Shadow of Despair: Mafia in Rogueport!

Day Seven: The Truth

Alive: Kooper, Parakarry, Sushie, Goombella

Dead: Lakilester (Murdered), Bombette (Murdered), Bobbery (Lynched – Mafia) , Spike (Mislynched), Watt (Murdered), Koopie Koo (Murdered), Koops (Lynched – Mafia) Vivian (Murdered), Bow (Lynched – Mafia), Ms. Mowz (Murdered), Flurrie (Murdered), Goombario (Lynched – Mafia)

Location: Professor Frankly's House

Present Occupants: Peach, Yoshi, Prof. Frankly

"This simply doesn't make any sense," Peach said, tapping her pink-painted fingernails on the edge of Frankly's oak desk. "You're saying that this copycat mafia is now dwindled to four? And you don't know where they are?"

Frankly nodded somberly, affirming what he had said moments ago. "I'm afraid that's right, princess."

"Spare me the formality," she instantly replied, causing the old goomba to flinch momentarily. She quietly apologized for her brashness.

"Anyway," Frankly continued, "the four remaining survivors, if you don't count Flurrie, went into the sewers. They could be anywhere in that deep network of tunnels…finding them would be like finding a needle in a haystack."

"How do you know they went into the tunnels?" Yoshi asked.

"Simple," Frankly replied. "Kooper shot me a text. He said," Frankly paused while he flipped through the message inbox of his cellphone, "Heading into the sewers with everyone else. Wish me luck."

"So you think he's innocent?" Peach inquired. "I don't see why someone guilty would alert you to their presence." Yoshi agreed.

"I think that's right, unless it's some complicated red herring thing, but I don't think so," Frankly replied. "In fact, I think Kooper's innocent without a doubt. Furthermore, I have reasons to be certain who the one running this macabre show is."

"You do?" Yoshi asked, eyes widening with alarm. "Well who?"

"I'm not sure," Frankly said, furrowing his brow. "But I think I know who. Before I make any sort of glaring accusation, we should get the local authorities. If they all went into the sewers, I don't think they'll all be coming out. When they do…I think we'll have our culprit on our hands."

Nodding, Peach and Yoshi swiftly followed Frankly as he guided them out of his house and into the grimy daylight of the streets of Rogueport. They would find the authorities and wait for the others to emerge from the sewers. Then, and only then, all of this would be over. But deep within the sewers, the remaining four stood face to face with one another, and the final battle was about to begin.

Location: Rogueport Sewers

Present Occupants: Kooper, Goombella, Parakarry, Sushie

"No more games," Parakarry said, clutching the gun smoking in his hand. Beside him, the body of Goombario bled openly from its headshot wound. Sushie composed herself, taking a deep breath and trying to shift her gaze away from the body of the one she used to be able to call a friend. To her right, Kooper tugged on his bandana, nursing his injured arm as well. To her left, Goombella looked positively frightened. Straight ahead, Parakarry glowered.

"Not a single soul leaves these sewers until we have this figured out," the paratroopa said. "We've done enough investigating. We've done enough splitting up. We've done it all and we've seen it all and now it's time to finish this. Four of us are here. Three of us are innocent, but one of us, well one of us is a murderer. And quite frankly, that one is probably the one who orchestrated this whole thing. Bobbery didn't, we know that for sure. Bow was mad. Koops made it clear he wasn't the conspirator, and Goombario derailed the mafia's plans it seemed by killing Flurrie so hastily. Which leaves the fifth mafia, the truth conspirator, right here among us."

"How can you be so sure of that?" Kooper was the first to ask. "I mean, what's to say we didn't already find all of the mafia. What if they lied?"

"What do you mean!?" Sushie gasped. "You think the mafia lied about their size?"

"Why wouldn't they?" Kooper asked her, imploring all of them with his sad eyes. "If they lied about their numbers, adding one more to the mix, we'd still be suspicious of one another after the true mafia died. Come to think of it…I refuse to believe anyone here is guilty. The four of us, we've suffered through so much together. I've wept beside all of you…and I'd be floored if any of those tears were fake."

"That would be the true sign of madness," Parakarry said, stone-faced. "Listen Kooper, that's a nice thought, but we can't run the risk of letting one of us, possibly a killer within, roam free. I too would like to think we're all chummy, but that's not the case. Eleven of us are dead. Eleven, Kooper. Think about that. Think about all of the friends you've lost, be they guilty or innocent. And now think about what it is you want most. I know what I want. Revenge."

