Ooh! Hey, it's a record update time! How is this possible? I figured it would go smooth, especially since it's the final three! But the excitement continues! Games wind down and begin. Enjoy part 2!

Episode 8 (Part 2)

It was the most hair-rising question so far in the game, and McHallyboo waited for the other two to give an answer, or at least a sound. Vivian sighed about two times, and Yoshi sounded like he wanted to say something, but stopped.

"Hmm, umm," began Yoshi, but then stopped.

Vivian: The question really hit me in a certain way. It was strange just with how personal it was. And then suddenly, I didn't really want to answer it. I didn't want to ruin the game, but when my emotions got hit, it felt like all my feelings were hit too.

"I don't want to answer the question," said Vivian, her voice filled with small rejection.

"What? No, we have to," said Yoshi, still pondering. "I don't care-"

"You think Wario would answer this question honestly?" Vivian asked, curiously.

"Maybe," Yoshi thought. "He could have." Yoshi shrugged, as Vivian just sighed.

"It's just, well...all right," said Vivian, sounding more determined and shaking her head. "I really think he'd choose me. And I'd like to establish that as the final answer, if that's okay."

"You're sure?" Yoshi asked. "Like I said, I don't care-"

"Yeah," Vivian said, looking sure. "And it's not like...it's true or anything, whatever Wario answered for me." Even when she said this, she still looked down.

"Hey, you're totally right," Yoshi said, remembering what he said earlier. "Come on: if that's the answer you think is right, then let's do this. It's all...dumb questions anyway."

"And this is a dumb game," Vivian said, finishing, and then finally, managing to smile. Yoshi smiled with a nod too, as Vivian turned to McHallyboo.

"Yes, I think the answer would be me," she said. "As much as I hate the answer, I will go with myself."

Yoshi: Vivian sounded so offended, if she were to be labeled to be labeled the loser of this game. It seemed real...but then again, we all know that the Mole is the best liar in the world. She can be so innocent-sounding, but at the same time, there's something false about her. It drives me kinda crazy.

A path was walked up by three people, and as the two players followed, the sound of the windmill above them got stronger and stronger, as it roared ahead with its complex spinning mechanism of rotating blades. But what got even more strong as they walked forwards was the increasing anxiety within the two players as their reached their final destination.

"He won't be up there, will he?" Vivian said, sounding honest but optimistic. "We would probably see him by now."

"Don't say that," Yoshi said, walking ahead but giving off small puffs. "Well...I guess...wait a minute." They stopped where they were, cut off, at the very end of the path. As Vivian and Yoshi looked slightly defeated, McHallyboo looked at the players, an ambiguous look on his face.

"Well, he's not here," said McHallyboo, the same look on his face, then looked up.

"But look where I am!" called out Wario from above them. Immediately, the two players looked up as well, and saw that at the top of the windmill's ledge, way up high and located at an unimaginable location on the windmill's roof, was Wario. Yoshi and Vivian were looking up at him in disbelief.

"I can't see you!" Yoshi shouted enthusiastically, trying to block the sun, "but I can hear you!"

"Oh my gosh," Vivian said, smiling. She then stopped.

"Does that mean we won the last round?" she asked, turning to McHallyboo. The host nodded, smiling.

"I think granting you all ten thousand coins would be an appropriate action," he said, and with that, everybody present, including the Mole, felt a little victorious.

"Well, out of all places I could have been hiding," said a grinning Wario with a shake of his head, "you had to pick the least likely place." McHallyboo had gathered them all at the start of the place, where they had always begun and ended their rounds. The layout of the town had provided them an entire mission, in less than just an hour, but even so with that short amount of time, the game was heavily and fully played to its potential.

"Because you had found Wario, that means every answer was correct that you two had answered," said McHallyboo, and he flipped back through his cards.

"'If you heard that one of the other players was sent to a mental institution, who would you think it was?'" Wario pointed his fingers around, and then stopped at Yoshi.

"Yeah, if anyone, Yoshi would be sent...but just cause he's hyper," Wario said with reason. "I wouldn't choose Vivian." Yoshi and Vivian nodded.

