Suspects: Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, and Birdo

Victims: 1 Toad, Bowser, Daisy, Rosalina, Mario, Wario, Waluigi

Killer:

After a few moments, thinking, I turn back to the room where I left the violet brother.

I extend the key, unlocking the door before me.

Gently, I push into the room, the door squeaking as I enter.

The lights still flicker, and shadows are still dark.

Waluigi still lays slumped where I left him. His breath is ragged and shallow, and his fingers slightly twitch, but I know that there's no way he'll come back from the brink.

No one comes back from the brink. He'll be dead in a few more seconds.

I watch as his breathing stops. As he truly dies. His fingers cease their movements and he falls onto his side. The final position of the dead.

I gingerly step towards him, my sight landing upon the iron stool just in front of where he fell.

Finally, I smile. This could be my most brilliant masterpiece yet.

And it would be a perfect way to vent my frustration. After all, I only have three hours to finish up, max.

Despite his gangly limbs, Waluigi is surprisingly light, and I place him onto the stool in a sitting position.

I flip out my switchblade. I had lied to him about not having a knife. Who am I trying to kid? I always have something on me. Something I learned to do well. Especially in hiding the weapons in question? No issue. There's always somewhere, I make sure of that.

I pull away Waluigi's hat and set to work.

...

Stepping away from the stool, I wipe the blade on my sleeve, trying to clean off a touch of remaining crimson from the blade. Tipping my head, I observe my handiwork.

Interesting, to say the least.

I had felt halfway tempted to snag Wario and drag him out here, but upon second reckoning, added to what little time I have as of now, I had thought better of it. No, I had had to go rather

simplistic in Waluigi's setup.

Of course, I had removed the eyes. That is my trademark after all. However, I don't think I'll keep them. They are quite a nasty color. Compared to the bright hues of Rosalina's and Daisy's, and the oblivion black of the Toad's, I am quite unsatisfied with adding a bland, pale pair of yellow to the collection.

From ear to ear, I had carved giant cuts in Waluigi's jawline. In places, you can even see the teeth if you'd like, so he looks like he's actually smiling. However, I'm leaving his hat behind. I have no use of it. He grips it in one clenched fist, several streams of vermillion-purple creeping down his sleeve. From the marks on his cheek, similar pools fall, running down his face and throat and into the collar of his shirt.

I think he looks wonderful. Probably much more attractive than in life.

At least now he has the ability to shut up.

That is, unless I really wish to hear his nasally voice again.

I snicker, taking on the dead man's persona. I've known him for years. Of course I can mimic him.

That aside, however, and I think I've done rather well. True, he didn't turn out quite as interesting as Mario did, or even Rosalina for that matter. But he was much better off than the toad, most definitely. I hadn't tried with that critter, I just wanted to catch all of their attentions.

And if I was able to snag Bowser, well, that was good on me.

I roll the buttons of Mario and Waluigi's slacks in my hand. They catch the faint light and cast glittering reflections on the flowered wall.

Unfortunately, I must cease in my reminiscing, despite how well I put Waluigi down. I think that that was rightful pay. I took his life. I couldn't ask for more.

Leaving the room for good now, I leave the door open for anyone to find. Fear is my finest weapon, and I've been sharpening it for years. I don't see a reason to hide what has been so willingly thrust into my hand.

I climb to the mural of Justice, blinded and holding her scale. Blinded, as if I had put out her eyes myself. Justice cannot judge what she cannot find, and I have found more than one way to hide. I have found more than one way to cover my tracks. I have found more than one way to play the game.

I created the game. Who says I can't change the rules if I wish?

I slam my elbow into the stained glass. It gives a groan and I can see spiderwebs forming on the serene surface. Just one more hit.

Letting out a shout, I smash my fist though the glass, watching as glittering shards, illuminated by the moon, fall to the ground around me, shattering on the floor below.

As if I had killed the window itself, the small pieces of the stained glass, small as raindrops, begin to crumble, falling about me in a shimmering waterfall of light.

The moon, half obscured by the garden gate, greets me.

I extend my arms as wide as I can, feeling the small pellets of glass fall on my shoulders and my arms. It feels just like rain. It feels refreshing. Exhilarating, even. Small drops of blue, purple, red, green and magenta washing over me. Just as Justice has been shattered by my hand, so I shall shatter those who have shattered me.

Gently, I leap onto the roofs, skidding into silence. I patrol the gates, watching the moonlit garden below.

My eye is caught by two figures standing by the fountain.

How serendipitous that they happen to be my next targets.

They already look frightened.

Just how I want them.

