Disclaimer: I own neither Mario nor The Mole, they are owned by Nintendo and ABC respectively. This is purely a nonprofit work done out of admiration of both. No lawsuits please.

Author's Notes: Welcome to The Mole: Fiend's Burrow! Please note that none of the contestants are OCs, if you search any of these players' names on Mario wiki, you can get information on them. The exception is Wolley, but he's simply Yellow Toad from New Super Mario Bros Wii with a better name.

You have likely become familiar with the concept of the Mole with the now abundant number of Mole stories in the Mario section, but if you are unclear on some things, you'll understand by the end of chapter 1. I'd also like to note that I was the third author on this site to upload a Mario Mole story, following Krisetchers and Princess Toady.

Anywho, please enjoy the story and good luck finding the vilest of villains, the freakiest of fiends, the supreme saboteur ... the Mole.

Episode 1

{Voice Over}: Ten Excited contestants are about to embark on an amazing journey. They must work together, but compete against one another to earn money for the team and allow themselves to stay in the game. But, one of them is not a true contestant, he or she is a double agent, working for us to sabotage their fellow teammates while staying under cover, they are a liar, a cheater, a traitor… a mole.

A limo pulled up to a hillside overlooking Toad Town. Once the vehicle finally was at a complete stop, three figures stepped out, confused and excited.

Mario

Last Name: Mario

Birthday: May 22

Job: Plumber/Adventurer

Wolley

Last Name: Ohtoad

Birthday: December 19

Job: Royal Assistant

Daisy

Last Name: Sarasa

Birthday: June 2

Job: Pro Tennis Player

The three contestants soon saw another limo pulling up behind them; the limo stopped and three more teammates stepped out.

Mona

Last Name: Martin

Birthday: August 16

Job: Game Designer/ Cook

Timpani

Last Name: Bleck

Birthday: March 4

Job: Psychologist

Mallow

Last Name: Nimbus

Birthday: April 24

Job: Weatherman

The newcomers and the slightly-less-newcomers looked at each other in excitement and prepare to greet each other, when a third limo pulled up with an additional three players.

Shy Guy

Last Name: Maskio

Birthday: July 5

Job: Actor

Toadiko

Last Name: Shroomose

Birthday: September 8

Job: Scholar

Jolene

Last Name: Mush

Birthday: April 18

Job: Boxing Ref/Manager

While the three looked around, the other six wondered if there were any more coming. They were answered soon when a fourth (and final) limo pulled up, but only one player came out.

Monty

Last Name: Mole

Birthday: January 17

Job: Miner

"What's up?" asked Monty as he approached the rest of the contestants.

"We don't really know," answered Daisy, "We haven't been here long."

"Isn't there supposed to be a host here or something?" asked Mario glancing around, as if the host was hiding.

"Actually," said Monty, "I think there was some guy sitting up front with the driver in my limo. Maybe that's him."

"You are in fact correct, Monty!" said an unknown voice, everyone turned to the limos to see a Blooper wearing a black t-shirt with a large green thumbprint on it and a fluffy, white beanie approaching them. "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Anderson Blooper and I will be your host." Several hellos went up from the group, but most were too interested to greet him. "I must welcome you all to this exciting game of The Mole: Fiend's Burrow!" There was some clapping, but once again, most people were too interested to do much. "You all will be working together to compete in different challenges testing your wits, strength, speed, and several skills you haven't even thought about. When you successfully complete a challenge, money is awarded to the team pot, which can grow up to 500,000 coins!"

"Alright!" cheered Mona.

"That's awesome!" agreed Daisy.

Wolley chuckled and said, "Looks like one of us is gonna be rich! We shouldn't even have to try much!"

More cheers would follow, but Anderson interrupted them, "This may seem like an easy task, however that is far from the truth." The cheering abruptly stopped.

"What do you mean," asked Jolene worriedly.

"One of you isn't quite who you think they say they are. You may have thought you all were working together, just trying to become the receptor of all that money, but that's not the case." Several gasps rang out from the crowd, "One of you is deceiving the others," started Anderson, "One of you is a liar, a cheater, a saboteur, a mole trying to ruin your challenges."