"I would choose myself too," Yoshi said with a little laugh.

"The next question, 'Who would consider their life more of a failure?', was what I asked you," said McHallyboo. "It was a harsh question. Why did you choose your answer?"

"Well," began Wario, "I think a part of me just wanted to switch my last bad answer...for this one, so I just went with Vivian. And I really didn't want to answer it." McHallyboo nodded, as Vivian nodded slowly.

"And how about the last question, about losing the game?" asked McHallyboo.

Wario: What was my answer? Did I have to tell the truth? Was I telling the truth in the answer I picked for that question? I couldn't say any of those.

"I'm allowed to say 'no comment', right?" Wario inquired.

"Fair enough," said McHallyboo, shrugging. Vivian looked a tad disappointed, but despite it, she still smiled.

Vivian: Have these games made me a little stronger? Or now that I look at it, maybe I've always just been the same person. The Three Questions game, it was interesting, and it hurt me much less than I thought. I just never considered myself strong, at least mentally, at all.

"Tough game," said Yoshi, folding his arms. "Even though we barely did exercise, I still felt like I worked out." The host laughed.

"Mental exercise," McHallyboo said with a clear voice. "These games get harder and harder."

TOTAL POT VALUE

240,000 COINS

"Unbelievable," said the host, and he shook his head and chuckled. The three of them looked at him, blank expressions on their faces.

"What is it?" Vivian asked, but the host just laughed more.

"You're officially at the mark...where last game's pot value ended," the host said, remembering it as if it was yesterday. "Two-hundred and forty thousand coins. Right on the mark."

"So?" Wario said. "We have like two more games to play! What are you talking about? We can still win more!"

"Yeah, isn't that true?" Yoshi asked. "We can still win more cash!"

"Yes, true, but do you know what that means?" said McHallyboo. "The Mole is going to do everything they can to stop this pot from rising. Welcome to the final episode! May the Mole be with you!" He chuckled more, and then laughed even heavier, as the three players only stared at him with a mix of curiosity and confusion.

Yoshi: McHallyboo just creeps me out sometimes, but he's right. The Mole is probably mad, realized that he or she did a more terrible job than they probably did last year, at least compared to Toadette the other Mole, and will make finishing blows until the end. Or something.

Wario: Tired, suspicious, and I just want most of this to end already. Sure, we have a lot of money in the pot, but are we going to win any more? This is the final stage, and maybe only a third or fourth into the episode. I'm sure there's more to come that we can't see.

Vivian: No one knows what the Mole's gonna do, so not only is there no reason for me to predict what's going to happen next, but it makes the game a whole lot scarier too. I'm still so terrified, when I think of it. I try to keep my nervousness down, and I think I'm doing a good job. I'm just going to play it all out now, and see what the end brings.

Rest was assured, at least in the location they were in. The players were left at Bianco Hills, and they walked even more in that town for the two days that they were there than they had in the 3 Questions game.

Now, they found themselves secluded from each other. Alone in their own game, they realized that the only person that mattered was themselves. They needed their own abilities, minds, and strengths to defeat everything and everyone around them that was blocking their way. One move could either mean securing an advantage, losing the game, or revealing your identity. Of course, the Mole only worried about the latter.

When he was called to the camera, Yoshi faced it, scratching his head a little bit but used to being in front of a camera lens for the past 3 weeks.

1. Are you the Mole? (Say yes and explain how)

"Am I the Mole? Yeah, I can be the Mole. But I'd be a cold-hearted person with a heavy aura around me, being there since the very first episode...just kidding, the Mole is probably good at heart but is either forced to or paid to be a backstabbing person with a mean demeanor. Well, I'm sure the Mole can be nice too, no doubt."

Vivian went to the chair situated in front of the camera uncomfortably, but she managed to answer the question asked to her.

"Well, I guess I could be it. This question is hard to answer because, well, I'm sure that I'm not the Mole, and that I'm sure that I'm just a regular player here, playing, who's still not sure what to do. But I think I could pull it off if I tried, the role of the Mole, if I really put my mind to it fully. I think I might have the potential too."

