Super Mario Murder Mystery

Slowly...

Once again, no tally. Straight on with the latest part of my twisted masterpiece!

"Argh... why..." Bowser spurted between husked breathes.

Bowser was the one who was unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of the machete's full force thrust towards the group, landing him just centimetres above the Mario Bros.' fireplace.

"Well, I hate to make a comment, but..." Yoshi bluntly said. "That thing ain't so cosy anymore, is it Luigi?"

"Dude," Toad said disapprovingly. "Not the time."

Rosalina and Luigi just looked at Bowser with shock. They couldn't stand seeing him hopelessly mounted there, but just couldn't look away no matter how hard they tried. Bowser could see the horror in their faces and looked sympathetically at them.

"Guys..." he struggled. "I'll... be okay..."

"No..." Luigi said, finally gaining the ability to speak again. "There's gotta be a way to get you off there! There has to be!"

He then stood up, wincing from his ankle pain before swallowing it down as he lodged his good foot at about Bowser's knee level on the edge of the fireplace and gripped the machete's handle with both hands. Using all the strength he had left in him, he pulled on the handle and pushed his leg on the fireplace in a desperate attempt to save Bowser from his slow death. He tried and tried but he failed each time. After a few minutes of struggle, his ankle finally gave way. He lost his grip of the machete's handle and collapsed to the ground, being helped up and laid down on the couch moments later by Yoshi and Toad.

"Argh..." he growled, holding his ankle in sheer pain. "Fuck. There goes my chances at survival."

"Nah, Weeg," Yoshi assured, trying to comfort his friend. "I ain't letting you die any time soon. Plus, it won't take too long to heal. Just rest it for now."

The whole group then turned to Bowser, who was slowly losing his ability to hold onto life.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you..." Luigi said, his voice filled with sorrow. "I've failed yet another person tonight."

"You tried," Bowser smiled as much as he could manage. "That's what counts. You're a good one kid, I hope you survive."

"If I'm honest," Yoshi piped up. "I don't think any of us deserve to die at this point. We've come so far, we may as well see it through."

"Not like we have any other choice if we wanna live after tonight," Toad replied. "Frankly, I wanna live, and I plan to do so."

"I don't exactly get that luxury..." Bowser laughed.

"It's just dumb luck," Rosalina sighed, gaining everyone's attention. "It has been this whole time. There's no real pattern to who's died thus far. Any smart killer wouldn't have set up traps to kill Wario and Waluigi if they're the prime suspects. The only smart decision the killer has made so far is killing off all the leaders before the end. Now Bowser's dying, there's no conventional leaders left. None of it makes sense."

"Yeah," Toad mused. "She's onto something. Other than the fact that all the leaders have officially been picked off, this killing order seems completely random. In fact, even with that it's pretty spontaneous. The smart choice would've been to kill the likes of Mario, Peach and Bowser first, then go for the likes of Daisy and frankly, Luigi."

"Hey!" the green clad plumber protested from the couch.

"Sorry dude," Toad apologised before continuing his brain dump. "But it's true. You're the closest we have to a conventional leader left. Anyway, after you get rid of the leaders and the most likely person to step up after they're all gone, sorry again Luigi, that's when you pick off the rest. I'd probably be next on the chopping block after Luigi if the killer is smart, then it'd be Koopa due to his police detective training. Meaning that a final 5 that a smart killer would leave at this point would consist of Yoshi, Birdo, Wario, Waluigi and Rosalina. Considering only 2 of those are still alive, fair play in the final four thanks to Bowser, this killer seems to be more out for a vengeance that anything else."

"Guys..." Bowser cried, blood having slowed down a bit from it's pouring out of his body. "I think... this is it..."

Yoshi and Rosalina immediately took to the koopa king's side, embracing him as he prepared for what he knew was coming. He closed his eyes and breathed his final breath, with a proud look on his face.

"Win this..." he managed to say. "For all of us."

With those words, Bowser's body hunched over. The life had finally been sucked out of it. His suffering was over.

The words he said still lingered in Luigi's mind. The young man felt a determination he hadn't felt in a long time. He had to survive this night now, for everyone he had lost.

"Well, considering the situation," Toad spoke up. "That was surprisingly peaceful for a death."

My my my... that was probably the most emotional death so far! And the longest! But hey, the long time villain can now rest knowing his reputation will be that of a hero. Anyway, the infamous tally returns with the updated standings.

Characters Alive:

Luigi
Yoshi
Toad
Rosalina

Characters Dead:

Daisy
Koopa
Birdo
Mario
Peach
Waluigi
Wario
Bowser

What will happen next to our ragtag band of remaining survivors? Tune in to find out!