"But doesn't that make you just like the mafia?" Goombella asked him, speaking up. "They're so deadest on revenge. They wanted to take out their anger with themselves on all of us. If you give in to your vengeance, you become just like them."

"I find that to be more like vigilantism and less like insanity," Parakarry told her. "My sense of judgment isn't warped like those sickos we used to call friends. And mark my words, if one of you here is guilty, then I'll treat you just like Goombario." His words caused the other three to shiver.

"But what do we do?" Sushie asked. "How do we determine if one of us is truly guilty?"

"We do what Parakarry said," Kooper answered rapidly. "We stay here. No one leaves until we're either certain someone's guilty or certain someone's innocent. We examine every bit of evidence we've come across until we hit a culprit. I think that's fair."

"But what if we can't?" Goombella asked, lip wavering.

"Then we try again," Parakarry said, voice cold as ice.

"So where do we begin?" Sushie asked. "I suppose with the first murder, hmm?"

"A murder you discovered," Kooper added. Sushie looked taken aback, but Kooper corrected her. "We can't be offended, Sushie. We have to examine everything. Pausing to be offended and deny accusations will only waste time. If we all agree to approach this in a level-headed manner, then we'll be able to do this much more quickly." Sushie complied. As did the others.

"A-alright," Sushie stammered. "I'll try not to be offended. Just know it's not true…I'm not a killer…"

Kooper looked a bit sympathetic, but he knew they needed to continue. "So Sushie," he prattled on. "You discovered Lakilester's body. You said you were coming into town from Lavalava."

"Which was the truth!" she pointed out. Ignoring her gesticulation, Kooper continued.

"So, you spent a lot of time on Lavalava," he told her. "You were hardly around for investigations but you did manage to discover the corpse of Lakilester. Anything to defend there?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head. "I spent time in my home because I was afraid. I tried to do my own deducing, but I didn't want to leave home because I'd rather not wind up dead."

"Fair enough," Parakarry said. "So moving on. Day 1, what did we all do? I don't think any of us were with one another. Our leads on that subject have expired since then…" he tried to refer to their dead friends as passively as possible. "Honestly, not much stands out in the earlier parts of this game. There are actually two main events I think we should focus on."

"Hmm?" Goombella asked.

"The first would be the events in the Forever Forest, and the second would be yesterday, the day we went to Flurrie's House. I think most of our clues are going to be there," Parakarry said. "So let's focus on the Forever Forest first."

"I took that day by charge," Sushie remembered aloud. "A lot of people kept disappearing. Namely, you, Parakarry. You were alone for some time, I remember. You just disappeared right behind me and then reappeared screaming your head off that a killer was chasing you."

"Well it's the truth," Parakarry told her. "While I was alone, with no one to back me up, a killer did chase me. That's all I can say about that."

"Well what about you two?" Sushie asked Goombella and Kooper. "You two went off on your own and Kooper wound up getting hurt."

"I would know if Goombella was the one who hurt me," Kooper said. "She was with me when I was attacked. Since we're just looking for one mafia, we both couldn't have worked on my injury in cahoots or anything."

"He was most certainly attacked by a hooded figure, who turned out to be Bow," Goombella explained. "He told me to run and get away so I could save myself! Kooper wouldn't tell me to do that if he were guilty!"

"Perhaps he wanted you to think that way?" Parakarry suggested, arching an eyebrow. "Perhaps he asked a cohort to mutilate him as extra insurance?"

Kooper looked ticked off by that. "W-what's the big idea, huh?" he asked Parakarry. "You honestly think I'd ask Bow to do that to me?"

"If you're crazy enough to kill all of your friends, I think you'd be crazy enough to do anything," Parakarry told him.

"Now you wait one minute," Kooper said, raising his arm but wincing as the pain seared through his body. "A-argh…" he whimpered. "You really think I did this to myself?" he asked with a glare.

"Fighting will get us nowhere," Sushie interrupted. "Kooper, you were the one who said we shouldn't get insulted by accusations. Stick to your words, man. Anyway, I don't think our answer lies in that. I think something else deserves attention."

"What does?" Parakarry asked.

"Something's been troubling me since we apprehended Bow," Sushie explained. "The position of Vivian's body. Bow reported she found Vivian laying in the path. But then when we found Vivian, she was hanging from a tree branch."

"Bow could have just lied?" Goombella suggested.