Everyone glared at Monty Mole. "Seriously?" snapped Wolley, crossing his arms. "Way to be a jerk, man!"

"What in tarnation are you talking about?" defended Monty, standing his ground. "I ain't done nothin'!"

Anderson just chuckled, "I'm sorry! I should have explained better! We don't use the phrase 'the mole' literally, when we say mole, we mean what I defined earlier, so I'm not talking about you," he paused, "or am I?" he asked mysteriously, "any of you could be the mole, but only one of you is here to sabotage the others. Who could it be? That's the mystery."

"Um, excuse me?" asked Timpani, raising her hand.

"Yes?" asked Anderson.

"Why do we need to know who The Mole is?" she asked.

"Ah, yes, this is a very crucial point, I'm glad you mentioned it!" said Anderson, "At the end of each episode, you will be quizzed on who you think the mole is; the contestant with the lowest score will be eliminated and must leave the game. So, if you know who the mole is, you'll make it to the end for sure."

"Hm, this sounds tricky," put in Toadiko, getting several murmurs of agreement.

"Oh it is," said Anderson, "but we have other matters at the moment, are you all ready for your first challenge?"

"Oh yeah!" shouted the ten contestants excitedly.

"Well, let's go over here shall we?" the host asked, walking over to a large hole in the ground which was actually a large pipe. Several of them noticed ten skateboards laying on the ground near the pipe. "Welcome to your first challenge! This one is called 'Pipeline Rocketboard.' Allow me to explain," he walked over to the skateboards, "You will lie on one of these skateboards and ride down the pipe, which will greatly increase your speed. You will then shoot out the end, falling ten feet to the ground and ride down the streets to Toad Town where you should stop near the front gates of Princess Peach's castle," he explained, "Any questions?"

"That sounds pretty scary!" said Mallow with a shudder, "Do we have to go?"

"Actually, you don't," said Anderson, allowing Mallow to give a sigh of relief, "BUT!" he started, causing Mallow to jump along with the rest of the group, "If you don't, you'll lose money for the team pot," he said, getting a few nervous cries out of a few select people. "So, in order to win, everyone must go, if you all do so, you'll earn 20,000 coins for the team pot, but if even one of you doesn't, then you'll earn nothing. So, who wants to go first?"

"I'll do it!" shouted Daisy, running over to Anderson who handed her a skateboard.

"Okay Ms. Sarasa, lie down on the skateboard directly in front of the pipe," instructed the host, Daisy did so and the blooper prepared to push her down, "Are you ready?"

"Yep," said Daisy, sounding nervous, but screaming with excitement within seconds as she rushed down the pipe. After about ten seconds, everyone could see her fly out of the end of the pipe and down the streets of Toad Town, Toads scrambling to avoid being hit by the Princess of Sarasaland. As she slowed down, some of the contestants cheered with excitement, while the others shook with fear.

"Well, one down, nine to go!" narrated Anderson, "Who's next?"

"I guess I'll go," said Monty, waddling over to Anderson, who gave him the same instructions as he gave Daisy, "Alright, I'm ready," said the literal mole before the host gave him a push and he began screaming like Daisy did.

"That doesn't look too bad!" commented Wolley.

"Yeah, it looks pretty fun!" agreed Mona.

"I think it looks pretty scary," put in Toadiko.

"Yeah, me too," said Mallow.

"Hey, I think he's done," announced Jolene and sure enough, Monty had come to a stop and was chatting with Daisy.

"Wow, that was crazy!" said Monty, standing up, "What'd you think?" he asked Daisy.

"It was awesome!" yelled Daisy, fixing up her hair. "Do you think everyone will do it?"

"Everyone but the Mole, unless it's you or I," said Monty with a mischievous glint in his eye making Daisy laugh.

"Well I can say I'm not the mole, but maybe one of them is, I don't think we could tell though, several of them seemed nervous about going," said Daisy.

"I'm not gonna make predictions yet," put Monty, "It's too early."

"Yeah," started Daisy, "Hey! Somebody else is going!" she suddenly shouted.

"Well, that's one fifth down! I bet you all can do it!" reassured Anderson, but then asked, "Who's ready to go next?"

