The Mole : Festive Saboteur !

This fiction is the property of Toady16/Princess Toady. Any reproduction, whether it is partial or complete, is strictly forbidden. Of course, you can find some kind of inspiration in my work (or not), but please, do not steal it from me. Who would want to be praised for the work of another anyway ?

So, what is The Mole ? The Mole was an anglophone show, that was canceled a few years ago. In The Mole, a bunch of players is competing in various physical and mental challenges to earn money that will be added to the Team Pot, the Team Pot being the prize of the sole winner.

Among the players is a traitor, a saboteur, hired by the producers to hinder the real players' effort to win money. This individual is called the Mole, their objective being to stay hidden from the players while destructing their hopes of adding money to the Team Pot.

The players would want to know who is the Mole, because at each end of episodes, they will have to take a questionnaire, asking them what the Mole did during the said-episode. Each time, the player who will score the lowest on the quiz will be definitely eliminated from the game.

In the end, there will be a winner, a runner-up, and obviously the Mole, who cannot be eliminated at all.

Before I start this story, or maybe after, who knows, maybe you will want to check out TheGreatAdvenger's Mole fiction, and Krisetchers' ones. Their stories are really cool, you wouldn't want to miss them, would you ? ^^

I would gladly appreciate any review, but maybe you shouldn't try to read what the other reviewers think... Who knows, if they spoil the fiction for you, it will not really be fun to read anymore, right ? And I still don't know if I'll put clue toward the Mole's identity...

Oh, and last warning before I really start : I'm French. ^^'''

So yeah, you might find mistakes in my chapters, unfortunately... And I have nothing against constructive criticism or flames (flames are a kind of bad reviews, aren't them ?). ^^

1 : Meeting the Candidates !

Pipetown, also known as the center of communication of the Party Land. It was here that Monty Mole was waiting the contestants, for what would be his third time at hosting the game show The Mole. The first two seasons were amazing in his mind, he couldn't wait more for this new adventure to begin.

"My, my... I hope the helicopters are arriving soon ! I can't wait anymore, I'm dying to meet the new contestants ! Remember, my friends. During the first season, Toady Dress, Rosalina Caprio and Kylie Koopa reached the final episode, the first one being the winner, the second one being the runner-up and the last one being the Mole," recalled hastily the host.

Monty Mole took the time to breath, and continued to talk afterward. "In the second season, where twelve strangers competed to earn the victory, Lays Terryns was the Mole, Boonty Ghoste the winner, and Tanoo Kie the runner up ! In this second season, many players had great strategies, notably Tanoo who was using his coalition partner to eliminate the players who dropped like flies."

"And now...well, we are waiting for ten new contestants, this time all famous celebrities of the Mushroom Kingdom ! Let me just tell you one thing. Maybe they will not be who you think they will be..." mysteriously announced Monty Mole. "Hey ! Look, listen ! The first helicopter is here !"

A pink helicopter landed before the pipe-shaped entrance. Two players got off the the vehicle, the first one being a pink dinosaur wearing a huge and shiny bow-tie on her head, and the second one being a classy old Boo with slanted eyes, carrying a towel on his arm.

"Weeeeelcome !" greeted Monty Mole while waddling toward the two newcomers.

"Why, hello good sir," politely responded Bootler, shaking hands with the host.

"Well, hello there !" happily chirped back Birdo. "Is the game starting soon ?" she asked in a giddy way.

Monty Mole chuckled. "Well, maybe we should wait for the other players, don't you think so ?"

"I guess so," blushed the impatient dinosaur. "Hey look ! They're coming !"

"Mmmh... I wonder who they are," thought aloud Bootler.

Two helicopters were closing the distance between them and the entrance of Pipetown where three persons patiently waiting for more of them to arrive. One of them was blue, the other was green. Two people got out of each vehicle. A strong and muscular ape wearing a red tie on which were printed the letters 'DK' and a small blue-shelled tropical creature came out of the blue helicopter. Hopping off the second helicopter were a red polka doted mushroom, wearing a blue shirt, a white diaper and brown shoes, and also a levitating fairy, all dressed in blue. Donkey Kong, Noki, Toad and Jojora were entering the game.

"Hello everyone ! You're all here for the game ?" questioned the little Toad.

"No duh. Of course they are, genius !" exclaimed Jojora while rolling her eyes.

"Thank you for your kindness !" laughed bitterly Toad.

Donkey Kong and Noki were less noisy, being respectively taciturn and shy. Then, in the distance, appeared the last two helicopters : a red one and a yellow one. A questionable pair got out of the red one. Once known for being a dating couple, the two individuals were wearing mostly red. A blue shelled Koopa quickly escaped the yellow one, followed minutes later by a mauve floating cloud, wearing jewelry. Mario, Pauline, Kooper and Flurrie were the last four contestants.

