Wow.
I can't...even begin to express how happy I am!
Thank you all! SOOOO MUCHHHH FOR THE REVIEWS! :D I didn't expect so many!
It was definitely such an amazing way to start a story. I don't know how to thank you guys all...so I replied to each of you at the end of this chapter :D
To be honest, I was worried about people not reading my story, or even not being interested...it's been 3 years since I wrote my last story. My confidence had been so low, understandably. But you guys made it so possible : )
Anyways, I will reply to everyone who reviewed at the end of this chapter :) But without further delay...here is the Mole! The first episode has just begun!
Episode 1 (Part 2)
The first mission ends with gondolas sailing over glistening waters and an abundance of suspicious results. Underneath the ground, some of the players talk to each other for the very first time in the game.
Mission: Hole in One
Goal: To find and jump into your mole hole within an hour.
30 Minutes Left...
"Hello Mole...come out," Fox called out, grinning.
The castle buildings' entrances and inner areas were infiltrated with overgrow plants and trees, nature having overtaken man's creations. Fox and Joker stumbled upon their second mole hole the instant they knocked over a wooden gate and entered the mysterious castle on their island.
When this 2006 console was released, this player truly whipped people into circles, triangles, and squares.
"Which player...no...which console is this talking about?" Fox thought, thinking. "The Gamecube? No way."
"Whipped into circles, triangles, squares..." Joker repeated slowly, reading the message again. He closed his eyes, putting a finger up to his mask. Then finally, he opened them.
"Bingo," Joker whispered with a small smirk. "They're shapes. Whipped into...shape."
"The Wii was in 2006!" Fox finished, sure of himself. "It's got to be-"
"Wii Fit Trainer," Joker concluded. He pressed a button on the wooden sign and they heard a loud whoosh! A tall, red flag with some white accents, at top speed, began to protrude high up from the sign, into the sky. The two of them shielded their eyes as they looked up at the tall red flag pole which had protruded to full length at top speed, waving against the sun.
Fox took out their walkie-talkie. Suddenly, it blared with a voice, and they both jumped in surprise.
"Hello! This is Peach!" came the sudden, fuzzy voice on their device. "We hope this is... pzzt... team. We realized that the clue on our land, Land 5, is meant for Joker! 52 cards in a deck... ppzt... two Jokers, it's 54 cards in a deck! Your hole is...a red and black flag! Land 5!" Joker and Fox just stared in confusion at the walkie-talkie.
"Uh...hey...guys! Listen!" Fox called out into the walkie-talkie. "I don't know if you can hear us, but Isabelle's flag is here on this land! It's slightly greenish-red. Send her to Land 1."
"Oh!" they heard Peach exclaim.
"Please come!" came the voice of Isabelle, and the device shut off.
"I hope...they heard my last part of the sentence," Fox uttered, wide-eyed. "These devices suck. My old spacecrafts have better communicating signals than these things."
"Well...that was convenient," Joker commented. "I go to Land 5 and Isabelle goes to Land 1. Two messages sent with one call. Anyways, let's call the trainer." Fox nodded, then he pressed down on the Number 3, and some static filled the air. After a few seconds, it became apparent that they were connected to the other team.
"Wii Fit! Good," Fox spoke. "Your hole is here. You have to come to our Land, Land 1. A reddish-white flag."
"Are you for sure...pzzt...mine?" Wii Fit questioned. "It'd be a waste...ppzzt...all the way there and wrong."
"We're quite smart and we're quite certain," was Joker's reply. "Trust us or you won't have a hole to enter. As for Fox...see ya at the end, friend. It was nice-knowing you...Mr. Melee Champion of Days Past." Joker got ready to go off.
"And I assume you think you're the ultimate fighter of the newest Smash Ultimate?" Fox retorted with a challenging grin to Joker, seeing him leave.
"Who else would it be?" Joker spoke, giving him a little nod before running off. Fox nodded too, but not in agreement.
28 Minutes Remaining...
Much to the relief of Lucina and Lucario, the climb down the rocky slope was easier than the way up, as they discovered that they could slide down existing dirt paths smoothly. Once at the bottom, they brushed themselves off and were ready to go off again.
"So we have to go to the gondola lift station now," Lucario wanted to confirm with Lucina, "because according to Dark Pit and Wii Fit, my hole is on Land 3. I should be going off." They started to run off, both at a good pace, retracing their path from earlier.
"I am really starting to think about this game more," Lucario began, as they began to chat while running. "And I've been slowly honing down on who the Mole is." Lucina faced him, surprised and interested.
"We had only known each other for several minutes on the Battlefield," Lucina told him. "But never the less, I am a bit curious of your opinion, I suppose. Who are your suspects?"
"To start off, I'm suspicious of the strong players," Lucario spoke with thought. "One, DK is suspicious. He's powerful enough to control this game. But I'm not just suspicious of those strong in strength...strong in mind, too."
"Explain more...what do you mean?" Lucina asked him, curious to his words.
"My two suspects are also Fox and Wii Fit. They're very good at controlling the game. Fox being the leader, and Wii Fit being able to taunt others. They're two of my suspects as well."
"That is very interesting," Lucina thought. She pondered.
"Who else...if you don't mind saying?" Lucina asked even further. Lucario folded his arms.
"I also believe the innocent players who appear non-threatening...may possibly not be so innocent. Players like Kazooie or Isabelle. Maybe it's a trick by the game creators."
"Could someone innocent be the secret traitor among us?" Lucina began, her face in thought at the possibility.
"Anyways, I'd like to ask: who do you think is the Mole?" Lucario immediately asked her. Lucina opened her mouth, a bit surprised by his question.
Lucina: I did not want to say it...but I slightly suspected my very partner himself as possibly being the Mole.
Wii Fit chortled. Dark Pit turned to her.
"What?" he asked angrily, thinking she was taunting him.
"Look." She turned to face a wooden post not far from them, and next to it, a mole hole itself. They had found their second mole hole...five seconds after they had hung up with Fox.
This tricky animal can only hope that they're the true star of their game.
"When they say 'tricky animal' like that, then there only leaves one choice," Wii Fit confirmed loudly. "A fox is always known to be a tricky animal, right? It must be Fox's hole."