Wario faced the camera.

"I'm not the Mole, so hahaha. This question makes me laugh, but all right. I'll pretend I am. I like sabotaging and it does bring me some good pleasure when someone messes up. Of course, not when I mess up, but when someone else does. It just makes me grin, and I can't lie."

2. Are you the Mole? (Say no and explain why)

Yoshi: Huh, honestly I think I remember telling a producer or two in the beginning that I didn't want to be the Mole. Not that I didn't think it was fun, or morally-bad, it's just that I like unpredictability, and being a regular player, you never what's gonna happen next. So it's fun for now.

Vivian: I really couldn't see myself as the Mole. I just couldn't handle all the pressure, game after game and episode after episode. And in truth, throughout this game no one has seen me as a threat. And as far as I know, the Mole is a threat to people, so it just can't be me. No way at all, even just picturing myself.

Wario: I'll continue from my other answer and say no, I'm not the Mole, just cause I think it'd be one of the most boring things ever. And plus, are you really going to honestly play this game for so long with no offer of the money at the end? Heh, let's just be a little realistic here.

3. If you win the game, what would you do with the money?

Yoshi: Oh man, uh, probably pay for a lot of things. Restaurant renovations, then maybe buy something cool I've always wanted to buy. No idea what that is though, heh, but maybe a house...a boat...a large piece of land? This question is exciting! Gifts for other people, that's always nice, and maybe a few good clothes.

Vivian: This question is just...so unimaginable. There's so much I would do, and I would love to explore how much I can do with my art. A studio might be nice, and I might even open up a small art school for others. I would love to inspire others. But right now, I would hate to assume anything. But I will still have hope.

Wario: Well, I have to admit that I've never won anything like 240,000 coins in my life. This money could change a whole lot of things. I will definitely pay a lot of people, that I either owe or just want to give money to. But I'll definitely help family. Family comes first, and that never changes.

4. What will the Mole do in this final episode?

Yoshi: I think the Mole will do something out of the ordinary. That's my prediction. I have a feeling they are going to do something really surprising that surprises all of us.

Vivian: I really think something will happen that will make the Mole snap, out of nowhere, and as much as I hope this doesn't happen, it's very likely for it to. I just have to prepare myself for it.

Wario: Who knows what will happen? I'm here to beat the Mole. And I'm not psychic, but I wish I knew what he or she would do. It's the final round, and I wonder how much time we really have left.

A table was set upon one of the most unique structures in Bianco Hills: on a location on top of the large white wall that separated the town. As the players were helped and guided up to the table, they took their places for lunch, with McHallyboo taking up one spot already. Not far from them, a spinning wood wheel could be seen, and all around them, a higher view of the village that was present to all of them, making the players feel both refreshed and struck with wonder.

"Very nice view, after two days here," said Wario, looking at the windmill in the distance with memory. "But, I would have liked it if our table was up there though." They all laughed.

"We should all thank the producers and crew for moving a table up here," McHallyboo said, drinking his tea cup. "They deserve thanks."

"Yes, and along with our host as well," said Yoshi, lifting up his own cup and smiling. "To McHallyboo, for being our host this entire game, till now." Both Wario and Vivian said raised their cups too with enthusiastic agreement, as McHallyboo just bowed his head.

"You guys are acting as if we're going to our last location so soon," said the host, a hint of acknowledgement in his voice.

"Well, I assume it's close," Vivian said. "I really don't think we'll be playing too many more games, now that's it's the final episode. Will we?" In her voice, they heard a little bit of disappointment.

"Well, we never know," said the host, and he looked at all three of them, pleased.

It was only just the beginning of what was in store. Walking away from Bianco Hills, they met at a special location, where a larger-than-usual building was located on the large side of the island's hill. After two days there, they knew that they were leaving. It was a mini-airplane port.

"To where, this time?" asked Wario, seeing and hearing the propellers of the airplane roar before them.