Mona quickly jumped up excitedly, "Me! I'll go!" she shouted and ran over to Anderson who told her to lie down on the skateboard.

"I don't even need to ask you if you're ready do I?"

"Nope! I. Am. Ready!" replied Mona and sped down the pipe, quickly coming out and like the others, heading down the streets of Toad Town, her hair flapping behind her in the wind. By now, the Toads had cleared the streets to avoid being hit, but many watched from the sidewalks and several of them cheered. Mona eventually slowed as she approached the gates to Peach's Castle. She finally stopped and got up to greet the other two. "That was awesome!" she exclaimed.

"It is isn't it?" Monty agreed rhetorically.

"Totally!" agreed Daisy. "So, do you think they'll all go?"

"I don't know," admitted Mona, "But I feel sorry for any of them that don't."

"Any more volunteers?" asked Anderson.

"Meh, why not? It looks fun anyways," said Wolley, walking over to the host who had him go through the same routine as the others and yelled as he was sent down.

"That a doesn't seem too bad," said Mario.

"I agree, everyone seems to be having fun," said Timpani.

"Well, it seems Wolley will be done in a matter of seconds, so do we have our next skateboarder?" asked Anderson.

Timpani raised her hand, "I'll go," she said simply and was sent down, trying to keep her rainbow dress from blowing up with the intense speed, "WOOOOAAAAAAAH!" was all the contestants up top could hear as yet another one of them went down. She arrived at the castle gates, to be greeted by everyone as she tied her platinum blonde hair back into a pony tail.

"Wow, she seems unfazed," pointed out Jolene, "Maybe I should go next."

"Feel free," said Anderson holding out a skateboard. Jolene accepted and closed her eyes as she went down the steep pipe to the streets where a large crowd had gathered, cheering for her and the rest as they went down, Jolene even recognized some fans from the Glitz Pit, cheering for specifically her. Her skateboard finally came to a stop where the others eagerly awaited her arrival.

"Nice job going through!" congratulated Timpani.

"Pretty crazy isn't it?" asked Mona.

"I think everyone thinks it's crazy," pointed out Wolley.

"I would agree," said Monty.

Daisy walked up closer to Jolene, "So, I have to ask what's on everybody's mind, do you have any guesses on the Mole from how everyone is acting?"

"Not really," admitted Jolene, "I guess maybe Toadiko or Mallow because they're nervous, but I don't know considering I was nervous earlier."

"What about Shy Guy?" asked Wolley, "He's hardly said anything."

"Well, he is a Shy Guy," pointed out Daisy.

"Well, I don't think we need to think about it that much right now," said Monty, "But what I wanna know is who's comin' down next."

"Probably Mario," said Timpani, looking up at the hill.

"Anyone else?" asked Anderson, looking specifically at Mario.

"How about you, Shy Guy?" asked Mario looking at the masked creature.

"It kind of looks scary," whispered Shy Guy.

"Come a on! The others looked like they were a having fun!" reassured Mario. Shy Guy slowly nodded and slunk over to Anderson who got him in the starting position.

"Are you ready?" asked the host.

"Uh-huh," replied Shy Guy, a sense of dread coming over him. Anderson pushed him and he started down the pipe. "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" shouted Shy Guy as he went down. Once he came out of the pipe, it could be seen he was struggling to keep his robe and mask from blowing off. Once his skateboard stopped, he got up, shaking.

"Good job Shy Guy!" cheered Mona, patting him on the back.

"That was scary," he muttered, sitting down on the ground, but seeming pleased with himself.

"So, we have Toadiko, Mario, and Mallow left," listed Wolley.

"I wonder if everyone will be able to go," wondered Jolene.

"Mario convinced me to go," said Shy Guy simply, looking up in hope of seeing another going down.

Shy Guy: That was really scary, but I'm glad that I was able to help out the team…can I stop talking now?

Back up top, nobody seemed to want to go. "Anybody?" asked Anderson, but when nobody responded, Mario turned to Toadiko.

"Why don't you give it a try?" Mario asked Toadiko.

"It just seems so scary!" cried Toadiko.

"I know you've faced things much scarier than this! You can a do it!" reassured Mario, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"I just can't!" replied Toadiko, panic rising in her tone.