"And the star is referencing 'Star Fox'...argh...if only we had found this hole five seconds before, we wouldn't have to waste another walkie-talkie call," Dark Pit said with annoyance, and he took out the walkie-talkie to speak into it.
Dark Pit: Or had Wii Fit actually spotted the hole earlier, but chose not to say anything to me? Wanting us to waste another walkie-talkie call? We only had three calls available. Maybe she wanted to waste one.
"Fox...your hole is on our land," Dark Pit spoke into the microphone of the walkie-talkie. They were trying to contact him.
"Hurry or you won't make it," Wii Fit added, calling out. "Time is ticking. We all need to dash soon, Mr. McCloud." They heard a slight static sound come from the walkie-talkie, assuming it was him.
"I think that was him," Wii Fit said with a nod, hearing the walkie-talkie sounds finish.
Wii Fit: As long as I found my own hole...I would be a winner in my own view. I didn't care about the others. So I just needed to run off.
"Well, buh-bye!" Wii Fit gave one sentence to her partner before quickly going off, heading to the gondola dock in the distance to head to Land 1. In just under a minute, her figure could be seen dashing off in an athletic manner far into the forest's distance, until out of sight. Dark Pit stared off into the distance in disbelief.
Dark Pit: She just...LEFT me? This was aimed to be a teamwork game. She didn't have to leave me at this stage!
"Later, weird human," he murmured. He ventured on, walking for five minutes.
Dark Pit: Too much walking...not enough flying.
"Phew," he said, reaching his destination. He turned to the series of Greek-design structures before him that expanded over a hundred feet in his peripheral vision to his left and right. It was beautiful and held multiple towers, but the main structure directly before him was a dome-shaped building that was massive in size. From the outside, Dark Pit could see that it was two floors tall, and in addition had windows that were large and dome-shaped, not unlike those of the famous Colosseum. The main building seemed to be made from a mixture of rock and marble. It was a grand construction.
Dark Pit: I entered: where else was there to go?
"Wow...are you serious?" he uttered, as soon as he entered. Situated in the dead center of the first room he saw was a mole hole, dug into the marble flooring and with a wooden post. Dark Pit walked up to it, eyes fixated.
This sweet ruler can give a fruity hit with their racket, club, or pan.
"Sweet and fruity...and sports and golf...Wii Fit? Nope...it can't be," Dark Pit thought out loud. Then, his eyes lit up.
"Peach!" Dark Pit decided. "It's a play on her name! Those are her weapons with her side smash, too! It's definitely Peach's hole!" He seemed excited, jumping up, having figured out the clue. But then he sighed, not having made up his mind though about his final choice.
Dark Pit: Do I even want to help the team? Maybe they don't deserve my help. Maybe they're all just bad people. Wii Fit just keeps on taunting me. What do I care about people like her. Some of the others seem so cocky and egotistical. Overall, I barely know anyone here. Why should I help anyone but myself?
He looked between the hole and the door, then finally making his choice, he pressed the button next to the flag pole.
"Let's be good...just this one time," Dark Pit said out loud, as he pressed the button.
Crash! The crimson flag protruded high into the sky with force so strong that it smashed into the ceiling high above. As Dark Pit looked up in confusion at what had happened, all he witnessed was falling concrete.
Dark Pit: What a perfect beginning to this game. My price for being good.
23 Minutes Remaining...
Kazooie and DK were heading towards the gondola station when they both jumped at the sound of static.
"Hello..." came an unclear voice from the walkie-talkie in the ape's hand. "Why are you trying to destroy my game? Stop." The unnerving voice cut off, before DK or Kazooie could reply.
"Huh? What the heck was that?" DK exclaimed, baffled.
"It sounded like...someone...but fuzzy and a bit creepy-sounding," Kazooie said. "But the walkie-talkie maybe cut off before he or she could finish!" She folded her wings.
"If they can afford 500,000 coins in prize money to give for this game, why can't they afford better walkie-talkies for our game? Is this all a conspiracy?" Kazooie said with exasperation. She sighed, but then lit up slightly.
"What?!" DK took out the walkie-talkie from his pocket. The red button was pressed down, glitched in place for a second, then a split moment later, it unpressed.
"You accidentally pressed the big, red button!" Kazooie exclaimed. "It was in your pocket? You absolutely butt-dialed, my primate friend."
Kazooie: DK pressed the big, red button and it wasted one of our three calls...hmm...was it an accident, or did he do it on purpose?
"What...I didn't know!" DK said to her, trying to shift the blame off from himself.
But before they could speculate more, they noticed something hidden on one of the rocky lands to the right. Unmistakably, it was a wooden post, and as they looked to the post's right, they saw none other than another mole hole, and a sign.
In ripened edibles' centers, vast darkness engulfs everything.
"Huh? I don't know," Kazooie stated blankly. "I have no idea who this is." She let out a small laugh, giving up.
"I'm a newbie and really know nothing about the other players," Kazooie explained to DK. "DLC. Latecomer. This one is on you."
"Leave it to the veteran!" DK said proudly. He studied it a little more.
"If it says dark...then..." DK thought, hand on his chin. "I have no idea. I can only think of Dark Pit. But, uh... I don't get it! What does 'ripe edibles' mean?"
"It's easy as pie!" Kazooie figured. "It's referring to fruits! And in the centers of some fruits are-"
"Pits!" DK confirmed loudly. "I get it! Dark fruit pits! Must be him!" Walkie-talkie in hand, DK looked at the number of Fox's land: 1.
"Land 1!" DK yelled. He spoke into the walkie-talkie.
"Dark Pit...this message is for you!" DK started.
"Uh, hey," came the reply of the kid angel.
"Come to our Land! Land 4!" Kazooie called out. "And you better fly here!"
"Neither of us can," they heard him murmur.
"That voice..." Peach shuddered, remembering it. It had been almost thirty minutes since she and Isabelle had encountered the mysterious person on the other end of their walkie-talkie, but the two of them were still recounting the haunting message.
"It just came out of nowhere too!" Isabelle said, still panicked. "Oh no...was it really the Mole? And if it was...what if the Mole is mad at us?"
"No use worrying on that," Peach told her with a shake of her head. "The Mole is probably mad at everyone in this game anyways. Doesn't make a difference." Isabelle thought about her line, then slowly nodded.
