Chapter 2

2 Days Later

"Are you serious?"

"Yes, from now on, refer to me as N."

"But why?"

"Nobody must know our identities, or we too could lose our lives. You will be known as L."

"What about me?"

"You are S."

"And me?"

"R."

"This feels a bit ridiculous," says L.

"As I have already stated, these deaths are not coincidental," N responds, "They are the work of someone with malicious intent."

"But how?" asks R, "characters like us don't just die like that!"

"I don't know how. That's why we are here."

"And what if the perpetrator is one of us?"

"I have considered that," answers N, "in fact, I think it's quite likely. If so, then it should become obvious in due time."

"Agreed," says L.

"Makes sense," S agrees, "so what are your thoughts on the crime so far, N?"

"Well. I have the official tier list here. Have a look."

"Hmm…" mutters S.

"As you can see, Mario was in A Tier, and Daisy was in B tier. I believe this might have something to do with their deaths."

"In what way?" asks L.

"These tiers are relatively high," responds N, "I think it's quite possible that the killer has something against the higher tiers. That would mean that the killer is in C tier or lower."

"If that was their motive, wouldn't they want to kill the characters in S tier first?" R questions.

"It would be too obvious. The killer wants the deaths to appear randomly selected."

"I see," mumbles S.

"So," says L, "who do you think did it?"

"I believe it was Luigi."

"Luigi, huh?" says S, "I can't see it."

"Mario was Luigi's brother. He also seemed to have had some sort of relationship with Daisy," explains N, "and Luigi's actions during the crime were quite suspicious."

"That's right, didn't he make a run for it when Mario died?" says S, "and when Daisy followed him, she died too…"

"That is definitely suspicious," R agrees.

"But why would he kill the people he loved?" asks L.

"I'm not sure yet, but I believe my theory fits. Luigi is currently placed in C tier."

"This is all still speculation though," notes S, "at least, it seems like it. Nobody can really know for sure, right?"

"Of course, don't take what I've said to heart. This is only what I believe to be likely. Does anybody have anything else they want to add?"

Nobody answers.

"Then this meeting is over. Keep your eyes out for any suspicious behaviour."

Later

"I'm sorry about your brother…"

"It's-a okay. I'll-a be fine."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No."

Luigi and Captain Falcon sit in the Men's room. Their 1-on-1 match on Kirby's Dreamland is about to begin.

"Well, remember this," says Captain Falcon, "I'll always be here for ya."

"Thank-a you…"

"Now, come on! We got a brawl to get to!"

A couple minutes later, the battle ends, with Captain Falcon declared as the victory. Luigi starts clapping.

"He whooped-a my ass…" Luigi thinks.

"Good game, man!" yells Captain Falcon, surrounded by female characters.

Luigi nods.

"My brother just died, and he has no pity," Luigi notes to himself, "maybe he should be the next…"

Luigi ponders for a moment, "Actually, that's what I respect about him. He's a genuine guy who just wants to win, no matter the cost. I suppose I'll spare him."

"Excuse me."

"Eh?" Luigi turns to see Lucas.

"That was a great match!" Lucas exclaims.

"Yeah…" Luigi frowns, "I lost pretty badly, but I still had a good time I guess."

"Ok, I'm gonna be honest. I'm not here to talk about the match."

"Huh?" Luigi says, surprised.

"I want to speak with you about Daisy and your brother."

Luigi freezes.

"Does he know?" Luigi thinks.

"I'm part of an elite group that believes the deaths are no mistake, and that somebody is behind them." Lucas explains, "I was wondering if you had any information that could be of use to us."

Luigi stares at Lucas for a moment, completely unsure of what to do. Suddenly, he comes up with an idea.

"I thought the same, actually."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, and I would love to be a part of your group and bring the killer to justice."

"Oh… I, uh…" Lucas stammers.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, I don't think we can allow any more members just yet."

"Why not?"

"Look… umm… okay, I'll tell you the truth," Lucas says, "you're our prime suspect."