Without another hesitation, I crouch on the rooftop, already slipping into the thick foliage of the nearest tree.

I shimmy to the earth, crouching in the darkness of the shadows.

From where I stand, I can hear their whispers.

I can hear other whispers as well, though.

Had I forgotten the gardeners?

No matter. I'll get the pair by the fountain as soon as I finish off the patrol.

Without a glance back, I turn and run into the woods, towards the voices on the far side of the gate, ignoring the screams of the dead which echo in my mind.

Seven, six, five...

So few now are left alive.

Peach:

Once again, she had found herself in the garden. The place where she had let him toy with her heart.

Peach meandered through the large trees, running her bare hand though the trailing leaves of the willows beside her. They gently parted as she went by, revealing a small, cavernous area within, covered with shadows and melded with knotted bark.

After a moment of thought, she entered the willow.

Moonlight stitched through the leaves of the tree, casting small strands of light all over the bark like patchwork. Inside, Peach could hear the singing of crickets and the low growl of frogs as they echoed their calls.

It was like she had entered a completely different wonderland. A place where the night played games hidden from the light of the sun and watched by the moon's bright eye. A place where anything could be secret. A place where memories could be forgotten.

The secret garden, tended by the gardenkeeper, whose name was Night.

There were several low lying branches on the willow, all of which sprouting small buds of subdued emerald. A lifegiving color.

A forest color.

A gentle color.

A gentle brother...

Peach shook her head. A once gentle brother. That innocent man was no more. She had to erase him from her thoughts for good. It was over.

"It's the start of something new..."

No. It couldn't be the start of something new! Curse her words! Curse her thoughts!

Tears returned once again, more aggressive than before. And this time, they could not be stopped. Who was there left behind to love? Who was left behind to love her?

The night didn't respond, only continuing its cantabile at Peach's expense.

Her lips moved, softly adding her own verse to the night. A verse of heartbreak, terror, surprise, and memory. A verse of the truth of this night. A verse which could not be forgotten by time. Her own bitter cantabile.

And when this night is over, my love, my love,

When finally the sky shines bright above, above.

When at last the truth shines true, oh so true,

Then my love, my love, we must say adieu...

For this night is at its peak,

And as silently as I speak,

You come at night, without mercy or care,

To slaughter whomever stands before you right there...

And even if life truly is a bitter melody,

Filled with strife, fear, and infidelity,

Why then, do you still find it just,

To end whatever you mistrust?

What about those who still remain true,

Who would still care, no matter what you do,

Would you still snuff their lives out like candles,

Beneath the unforgiving brazen handle?

I know my voice may not last much longer,

For your power only increases, and yours is much stronger,

But if you are listening, beware,

The game of life is not one of truth or dare.

Peach silenced herself and listened to the night around her once more.

It was silent. Not even the crickets chirped their gay melodies anymore.

It was if the whole garden had silenced themselves to listen to the blunt truth.

Listening to the heartwrenching quiet, Peach delicately stepped to the entrance of the willow and brushed aside its foliage.

Just as she was about to leave, she turned back to the enchanted tree.

"I'm sorry. Please forgive my disheartening song." She whispered.

As if the creatures heard, the crickets began to sing again, but they seemed to sound dampened, as if they had taken the distraught princess's words to heart. As if they truly understood the actual happenings of the world which was hidden from them. As if they had just received word from a world which was invisible to their reckoning.

The lament of reality.

Looking away, Peach left the shadow of the willow, and entered the moonlight once again, a small burden seeming to be lifted from her as she paced through the starlit fields.

Throughout the trees, a wind blew, and Peach could have sworn she could hear traces of her song being passed from branch to branch, echoing her mournful melody of the terror-filled night. The bluebells giving rise to a new waltz in the gentleness of the quiet sky.

Luigi:

Luigi stood by a stone arch, leading to the courtyard of the garden. He was leaning on the doors to the courthouse itself, fiddling with his hat.

The rejected magnolia flower he had twisted into his own hair, caring not about the dried burgundy which now stained some of his sorrel curls. It was his own link to whoever he cared about, and the fact than in a sense, Peach and Mario were close to him made him feel slightly more at home. As if the only thing in the world to worry about would be what on earth would decide to get itself into trouble next.

Those were the good days. The days when Luigi would just be able to find Mario and explain what had gone down, and then he and his brother would solve everything. Easy as one, two, three.

But those days were long gone.

Thinking back to the events of the night, Luigi felt a twinge of regret. After all, it could have been anyone who had killed Mario. Now Luigi had made Wario the one to pay. And he had broken his princess's heart in the process.