"So now, we heard from Dark Pit five minutes ago that your hole is on his land," Isabelle told Peach. "And according to the last part of Fox's message, my hole is on their land on Land 1." Isabelle smiled with realization.
"We both know where we should go!" Isabelle said joyfully, and the two females hugged with victory and a laugh.
"But wait...should we keep on looking?" Isabelle realized suddenly. "We found one hole here...but could there be another? What if someone never finds their home?" Isabelle suddenly changed her face.
"But oh no...we're so short on time now! Should we both go to the gondola?! I don't know!" Isabelle continued. "Maybe we should stop, right? And just run for the gondolas."
"The time limit is low indeed, and besides, we searched everywhere already and we just couldn't find any more holes," Peach told her. "And besides: if we don't head out now, we'll never make it to our holes in time!" Isabelle nodded in agreement.
"Okay: to the gondola station!" Isabelle said blissfully, and the two of them, on the smallest land of the five, were able to walk to the gondola lift with plenty of remaining time to spare.
15 Minutes Left...
Time was short. Fox was walking his way precariously near the edge of the waterfall. The sound of the falling water was considerably loud: if a person had called him and buzzed in on his walkie-talkie at that time, the sound signal would have either glitched or easily been drowned out by the sound of the intense falls. But Fox was determined to make it to the other side of the land, where it was still yet unexplored.
"Joker...that cheeky fellow," Fox muttered with a laugh. "Someone will get to him one day...like a speedy flash of light." After a few tricky steps, Fox had made it to another area of green land and trees, as he carefully studied the area.
"There isn't much time left," Fox said, gritting his teeth. "But if I can perhaps potentially spot a hole...if there is one here...I can bring us all closer to victory. Both the team's...and my own too."
And then suddenly, he spotted it.
"There!" His eyes caught a small pile of dirt besides a large tree, and right behind it, the valuable mole hole was present. As Fox approached it, he studied its surroundings, and even saw the wooden post clue to accompany it. Suddenly, Fox stepped back away from the hole, a little startled: a tiny, brown animal had exited from the hole and scurried away into the trees. Fox regained his composure, laughing a bit from the surprise of the brown creature, before approaching the sign.
"Funny thing," he commented, chuckling. Then, he looked at the sign message.
"Let's win this game," Fox spoke, then read the clue to himself.
When fire awakens, this person fights with chromium and a red-breasted bird.
"Kazooie is a red bird...but then this is referring to another person besides the bird," Fox broke down. He looked further at the sentence's second half.
"Chromium...just why does that sound like... Chrom?" Fox speculated. "Could it be..." Fox's eyes to the last word of the clue: a red-breasted bird.
"A Robin! Chrom and Robin! Fighting with Chrom and Robin." He snapped his fingers with victory.
"Then Lucina," he concluded. "This mole hole is definitely, without a doubt, Lucina's hole." He took out his walkie-talkie, one that was slightly wet with waterfall water from earlier. But never the less, he pressed down on Button 2 and started speaking.
"What are you saying? " Lucina asked, trying to hear Fox clearly over the static. "My hole is...on your island?" Ultimately, Fox had to buzz in twice. The first walkie-talkie attempt had failed for some reason. But now, the connection between the two lands was more clear.
"Yes. Sorry, my device was maybe wet...anyhow. Come here fast! We only...pzzt...10 minutes...!...!" Fox's voice seemed to fade off, as Lucina and Lucario slowly approached the station before them.
"Well, this is it," Lucario announced, as they both stood at the entrance of the crucial gondola station. Immediately, they were both shocked at its appearance. The innovative, metal assortment of structures, walls, and poles made up the mysterious, well-constructed gondola station. It had a futuristic appearance of spinning gears and metal compared to everything else on their land of green nature and deserted ruins, and Lucina and Lucario could see eight long, intimidating cables protruding from the inside of the station and shooting out into the distant sky. As they entered deeper into the gondola station, they saw several carriages waiting at the start of these cable paths. They would have to ride them, into the sky, and across the majestic waters.
"We must go to our holes, both on different lands..." Lucario said with a nod. Then, he sighed heavily, as Lucina looked at him.
"What is it?" Lucina looked at him.
"If we leave...there may be holes on this very land that will go undiscovered," Lucario expressed to her. But surprisingly, Lucina shook her head.
"I thought so too," Lucina said, and she even smiled a bit. "But remember the clue at the tip of the rocky slope? It said, "No holes up ahead. In fact, no holes on this land".
"Meaning?" Lucario inquired.
"There may be no holes at all on this entire Land 2," Lucina pointed out. Lucario thought about the sentence hard, and his eyes lit up.
"Then if there are no holes for us to find here," Lucario agreed, "Then we have no use being here! Let's get out of here then! To our lands!" Lucina nodded, and together they went to the edge of the station's opening. It looked out to an expanse of water and beautiful lands.
The gondola carts were present. Four of them were there.
"To Land 1" read the sign next to the first gondola, to their farthest left.
"This sign indicates that the first car on the most left goes to Land 1," Lucina began. She glanced at the third gondola, which had a number '3' imprinted on it.
"Land 3: that's where Dark Pit and Wii Fit are, is that not true?" Lucina spoke out loud, her eyes focused on the gondola with the number '3.
"Yes...we must hurry." Lucario ran to the gondola that Lucina was looking at, then quickly opened the delicate door of the carriage. It was of a size large enough to fit multiple people.
"This will be rather unsteady," Lucario noticed, his carriage swaying ever so slightly as he stepped inside. Lucina made her way to the first gondola with the '1' imprint, her goal to go to Land 1. They were both in their respective gondolas.
"We will both go to our mole holes...and succeed," Lucina said from her gondola, her voice unwavering with confidence. She saw a green button in the inside of her carriage.
"The green button must be it," Lucario spotted, seeing his own.
They both pressed their buttons simultaneously, and at a speed faster than a typical cable car's travel, their futuristic gondolas set off at a swift speed, acceleration powerful and surprisingly fast. Lucario and Lucina each held onto their handlebars and poles with slight surprise at the rapid speed of the cars as their gondolas sailed over the beautiful water and lands between the islands, gliding gracefully over the world. They were off to potential success.
But one of them was going in the wrong direction.
10 Minutes Left...
DK was frantically looking around the edge of his island. The certain area he was walking in was the last area to explore, and he had given up, his face in a mix of panic and irateness.