"Well, if nobody volunteers within 30 seconds, you'll forfeit the game and lose the money," said Anderson. Mario started to panic.

"Please Toadiko! Do this for the team!" pleaded Mario.

Toadiko gulped, "Okay, I'll do it," she muttered, walking over to Anderson and sighing.

"Great!" exclaimed the host handing her the skateboard, "Lie down on this in front of the pipe please." Toadiko obeyed, "Are you ready?" The toadette could only nod as anticipation took her over. A light tap was given and a scream ran out.

"Did I just hear somebody go down?" asked Mona, hearing the scream.

"That sounded like…Toadiko?" said Timpani, finishing once she saw said contestant come out of the pipe. Everyone clapped (and Mona and Daisy cheered) as Toadiko came to a halt with the rest of them; she seemed pretty shaken.

"Pretty scary isn't it?" greeted Shy Guy.

Toadiko smiled weakly at the equally shaken player. "Yeah, it is."

Toadiko: That was terrifying! I don't want to do anything like that again! Though, I have the feeling I'll have to later.

"Well, we have two left," commented Monty, "Mario and Mallow. Will they do it?"

"I bet Mario will do it, but I'm not sure about Mallow," put in Daisy.

"If he doesn't, he's on my list," grumbled Wolley, Toadiko shot him a shocked look.

"Don't be so harsh," she scolded, "It's very scary!"

Wolley just sighed, "I gotta be cautious right?"

Wolley: I'm not sure if I should be trusting right now… The Mole could be anywhere.

"Now then, our last two. Who will go now and who will be last?" asked Anderson, looking at the two.

"Why don't you go now Mario?" asked Mallow.

"Because you might not go otherwise," said Mario sternly.

"C'mon Mario! Please! It's scary!" pleaded Mallow, falling to his knees and clasping his hands together.

Mario took on a more comforting tone, "Mallow, I know you can do it! You used to be scared like this, but not now," insisted the plumber.

Mallow sighed, "Fine." He walked over to Anderson, laid down on the skateboard and clenched his eyes shut. "I'm ready," he said. He was pushed and tore down the pipe, screaming in a mix of terror and slight joy. Once he came out of the pipe, the camera caught the fact that the wind had been blowing into his eyes, forcing them to tear up.

"Whoops, might have pushed him a bit too hard," said Anderson a bit evilly. He then turned to Mario, "So, why did you decide to go last?" he asked in a patronizing tone.

"I just thought some of them would need some persuading," he defended.

"Well, whatever the reason, you're still last, so could you please wear this for the sake of our viewers?" asked Anderson, holding a camera helmet.

"Okay!" said Mario cheerily, grabbing the helmet and putting it on his head. As he did so, a wrinkled up piece of lined paper fell out. Mario bent down, picked it up and flattened it out.

"You never know where the mole is. Even the tiniest clues shouldn't be ignored."

Confused, Mario looked up at Anderson who just shrugged, "Ready to go?" Mario nodded, stuffed the paper in his pocket and lied down on the skateboard. "See you at the bottom," said Anderson, pushing Mario down the pipe.

{View switches to Helmet Cam.} Mario started at a minor incline, steadily gaining speed, suddenly the pipe goes to a steep decline, Mario going so fast that his mustache blew up into the view of the camera. "Waahooooo!" he shouted. The pipe stated to level out and soon, Mario came out of a Cliffside, over some shrubs and onto a grey, paved road, Toads cheering on either side. The road was on a very shallow decline, but had various flats and eventually leveled out as he approached Peach's Castle. He finally came to a stop, the other contestants standing around him and cheering for their first successful mission. The plumber slowly stood up and removed the helmet. {View switches back to normal.}

"Whohoo! We did it!" shouted Daisy, patting the plumber on the back.

"20,000 coins for us!" cheered Monty.

"Take that mole!" said Timpani with a grin.

"Hopefully we'll get some rest after this exciting beginning," wished Jolene.

A laugh rang out, "I'm sure you'll soon learn that this show is far from restful," said Anderson walking up to the group. Several members sighed from his comment.

"So, do we get our reward?" asked Mallow.

