Death is but a Game
Koops roughly grabbed Goombarry and, before the criminal could utter a word, he stabbed the knife through his head, the blade sinking into his skull with a sickening sound.
The Goomba died instantly, and Koops let him fall to the ground.
He backed away a bit, disgusted by what he had done, but also a bit satisfied. He had gotten rid of a blemish on the world, and increased the chances of his own survival. Holding the power of being able to change not only his own fate, but the fate of others, those who would have been suppressed by the evil Goomba, felt quite good.
He wiped the blood off of the knife and slid it back into his pocket. He gave one last sour look at the corpse, nodding to himself as if to justify his actions, and then contacted Cheryl again.
"Cheryl? It's done. Goombarry is dead."
"Really? Nice job! I really didn't think you could pull it off!"
"Gee, thanks..."
"Although, there's something I should probably tell you..."
Cheryl laughed nervously and Koops narrowed his eyes. "What?"
"That guy you just killed? Yeah, he wasn't actually a player. This was all just a test in order to see if your training had paid off and if you really could be an effective assassin."
Koops blanched. "What!?"
"B-but don't get the wrong idea! It's not like what you did was useless! That guy was total scum and he deserved to die. Think of it as an act of justice. Like you're a vigilante or something."
"Well, you could have told me he wasn't a player!"
"Would you really have been as willing to kill him if I told you that?"
Koops glanced at the body. "I...I don't know..."
"Anyways, we actually have found our next target. We'll be there to pick you up in a minute, then we'll head back to base. I'll brief you there."
Koops muttered an almost inaudible response. He leaned against the wall and shook his head. He couldn't feel regret or remorse. He promised himself that he wouldn't regret his decisions.
And, more importantly, this Game wouldn't allow him the luxury to keep to such morals.
7Z7Z7Z7
After Koops had hidden the body in a nearby dumpster, he heard the van that Cheryl had been in pull up outside the alley. He got in the car, and Cheryl congratulated him once more and started driving away. Apparently, he had gained enough of her trust to the point where he was no longer required to be unaware of where their base of operations was located.
Koops, however, wasn't looking out the window to memorize any landmarks or streets. Instead, he was inspecting his knife, pondering just whose blood would dirty it next.
'I don't particularly like it,' he thought. 'But it's either me or them.'
A half hour later, they stopped in front of the old church, and Cheryl and Koops entered it, the Boo babbling on and on about how he had improved significantly and how he should be proud.
Once they entered the kitchen again, Koops spotted Luigi sitting at the table.
Luigi smiled slightly at Koops and he returned it, genuinely glad to see him. He had feared that he would be alone with Cheryl, and, though she seemed to trust him, he still wasn't completely sure about her.
"Sit down." Cheryl commanded, and they all took the seats that they had been in the previous meeting.
Cheryl leaned forward and rested her head on her hands. "So, before we begin, how was your first mission, Koops? What was it like to kill that criminal?"
Koops looked away as Luigi fixed him with an almost disappointed stare. "I...I don't know..." Koops didn't feel particularly remorseful, but he felt a bit odd as well, like something in him had changed. "I don't really regret it, but...I don't feel the same..."
Cheryl sighed and rolled her eyes. "Geez, I hope you don't stay depressed like this. Whatever. Let's just get right to the meeting then, shall we?"
Luigi nodded and started speaking. "I was able to gather some information, and I believe I know the identity of another player. Toadette, a fr-I mean, a former friend of mine... She works as a nurse at a local hospital, and she's been acting more paranoid and strange as of late. More patients under her care are dying as well. It's very suspicious seeing as how she's an experienced nurse, but I've heard that she's been assigned with caring for those afflicted with the mysterious, incurable disease. That might explain some of the deaths, but not all of them. I don't want to believe it, but..."
His voice trailed off, and Cheryl picked up for him, sliding a picture across the table to Koops.
"This photograph was taken by one of our Exiled spies. If you look down at her leg..."
Koops inspected the photograph. It seemed to have been taken through a window, most likely from the branches of a tree. The window was ajar, and, judging by the way Toadette's dress appeared, wind had most likely blown in through the window. It was barely noticeable, but Koops could spot a small black mark on her leg, just by her ankle. It was hard to see, but there was a distinct shape to it, so it couldn't have been a mistake. It had to be a tattoo, the tattoo that marked one as a player and represented their unique power.
"So you're sure she's another player?" Koops asked, handing the photograph back.
Cheryl nodded. "Almost certain. Either way, she's extremely suspicious, and you'll need to check her out anyway. If she isn't a player, than we'll leave her alone, but if she is..."
She didn't need to finish the sentence. Koops knew what was expected of him by now, what his role in their alliance was.
"I understand. So, when do I leave?"
"Tomorrow afternoon. You'll infiltrate the hospital and sneak through the ventilation system. Spy on her and make sure that she really is a player, and if you confirm that she is, take her out. I'll leave the details up to you to iron out."
With that, Cheryl rose and left the room.
Luigi stared at Koops, an unreadable expression on his face. "So, you're going to kill Toadette?"
Koops wrung his hands, not exactly sure what to say. "Well, there's a possibility that she might not be a player. Maybe I won't have to." He almost cursed at how insincere he sounded.
Luigi sighed, standing up and searching through a cupboard. "I suppose. But I just don't get it. Toadette is a fantastic nurse and a very caring person. Why are so many of her patients dying? Could it be that...?" Luigi grabbed an apple from the cupboard and stared at it intensely, thinking hard.
"What?" Koops asked, curious.
"Maybe...maybe those people she had been assigned to take care of could have possibly found out about her power in one way or another. Of course, these powers are completely supernatural and impossible, so problems would arise if normal folk found out about them. Now, this is a bit morbid and totally uncharacteristic of her, but, just maybe, she's...she's killing them, making sure that they don't tell another soul."
Koops sweated slightly. A nurse killing her patients to keep a dark secret? He asked, "Are...are you sure? You said she was caring, and..."
Luigi shrugged, taking a bite out of the fruit. "I don't know, but it's the only plausible explanation. Maybe it's just a coincidence or something, but, when you think about it all, it sort of makes sense."
Koops could see the sadness in the green clad man's eyes, and he wanted to reassure him that his theory couldn't possibly be correct, that his friend wouldn't do something like that, and that she probably wasn't a player either. However, he couldn't muster the words to tell him.
"Koops..." Luigi started, but fell flat, unable to continue. He sighed and his gaze fell to the floor. "Just...just do what needs to be done, okay?"
Luigi then left the room, leaving a troubled Koops staring at his hands, wondering how things would turn out from here.
Alright, that's it for now. Thanks for those who voted, and make sure to vote again in the future when the opportunity presents itself!