"To the location of your final mission," was all McHallyboo said, and he grinned. "All of you get inside. We're running a bit slow on schedule."

"Schedule?" Yoshi said, but he stepped in first, excited, then Wario after. McHallyboo motioned for Vivian to go in first, grabbing her hand and helping her into the back of the plane, as the two others got seated. Then, McHallyboo got inside.

"Daww, there are no windows," Yoshi said, sitting in his chair. Even so, he was still jumpy.

"Well, at least it's a mystery," said Vivian, realizing her fear of heights had much lessened throughout the game. She looked curiously around the airplane's interior.

"Aren't we going to be there like, soon though?" Wario realized. "The island is heck-sized small."

"Yeah," said McHallyboo, holding a small object in his hand. As Wario looked closer, he realized it was a poker chip.

Wario: I was thinking we'd have a game in the plane, but I guess that's just too elaborate for what I was thinking. But the fact that McHallyboo was holding such a strange object in his hand made me think more than ever before.

At last, the airplane landed, and it was only thirty minutes from since they had first left that they had reached a final location. McHallyboo first looked at his watch, to see the time of 2:08, and then right after looked at the beautiful location before him. When the sound of the airplanes engine lessened, the sound of soft-crashing waves were audible in their ears, and the players got out.

The players looked with awe too with the host, and as the sand below them touched their feet as they got out of the plane, they continued to look on with a serene feeling.

"It's...I know this place," said Yoshi slowly. They looked at the resort ahead of them.

"It's Sirena Beach," said McHallyboo, taking a deep breath in. "Welcome to the location of your final mission."

Vivian: It was so magnificent, and at the moment, the sun was still at its brightest. But even still, I couldn't believe that we had never been at this specific location yet. I guess McHallyboo saved the best for last.

"Wow, so, are we just going to dilly-dally in this beach," said Wario, "or are we going into the hotel?" Before them, past a small relaxing assortment of sun-bathing chairs and pools was a hotel, placed grandly and shining out as the main attraction of the location. In big, block letters, they saw the name, "HOTEL DELFINO" on its outside. Appearing three stories tall, the host lead the players closer to it, as they climbed a series of steps.

"I'm almost scared to go inside," said Wario, as Yoshi laughed.

"What, a hotel?" Yoshi chuckled. "Or are you scared cause this is where our final mission is? I guess...I'm a little bit too."

"Which one do you think?" Wario said. "For all I've heard about this place, it's haunted...AND, our final game is going to be inside here. Save me."

"But where is our final mission, anyway?" Vivian wondered, and when McHallyboo reached the door, he pulled it open, and they all entered. The atmosphere changed, and all around them was blue. As they walked into the lobby of Hotel Delfino, they saw portions of water in the floor, designed for either entertainment, scenery, or the mischief of falling into them. A few guests littered the floor here and there, noticing their obvious appearance, and in the middle of the floor was a large tiki-like stand that stretched all the way up to the hotel's top floor. The host walked them through the floor, to a reception desk on the left side.

"For the Mole," he said to the Pianta standing there. The Pianta nodded, pointing to a direction not far from him. The host motioned for the players to keep on following him, then stopped before an certain entranceway. The door resembled that of an elevator.

"Is this an elevator?" Yoshi asked.

"Technically, yes," the host said, smiling. "But we're going to a very special place."

"And...what place is that?" Vivian questioned nervously. McHallyboo took the poker chip out of his pocket that he had since the airplane trip, and smiled.

"The casino," he replied.

A red carpet greeted the three players as they entered into the casino of Hotel Delfino. It was completely bare: they could only assume that the area had been rented out specifically for them. As their eyes wandered around, they could only wonder what their mission had in store for them.

Wario: I was looking around and thinking: darn, we can make a lot of money in this place. I was a little ready, but definitely more pumped than ever before.

Yoshi: This looked like an intense place, and I've never gambled before. I've pulled a few slot machine levers in my life before, but that's pretty much it.

"Big slot machine," said Yoshi, looking to the right to see an immense version of a slot machine, as part of the casino's wall.