"There are no other holes!" he shouted out, mostly to no one. Kazooie had already left him to jump into her mole hole on the other side of their island. He was alone...and would not making his hole.
The darkness of the setting sun seemed to match the darkness of his hope to find his own mole hole destination.
DK: Well! Guess I'm failing my game! But if it means that I have someone to suspect because I couldn't locate my hole...maybe it'll help me bring me closer to discovering the very Mole in the end.
5 Minutes Left...
"HELLO! HI!"
Hundreds of feet above the ground, Isabelle called out as loud as she could, waving happily to a passerby on another gondola high above the crystal-clear water. As she was traveling by cable to Land 1, someone from Land 1 was heading towards her own land of Land 5.
They were passing by each other, five-hundred feet in the air over the glistening water.
"I didn't expect to see anyone!" Isabelle called out to Joker, for the fifty milliseconds that their sailing gondolas were adjacent to each other. "I'm glad you got our message from us!" The dog beamed.
"Have fun on my land," Joker spoke to her with a wink, as their gondolas then went out of earshot of each other.
3 Minutes Left...
On Land 1, Wii Fit ran to the reddish-white flag pole that signaled her goal. She spotted the whitish-red flag a few hundred meters away, waving high among a forest of trees before her.
"Bingo," she said to herself with a slight smile, and took a path straight towards the flag. She stepped over a few rocks, between a few trees, and entered a small dirt trail that led to the hole. She continued and continued down the trail...and fell right into a trap.
"What the-!"
Before she could realize her situation, her foot was swooped up by a rope, connected to a hanging branch above her that protruded from a grand tree. As she let out a yell of surprise, she was lifted into the air, off the ground, and left dangling nearly twenty feet above the ground. It was a trap by the Mole.
1 Minute Left...
Fox McCloud looked over the horizon, at the sun. It wasn't as bright as before, but even so, the water that went into the distance had a resplendent reflection.
The player took a breath and looked into the distance. Though he wouldn't be winning his part of the game, he seemed content regardless.
"What a game...and it's just the beginning."
The sun in the sky was starting to set, just like the time limit for their first mission. And soon, it hit zero.
0 Minutes Left
Game Over
"Phew! Where are we?"
All the players were finally underground: the mystical area was a mixture of both buried ancient ruins and newly-constructed floorings and walls, and all ten of them were gathered on a marble platform, about to hear the announcement of their first game's results. Although beneath the ground, it was airy and roomy.
Some of them had made it to the underground meeting spot on their own will and success, having jumped into their correct mole hole and succeeded their task in the game, albeit after a frightening ten-minute slide down to their current gathering spot. Others were brought to their very spot by the producers of the game via gondolas and helicopters, well after the time limit had expired. Those players had failed.
Smash Host stood grandly before them at the front of the marble platform.
"Mission 1 is done! Congrats. You had one hour to jump into your mole holes, hidden across five lands, " Smash Host told them. "Out of the ten of you, if eight of you successfully found your Mole holes, I will award the team the full 20,000 coin prize." He paused.
"However... every player below the count of eight will subtract 5,000 coins each. If less than half of you had made their hole...then you will win nothing for this game." All players tensed, having knowledge that other players, or even themselves, had not succeeded in the very task.
Kazooie: How did we even do? Did we win?! We didn't even know the results of anyone else besides ourselves! Yikes.
"Let's start with Land 1," began Smash Host. "Joker and Fox!" Everyone turned to the left-most players of the group: the first team pair.
"Joker, did you make it into your hole?" the host asked. The masked man looked nonchalant.
"I did," Joker replied. His voice and stare was as if his game couldn't have been any other result.
"That's one," announced the host.
"Whoo hoo!" shouted DK. The players clapped, and the masked student only folded his arms, looking pleased at their congratulating. The players felt their first sense of victory.
Hole in One: 1/1 Players
"Fox," said the host, turning to the player. "Did you manage to discover your hole?" Everyone turned to the space captain, as Fox held a composed face.
"I regrettably have to tell you that...no, I didn't," Fox stated, voice firm and shaking his head with confirmation of his failure. "Joker and I searched our land thoroughly. I assume my hole must have been on another land and not discovered by other players. So the location was unknown. I never got a message." Hearing this, Wii Fit and Dark Pit's faces dropped, puzzled.
"Fox...Wii Fit and I buzzed you in and delivered a message to you via walkie-talkie," Dark Pit revealed to the group. All eyes from the rest of the players turned to Fox. The space captain seemed immediately surprised.
"What?" Fox exclaimed, his eyes widening. "Are you...sure? My walkie-talkie didn't receive anything."
"We were both witnesses," Wii Fit said, folding her arms. "We could confirm that we buzzed in."
"Also, ten minutes after delivered my message to you, I delivered a second message to Peach and Isabelle afterwards," Dark Pit added, looking confused towards Fox. Peach nodded.
"Yeah, we got your message," Peach nodded.
"I also...had glitches with you, Fox, when I tried to buzz you in at one point," Lucina decided to speak up, adding more. "So not just Wii Fit and Dark Pit. Me as well." Everyone looked at Fox.
"So Fox, was yours broken?" Isabelle spoke to Fox, trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. Fox only held a stunned expression on his face.
"I..." Fox began, who was at a loss for words.. "I...I'll be honest. I didn't hear anything. There must have been a glitch. Or something." His face seemed genuinely flabbergasted.
"A glitch?" Joker said, raising his eyebrows. "I don't remember any problems while the two of us were together."
"Hmm..." Wii Fit folded her arms, looking at the space captain.
"All the walkie-talkies did have a lot of static glitching throughout," Isabelle talked up in protest, trying to ease the situation for Fox.
"Maybe it was at a bad time that I was buzzed," Fox tried to reason, looking quite lost. "For example, if someone else tried to signal in too. Or if some of the waterfalls were really loud-"
"Mmmhm," Kazooie sounded, looking unconvinced.
Hole in One: 1/2 Players
"I promise to you all...I didn't hear or receive anything," Fox said, his face showing innocence. "You can blame me, however. That's perfectly okay; it's the game. But that won't bring you anywhere. At least not closer to the Mole." He stepped up, now standing before the group, looking at them all collectively.
