Mario x Bowsette (Super Crown Madness)

Chpt 55: Out of Options

"Nothing in here either", he said, annoyed.

"Thankfully, yeah", his patrol companion asked.

Having searched the designated areas that, they were in charge of patrolling, they made their way back the route they came from, back to the canteen area where they could grab some leftover meals.

"I'm just glad we're done"

"Be glad that we don't have night duty"

The two Koopa talked along the way, past the rooms that they had already checked. Along the way, one of them stopped dead in his tracks. He could've sworn that they heard something. It was late into the night, with barely anyone, aside from the guards. Not wanting to go through the trouble of doing a thorough search again, he decided to take a quick peak inside.

The room was dark, but he could make out the large hospital beds. Long wooden boards, with white mattresses on top, and with white cloths draped from the mattress, stopping just about a few inches from the floor. There weren't any curtains used to cover the patients, mostly because there wasn't any need since there never were that many injured to ever stay too long. His companion grew impatient, "Come on, there's nothing in there"

"I know...I'm just checking is all"

"Well our shifts over, let's move"

After a short gaze into the room, he walked out and went along with his partner down the hallway. Once they were gone, he sneaked out, ran over to the entrance and peeked through the corner, looking as far ahead as he could down both paths, with no sign of anyone else walking about, he decided that the coast was clear. Still fast asleep, he was trying to figure out how to get Luigi moving.

"What the hell did they give you that I can't even knock you awake"

He tried shaking him a couple times but he wouldn't wake up. He wasn't in the mood to be wasting any time on him. Shaking him a lot harder this time, there was still no response. Frustrated, he gave up and tried coming up with another idea. At the back of his mind, he did have a backup plan if a situation such as this one was to arise. Thinking back to the day when he and Luigi left camp.

On that day, just before the sun could rise, Mikael was getting debriefed by their leader on the journey they were about to take. Luigi was still asleep; Mikael had gotten up earlier to prepare for the trip when he was called in. The boss wanted to check in on him, whether he was ready to handle the job of taking care of Luigi. He assured him, that even with a rookie to follow him around, he'd manage.

The boss was pleased to hear that; however, he couldn't help but think, that even with the extra hand, the situation can turn south at any given moment. What was most important, was that whatever remained of their group, was kept a secret, especially from the Koopa. He advised Mikael, that should he get stuck in a situation that posed a risk to them, he'd get rid of Luigi. Mikael had been a part of the group for a long time, so he knew what he had to do. It wouldn't be easy, but he was ready.

He thought about that day while looking at Luigi, lying defenseless in bed. It would've been easy, done in less than a minute or two. He stood there thinking. Around him, the few things available were blankets, pillows and empty beds. Even the table stands, nothing but bare wood. There wasn't anything around that he could use.

He stood there thinking. He had traveled with Luigi for a while now, a few days in fact. In that time, they've experienced some high and lows, especially in the last 24 hours where their journey had turned into a huge wreck. There were times that he took a chance and did what he had to do to keep Luigi alive and he was helpful when it came down to it. In the end something had to be done. He tried shaking him a couple more times, all the while calling out his name, but still no response from him. Running out of options, he had to do something, and carrying him wasn't an option.