Illusionary (Mario)

Chapter 7

"What do you know about Kaira Reiko?"

Saiko's head snapped up, her eyes wide and a shocked expression on her face. Her bright blue eyes bore into Charity's as she finally had
her full attention.

"K-K-Kaira..?" Saiko whispered, and then she suddenly slumped in her seat. Her bangs were no longer swept out of her face; they hung and covered her eyes. "...No...She...She..."

"Part of Bloody Hell with you, wasn't she?" Charity quipped, pacing back and forth slowly. "Do you know anything about her?"

"I'M AN AWFUL PERSON!" Saiko shrieked, thrashing in her restraints wildly. It began to pour in the room, soaking both her and Charity.

"...We have her detained," Charity told her carefully, holding her arm above her head in order to shelter herself slightly. "She refuses to speak. If she continues to remain quiet, we'll have to kill her."

"No...You're lying..." Saiko dropped her head, the rain ceasing slightly. A light drizzle now filled the room. "Kaira...She..! She doesn't...Exist..."

"What do you mean she doesn't exist?" Charity widened her blue eyes in surprise, confused. But the blue haired female wouldn't talk anymore, she was just sobbing constantly.

Come back, Charity, Eden told her through the earpiece. I have a theory.

Doing as she was told, Charity left the room and rejoined the rest of the Enforcers. Eden had her hands folded in her lap as they watched Saiko from behind the screen.

"...That corpse we saw, the redheaded one, must have been Kaira," Eden concluded, her green eyes staring at Saiko intently. "I see no other reason for Saiko to be this distraught. But...she is no longer there. Someone must have come back to collect the body."

"Perhaps she's upset because of being imprisoned, maybe?" Faith mused, and then became more sober once Eden looked at her. "Sorry. There's no other reason as to why Saiko would be sobbing over hearing Kaira's name."

"Precisely."

"Perhaps it was the owner. I forgot his name," Arden suggested, trying to remember who owned the prison. "Er...Matthew? Mateo, maybe?"

"...I believe it was Mario," Reina spoke, clasping her hands in front of her. "Yes, that is his name. You believe he went to retrieve her?"

"He wasn't one of the corpses we identified," Samara shrugged, pondering Eden's theory. Eden was a genius to say the least. She was able to take small amounts of evidence and chalk it into what the culprits were after. "Could be."

"Yes, that is exactly what I'm suggesting," Eden nodded, narrowing her green eyes slightly. "But that is not our problem right now."

"What?"

"We shall be rounding up all of the escaped prisoners. That is our goal. I will continue research here as you guys search. Remember, they are only distinguishable from their birthmark," Eden reminded them, watching them carefully. "Round them all up back here. Worst comes to worst, terminate anyone who gives you trouble."

"Oh, I can do that," Arden grinned maliciously, excited from the sound of the kill. "Charity and I will mop up everyone who opposes us!"

"I trust you to rein her in," Eden advised Charity.

"I will...We will only kill who is necessary. I trust that you don't mind if I do torture them, do you?"

"Do as you please, but don't let them die. We need them for information."

"Edie, how are we supposed to find them?" Samara questioned, leaning over slightly and exposing her chest. "I doubt they'll be willing to show off their birthmark. They're fairly aware of what a birthmark means by now..."

"I know. A scanner is in the works to find these individuals, but there's no telling how long this will take..." Eden responded, frustrated that the technology was not available yet. "It is not one hundred percent valid, either. We only have our current test model to try it out on...But eventually, I will have you all venture around and scan every single person. In the meantime, we will be using the files from the prison to locate these people."

"Okay, that sounds reasonable..." Faith nodded. "I hope you're not giving every single person to us."

"On the contrary. There is a group of individuals that live right by our base. Charity and Arden will go and venture further out, by the Koopa Kingdom area. The son of the main owner is afflicted with this power, his name is Bowser. Start with him. Samara and Reina will check around the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Wait, so what am I supposed to do?" Faith asked, confused. Normally, she split them off in pairs, and her and Eden normally traveled together. Eden had sent her off by herself, confusing her.

"The serial killer that was reported? I need you to investigate," Eden explained. "I'm trusting you with this."

"Don't worry," Faith smirked, confident in her own abilities. "I've got it."

"Any student that we're starting with?" Samara yawned, bored. Eden nodded.

"Yes. A girl named Daisy Sarasa."

uh oh.

question of the chapter: favorite enforcer?

thanks for reading!