"I know you want to accuse me as the Mole. But if we want to find the Mole, we have to find the true Mole. Some of us are going to make genuine errors. That's how this game works. That's how life works!" He nodded, almost to himself.
"But it's up to us to discern which mistakes are genuine and true, and which are truly suspicious. We can't let the truly innocent players take blame and fall, because that hurts both you and them. We have to look hard...REALLY hard...and see when someone is not being genuine. When someone is not being real. That's when we find the true Mole." The others listened in silence.
"If you vote for me for this small error...you won't be going anywhere past Episode 2. I want to help most of you succeed. We have to work as a team to get this Mole down. But trust me: I'm not the Mole." Everyone looked at the player in silence, thinking. Some of them took in his words with agreement, nodding.
Peach: This space captain, who is supposed to be someone we were to respect: Was he being genuine about his words...or actually playing us as the very Mole?
"That's one down, and one up," the host stated. "Thank you for your words and your explaining, Fox." Fox nodded to the host, as he then turned to the second pair.
"Lucina and Lucario," Smash Host continued. "Were you able to make your respective mole holes?"
"Yes... I had made my mole hole," Lucina spoke. "I was notified by Fox, who successfully led me to my land located in Land 1." Everyone seemed more positive from hearing the victory, and Fox gave a sigh of relief: his reputation had slightly recovered.
Hole in One: 2/3 Players
"But..." Lucina began, looking a bit troubled.
"And I did not find my hole," Lucario spoke first before she could finish, looking a bit disappointed. Everyone looked surprised.
"I had gone to the wrong land," Lucario explained, and everyone exchanged glances. "Gondola 3 did not mean Land 3: it meant Land 4. A simple error...yet I had fallen completely. I believe I succumbed, faultily, to the psychology of limited time. It made me rush."
"We had delivered the message to you guys...and the message was for you to travel to our land," Wii Fit confirmed, folding her arms. "I believe you had failed on your own doing."
"Though..." Lucina began, as Lucario turned to her.
"I believe I can be partially blamed for this error," Lucina said softly to Lucario. "I did glance slightly at Gondola 3. I also fell victim to that easy error." Lucario looked confused.
Lucario: Could she have slightly convinced me to go to Gondola 3? I don't remember it exactly...but her eyes were indeed looking at that gondola heavily.
"No need to take blame, Lucina," said Lucario with a shake of his head. "I shall take it. How embarassing overall." Lucina nodded, accepting.
"Well! I agree; embarrassing mistake. Even I didn't make it. However, it was a simple mistake to make," Wii Fit said, facing the two of them with a bit of understanding. "No worries on that. We can understand." Lucina looked grateful at her forgiving.
"Hmm," was all Dark Pit said, a little silently.
Wii Fit: People make mistakes. Fox's speech...I hate to say it, but it influenced me a lot. Some mistakes will be genuine, because nine players out of ten are innocent, and there's only one Mole. Team 2's situation...I understood completely.
Dark Pit: Lucario is an intelligent Pokemon, so I really found it a bit weird that he made that error. And Lucina...she's usually very precise on things too, so she should have seen that Lucario was taking the wrong gondola. She could also be blamed.
Hole in One: 2/4 Players
"Land 3," the host announced, and everyone turned to Dark Pit and Wii Fit. By the looks of Wii Fit's face, the other players knew that they would not be the bearer of good news.
"Oh dear," Kazooie said, gulping.
"Dark Pit?" Smash Host began.
"Yeah, yeah," Dark Pit began, rolling his eyes. "I made it. Whoo hoo."
"So angsty, even when he wins," Peach commented quietly.
"He's a teenager," Fox whispered back. "It's what they do best."
Hole in One: 3/5 Players
"And Wii Fit?" Smash Host said, turning to her. "What was your result?" Everyone turned to the fit female, who looked annoyed.
"I made it to my correct land of Land 1...and I had five minutes to make it to my hole," Wii Fit began, "when just suddenly, a trap from NOWHERE was activated. It wrapped around my leg, and before I knew it, I was lifted off and dangling from a large tree, thirty feet above the ground." Before she could continue, everyone's eyes went wide and gasped.
"Whu what!" DK sputtered with shock. "A trap? Dangling from your feet!?"
"What?" Joker voiced, sounding skeptical.
"As best as I could, I tried to safely get out," Wii Fit explained, sighing with a shrug, "but it was futile. I couldn't make it to my hole."
"And you just randomly happened to stumble upon a trap?" Dark Pit spoke with both incredulity and disbelief. "Ugh."
"Why, yes," Wii Fit spoke, glaring at him. "And?"
"Did you plan that path towards the trap, or-"
"And what do you suppose you're accusing me of?" Wii Fit spoke back, offended. "Walking right into my own trap and making myself dangle and suffer? If you want to make Mole accusations, gloomy Pit, then make good ones at the least perhaps."
Isabelle: It was scary to think...but was the trap set by the Mole? And if it was...did either Fox or Joker build it? They were both on that land! It's mysterious. That would point to one of them. Or how about DK? He climbs trees!
Fox: It sounds crazy though, but maybe it was possible though, what Dark Pit was referring to? Maybe Wii Fit planned to walk right into her trap and tried to use the occurrence as an excuse or an accident. Who really knows.
Hole in One: 3/6 Players
"Team 4." Kazooie seemed to walk up proudly.
"I made it!" she exclaimed. "Booyah! One point for the red bird. For those who thought I was the Mole: this proves differently!" The red bird beamed with a smile, looking proud.
"No one had even accused you of being the Mole though," Joker pointed out.
"Well done, Kazooie!" Peach commented. The players were happy at her success.
"Well, what a surprise!" DK announced in a sarcastic voice, ready to tell his own results. "I wasn't able to locate my hole." Accusingly, his eyes slightly glanced at the other pairs of players.
"One of you didnt find my hole," the ape added, folding his large, bulky arms.
"Indeed, yes...your hole was located on another one of the four other lands," Smash Host confirmed. "DK's hole was on..." He looked at his paper.
"Land 5: Peach and Isabelle," the host read. The two females gasped a bit, as everyone turned to them.
"Oh..." Peach said softly. "We only found one hole." Isabelle next to her seemed to shuffle with nervousness.
"DK's hole was on the left side of your island, by the water rocks," Smash Host explained even further. "However, that area was unexplored by you guys."
