CHAPTER ELEVEN: EXPOSED
Diddy's
eye began to twitch. Deep, uncharacteristic giggles emanated from
him. Wario backed away slowly.
"Diddy…
what's going on?"
"AAAHHH!"
Diddy shrieked as he ran across the room and grabbed onto what little
neck Wario had.
"GACK!
What – are –you DOING?!"
Nobody
moved; they were fixated on Diddy's hands throttling Wario with
fury. He was unable to control himself. Wario screamed for help;
nobody did anything.
"WHAT
IS – GACK – WRONG WITH ALL OF YOU?! GACK – GET HIM OFF OF
ME!"
The
killer was exposed. He could not contain his anger.
"I…
I knew…" Mario said quietly, hardly daring to blink as the victim
lost his life. Wario struggled to utter his last words.
"J…
Jun… Junior…"
Bowser
gasped and leaned in closer.
"He's…
he's…"
Wario
collapsed, dead. Diddy had strangled him. The killer looked over his
shoulder guiltily, his hands still gripping his victim's neck. He
suddenly became aware of what he had done. He looked at the body,
horrified.
Junior
had heard. He gasped; someone HAD heard his calls… Wario knew he
was alive! He thumped against the door, yelling and
screaming.
"SOMEONE!
SOMEONE!" Please… I can't survive in here much longer!
Please…"
"I
knew it was you all along," said Mario, stepping toward Diddy
bravely. "You are the killer. You've revealed yourself."
"But
– no! NO!" Diddy screamed, almost in tears. "I'm not the
killer!"
"LIAR!"
Mario yelled. "YOU JUST KILLED WARIO! WE ALL SAW!"
"But…
but…" Diddy broke down crying. "But I didn't mean to!"
Shy
Guy scoffed. "Yeah, right. You're not saying you thought we
wouldn't see you choking Wario?"
"You're
guilty," said Mario. "You've exposed yourself."
Diddy
sniffed. "But… but…" he struggled to speak, his lip
quivering. "Please, I didn't mean to! You have to believe
me!"
"You
don't understand," said Mario, approaching the killer. "you
KILLED someone in front of us."
"But
–"
"NO!"
Mario was fed up. "Everything makes perfect sense! You killed Toad
after he broke up your fight with Junior because he stopped you from
accomplishing your goal: to kill Junior, as revenge for killing
Donkey Kong!" Diddy could think of no response. "With Toad out of
the way, you killed Junior and hid the body! You murdered Wario, too,
because he knew that you were behind it all! It fits!"
Diddy,
in a fit of fear, grabbed onto Mario's leg and sobbed into it. "I
didn't mean to! I swear!"
"Don't
lie to me," said Mario. You are the killer. It doesn't matter if
you won't admit it." Diddy cried even harder.
Later,
Mario gathered everyone but Diddy and they all went inside the
bedroom.
"Alright,
so," Shy guy began, "how are we going to punish him?"
"There
is only one punishment for murder," Bowser replied. "Death."
Peach
and Yoshi were silent.
"Unfortunately,
I can think of nothing else that is severe enough. He killed four
people already. If he is kept alive, we are all in danger!"
"But
how will we do it?" asked Shy Guy. "Poison?"
"Indeed,
poison would be the most humane way," said Bowser. "He must die,
but there is no reason to make him suffer. No need to stoop to his
level."
"He
killed your son, Bowser," replied Mario. "But I agree. It will be
a peaceful death."
"You're
going to punish me," Diddy said solemnly. "What are you going to
do?" Nobody answered. A silent tear trickled down his face. Silence
only meant one thing: they were going to put him to rest. His end was
approaching. There was no longer any point in begging for mercy; he
knew what he had done.
"I've
committed murder… I've committed murder…"