"...and then, I was like, 'No way ! You cannot do that to an exquisite lady like me !', well, you know what I mean darling ?" ranted obnoxiously Flurrie about something totally insignificant.

"God help me," muttered Kooper so she wouldn't hear him. "Oh, hi Monty !"

Monty Mole looked shocked. He hadn't realized yet that the reason of Kooper's disappearance of the staff crew was due to his recent involvement as a player. "Kooper ! You are a player ? That's amazing ! I wish you luck !"

"AH-hem... I hope there won't be any favoritism, if you know what I mean," interrupted Mario.

Monty Mole laughed. "Don't worry about this Mario, I'm the perfect host for this Mole game-show. Now, if you would all please follow me... I would like to introduce you to the game."

First name : Birdo

Surname : Ribbon

Birthday : May 15

Job : Fashion Designer

First name : Bootler

Surname : Majordome

Birthday : September 6

Job : Butler

First name : Donkey

Surname : Kong

Birthday : March 12

Job : Glitz Pit's Fighter

First name : Noki

Surname : Delphis

Birthday : August 7

Job : Air Hostess

First name : Toad

Surname : Phalloïde

Birthday : June 1

Job : Gardener

First name : Jojora

Surname : Teeheena

Birthday : December 27

Job : Sculptor

First name : Pauline

Surname : Celeste

Birthday : June 16

Job : Model

First name : Mario

Surname : Mario

Birthday : January 22

Job : Plumber

First name : Flurrie

Surname : Cumulia

Birthday : October 29

Job : Actress

First name : Kooper

Surname : Shelic

Birthday : July 7

Job : The Mole's Assistant

Everything did not go as planned. Monty Mole was a fast runner, and soon, the players lost him. Reluctantly, they decided to head toward the center of Pipetown, in order to have lunch. Soon, they all discussed unimportant things, and tried to know each other better.

Mario : I thought that Monty Mole had left us all alone on purpose, but for what purpose ? That's the question actually.

"So you were part of the production team before ?" asked an interested Pauline to Kooper, called the game's expert by the others.

"That's a way to say it... Yeah, I guess. But I never was informed of anything really important you know. I was more, like, helping Monty Mole during some challenges, you know. Most of the time I was preparing the challenges."

"Wow... That's quite interesting..."

Pauline : Let's be realistic, there is no way the producers let Kooper play the game as a normal player. Of course, it would make sense if he was actually the Mole. If he isn't, then that's really unfair for us...

Flurrie was watching intently the salad in her plate, when suddenly, she decided to eat something else. "Bellboy, might I have your attention ?"

"That would be hard not to remark her," sarcastically commented Jojora. Donkey snickered.

"Yeah, I still wonder why they accepted her... She could scare the kids without disguising herself !"

"Great minds think alike, heh ?"

"You can say that again."

Donkey : I like Jojora, she has a very interesting personality and she's my favorite player, beside myself of course. She isn't a hypocrite, unlike some others I won't mention.

Noki was sitting at the very end of the table, she sighed as she saw that nobody was paying her any attention. "Well, well, well... Here goes the change..."

Noki : I'm not what you might call a loud person. I tend to be shy around strangers and I'm not one to put myself forward... I need more time to feel confident, or maybe I just need someone I can talk to...

Birdo noticed Noki's strange behavior and decided to sit next to her, to make her feel like she was at home. She apologized to Mario and Toad, who were in a deep conversation about mushrooms, and walked toward Noki.

"Hi ! How are you feeling ?" asked kindly Birdo.

"I'm fine..."

Birdo raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure ?"

"Well, I do feel a little lonely..." answered an embarrassed Noki.

"You don't mind if I'm sitting next to you, do you ?"

Thirty minutes later, Monty Mole, who was spying them hidden behind dark shades, made an announcement. "THE PLAYERS FROM THE MOLE HAVE TO GO MEET THEIR HOST, MONTY MOLE, AT THE MOONLIGHT HOTEL !"

The players quickly paid the bill and headed toward what would be their first challenge.

Monty Mole could now see the players, hurrying in the distance. They all arrived, panting after so much exercise. Only Flurrie, Bootler and Jojora, the floating contestants, were fresh and full of energy. Monty Mole held the door for them to enter into the Moonlight Hotel, walked toward the center of the room, and turned to face them.