"We decided to stay away from the water areas because they were slippery and we didnt want to get wet," Isabelle said meekly. "Also, they were a little dangerous." Everyone considered their words.
"No way...I can't believe it," DK groaned. "A lost hole due to a little water?" He looked upset.
"We're sorry," Isabelle began, bowing her head.
Kazooie: Both DK and I explored the water land areas of our own land, and we thought it was pretty safe...albeit a little wet. it was weird that Isabelle and Peach didn't decide to explore the water areas more. 5,000 coins was lost.
Hole in One: 4/8 Players
"And lastly...Team 5," Smash Host began to conclude, as everyone turned to the final pair of Land 5. The game was down to the two females.
"If neither if you had made your holes...then no money is won," Smash Host explained in a low voice, as everyone tensed.
"But...if both of you had made it...then the group wins 10,000 coins." Everyone took in Smash Host's words carefully.
"Come on...please have made it...for the money...for the win," Fox silently pleaded. Everyone held their breaths.
"We..." began Peach to the team. She turned to Isabelle, then smiled.
"We...of course...both made it to our mole holes."
The players erupted with cheers and relieved feelings. For their first mission of the game, they had succeeded.
"Whoo hoo!" DK hollered, giving the players next to him high-fives. "All right!"
"That's the teamwork victory we needed," Fox said with a grin enthusiastically. "All right, guys! We didn't let the Mole beat us completely this first game."
Wii Fit: A lot of suspicious actions...first Fox, then almost each land and almost each player had one suspicious thing. We just didn't know who to trust.
"We did it!" Kazooie said triumphantly. "Thanks to some of us!"
"If it weren't for me finding Peach's hole on my own, choosing to help the team, we wouldn't have won," Dark Pit slightly sulked, but no one heard him.
"I must say, congratulations to you all," Smash Host concluded. "With six successful players, that's 10,000 coins to the team pot. Not the full 20,000 coins, but a victory none the less."
TEAM POT
10,000 Coins
"Umm...one thing," Peach decided to speak up. Smash host turned to her.
"During the game...when Isabelle and I pressed the red button on the walkie-talkie...we heard a voice. The voice was...just so creepy. Distorted." Peach shuddered.
"And the person claimed to be...the Mole." The other players, most of them unknowing to the fact, were flabbergasted and wide-eyed at the news.
""What?" Fox realized. "You spoke to the Mole?! So that's what that red button did!"
"But was it actually...the Mole?" Peach asked. Everyone turned to the host before he answered.
"Yes," Smash Host stated. The players broke out into a hushed array of whispers.
"What?!" DK claimed. "That's impossible! Kazooie and I heard it too!"
"It was a pre-recording that the Mole put into each walkie-talkie," the host explained further and fully, as the players sighed with a bit of relieved feelings. "The Mole had recorded it before the mission had taken place. It may have sounded and seemed live...but it wasn't. It was a trap. Since you were only able to send outward messages a maximum of three times each, if you pressed the red button, it would have lowered your count by one and wasted a call."
"So if we pressed the red button..." Fox realized, remembering the events of the game, "We would have been maxed out..."
"A trap from the Mole," Joker spoke, smiling and folding his arms.
"Ugh...so it was a wasted call," Kazooie realized to DK. "When you butt-dialed accidentally." DK scratched his head.
"Hey, I didnt know!" DK replied.
"We got to watch out for the Mole's traps from now on," Wii Fit stated, shaking her head. "Like the one I was caught in."
"Anyways, congratulations, and let us settle for the night," the host told them all, tipping his top hat to them.
"10,000 coins. Well done. The first game of The Mole: Deceiver's World...is done."
Fox: That was an intense game. No doubt about it. Did the others believe me when I told them I didn't hear the walkie-talkie message they sent to me? To be honest...I'd be surprised if they DID believe me. This game of the Mole is all about lies and deception.
DK: I'm happy, but I also want to yell at the top of my voice in anger! I got the blame label for not finding my own hole, when in fact, that blame should have gone to Land 5 for not locating it! Peach and Isabelle, specifically. They didn't want to search the water area, which cost us.
Wii Fit: I am clearly suspicious of Fox's situation, but I don't know. Also, I'm suspicious of Dark Pit because he was too slow, moping around like a dark, lost soul. So I blame multiple players. They are both suspicious.
Lucina: It was such a coincidental, unusual occurrence, hearing that Wii Fit fell into a trap. No one was around her when she did it...could there have been more to the story? It is a bit strange, but I trust her. So I'm conflicted in thought.
Kazooie: Lucario and Lucina are two smart players, yet they made an easy mistake. That was just a bit weird. Lucario took a wrong gondola, and Lucina didn't catch the mistake either. Hmm.
Joker: I didnt sabotage. How unfortunate. I can't be a very good Mole if I don't sabotage, now can I?
Peach: Just unsure of exactly what is to happen next. I'm not used to these surroundings, not one little bit. Or the scary, deceptive premise of this very game.
The underground world was not unfamiliar to those who took part in the Subspace Emissary. A combination of underground ancient ruins and constructions, pathways, and doors laid out almost a large labyrinth, and it was the world that the players would be exploring for the next 12 hours. Added to the historical-looking marble and concrete however were more modernized rooms: a television room and arcade was located in the left-most wing. A mini-cafe with free snacks and coffee for the players were located in the main hall of the underground maze, complete with a vending machine and coffee maker for those who needed more Mole-theorizing energy. But most relaxing of all, there were shared bedrooms laid out with carpets, wallpapers, and most importantly, beds for each of the players, furnished as much as a dirty, underground hole could possibly be polished. Everything was daunting and new indeed...but they felt cleaned and polished.
"Phew...I am quite exhausted!" Peach voiced, lying down back on her soft bed and looking up at her cave-like ceiling. Her roommate, Lucina, set her bag down on her own side of the room. The two princesses did not want to play another game any time soon.
"I'm surprised...that the first game took quite a toll on me," Lucina realized, sitting down on her bed in contemplative thought, "Or rather...it took a toll on everybody, if I must say." Though she still had plenty of energy compared to her roommate, the medieval princess for a second had a look of concern.
"Though, the question is: who will survive?" Lucina thought. "We can't forget that slowly, we will be exiting this game one by one." Lucina settled her belongings down on a shelf.
