CHAPTER TWELVE: SAFETY
"Eat your potatoes, Diddy, they're getting cold," said Mario as everyone ate dinner silently. Diddy didn't have an appetite.
"You're going to punish me," he said. "You're going to kill me for what I did…"
"I'm going to be honest, Diddy. It's better for one more person to die than six more. This is a sacrifice for the greater good."
Tears trickled down Diddy's face. He knew this was what he deserved. He scooped a bite of potato and ate it.

Everyone seemed unusually sincere to him as Diddy went to bed that night.
"Goodbye, Diddy," said Peach, waving as she stood in the hall solemnly. Mario hugged him before bidding him goodnight. Even Bowser said goodnight, which was a rarity.
"See you in hell, Diddy," Shy guy said bluntly. Fortunately, Diddy did not hear this last comment, for he was already headed upstairs. The others stayed behind to talk.
"This is it," said Peach. "We've done it."
"What a relief," said Shy Guy. "The killer's done for! We can finally live in peace!"
"I feel sort of guilty," replied Mario. "He really seemed genuinely sorry…"
"We can't feel sorry for a mass murderer," said Bowser. "Let's go see how he's doing."

Diddy was already asleep. The group huddled around him lying on the bed. They could tell he was still alive; his chest was heaving in and out as he breathed slowly. Suddenly, his breathing paused. There was a sharp intake of breath among the group. A moment passed – Diddy's breathing returned to normal. Everyone sighed.
"This is boring," said Shy Guy.
"Then leave," said Mario. "It's not like anyone is going to die, or anything."
"Waiting for someone to stop breathing isn't worth watching, in my opinion" Shy Guy responded.
"Then why did you come up to watch?!" Mario asked.
"Guys –" Peach said, but Bowser interrupted.
"I think you should both shut up," he said.
"I'm leaving," Shy Guy said.
"Then GO!" Bowser exclaimed.
"Guys, he –" Peach began, but she couldn't finish.
"If you're just going to complain – "
"Don't bother, Mario, there's no point," said Bowser.
"No, I'm just going to go now," said Shy Guy.
"GUYS!" yelled Peach, finally getting their attention. "Diddy's breathing is slowing down!"
They all crowded around again and resumed the show. Diddy's pace was quickly decreasing until finally, he simply stopped. His body sat motionless like a puppet whose strings had been cut.
"He's dead," said Bowser. Yoshi sighed.
"Well, now we can be sure that nobody else will die," said Mario. "We're finally safe."
"Yeah, well, except for one thing," said Shy Guy.
"What's that?"
"We can't get out of the house, and we're stuck with a limited food supply. Once it's all gone, we won't have much more than a week to live. We have to eat sparingly or die of starvation."

Yoshi checked the cupboards. Mario checked the refrigerator. Their current supply would last them a little over a month.
"Well, this is a problem," said Bowser. "Shy Guy was right. We're all going to die."
"If you want to die quick and easy instead, I can help you out," called Shy Guy from the dining room.
"Very funny," replied Mario.