"It looks fake," Vivian said out loud. As they all looked closer, they noticed that the images displayed on the slots were none other than the green thumb print logos, changed just for them. Ahead of them, a curtain was draped. To their left, smaller slot machines were located, and near the entrance, a dealer's table was present. They found themselves at the center of the casino, in spiraling blocks of colors.

"Welcome, players, to your final mission," said McHallyboo, and the three players almost gasped.

Vivian: Final mission? I was not ready for this at all. I could already imagine myself screwing up the game, because I was caught so unprepared.

"Up until now, you've used your skills to make it this far," the host began, "but it can't be denied the fact that you've also used luck to make it to this very spot as well. Take for instance, the first episode. None of you knew who the Mole was, and yet you survived. Poor Boo didn't have luck on him. Maybe he can have his revenge." He looked around the casino at this last line, as they saw another slot machine of similar size of the first one, all with boos on their slot images. The players shuddered, but listened.

"This last mission will be all about luck," said McHallyboo. "You will each be given 5,000 coins. In the next twenty-five minutes, you will all try to gain as much money as possible by playing around this casino. You can either slot it, play it, or guess it, depending on which game you wanna play in this room. You can do anything. You can win a maximum of 10,000 coins in your hand each."

"So...if we begin with 5,000 coins," Vivian calculated, "we can each gain 5,000 coins extra, so the maximum we can all make this final mission...is 15,000 coins?" But even though she was right, McHallyboo was quick to add more.

"Yes, but there's one more thing I must add," McHallyboo told them. "The five thousand coins that will be in your hand...will be coming from the pot." The three players looked stunned, realizing the threat of the game.

"So if you lose money, then you will be losing already-won cash," the host added. "Do what you want. This is your final game." He looked at his watch, and carefully pressed a button.

"The twenty-five minute timer...begins, now." As McHallyboo said this, he dropped three bag sacks onto the tile floor, and as he walked away, the players scrambled to them, grabbing a bag each.

"Count them," said Wario, looking inside to see multi-colored chips. "We don't want to be ripped off or anything." Yoshi scattered the chips in his own bag onto the floor in front of him, counting each one.

"There's fifty chips," he counted finally. "That means that each chip is worth...a hundred coins."

"A hundred-coin chip?" Vivian said with wonder, picking one from out of her bag.

"Well, don't lose any," said Wario. "I'm off to make some cash!" As he walked off, Vivian was quick to protest.

"Wait, shouldn't we stay together?" she suggested. "That way, we can watch each other and make sure we're not losing too much money." Wario looked confused at her.

"We'll all be in this same room anyway," he said, and with that, he walked off, to one of the larger slots on the right side of the room. Yoshi looked at Vivian, shrugging.

"Wanna try the other big slot?" Yoshi said, looking at it with heavy ambition but curiosity.

"Hmm, let's go for the smaller ones," said Vivian, pointing to a set of small slot machines that made up the left side of the room. "That way, we could both play." With a nod, the two of them went towards the rows of machines.

5 Chips to Play

"What...five hundred coins for one spin?" said Wario, flabbergasted and taken back. But seeing a slit in the wall for coin placement, he paid the toll anyway, and then backed his steps up. All of a sudden, the button in front of the immense slot machine began to light up, and when Wario went to put his hands on it, he tried to press down.

"I would suggest jumping on it," came McHallyboo's voice from the other side of the room. Wario grunted, then got on top of the pedestal. With a single jump, he landed back on it, and the floor sunk down, causing him to lose his balance and stumble. But as he got up to his feet, he saw that the machine was spinning.

"Come on," said Wario. "Land big..." To his surprise, the machine slots landed on three images in a row. But when it stopped spinning, he saw the images of three boos. It took Wario just a second to realize that no money was coming out, and that he had lost the spin.

"What...COME ON!" he bellowed.

Vivian and Yoshi made their way to a row of three machines, and sat down in front of one each, taking their seats on spinning stools. As Yoshi looked carefully at the machine in front of him and read its instructions, he inserted a coin into one of them.