"Yes, that's possible," Sushie said quietly, rubbing her chin with a fin, "but no, I don't think she did. She would want to avoid lying as much as possible, when she's entrenched in so much duplicity. I think she told the truth, which can be evidenced by the dirt on Vivian's back. I'm sure none of you noticed it at the time, but I did. I was checking to see if Bow's story held up, and I think it does."

"What does dirt prove?" Goombella asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Vivian was laying in the dirt at some point. Bow wouldn't need to lay her down or anything since she can float. So, I think Bow told the truth," Sushie explained.

"What does that prove?" Kooper asked her. "I mean, Bow could've just moved the body later?"

"Do you really think she had time?" Sushie asked him. "I mean, we've affirmed the shaky truth that Parakarry and you were attacked by Bow. Now no one witnessed Parakarry get attacked, but just say he truly was. With Bow running around to opposite sides of the forest, chasing everyone about, do you really think she had a good window of time to string up Vivian? Besides, she's a little Boo. She probably needed help. I doubt she could lift a body all on her own."

"So you think someone here helped her?" Parakarry asked.

"Well, it could have been you," Sushie told the mailman, causing shock to spread across his face. "You're certainly stronger than Bow, plus you can fly, so stringing up Vivian would be no problem for you."

Parakarry tried to stick to their rule of not getting offended, but everyone could tell he was having a hard time doing so. "I-I didn't do that!" he seethed.

"You did disappear on a straight path," Sushie told him. "That seems a little difficult to pull off, unless it was intentional."

"Well I just killed Goombario," Parakarry told her. "How do you explain that? If you really think I'm guilty, why would I kill my own cohort?"

"You said it yourself," Goombella answered for Sushie. "You said Goombario derailed the mafia's plans. How would you know what a derailment of the plans would be unless you knew what the plans were?"

"Oh this is ridiculous," Parakarry said with a sigh. "I honestly got lost in the fog! And then Bow jumped out at me! How can I prove to you I'm innocent?" he beseeched them.

"I-I don't know…" Kooper's voice trailed off. "It all seems to add up."

Goombella nodded. "I'm sorry Parakarry…" but before she could finish, Kooper spoke anew.

"Wait a minute," he said, tapping his chin with his index finger. "Wait a minute. We need to pinpoint everyone's location in the Forever Forest. If the timestamps add up with me being attacked by the killer and Sushie being on the edge of the woods, then that brings into questions where everyone was."

"What do you mean?" Goombella asked, looking confused. "We know where everyone was!"

"No," he told her. "Not at the time that Vivian was strung up. This was a crucial time." He turned to Sushie. "When did you find everyone?"

"W-well," Sushie began. "I found Ms. Mowz first, at the edge of the woods. Then came Parakarry, hollering like a banshee. We all walked together down the path for a bit before finding Goombella, hiding in a stump. Then we came to you."

"Ms. Mowz…Parakarry…," Kooper said, piecing it all together in his head. "How long would say was the time between when you found Parakarry and when you found Goombella?"

"Oh," Sushie scratched her stomach, "probably five minutes?"

"Five minutes?" Kooper asked. "T-that's a lot of time…hmm…"

"Where are you going with this?" Parakarry asked him. "If it helps clear my name, then speak!"

"I'm simply thinking that someone else had time to assist Bow," Kooper said, slowly turning his gaze towards Goombella. "There's time before you hid, and time before they found you. You had about ten minutes of unaccounted time in the woods."

"Me!?" Goombella cried. "K-Kooper…Kooper why would you say that?"

"Because it's possible!" Kooper cried. "We can't condemn Parakarry on flimsy evidence. If a window of time existed where someone else could have helped Bow…then we can't say it was Parakarry." As the mailman let out a sigh of relief, Goombella embarked upon a tirade.

"H-how dare you!" Goombella barked. "I…I love you, Kooper! B-but…b-but you say such mean things!" she spat. "H-h-how could you accuse me? Me! I'm the one who's been by your side this whole time…I'm the one who's been so good to you…"

"G-Goombella…" Kooper said, his voice shaky. "Y-you love me?"

"I hate to break up the romantic declarations we have going on here, but we're still nowhere close to pinning a culprit," Sushie interjected. "In fact, we're probably farther away now."

"N-not quite…" Kooper began. "I think I know who it is now."

"What!?" Goombella cried. "You don't think it's me, do you, Kooper?"

He swallowed.

"K-Kooper…?"