Luigi brushed a crimson hand over his long sleeved shirt, trying to rub out the last flakes of red from it. He had tried to clean himself, but it appeared as if a twisted side of Luigi twin wished to make itself known, disallowing the younger brother to wash it away. And in any means, by Luigi's own train of reckoning, he decided that it would probably be best to retire this shirt for good. Even if some shades of the true color returned, it would be very much overlaid with the rusty hues of tonight's memory.

Why was it this night that things had to be the way they were?

Sighing, Luigi removed a glove and rubbed his eyes, attempting to wake himself up. He had been awake since at least six o'clock yesterday morning and he had not had a chance to sit down since then. It always seemed like there was something to do, especially in such a closely knit town. Honestly, he should probably be sleeping right now, or at least prepping for the coming daytime.

Luigi stretched, pushing away the thought. No, not until the case was over with. Stay awake, and he would have a better chance of survival. Stay awake, and the killer couldn't sneak up on him. Just stay awake, that's good enough.

And if he was going to stay awake, he decided it would be best to keep moving.

Leaving the doorframe, Luigi strode beneath the arch, leaving the small courtyard.

Shadows immediately began to creep about him, clouding the light coming from above. The forest grew about him, becoming more dense the deeper he walked in. The many shades of his color surrounded him, making him appreciate the leaves even moreso than usual. It was nice to be recognized as such an earthly color. The color of plantlife. The hue of nature.

As Luigi stepped by the bluebells, he heard a whisper of noise. A soft hum of some sort. The music was picked up by the bluebells, jingling and melodic. It wasn't a bright melody, but it wasn't entirely frightful either.

It sounded...

Mournful.

As if someone was making a wish that they knew wouldn't come true. As if another shred of hope was being dashed against stones. As if it was still singing if only just to be heard, knowing that maybe it wouldn't make a difference in the world.

As if it only sang just to hear a voice.

Luigi paused, listening to the soft prayer for a moment longer before moving on, forging a way through the thickening growth.

He moved so briskly, he didn't notice the crushed shrubbery to his left, which was deformed by some unknown impact.

Nor did he notice the growing splotch of darker shades creeping from it.

Birdo:

When they had been in the hallway, Birdo had looked outside to find a thickly brushed garden beneath them.

Obviously, she had figured that it was a fine place to spend the rest of the night.

Especially with Yoshi's athletic ability.

For the past hours, they had spent time combing the area of the garden, checking it out and scouting out any means to escape. They had found none. The killer was right. This place was on lockdown.

Its lockdown.

After a few hours of hiding out, Birdo had decided to poke her head out of hiding and try to observe any thing they could have missed out on in their first brush through.

As it turned out, the garden was overflowing with trees, obviously, but she (well, Yoshi,) had found that nearly half of these trees were fruit trees.

She would never forget the glitter of true awe in Yoshi's eyes as he gazed around the area.

At least they wouldn't starve to death.

They had found themselves near a fountain in the center of the courtyard. Willows surrounded them on all sides, and there were just as many fruit trees. Yoshi was trotting around, climbing the trees and enjoying himself immensely. Birdo sat on the fountain's edge, dipping her feet into the water, watching little ripples forming in all directions.

This was a truly serene night. Crickets chirping, small birds beginning to wake up, and the soft wind which smelled of magnolias brushed through the garden, causing the bluebells to sing verse after joyous verse.

Had it been a different situation, Birdo may have enjoyed it more immensely, but secretly, she was on edge, listening to every crack of a branch Yoshi would absentmindedly break, or stiffening at every sound of silence which could mask the presence of the shadow assassin.

Despite this, it was hard to not feel slightly relaxed, closing her eyes as she sat by the rippling waters. The night in its splendor and the chilly waters beneath couldn't be matched by any fathoming of beauty. Not even by those of Birdo's standards. And the bluebells only added to tranquil feeling. Even Yoshi was silent for once, the sound of wind brushing through the leaves the only foliated sound that Birdo could hear.

Birdo suddenly opened her eyes. Yoshi was silent.

He was being far too silent.

Without turning, Birdo whispered into the silence.

"Yoshi? Sweetie?"

Absence greeted her.

Birdo carefully began to stand, withdrawing her feet from the water when a voice responded to her previous query.

"No no, Birdo. Stay right there. You look extremely elegant in the water's sheen. I would wish to watch for a moment longer."

Birdo froze, listening to the voice. Strangely, it had tones which both replicated that of both sides of a spectrum. The voice whispered with both hints of feminine lilt and those of brazen masculinity.