"Of course!" said Anderson, "Your first challenge is successful with an earning of 20,000 coins for the Team Pot!"

Team Pot

0 Coins

plus

20,000 Coins

Result: 20,000 Coins

"Cool!" said Mona, "Not too shabby at all!"

"But this challenge may give us some suspicions," put in Anderson, breaking the celebration. "Maybe it was Toadiko, Mallow, or Shy Guy, who wouldn't have gone if it weren't for Mario's moral support," three mentioned members tensed. "Or perhaps it was Mario who may have tried to seem unlike the mole," Mario just glared. "Or maybe the Mole just decided to do nothing special whatsoever," he said looking at the unmentioned members. "Nobody knows…except for the Mole."

"Jeez, enough with the Mole talk already," muttered Shy Guy, clutching his head, or where his head is assumed to be.

"Of course, we do have more important matters on our hands," said Anderson, "Well, I wouldn't say more important, nothing is more important than the Mole in this game, but it is more immediate. We need to see our place of residence for the time being!" he said, turning to the castle gates.

"We're staying at Peach's Castle?!" asked Mona in disbelief.

"Of course!" answered the host, "Since we're in Toad Town, why not stay at the famous Mushroom Castle?"

"Awesome!" squealed Mona.

Mona: I was shocked when I found out we were staying in Peach's Castle! I've so many cool things about the place. I can't wait!

Anderson pulled out a large key with a mushroom on it and unlocked the gate. A few toad guards opened the gates and another approached the group. "Welcome, contestants of the Mole!" he greeted, "Princess Peach is waiting for you." He then led them through the large front lawn where the contestants got to admire the gorgeous scenery.

Wolley: Wow, I live at the castle, but the front lawn still seems so breathtaking! I guess we castle workers did a good job on it then! Maybe I should ask for a raise…

As the contestants walked down the pathway through the lawn, their guide pointed out several different bush sculptures such as a toad, a fire flower, mushrooms, ect. During said tour, Anderson seemed to vanish to parts unknown.

Finally the group approached the large, beautifully decorated front door of Peach's Castle. The toad guide and another Toad pulled them open by large, pearl handles that revealed the inside of the castle.

"Dang this place is nice," said Monty, looking around at the elegant arches and peach-colored walls and just about every single thing hanging on the wall. Most of the others did so too, but the ones who had been there many times, such as Mario, Daisy, Wolley, and Toadiko just gave some minor glances around the place, noticing it had been cleaned up just for the occasion. They came to a junction with three ways to go, a hallway on the left and right side of the room another large door straight ahead.

"This is the door to the throne room," said one of the Toads, "Princess Peach will speak with you in there."

"It's sure been awhile," muttered Mallow as they walked in. The throne room was mostly empty, with a few columns that rose to the ceiling on each side of the room, but it was mostly just a carpet that led to Peach's throne.

"Hello!" said Peach cheerily, "Welcome to the Mushroom Castle! I hope you'll be enjoying it, because you'll be staying here for the next couple days!" Everyone said something along the lines of "We will" and Peach seemed satisfied. "However," started the Princess, "there is one problem." The contestants stiffened. "Your host, Anderson has informed me that you cannot keep you luggage in your own suit cases. You must repack you backs in the bags the show has provided for you," she informed pointing to a pile of bags. "He also said that you must leave out one outfit from your suitcase, I'm not sure why, but that's we he told me."

The contestants walked over to their new bags that each had a design for its designated user. Mario's had a M surrounded by fire. Wolley's had a yellow mushroom on it with several smaller mushrooms surrounding it. Daisy's showed several different colors of daisy's in a field. Mona's had Gameboy on it as well as several foods like pizza and ice cream surrounding it. Timpani's simply had a rainbow butterfly on it. Mallow's showed a thundercloud shooting a lightning bolt into a mountain. Shy Guy's had an image of his mask on it. Toadiko's had a pink mushroom with golden earrings on it. Jolene's had a pink mushroom with glasses much like hers on. Lastly, Monty's had an image of a Monty Mole jumping.

Everyone picked their outfits and let Peach's Toads take them as they were led to their rooms, not knowing that they would soon be facing yet another challenge.