"Okay everyone, let me remind you of the game's rules. First of all, you are ten players. Among you is hidden the Mole, a player whose goal is to sabotage the group's effort. Your goal, however, is to find who the Mole is and at the same time, to win the challenges that will be proposed to you. At the end of each episode, one of you will be executed, with no hope of returning into the game," explained Monty Mole, accustomed to the game's basics.

Bootler looked surprised. "Strange choice of wording, I must say."

"Before each execution, you will have to take a quiz. This quiz will be about what the Mole did during the challenges, or what they like. It can be about anything, but you will have to answer it carefully if you want to stay in the game."

"We'll definitely have to be observant," remarked Toad.

"As long as the projectors are shining on me, everything will be alright," laughed delicately Flurrie while winking at the camera. The others coughed.

"Anyway," started Monty Mole, totally changing the subject, "We will now begin our first challenge, called 'Mixed-up Possessions'. Each of you will be brought in a room. In this room, there will be ten items and ten tags, on which will be written the players' names. You will have to link the items to their owners. Obviously, you will be able to identify your item, or will you ? If you identify at least three items, you will add a thousand coins to your pot. If you identify correctly six items, you will add two thousand coins to your pot. Finally, if one of you identifies all of the items, without making any mistakes, you will win twenty thousand coins. Do you all understand ?"

"Of course we understand, are you calling us dumb ?" harshly responded Jojora, her arms crossed. Pauline just shook her head at Jojora's answer.

Pauline : I shouldn't judge people on first impressions, but let's say that in Jojora's case, they will be right. I have no doubt about it. This girl's definition can be found on the B pages of any dictionary.

Monty Mole shrugged, and soon smirked. "However... If one of you did not make at least one good guess... Three thousand coins will be subtracted from your team pot. There are one or two other twists, but I will let you discover them. Now you just have to pick one number between one and ten, and you will have to go to the room you are assigned to. Good luck, players !"

Kooper : I know what Monty Mole means by 'twists'... And let me tell you that most of the time, it isn't good at all...

"Well, I'm giving myself the opportunity to choose before anyone else !" suddenly exclaimed Flurrie, as she floated over the table and took the number nine.

Jojora looked at the other players and soon sprinted to the table, to get the number she wanted. "Aah, number one. Of course, that's the only one that suits me."

Kooper knew that sometimes, choices could be decisive in the game, so he took action. "I'm taking the seventh !"

One after another, the players chose their numbers and went to their room.

Room 1 : Jojora

Jojora looked at her surroundings and quickly made her way to the table. A diamond ring, a blue hat, a green shell, a red tie, a towel, a blue journal, a red lipstick, a purple eyeshadow, a gardening book and a red cap were laying on it.

Jojora : I thought this was a fairly easy challenge. I mean, some things were just yelling the name of their owners.

"So... This hat is mine ! Err... This red tie is obviously Donkey's... Red cap for Mario... The book for Toad and the shell for Kooper !" enumerated Jojora. "Mmmh... This ugly red lipstick must be Flurrie's ! This is way too easy ! Wait... What about the Diamond Ring ? Could it be Flurrie's ?"

Jojora : Actually, only the obvious items were easy. After taking a close look at them, I realized that more than one person could own them. Like, for example, the purple eyeshadow. I think Birdo, Pauline and Flurrie all put this kind of make-up on their faces.

Room 6 : Bootler

Bootler, one of the last to take a number, made his way toward the sixth room. He opened the door and started to associate items with tags. He put Birdo for the Yoshi T-Shirt, Jojora for the green dress, Mario for the brown shoes, Flurrie for Doopliss' letter, but he wasn't sure for the rest.

Bootler : It was a difficult task to accomplish. I had no way to link the generic items with a player.

He still had to find who did possess a Sniffit's sculpture, golden earrings, a red watch, deodorant, and a picture on which figured the eight partners of Paper Mario, as he correctly his item which was a white tie.

Room 9 : Flurrie

Flurrie's room was different, there were many items, many tags, but there also were two pieces of paper. The first one was strangely giving her clues as to which item belonged to what person. The second one was giving her instructions that she didn't have to follow...unless she wanted an exemption.

Flurrie looked delighted. "That's so wonderful ! Splendastic !"

And so, Flurrie began to work to earn an exemption.

Room 4 : Noki

Noki looked at the items disposed before her. Purple eyeshadow, gold bangles, a dolphin plush she identified as her item, a red dress, a gold tiara, a photo of famous people, a comb, boxing gloves, a blue shirt and an orange bandana.

She put the name 'Noki' on the plush and the name 'Donkey' on the boxing gloves. "I will just have to think a little for the others... This man on the photo looks like Mario... Maybe his brother ?" She put Mario's name on the photo.