"It makes sense, Goombella!" he yelled, clutching his broken arm. "It all makes sense now! Once I thought of the time window in the Forever Forest…other things came to my mind. Flurrie told me you asked for a book on the first mafia game from Frankly…after that you took me with you to visit Peach in Sarasaland," as he said this, Sushie and Parakarry gasped in surprise. "You've had some odd fascination with the first game since the beginning of this thing!"

"I was trying to help!" Goombella cried. "I was trying to gather intelligence to see what tricks the mafia might be up to? You're going to discount me for helping?"

Parakarry stepped in. "Actually…it makes sense," he said. "Uhm, now that I think about it, there's a few things about you that stand out, Goombella. You uhm…you were the last to arrive to the bar on the first night. You've done nothing glaring, but just little things that sort of come together at the end."

"Well like what?" Goombella demanded to know. "Spell it out for me! If you all hate me so much, then tell me why!"

"G-Goombella, we don't hate you…" Kooper said.

She glared at him. "I love you, Kooper," she told him. "We have so much in common…why can't you see that? I would never do anything to hurt you…"

"But you would hurt his friends," Sushie said, taking a bounce forward. "And come to think of it, I just realized something."

"What is that?" Parakarry asked.

"We've been played for fools," she said to him. "I'm rather certain that Goombella," she said, looking to the goomba, "kidnapped Flurrie."

An eerie quiet settled over the sewers. Goombella froze, looking to Sushie with wide eyes. "H-how…?" she managed to ask.

"It's in the mafia's first message," Sushie said. "They told all of us that they wouldn't be foolish like the first mafia. There would be no grand bread crumb trail like the one Luigi left. There would be no notes, no confessions. But what did we find at Flurrie's?"

"A confession…" Kooper mumbled.

"Exactly," Sushie said. "But it was written in Flurrie's script? Well it might be easy to manipulate. Flurrie has pretty generic girly handwriting. Myself or Goombella could easily copy it."

"So?" Goombella asked, swishing her ponytail about. "Who says you didn't?"

"I never went to Flurrie's," Sushie told her. "But you did. You stayed there the first night with her, right?"

Flashback

"I didn't know you were interested in fashion," Flurrie told Goombella, eyeing the book she'd been reading.

"I'm not," Goombella said sourly. "It's just the only thing you have laying around this house. Now could you please hurry up? The journey to Rogueport's kinda far."

"I must fix my hair!" Flurrie decreed, dashing back into her boudoir and coating herself in make-up and hairspray. Done with the ritual, Flurrie returned to the living room, ready to travel. Sighing once more, Goombella snapped her book shut, placed it on the table beside the couch, and rose to meet Flurrie.

"Ready?" the archaeologist asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be, dearie!" Flurrie sang.

"You had ample opportunity to fake Flurrie's script, stuff the note in a book only she would read, and then act like nothing happened," Sushie told Goombella.

"So did Koopie Koo," Goombella told Flurrie. "She knew what Koops was up to. Who says she couldn't have done it?"

"Well, I don't think that's all," Parakarry said. "I think you also messed up once or twice. The first was with Goombario's fake body."

Flashback

Confused, Ms. Mowz whirled on Bow. "You told me he was with Goombella!" she cried. Bow's face flushed and she began to fan herself with the chiffon extensions of her elegant fan. Beside her, Watt shrunk. The bulb refused to believe Bow had been misguiding anyone.

"I-I thought he was!" Bow defended herself. She pointed her folded fan at Goombella. "She told me he was!"

"Honestly Bow," Goombella chuckled. "Pay attention from time to time. You only ever listen to conversations if they're about you. I said Kooper was coming along, but I guess he didn't."

"Yeah, I did tell Goombella I'd join her in Rogueport, but I got caught up earlier this morning," he admitted. Now that that issue had been cleared up, they could move on to other things.

"You had Bow cover you," Parakarry said. "That's plain and simple. You're the only person besides Bow who saw Goombario's fake body, and Bow's not too credible a source, is she? Besides, the dummy was made out of a burlap sack and straw. I think you, of all people Goombella, would come tell us that something didn't seem right with the body."

Goombella took a step back.

"Now what's this business about going to see Peach?" Sushie asked. "How come you two did that without telling anyone?"

"We wanted to get information from her without letting the mafia know we were going far," Goombella defended herself. "What if they thought we were fleeing the city?"

"They would think that," Parakarry said. "Going to the princess…they probably would assume you were seeking government action. You wouldn't be able to get away with that…"

"Unless she knew she had nothing to fear," Sushie said, turning to Goombella.

"Wait a minute!" Kooper barked. "All of this evidence is mounting against Goombella…are we sure it's her?"