"Two princesses," Peach commented, turning over to her side while lying down on her bed to face Lucina. "To be honest, it's just very interesting...but I absolutely quite love it!" Lucina smiled at her partner, content.
"I'm hoping we can succeed together," Lucina spoke hopefully. "These circumstances are different from a battlefield. It is also mentally challenging, not just physically challenging. We have to fight against...the Mole."
"If I end up becoming friends with the Mole through this very game...oh, how silly I'd be," Peach stated with a little chuckle herself. "I just hope that I can just survive this first episode and not get eliminated. I can't imagine what my kingdom or people would think if I got out first! Hmph." Lucina looked at her, a little silent at her words; her face was still, as a new thought had come to her mind.
"If one of us gets eliminated...there is one silver lining," the swordswoman stated with a bit of realization on her face. "I'm sure it'll also be a good thing to stop playing within this wicked game full of deception and lies. Maybe being eliminated from this game...may in truth be a blessing."
Two Smash veterans, Fox and DK, were located in their own unique bunker.
"I could have sworn that the walkie-talkies were absolutely rigged...by the Mole, or by the producers of this show even," Fox told his roommate, sorting all his clothes and belongings out for their night to stay. "I state my innocence. But it is up to the final decision of the others to believe me or not." He was philosophically talking and speeching slightly long to DK, but overall though, his voice or demeanor didn't seem too bothered.
"Never the less, I'm glad to be with you all in this game," Fox said a little gratefully. "You're a good group. We can be an awesome team."
"Hey, why don't you seem more riled up and mad about everything though?" DK asked, confused, stopping his push-ups on the ground. "You look content as heck right now! Even back then! I'd be furious being blamed for something that wasn't my fault!"
DK: Assuming Fox hadn't actually been sabotaging in the first place, of course! If that was so...then I'd be out to get him for sure!
Fox: Maybe this is good. Maybe it's good to get the others to think you're the Mole, after all.
Fox slightly grinned. "Because if people think you're the Mole...that's good, I suppose. I'm all for teamwork, yes...but at other times, it's good to play for yourself." DK faced him, a purely discombobulated expression on his face.
"Whu huh? Good?!" DK repeated, facing him. "I don't get it! What do you mean?"
"Smash Host explained that we take a quiz about the Mole at the end of every episode," Fox informed his partner, remembering the words spoken by the host in the very beginning of the game. "The one who is the most off on their answers is eliminated."
"Ah, ah...I'm getting you," DK finally said with a look of understanding, his mouth turning into a grin himself. "So if people think you're the Mole, they'll vote for you...and right into the gutter they go!" Fox nodded, and he looked at his teammate strongly.
"Hey, even if you're not the Mole...you've gotta play the game a bit tricky sometimes. I'm all for teamwork as a captain, you see, DK. But in addition...I suppose I'm also a fox."
"Greetings."
Lucario stopped drinking his coffee, turning around at the sudden voice that came from behind him in the underground cafe.
"Who is.." Lucario began, but then saw that it was Joker sitting at the coffee table behind him. Lucario hadn't noticed him before.
"I have a question for you," Joker started, not bothering to look up at Lucario and casually twirling a croissant on the table. "How is it that a player like you, who can unfairly sense auras of other people, is allowed in such a game like this?" Lucario only stared at him.
"I do not follow your question," Lucario replied.
"If you were a regular player, the ability to see auras would perhaps be qualified under the category of 'cheating', would it not?" Joker explained, still more interested in looking at his croissant than Lucario. "Because you would be able to see the Mole's aura and expose him or her. That wouldn't be fair at all." Lucario nodded.
"I understand where you're coming from," Lucario stated. "But I have an explanation for that answer for you. I am not allowed to use my powers to its full maximum here. Only slightly. There are other crew members, in fact, who will know if I use any of my aura powers, because they in fact have similar powers too, not unlike mine. A few of them are species of Lucario as well. It's all under control, as you can see." Joker listened to his explanation, closing his eyes.
"I suppose that makes sense," Joker said, opening his eyes. "Though what a complicated answer. I'm surprised they had enough time to debrief a genuine player with all that information before the game." Lucario eyed him carefully.
"Hypothetically... if you were the Mole," Joker began again, "then it would be totally fair to choose someone like you to be the deceiver. You could even read the minds of the people around you to divert their suspicions." Joker finally looked up at Lucario.
"What a perfect Mole you'd be," Joker said quietly, a smile evident on his face. The Pokémon, though strong and powerful, couldn't help but feel a little taken back.
"I take that as a compliment," Lucario said calmly. "And I return the compliment as well to you, Joker. You would make quite a superb Mole as well." Joker chuckled, and right after, stood up and left the cafe. Lucario was left alone.
Lucario: I could sense an aura from this player, yes. And it wasn't exactly full of light.
Kazooie looked with disinterest from one fallen column to another. She was exploring the main hall...or the main hole...of the underground labyrinth they were in. Isabelle approached her, trying her best to smile.
"I've been looking around these ruins and ancient structures just to admire their history, and oh! It's actually a bit amazing, if I say so myself!" Isabelle said excitedly with wonder. Kazooie looked at her with a stare of disbelief.
"This dirty cavern is 'beautiful' to you?" Kazooie replied with a different kind of wonder. "Oh dear. Hey, I mean, you should know the so-called definition of beauty, right? Aren't the trees and fruits and grass in your town all lovely and all that?"
"Umm, that always depends on whether the mayor has been gone on vacation for a long time or not," Isabelle chuckled with worry. "He's like a Mole himself sometimes. I won't lie; I do get put under a little bit of pressure and a little tinily vexed when he neglects the town, because then I have to care for everything...but oh, I should stop! That's just a negative way to think of it all, isn't it?"
"What?" Kazooie replied, blank-faced, never having played her game. But Isabelle was focused on another activity, brushing up some of the fallen columns.
"I just want fresh air," mumbled Kazooie, and Isabelle's ears perked up.
"Actually," Isabelle began, looking at a certain path opening that was not far from them, "there was an upwards-slanting hallway that might lead to the outside I think. I felt some open, fresh air coming from the end of it, so I imagine that perhaps it's an opening!"
