!" The faces of the players dropped.

"Oh, what revelance," Luvbi said with a dissatisfied face. "Did we just do nothing else but pay for a meal?"

Vivian: I thought we were supposed to do something with the money on the table, but when the check came, I was the first person who decided to just pay with my own money. And everyone followed. If we did something wrong, then the blame would go to me.

Goombella: I thought it was weird in the first place that we were given the check. I don't think this was a random act, and I don't think it's over. Maybe depending on the order we paid, it'll be our next positions in our later mission to come. Just thinking about it makes it even more confusing.

That night, Mchallyboo issued new rooms within the hotel for them, and the players found comfort in knowing that the day spent was a relaxing day. Though the day was characterized by countless and rising questions, all five of them felt a sense of lessened anxiety, knowing that even if questions still existed, a warm bed never failed to signify the end of a pleasant day.

But the day was to end far from pleasant. As the players slept back in their hotel rooms that night, most of them were unaware of the fact that the night was destined to end far from safe and over. A shocking mission was in store for them, something harrowing and undesirable that would take them all by surprise.

That night, five people were kidnapped, but not from Delfino Plaza. A game from below awaited them.

"Umph..." Vivian slowly awoke from her sleep, feeling a wall pressed against her back. Slowly raising her head, she realized that she was sitting on a cold, platformish ground, and when she stood up, she felt something strapped to her waist: a belt, positioned tightly around the midsection of her body. In front of her was a door, closed and shut, leaving her trapped on all sides. Vivian gasped.

"Hello?" she called out loud. Turning to look to her side, she covered her mouth in shock. Through sets of bars, she could make out the shapes of everyone else, slouched and sleeping on the floor just like she had been doing. Right next to her she could see Yoshi, full body on the ground.

"Yoshi!" she cried, grabbing onto the set of prison-like bars that separated them. The sound awakened Yoshi as he woke up to a jump. Getting to his feet he looked around, noticed the belt around his waist, and whimpered.

"Where are we?" he cried. Vivian faced him, her face equally troubled.

"What in the heavens?" came the voice of Luvbi, perplexed. "What has happened to us?" She stood up immediately and tried walking forwards, but noticed something to her dismay: a cord was attached to the back of her belt, and kept her from moving. At the same time, both Vivian and Yoshi felt a tug on both their own bodies. From the commotion, Wario had been awakened as well, as his eyes shot open.

"What the...get me out of here!" Wario shouted, getting up to his feet and banging on both vertical bar cagings at his sides. Right besides him and located at the room's other end was Goombella, who finally woke up. Making it slowly to her feet, she found herself trapped between four walls, just like everyone else was. All five players were trapped in individual cells.

"Is everyone okay?" shouted Goombella, looking with apprehension and confusion at their predicament.

"Waking up and knowing you've been kidnapped...geez!" Wario snapped, looking at her through the vertical bars between them. "Where in the heck are we anyway?"

"There's a belt around my waist and I can't remove it," Yoshi said, panicking.

"There's a belt around me too," Vivian said, all the way from the other end of the row of cells. "And it connects into the wall by a cord." She grabbed onto the cord behind her with one hand, not daring to pull it.

"Okay, we're all in cells, apparently," Luvbi confirmed to them all. "All of us are trapped in cells individually. And between each of us on our sides are metal bars, separating us."

"If we're separated, that means we're not supposed to interact, right?" Goombella said, thinking.

"But we can still talk," Luvbi reasoned.

"Maybe we need to all do something individually?" Goombella wondered.

"I don't want to do anything but get out of here," Wario told them all, eyeing the metal door in front of him carefully. "The door in front of me is the only way to get out!"" Before each player and blocking their only way to an exit was a metal door, nothing on its front but a screen monitor, a red button, and a small slit, located where the knob would usually be. The five of them all looked at their own doors with heavy curiosity, then turned back to face each other.

"Should we push the buttons?" Yoshi asked out loud. "Will they open our doors?"

"Nothing's certain," Goombella said cautiously.

"My floor seems so shaky," Vivian noticed, nervously looking to her ground.

"As does mine," Luvbi realized, taking her own stomp on the ground below her. "It seems...hollow below."

"The screen is supposed to come on, isn't it?" Goombella said, looking forwards. "Maybe instructions are supposed to appear for us."