"Now now, sit down again. I don't mean to do you harm..."

Birdo made no movement in either direction, only looking behind her as far as she could without turning her head.

"Who are you?" She whispered hoarsely, her throat beginning to close up with dry fear.

"Psh. Names aren't important. What you do need to know is that I want to help you. Really, I do." The voice responded in an extremely relaxed manner.

"Oh?"

"Sure. We could be a brilliant team. Your charms have gotten many different people and creatures to follow you, and my power could only enforce you further. I'm offering a team application, Birdo. You know, Team Victory and all. The last one out there doesn't stand a chance, especially if we were to join together."

The voice paused, listening for any response from Birdo. Birdo gave it none, therefore, it continued.

"You seem hesitant to take up my offer, Birdo. I assure you that agreeing to this contract is the correct choice. And if you do not agree, I respect that decision as well."

Birdo stiffened.

"If you respect my decision, then I kindly refuse the offer and demand that you let us all be."

There was a sharp silence, like that of a knife, until the voice spoke again, this time with a hint of smugness.

"However, there will be... consequences for your resistance. I don't let anyone know who I am without them agreeing with me. And now that you probably can assume my identity, I regret to inform you that I must silence the cat before it jumps out of my bag. Therefore, I offer you one more chance to make the right choice, Birdo. One of your companions has already failed my test of loyalty, but perhaps... perhaps you can redeem him yet. Can't she?"

There was a squeak and the sound of thrashing behind Birdo. Her eyes widened and she spun around, vision beginning to fog.

Held in a chokehold, frantically trying to scramble away from his oppressor, was the little dino. Yoshi.

"What are you doing!?" Birdo cried, beginning to run towards her distressed comrade. A dull glimmer of silver stopped her in her tracks, its point slowly trailing from pointing at her to the base of Yoshi's throat.

"You know, I've felt tempted to make an incision here for quite a while. I always wondered just how long Yoshi's tongue really is. I mean, with him having the ability to snag fruit out of the trees and all, I want to know what its limit is. And you know what?"

The dagger made the tiniest sawing motion across Yoshi's coarse scales.

"Perhaps my burning query will be sated tonight. Unless you would like to argue otherwise, that is. I would be more than happy to have two of you on my side as opposed to just one, and I'm sure that Yoshi would just love to be able to spend time with you still. You two do make the cutest couple, you know. And I should hate to... break you up, permanently."

Birdo's gaze flicked between Yoshi's terrified onyx eyes and the persona's own sapphire ones, glittering with amusement, its lip barely curving in a deathly smile.

This was what it was to come to? Join to be, or deny not to be?

"After everything?" Birdo whispered. "Of all the ways to fall from the sky, you choose insanity to be your poison?"

To her surprise, the killer sniggered, trying to choke down a burst of laughter. Eventually, it threw its head back in a full out howl, the very essence of sound silencing to hear the maddened laughter.

"Insanity?! My poison!? I used poison on someone else, yet I never deplete any of my own. Insanity is but a mere trickle of freshwater compared to my range of arsenals. Insanity freshens, whilst morals weakens oh so immensely. And I see that morality has weakened your already wan decisive compass. What a shame..." It tapered off. "What a shame..."

Birdo took in the whole of the assailant, trying to scape out what she could. The killer had artfully made sure that it had Yoshi in the light, while keeping itself in the shadow, making it near impossible to make out any true details. Yet, Birdo could see the darkest shadow in its hair.

And its merciless, icy gaze.

The killer closed those eyes, sighing with finality.

"Well, if this is going to be the way it is, I suppose there's no reason to hide anymore. As I told my previous guest, I have an agenda, and I can't have anyone distract me. I guess I'll have to find the last one the hard way. Ah well... Mario knew how fond I was of hide and seek. This will be no different, I am sure. I always found him after all."

The eyes opened, blue flame churning in their depths.

"And now, this is a test of my true skill. I have a great plan in store for you two. Very great indeed."

With that, the killer stepped into the moonlight, nearly lifting Yoshi off of the ground.

Birdo blanched.

"Im- Impossible... C-c_"

But that was as far as she got, for just then, the killer moved with impossible speed, sheathing the knife, leaping forward, and snatching Birdo around her throat with a single gloved hand.

"I offered you a choice." It growled, voice cracking with unknown and sudden melancholy. "I really wanted to let you live. I really did..." The eyes softened. Birdo barely gasped for breath at watching the sudden fluxes in the murderer's eyes and tone.

"B- but you've refused... And therefore, I cannot allow you to survive any longer..."