"Just as I thought," Luigi thinks, "they're already on to me…"

"I'm sorry, Luigi. But you must admit, you acted pretty weird that day…"

"And what better way to prove my innocence than join you guys?"

"That's true… Okay, you know what? I'll ask the boss and see what he thinks."

"Who's the boss?"

"I really don't think I should tell you that…"

"I understand. Well, you let me know, alright?"

"Yes, of course."

Lucas gives Luigi a wave, then walks off.

"I wonder…" Luigi thinks, "What if I turned this into a game? Since they already suspect me, why don't I take things to the next level? Of course, I could just kill them all right now, but what's the fun in that?"

Like an old, forgotten clock, something starts to spin in Luigi that hasn't spun for years.

"All this time, who knew that this was what I needed to feel alive again?"

Luigi enters the men's room once again. With a thousand thoughts whirling around in his head, he enters the number 0002 into his locker. The locker opens. Luigi starts to dig around in a green bag sitting at the bottom of the locker, and after several seconds, pulls out a black notebook and a single pen. He takes a quick look around the room to make sure nobody's around, then enters the stall.

The man dressed in green begins to write furiously. A third name appears on the page, then a fourth, then a fifth. After a few moments of thought, a sixth name is written, then a seventh, an eighth, a ninth…

In all, thirteen names now lie on the first page of the notebook:

MARIO

DAISY

LUCINA

FOX

PALUTENA

OLIMAR

DIDDY KONG

SONIC

WII FIT TRAINER

DUCK HUNT

BAYONETTA

INKLING

JIGGLYPUFF

"This is enough for now," Luigi says to himself while looking over the names.

Luigi exits the men's room to a symphony of terror. He watches as terrified characters gather around Lucina, who is already lying on the ground. Luigi scans the area for Fox. He hears a shout from one of the characters surrounding Lucina. In the middle of the crowd, Fox stands, eyes bulging, clutching his heart. He too, topples over. The crowd screams and shouts. A few moments later, Palutena drops as well. Amidst all the chaos, Luigi stands and stares blankly.

"I did this…" Luigi thinks, "I caused all this chaos…"

He hears a shout.

"Holy shit! Any one of us could be next!"

"Olimar…" Luigi says, "Heh…"

"Ack!" Olimar cries. He falls to the ground.

More screams are heard.

"Is this some sort of judgment from a divine being on high? What did we do to deserve this!?"

Luigi begins to smile. Diddy Kong glances over at him and notices the grin on his face.

"Luigi! What is…" Diddy Kong yells.

Luigi quickly switches to a concerned look and runs over to the small ape, who also goes down.

"Diddy! No!" Luigi shouts.

Lucas watches from afar with a horrified expression.

"What if I…" Lucas say to himself, "Luigi… Oh God… Why did I have to…"

After a couple minutes, Jigglypuff plummets to the ground as the final victim of the mass killing. Characters run amok, fearing for their lives. They soon realize that the murder spree has ended, and the panic begins to die down.

"Why!?" shouts Falco while holding Fox in his arms, "How could this happen!?"

Pikachu stands above Jigglypuff's body in horror and begins to sob.

"This is enough!" Ness declares, "These deaths are clearly not accidents! This is murder!"

Lucas slowly turns his head toward Luigi, who is kneeling over Diddy Kong.

"Could he really be the killer?" Lucas asks himself.

"We have to get to the bottom of this as fast as possible!" Ness yells, "Or we could all be dead by tomorrow!"

"But… How?" Peach cries, "There's no way we can prove who is doing this…"

"It doesn't matter," Snake shouts, "if you want to survive, we must figure out who is responsible."

"What sick monster would do this…"

Luigi stands back up. He looks all around him, then says, "Ness is right. One of us is a murderer. We must bring that character to justice."

Ness gives Luigi a curious look, "What is he trying to pull…" he thinks.

Luigi glances at Ness, then looks to the ceiling.

"Let the games begin," he thinks.