"But it should have turned on by now," Luvbi pointed out. "Frankly we're doing nothing, and by looking around, I would suggest we do something before something happens to us."

"Okay, well, let's do something then!" Wario said with annoyance, and stepped forwards. As soon as he did so, everyone else stumbled simultaneously backwards with a shout, their cords at their waists pulled back without warning. Luvbi banged on the side of her metal bars that separated her and Wario, immediately causing him to halt.

"Stop!" she ordered, taking a step forwards herself. "We're all connected. Our cords are interconnected. If one of us moves, the rest of us are pulled back."

"Then what do we-" Vivian started, but stopped as a loud whoosh of static filled the air. Each monitor flashed on, displaying the image of a character that they were all too familiar with. The five players were almost in a trance, their attention immediately turned to the screens pasted on the back of each of their doors.

"Hello, and welcome," spoke the host, his voice projecting from the screen and face appearing more serious than usual. "You're all probably wondering where you are right now. More importantly though, you're probably all wondering what this is. This is your next mission. Everything is unclear, but I assure you all that by the time this is all done, you will all have a clearer understanding of this game's true purpose. You've all been fighting for yourselves up to this very point. But tonight, this singular way of thinking will be put to the test. Tonight...five will become one, with a common goal of survival." The players listened, their mind racing and eyes fixed to their own screen.

"Right now you're each locked in a cell," McHallyboo continued. "The only way to get out is through the use of a card key on your door. Press the red button in front of you, and a card will fall from the ceiling for you to use. Your belt will also be unbuckled. Keep this in mind though: once the first button is pushed and activated, a sixty second timer will begin for you all. At the end of that timer, all belts will be unlocked, and the floor below you will open up, sending you into darkness."

"Oh my gosh," whispered Vivian. The players all froze and looked to their floorings. Realizing that their floors felt lighter than usual, in the disguise of a dirty hard floor they all saw that the ground below them was in reality nothing more than just two simple flaps, seen by a line going vertically between their bodies. They were yet to open.

"After the fourth door is opened though, all belts would be unshackled. However, there is one more fact you should reconsider: a key can only be dropped every fifteen seconds. In calculating the time available to the rate of cards being dropped, you will see that something does not add up. Your life-long instincts tell you to do one thing, but I implore you to do the opposite. This game is worth forty-thousand coins. Make your choice." All screens shut off simulataneously, confusing the players. Within a split second later, something else popped up in red digits upon their monitors: the number 60.

"The sixty second timer," Yoshi gulped, staring at the glowing digits. "But why hasn't it started yet?"

"The video said that it'll only start when the first button is pushed," Vivian remembered.

"Sixty seconds...a card every fifteen seconds," Goombella said, her face turning into a perplexed look. "Wait, if there are only sixty seconds, how will this work out? Only four cards could be dropped then."

"Well, I'm guessing," Luvbi said, standing still, "that if that is so...one of us will not be getting a card." They all turned towards her direction in their row of cells.

"What?" Wario sputtered in alarm. "That doesn't make sense! We all need to get out of here!"

"Or may we're not," Yoshi said, his voice frightened. "That's what the video was saying! One of us has to be left behind!"

"Are you sure?" Vivian asked, looking below her fearfully.

"But no one push their button yet!" Goombella said out loud. "We need to think about this."

"Heh, think about what?" Wario ridiculed, turning to her. "It said in that video that our will to survive is being put to the test! No wonder we're in separate cells; we're all supposed to fight for ourselves!" Luvbi's face changed in realization.

"Then...then that means," she started, looking at the red button in front of her. She took a step forwards.

"I just wanna get out of here!" Yoshi cried, and he ran forwards. Vivian and Wario we pulled back heavily from their cords, but Luvbi held her stance, pulling against his force. So did Goombella, who stomped forwards and tried to hold her ground.

"Pull him back!" Goombella shouted to Luvbi. Their spots in their cells stopped Yoshi from going forwards.

"Ow!" said Vivian, as she was pulled backwards even more.

"Let go of me!" Yoshi yelled. "I just wanna get out!"

"Yoshi, calm down!" Goombella shouted. "We can't do anything if you don't stop! We have to work together!"