"By all means, let's go!" Kazooie spoke enthusiastically, and the two of them walked their way to the hallway that led upwards.
The ground and walls were all marble and surprisingly clean for being all under the earth's surface. As they ascended higher and walked further upwards towards the surface of the earth, they both seemed to have lessened stress and higher spirits than before as well. They were elevating.
"Wow...I can actually feel my lungs getting air," Kazooie told Isabelle.
"Almost there," Isabelle spoke excitedly, seeing a bit of light.
Finally, they reached what looked like the area before an opening to the outside air, because the moon's light could be seen reflecting against the surfaces of the walls and floor. The two players walked a little bit more, smiles on their faces, and then stopped.
At the exit of the tunnel, blocking their exit, was a sign that made them both freeze in place, facing each other with uneasy looks of panic.
Go back into your hole. NOW.
It's my turn for me to go up while you all go down. You're under my world now...like you always have been.
ANOTHER note by the Mole? Geez, they just keep coming!
Thank you all for reading! :D The first mission is done...and in the next chapter, the players will be traveling to their new world! Which stage would it be? After all, each new world will be based on a Smash Bros stage! The plot thickens...
For the first episode, I will be updating on a Friday night (in America) basis! :) since the first episode is all written out!
Thank you so much! If you have a moment, please leave a review! :D I'd love to hear all your thoughts and all that!
And all my replies to the last reviews are below! Thank you all so much!
PSULucky: My mouth dropped when I saw your name! It's so good to see you! :D I am absolutely thrilled that you like some of the chosen characters! Not gonna lie, I'm also a little excited to have people like Dark Pit and Joker in my story...I'm gonna have a lot of fun with them! : ) Granting they don't get executed first, haha. I'm super, super glad you like Wii Fit as well! She is...such a blank character in the Smash games canonically. I wanted to add a LOT of flavor to her. Anyways, your sentence "enjoy your characterizations and the fact that I can get an immediate sense of all the players' personalities" gave a tear to my eye : ) I'm so happy I was able to achieve that cause it was a goal.
Princess Toady: My Mole! :D How are ya?! So good to see that another Smash Player in this new story is joining your league in the hall of fame of saboteurs, hehe! I was SUPER surprised that Peach is a player in my story too! I'm going to have fun with her existence, since it's a unique, odd one! ...I just realized that Peach is your profile picture xD I'm crying. Would you be happy or mad if she is indeed the Mole? Also, I LOVE that you're so open about not liking some of the characters! Such as Isabelle and Lucario, haha! I appreciate that for some reason! Thanks for your analytical list of each player! I absolutely enjoyed reading it!
MonadoSpeedy: Haha! It feels weird but cool responding to you here! xD I love it! Also...your long reviews give me LIFE! SUPER LIFE! I don't need coffee or chocolate in my life anymore! I love your little "possibly a clue" pickups! You're smart, as always! : ) They make me think a lot as well! Yes! I'm so glad you're an Isabelle fan! Yes, she will definitely break grammar boundaries with her "?!" combos, haha. Your sentence, "Isabelle, it's so early for suspects." That had me dying xD. Lastly...what? McHallyboo? I'm glad you were a fan of him, but...what are you even talking about? This was the only part of your review that didn't make sense. You were doing so well solving mysteries until you mentioned that unrelated, past name. Totally being serious and not dodging anything here...hehehe. Anyways, your review made me SO HAPPY!
Cavin856: Hello! :D It's so good to hear from you! Thank you so much for being a fan and reader of my previous Mole stories! It means a lot :) Wow, you are quite the clue hunter! You seem really intelligent and I absolutely love it! I'm glad you caught the hidden letters at the end of the final chapter of Agent's Elevation! Nice sleuthing indeed! You have some plausible theories...and I will comment that you are somewhat right about the "no holes" sign. But also, when I saw that you said, "it could just be a simple mistake on the authors part, however, with how cautious you usually are, I find that unlikely" I couldn't help but blush and beam just a little...you're so right : ) Then again, I feel like you are also categorized under that because you seem like a careful, analytical guy as well! As for the Peach timeline question, good question! I'll say that soon, that will be revealed in soon chapters to come! : )
Sixthsense: Ah, your name is always a familiar one to me! Good to see ya :D Yeah! I totally knew and felt that Kazooie would be a pick that would throw a lot of readers off! I totally had to pick her for that reason! Also, I was and still am a HUUUUUGGGEE Banjo Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie fan! :) Nice suspicions! I guess time will tell and the next chapter will tell a lot even more!
Masking What Remains: Indeed, yes! :D Here we go! Down the hole...of a deceitful, conniving Mole.
Dark Punxysaur: Sooo good to see my past Mole player! Hello :D You...solved...the riddle...of Joker's hole?! WHAT?! I can't even. Though honestly, I'm not surprised at all that you were able to solve it however; you did make it to the final five of my game ;) Nice three top suspects list! You have good reasons to choose them I feel! Also, Piantissimo makes a cameo! :D Well...in reference! Baha!
Guest: Thanks so much for your comment! :D I'm excited too!
darksymphony777: Mr. Amazing Video Reviewer! It's so good to see you here! : ) Thank you so much for reading my story! I love how you are able to reference Toadette; your Mole expertise shines! Good Mole suspects and reasons too! I like your reasonings! What?! Dark Pit is 54th tier rated? That is so low...poor kid haha. In note, I would like everyone to check out Darksymphony777's Youtube account: he amazingly reviews fanfictions and maybe he can suggest you a good one! (after all, he did review my Mario Mole stories :)
Sir Omar: It's been quite a while! So nice to see ya again! Ah, I love that you love Fox! He's definitely playing the leader role and I'm glad you don't think he's too cocky! That was my goal; to make him likable! Baha, your comment about DK and his IQ makes me laugh for some reason! He's definitely not as dumb as his exterior sometimes shows, lol.
Guest: Is this you? Theeee Guest?! Hello! :D It is amazing to see ya! Thank you so much for joining this new Mole world and story :) I love your analysis of each character! You especially have an interesting analysis within Isabelle's section and I love your theorizing! It's clever! Are you right or wrong? Only time will tell ; ) I do admire your thinking as it is so heavily-leveled! I like how you have a winner pick as well! I guess that's as important and fun as guessing the Mole too, huh? Haha : ) So good to see you!