"I don't know," Parakarry said. "Why don't we test it out?"

"Test it out?" Goombella asked him. "What does that even mean?"

"Kooper," Parakarry said. "Why don't you tell Goombella how you feel about her?"

"W-what?" Goombella and Kooper asked at the same time. Goombella looked to Kooper, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Go on," Parakarry urged.

"Er…uhm, well," Kooper said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess…uhm…I like you, Goombella. I really do. B-but…but platonically. You're a good friend, b-but…nothing more."

"What?" she asked, eyes glazing over with shock.

"I…I don't like you, romantically," Kooper affirmed himself.

"What?" she asked, eyes shining with distrust.

"You heard him," Parakarry said. "He's not in love with you."

"What?" she asked, eyes hardening over with malice. "Y-you…you don't love me?" she asked. Slowly, a grin spread across her face, and then, laughter. Loud and shrieking, like the caterwaul of a ghost.

"Of course I knew that!" Goombella cried, her smile not leaving her face. "How could I not? Do you honestly think I would yearn for Kooper so dearly if he cared for me as much as I did him? That wouldn't make any fun! What's the fun in love if there's no heartbreak…no depression…no despair."

"Goombella?" Kooper asked, taking a step towards her.

"It's ok, Kooper," Goombella said. "I won't hurt you. I would never hurt you…I wouldn't ever do the things to you that I did…to the others…"

Kooper took another step towards her. Sushie looked abhorred. "Kooper!" she called out.

"But…it'd be sad, really, if I had to go away without you…" Goombella told him.

"Kooper!" Parakarry cried. "Get away from her!"

"Huh?" Kooper asked, turning to face Parakarry but not stepping away.

"So I guess you'll just have to come with me…" Goombella said. She fished a knife from her pocket and lunged at Kooper, sinking the blade into his chest. Gasping for air, Kooper fell into her, his eyes bulging with mania. Goombella whispered into his ear.

"We will be together now, Kooper…I am caught, but I shan't go alone…I shall have you, forever, and ever and ever…"

Kooper slumped into her shoulders, the life leaking from his lips in globs of crimson. He coughed and he spluttered. Sushie screamed. Goombella turned her gaze over Kooper's shoulder and towards Parakarry.

"Congratulations," she told him. "You've won the game. You don't have to worry about anything now. Kooper's cellphone is in my pocket. I've recorded our entire conversation. I, Goombella, confess to being the conspirator of the new mafia. I've completed my mission. Do what you will."

"You're sick," he said, raising the gun in his hand.

"No," she told him, smile growing. "I am free."

BANG!

Her head snapped back, the sickening crunch of her nick twisting backwards filling the dim and cavernous sewer air. She fell backwards, Kooper falling with her. They hit the ground, intertwined. As she fell, her life ebbed away, and white encircled her vision. Parakarry and Sushie were alone with three bodies.

"It's over…" Sushie said at last.

"Kooper…" Parakarry murmured. "Oh God, Kooper…why did he have to die with her? Why couldn't we save him!?"

"We're alive!" Sushie told him. "We won! Can't you just be happy that we made it out with our lives? This is all over…we can live now…we can go on…"

"You can just move on?" Parakarry asked her. "Knowing all of your friends are dead?"

She sighed. "If they did this…they were never my friends, Parakarry."

He looked taken aback. "I…I don't know…everyone's dead…how can I go on…"

Sushie laid a fin on his hand. "You did your best," she told him.

"This was my best?" he asked sharply, nearly spitting out the words like hot acid. "I let everyone die!"

"You didn't let me die," she told him, looking down towards the ground. "Do what you will, Parakarry. But I'm going home. I'm going to live out my days on Lavalava Island in peace." Sushie turned away from him and began her ascent to Rogueport. She didn't look back.

She never heard from him again.

Two Months Later…

Location: Sushie's House

Present Occupants: Sushie, Yoshi, Peach, Prof. Frankly

"I'm just glad this is all behind us," Peach said, taking a sip of the tea Yoshi had brewed. Sushie laid out a plate of cookies, smiling at everyone to take one.

"I still can't believe she tried to kill you too," the fish said, hopping up onto a recliner chair. Yoshi greedily reached for the cookies, chomping on two at once.

"I think things are finally getting back to normal," Professor Frankly said. "Rogueport's been cleaned up considerably ever since Parakarry took over there. He's the mayor now, it seems. He took out both the Pianta Syndicate and the Robbo Gang, and now Rogueport's as bustling a seaside town as it ever was."