For a moment, the two looked at the other, both depths of cerulean glimmering with mist and sudden emotion.

Finally, the ocean eyes of the assassin froze solid once again, sharpening with arctic keenness and shrewd hate.

"And oh, what a plan I'll follow through with."

The killer's gaze flicked to Yoshi, who was all but strangling in the killer's choke. Without another hesitation, the killer slammed the little Yoshi against the fountain's unforgiving stone. 

With a crack, the dino slumped, dark eyes clouding with agony and confusion, and finally closing as he whimpered a small noise of surprise.

"Yoshi!" Birdo screamed, strangling in the killer's hold.

"He's fine, Birdo. Just knocked out cold. However, I can't say the same for you. Unfortunately, your rebelling against my power has only sealed you coffin for good. Then again, I am a nice person. I'll make sure you two spend your final moments as you did in life. Together. Just like all those "happily ever after" stories make it seem'."

The killer's now-free hand reached down and snagged something by its side. Carefully, it brought it into sight again.

A rope.

Nay, as Birdo observed, it was shining with a subdued, yet wicked, sheen. And it was coiled around the killer's waist, hanging off of one side of its hip like a lasso.

"Wired rope." The killer affirmed. "Braided it myself, actually. Had a lot of free time with you all running amuck. Let's just say..." It leered at Birdo, "I do a lot of things I never tell any of you about."

The killer was now idly swinging the rope in one hand, barely uncurling it from its coiled state.

"Actually, my idea is more of a... practice? I suppose? Supposedly it's to help with one's annunciation." The killer put stress on annunciation, as if it was trying to improve it as well.

"What?" Birdo asked, hands trailing to where the killer's grip held her tight.

"You know, I don't remember exactly how or why it works, but it's something along these lines. You have your mouth full of marbles, then you are given a phrase which makes you speak through the marbles. The idea is that you should be able to annunciate the words so clearly that you can be understood through the objects which muffle your speech. However, I don't have marbles on me. But I think..."

The killer's eyes flicked to the ground, and Birdo heard the soft scraping of stones against stones.

"Gravel seems to be in abundance here. It may work the same way..."

Birdo silenced herself, only feeling the solid, yet soft pressure on her windpipe

"Let's have a little schooling, shall we?" The murderer spoke, kicking up the loose stones as as it pressed Birdo against the solid stone of the fountain. Birdo could hear the thin pulse of water on the other side, matching that of her heartbeat.

The killer looked at Birdo silently, now holding some gravel, the wired rope hanging around its neck in a loose garrote, shining like a decorative necklace. The killer whistled through its teeth.

"You do have a big mouth... I'm gonna need a lot more than this, aren't I?"

Birdo snuck a glance towards Yoshi, who was still out cold. His breathing was shallow, but steady, and Birdo could see the faint glitter of fountain water was barely beginning to wet his scales.

She had failed him. She had promised to protect...

The killer's eyes followed Birdo's view, narrowly observing the limp Yoshi. It looked back to Birdo.

"I told you, he's fine. For now at least. My advise to you is to focus on yourself. You have much larger things to worry about. Now, I suggest that you open wide, otherwise you may end up with more than one broken bone."

Birdo watched the killer for a while longer.

"After everything he's done for you, you're just going to snuff him? I understand if you despise me, but what has Yoshi done to you?" Birdo barely whispered

She watched as the killer's eyes began to melt again, losing the frigid gaze. She also felt the loosening of pressure on her throat.

"Why can't you let him go? He was always your favorite too, wasn't he?" Birdo's voice was raw, trying to silence the quivering in her tone.

The eyes flicked to the ground, the killer's fingers beginning to slowly picking up and dropping gravel, watching as it danced and listening to its clicking against its comrades. There was shaky breathing.

"Yoshi was Mario's favorite... They excluded me for the most part."

The fingers stopped tracing patterns on the ground, holding the gravel and clenching it in a single fist.

"They left me behind. As they... all of them did!"

The killer's lip curled in a half-smile, eyes wildly flicking back and forth. It began to laugh, uncertainly at first, but building in madness.

"But they won't make that mistake again! None of them can make those mistakes anymore! I fixed them! I fixed them all!"

Birdo stared with both horror and slight awe at the snapped former ally at her side. How long, she wondered, had it been this way? How long hadn't she noticed? How long hadn't anyone noticed?

"And now!" The killer looked into Birdo's eyes, the demented gleam in its eyes unfalteringly bold. "I shall perform to you that very same honor!"

...

Til we meet again, Keep Rockin'

-Shamrockin13