"No...we...don't!" Wario bellowed, and he jumped forwards with force, causing all four other players to be slammed vigorously against the walls behind them. The only one forwards, Wario took two more heavy steps and reached the red button in front of him with the tip of his glove, pressing it and causing it to fade out in color. Immediately, his belt buckle was released, and a flap from above him opened up, dropping a card into his cell. At the same time, a ticking sound was heard: their timer had begun.

60, 59, 58...

"No!" Vivian said with terror, seeing the timer before her begin its countdown.

"I got a key!" Wario shouted out loud. "I'm outta here!" Finally free, Wario picked up the card from the ground and stuck it into the key slot in his door. Within seconds, his door was unlocked, as he went to push forwards out of it.

"Why did you do that?" Goombella shouted. "We needed to think before beginning the timer!"

"You can think all you want," Wario said to her, "but for all I know, I'm out of here! I'm not going to be the one falling.." His door finally open, he ran out of his cell, just as the timer hit forty-five seconds.

45

With the color to the button now restored, it was Luvbi who was the only one fully concentrated on escaping, being right next to the door while the others were too far back in their own cells. As soon as she pressed her button her belt was unshackled, and she caught the card that fell from the ceiling.

"You...you planned to escape first!" Yoshi realized.

"I will not be the one left behind," Luvbi said. Hastily, she inserted her card into her door and felt it unlock. As she exited, there were three people still trapped, and only half the time remaining until the floors were to drop.

30

All three remaining players fought for their button of escape. Vivian managed to step forwards, but was pulled back by Yoshi's leap, who in turn was countered by Goombella's strong pull. Finally, it was Goombella who pulled forth, using her head to finally push the red button in front of her. The card dropped from above and she quickly inserted it into the slot in front of her. Before pushing her door open, she faced to her right, an apologetic look on her face before finally exiting. There were only fifteen seconds remaining, and one more key.

15

"Yoshi! Vivian" Goombella shouted, looking back into her cell. Vivian had taken the first step forwards, managing to pull against Yoshi and go towards the door slowly step by step. In desperation and quick thinking, Yoshi reached for his boot and managed to take it off his right foot, then with little hesiation took a blind aim at the door in front of him. With his throw, he had hit his red button.

"Oomph!" Both players fell forwards, their belts unshackled and free to roam their cells freely. But it was Yoshi who had his key given to him from above, and he hurriedly went to insert it into his door. Vivian got up to her feet with dispair.

"Wait!" she shouted, pushing helplessly against her metal door. "I can't get out! Help me!" She looked to both sides of her, trapped by the metal bars, then forwards again with terror at the door blocking her way.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...

"Gah!" Yoshi yelped, jumping out of his door, joining the other four who had safely made it out of their cells. They all knew the final fate.

0

"Help!-" As soon as the timer expired, the floors of each cell immediately disappeared, their flaps dropping as Vivian found herself the only individual dropping to her doom. With a scream that made the remaining four players freeze, the forgotten player hurtled down into the black abyss, and within seconds her scream had already faded. The four players looked behind them to see their open cells, as well as their missing floors, shocked and relieved to know that they themself didn't suffer the same fate.

"Vivian," Goombella said, feeling helpless. Everyone else just stared into their cells, all except for Wario. He had turned around and was already facing the other end of the room that they had ended up in, at something else that gave them all an anxious and detestable feeling: a large, metallic door. Their game wasn't over yet. Above the door, a lone line was displayed:

You think that being alone will make you ready?

"Well, what do we do now?" Luvbi wondered.

"Well, what else is there to do?" Wario suggested, pointing his arm at the door before them. "Let's move on. McHallyboo wants us to finish the test."

"You're taking this all quite lightly," Luvbi said, rolling her eyes. Yoshi followed behind her, shuddering from the event which had just taken place moments before. As Goombella finally turned around to follow the others, she carefully felt the object placed into her back pocket, something she felt couldn't be deserted and that could be unitilized at any available point in their game to come, if necessary: her card key.

Epiesode 6 begins with a rather unpleasant and tense mission! Just who will be next to go in these series of tests?

The concept for this mission had actually been inspired by a certain movie, though just a part of it. If you have a feeling of what the "twist" or ending is, please avoid saying it in any reviews! All is appreciated :D heh.

The episode will continue! And the next parts of this multi-layered mission will be unveiled.