"I haven't heard from him," Sushie remarked. "I doubt I ever will."

"What's there to hear of?" Yoshi asked. "I heard he can't let that game go…it's all he ever thinks about."

"True," Sushie said, munching on a gingerbread cookie. "Well, I'd rather not think about it. Christmas is almost here and I have a lot of work to do to get the Yoshi Village ready. Oh, won't you stay, Yoshi? I know Yoshi's Island is lovely this time of year, but I could really use a hand with everything."

"I'd love to stay and help," Yoshi told her. "I'm sure Peach wouldn't mind either."

"I've got nothing better to do," Peach said with a smile. "No more kingdom to run…no more parties to plan…it's peaceful, in a way. I just try to think about the good I can do with the life I've been given."

"Ho ho!" Frankly chortled. "You youngsters, so vibrant. Why, I haven't seen a proper Christmas in a long time. Care for an extra set of hands?" he asked Sushie.

"Why, it's so nice to have all of you pitch in," the cheep cheep said with a smile. "Of course I could use the help! In fact, I'll speak with the chieftain right away to see what all of you can do! But first, please try a macaroon!"

Everyone helped themselves, and Yoshi helped himself to three. Laughing at the dinosaur's gluttonous antics, the four friends enjoyed the warmth of the holiday season together…and the fact that they, above the others, had been granted new life.

Location: Rogueport Mayor's Office

Present Occupant: Parakarry

"Sushie…" Parakarry said, his back against the chair and facing a roaring fireplace. "How could she be so cruel? She just forgot about her friends…she forgot about those who had empowered her. Without their deaths…she wouldn't be alive. Without them…she wouldn't be here. How can she be so cruel to forget that? Sushie…"

He stabbed the wood in the fireplace with a hot poker.

"Sushie…"

He stabbed it again.

"Hmph," he said at last. "Goombella…Luigi…they got it all wrong. If you want people to sympathize with you…you have to be a hero. You have to survive tragedy. You have to bring hope to loss. Look what I've done…I've rebuilt Rogueport all by myself. All the scum and filth are gone…and now the streets shine with my hope."

He snarled.

"My hope…my soul…perhaps now, someone can do it right. Perhaps now…I can teach them all a lesson. You don't forget about your friends…you don't take things for granted…and you don't spit on your life."

He stabbed the wood once more.

"Sushie likes her life, huh?" he wondered aloud. "Let's see how far she'll go to keep it…"

Shadow of Despair: Mafia in Rogueport

A/N: It was always Goombella. The first chapter was set in her POV to throw massive suspicion off of her and make everyone think it couldn't possibly be her. Then I just surrounded her with little tidbits and used Kooper to take all the heavy hits for her. I alluded to her unrequited love for Kooper, which is the only motive I think I presented for any of the characters. Goombella did little things, like reading a book she wouldn't normally read, poke into the origins of the first game, use confirmed Mafiosi testament as proof for her actions, and go missing for small amounts of time. I didn't want to shed anything major on Goombella, just enough to get the characters to pry her open and then watch as the floodgates released and her feelings for Kooper would come rushing out.

On picking the survivors, Parakarry was always going to survive. I juggled between Sushie and Ms. Mowz, but ultimately chose Sushie because I found her island abode to contain the more heartwarming atmosphere I was looking for at the end of the tale. However, I did deviate from a few things.

1. Kooper was not going to die. But, I thought three survivors was too many, even though that's a small number, and it mirrored how the brothers went down at the end of the last one. Plus, I found no purpose for Kooper as a survivor. Goombella's declaration and subsequent death would probably break him, and he'd have no reason to live.

2. Parakarry was going to commit suicide. Yes, I had actually planned for just Sushie to survive and go back to Lavalava and be with Yoshi and Peach and call it a wrap. But then I thought of, well, what if I ever do write a sequel? Hell, I probably won't, but I want the availability there. So I had Parakarry's despair warp into wrath, and while it may seem obvious that he'd be pulling the strings in the next story, the pawns he would use would not be so apparent. His grief at Sushie's cold outlook on her new life fueled him to punish not only her, but those who take their lives for granted. As Parakarry said at the end to Goombella, he sees his murder of Goombario as an act of vigilantism, and that's how he would view orchestrating the Third Game. He would see it as kind of undoing the wrongs of society and making those who take everything for granted see how fortunate they are once everything is taken away from them.

Also, if I wrote a third story, what would you want it to be like? Thanks to everyone who loyally reviewed and supported this story!