"I really don't see Bootler wearing a shirt, and it would be too tight for Kooper. Maybe that's Toad's ? Then again, Kooper has no hair, probably doesn't wear jewelry and certainly doesn't wear dresses... The bandana is his !"

Noki : This challenge was really easy, you just had to be observant ! If you didn't know who had an item, you just had to turn things around to find who couldn't possess this item.

Room 10 : Donkey

Donkey : Seriously, why do we have to do this ? It just sucks ! I didn't even talked to half of the contestants and they expect me to do this ? C'mon, that's insane !

Donkey was not taking this challenge seriously. He did however try the first minutes.

"At least I know for sure this item is mine... I must really be lucky to have to find which things belong to which person... That's only clothes ! How am I supposed to know who took that ?" fumed Donkey Kong.

Room 7 : Kooper

Kooper : My first challenge ! I'm so glad the producers let me try this game, it looks so interesting !

"Hmm... That's a Lava Rock that you can only find near a volcano... I guess that's Birdo's since she lives in LavaLava Island," explained Kooper while putting a 'Birdo' tag on it. He then took a pair of earrings.

"Well, I'm not an expert on jewelry, but that's something I would expect Noki to wear," laughed the competitor. "As for this blue shirt, that's easy ! It's Mario's !"

Kooper then blushed as he made a comment about a red frilly underwear's owner. "That's Pauline's. I bet it would look good on her."

Room 3 : Mario

The plumber dressed in red was having a fun time, trying to win his part of the game.

Mario : It's nice to sit out of the action once in a while. I miss so many things during my adventures... Sometimes, I wish I wasn't a 'hero'.

"Let's do it Mario-style !" cheered the enthusiastic plumber. "I think I'll divide the items into two parts... One for the women and the other for the men."

He then started to associate names with things. He easily found out what his, Donkey's, Bootler's, Flurrie's, Kooper's, Pauline's and Toad's item were, but was confused at the last three.

Mario : I noticed that Birdo was more into make-up than Jojora and Noki, so I gave her the eyeliner. But I have to say that I had no clue about the other two.

In the end, Mario gave Noki the blue dress and Jojora the blue sailor sunhat, thinking she disliked the sun.

Room 8 : Birdo

Birdo lost no time and immediately tried to find who brought the ten items. Right away, she found her Black Rose perfume.

Birdo : I'm not afraid of the mistakes I might make, because I know I am not the Mole. I hope the Mole won't strike too soon.

Having talked a little with Noki, Birdo had learned a few things about her. She easily found that she was the one who possessed the glasses.

"This game isn't easy at all. It all depends of your luck actually. If the items you have to link to their owners are very common, you have less chances to succeed. Hopefully, someone will find everything," stated clearly Birdo.

"Blue Lipstick ? That's not something a girl would use normally... But then again, it can't really be a boy. Oh I know ! Jojora !" happily shouted the pink dinosaur.

Room 2 : Toad

The little Toad sat on a chair and began to think about the ten items that were laying before him. He recognized Toadette's lucky charm, and put his name next to the item. He also saw a huge white bow tie and put Birdo's name on it. The other items were a red fan, a red dress, a seashell, a red buff, a picture of Lady Bow, blue overalls, a yellow tie and a blue magic rod.

Toad : I can't believe it ! This challenge is so easy, it will be a piece of cake !

He hastily put the tags on the items, and left through the door.

Toad : I wouldn't be surprised at all if I had all of them right.

Room 5 : Pauline

Pauline entered her room, amazed at its beauty. It was the first time she visited Pipetown, so she took her time before playing the challenge.

Pauline smiled as she picked her brown lipstick. "You're mine. Now, what do we have here ? Pink shoes, foundation cream...? Whatever, I should think about what kind of things the others would have taken with them."

Pauline : That's not really a suspenseful challenge, but it still is important if we want to add money to the pot. My goal is to win it all, so I should begin now.

The beautiful brown-haired lady started observing items and began to put an owner's name to certain things.

Pauline : Well, I have to be careful, but that's not like I can be one hundred percent sure that I'm right. That is, unless I'm the Mole? And, well, you will have to find it for yourselves...

Finally, the ten players met again Monty Mole in the hotel's lounge. The host nodded and went to check each of the rooms. During that time, the players conversed.

"This challenge was too hard ! I think I only found my item," grumbled Donkey Kong. Toad shrugged.

"I found it pretty easy actually... I wouldn't be surprised if all my guess were right."

Bootler asked them a question. "What do you think the surprise is ?"

Birdo raised an eyebrow. "How should we know it if that's a surprise ?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait," summed up Kooper.