"Might as well try," he said, smiling with ambition as he pulled down the lever of his machine. Vivian looked uncertainly at the device in front of her.

"I just don't want to lose more money than I win," she said carefully, shaking her head. "What if I end up losing everything?" As the machine in front of Yoshi stopped, he looked in awe. The images displayed had two cherries, and they both heard the clunking of chips hitting the bottom of the coin dispenser.

"Three...three-hundred coins," Yoshi said, taking each chip out and piling them. "That's a two-hundred coin profit! I can totally own this machine." Vivian looked surprised too, and faced the machine in front of her also.

"All right, well" she said, inserting one of her own chips into the slot before her and taking a small breath. "Let's try this game."

Wario had spun the wheel of the giant slot machine three more times: After two wins and two losses, he was back at a neutral value. But at the end of his third spin, the boos faced him once again. He groaned.

Wario: It was one of the worst games to play. In fact, the whole casino seemed pretty rigged. I didn't know where to go next.

"Darn!" cried Yoshi, as he saw the small machine in front of him land on all different symbols.

Yoshi: There was no thing as skill. We were relying on something in this mission that we had always relied on since the start: luck.

"How much did you lose?" Vivian said, who had only spun her machine three times and lost all three rounds.

"I dunno," Yoshi said honestly. "Maybe five chips. Eight in total? I think the chances of winning are getting lower." With a worried face, Vivian stopped her hand from inserting another coin.

"I'm going to go look around," she said, as Yoshi nodded, still keeping his eyes on the slot machine before him as he spun the lever for yet another round. Vivian got off her stool, and near the entrance of the casino, something caught her eye. There was a dealer's table, but at the front of the table was McHallyboo, smiling with a desk of cards near his hand and wearing a dealer's vest, dressed for the occasion. Vivian looked surprised, but walked over to the table with a small smile.

"What's this?" she asked, looking curiously.

"It's a Questionnaire Game," McHallyboo explained. "I ask a question and provide four choices, and you answer. The more confident you are, the more money you will bet on an answer. Want to give it a round?"

"Sure," said Vivian with agreement, sitting down. "After all, I'm not much for slot machines. I'd rather play this."

"Then let's begin," said the host with a grin. He put out four cards on the table, then took out another card and asked the first question.

"Your first question is: what is the molecular arrangement of water?" McHallyboo read, and with every choice he read, he flipped over one of the four cards. "A: H20, B: C02, C: 02H, D: H02. Put a maximum of five chips on any of the cards, and say 'Final Answer'." Vivian looked carefully, feeling sure of the answer but still hesitant.

"I'm going to put A, H20, but...I'm going to be careful and not bet too much." With her hand, she took two chips from her bag, and placed it on the first choice before her. "Final answer."

"Correct!" McHallyboo announced, as Vivian looked a little victorious.

Vivian: This game seemed more fair, but at the same time, it was also still guessing and luck. You might know something, but at the same time, you might not. But never the less, I still continued to play.

"Boo," said Wario, sounding a little angrier. He had lost again, but never the less, Wario jumped once again on the button of the slot machine after paying once more, and he watched the dials spin. Finally after a long time, they stopped, and Wario could only stare with confusion as all three slots landed on the symbol displaying the Mole thumb logo.

"Huh?" From the mini-slide dispenser in front of him, a small chip came out, landing a distance from his feet. He went up to it, noticing it was blue in color. On its front was a message:

There's more money hidden than you think. Where did you see it?

Hope you all enjoyed this quicker-than-usual update! I definitely wanted to get this part done, due to an upcoming family trip. I need a laptop x.x haha

But yeah, the players' final mission is in play? Unbelievable! Maybe a little too unbelievable. But as the game continues, the episode goes on! What will happen next?

Thanks to all my readers and reviewers so, so much! And just wanted to say, if you've never reviewed the story up until now, this final episode are your last moments! Give in your detective words and opinions, and as well as your Mole choices. It would be too awesome :)

Thanks all! Till next update!