He'd lost two more that afternoon.
With a melancholy sigh, the doctor tilted back the glass of vodka that sat on the bar in front of him, draining it completely. His hands were shaking slightly, but that was only normal after such a day as he'd had. He'd been awoken at four in the morning, only two hours after he'd finally managed to fall asleep, by a call to inform him that one of his patients was worsening, and they needed his expertise. While he was still trying to stabilize the young man, another had been brought in in nearly the same condition. The virus that ran rampant over the land was claiming lives daily now, and there were so many falling victim at once that even he, the kingdom's foremost authority on the mysterious illness, could do little to slow it down. They'd not even managed to find a cure yet - the only treatment he could offer his patients was an assortment of pills to batter back the sickness that ran wild within their bodies; it would have been effective, if the viruses had not always come back stronger and more numerous than before. Perhaps it was his imagination, or too many of the yellow pills that he took to steady his hands, but every time he peered through a microscope at the viruses, they seemed to be laughing at him, mocking him for the futility of his crusade.
Peach was practically in despair over this plague upon the citizens of her kingdom - at least when her usual rival attacked, there was something tangible they could do about it. They could raise an army, infiltrate the flying ships, and destroy his troops... At times, Mario wondered if it was the king of the Koopas himself who had developed this virus, as no other form of assault against the Mushroom Kingdom had proven successful. There was no time for investigation, however; the virus did not seem to affect humans, and while Peach dealt with the affairs of her kingdom, trying to keep the people from panicking, Mario had taken up medical practice out of necessity - he and his brother were the only other humans in the Mushroom Kingdom.
In truth, Luigi would have been better suited to this profession, Mario thought with a sigh. He was more patient, more thoughtful... In truth, Mario had only become a doctor because it was expected, as the princess's consort, that he should be her champion on whatever battlefront should arise. And as well, he had to admit to himself that a part of him had desired that glory, the recognition and adoration that would surely come when he vanquished the disease. That, of course, was when he had still believed that day would come. After many months of long days spent caring for the sick and dying, trying helplessly to halt the advance of the virus, Mario had little hope left.
He still felt wired, he discovered, even after a few drinks. Too many of the red pills, taken in hopes that they would keep him awake and alert during the extended shift. Fumbling in his pockets, he found the small plastic bottle and opened it with trembling fingers. After spilling the contents into his left hand, he found what he was looking for - one of the blue and yellow capsules - and dumped the rest back in for use on some later date. This would take the edge off for now, he thought as he washed it down with the contents of his glass, which had been refilled without his asking by the ever vigilant barkeep. The man knew Mario well by this time, as he saw him every evening, and he graciously gave the doctor what he needed without questions or condemnation.
Peach, on the other hand, was not so understanding, he thought wryly, dropping his moustached face into one hand. She would be furious when he returned home in this state - she always was. Didn't she understand that he was doing it all for her sake, her sake and those of her people? If he needed to have a few drinks to calm his nerves after a long day - and they were all long, of late - couldn't he have that small indulgence? And as for the capsules he'd been taking more and more frequently, he spent all his days dispensing pills to help others make it through just one more day; why should he not have the same help when he needed it?
Perhaps she would not be home when he arrived, he thought with a bittersweet smile, swishing the remains of his drink around in the glass. In his absence, she'd been spending more and more time away from home, ostensibly busy with the upkeep of her kingdom. Luigi had become her only human companion while Mario kept the long hours at the hospital, so it was not particularly unusual that she should conduct her business at his home after the ministers at the royal palace had left for the night. Sometimes he could not help but wonder just what sort of business they might be conducting. Regardless, he'd stopped caring long ago. Let the princess do what she wished. It was her comfort in this difficult time, just as the pills and the drinks were his.
If indeed Mario's suspicions about his brother and Peach were more than the result of too many pills and too little sleep, it was just another entry on the list of reasons he envied Luigi. Ironic, he thought, that so many resented him for always overshadowing his brother, who had been just as much a hero as he when the two of them had arrived in the kingdom. Mario, as Peach's consort, had gone on to bigger, better things in the past years, while Luigi continued to live the life of a plumber. In truth, Mario wished he could return to the simple lifestyle Luigi enjoyed - few pressures or duties aside from inspecting the pipes and clearing the occasional clogged drain.
But no, Mario had never been one to back down to a challenge, even when the odds against him were tremendous. He would someday find a way to halt the progress of this damned virus, he vowed - even if he saw no sleep night or day. He thought he just might be able to swing that, with enough of the red pills.
However, the red pills were not what he needed now. Glancing at the watch he wore, one of the few remnants of his mundane life back in Brooklyn - oh, how he missed that mundanity - he found that it was nearly midnight; time for another blue. If he left the bar immediately afterwards, it should kick in just as he arrived home, and then it would not matter if Peach was there or not.
Not for the first time, he looked down at the assortment of shiny, multicolored capsules in his hand and considered swallowing the lot of them. But even though the never-ending stream of victims was precisely what made him wish for that peaceful oblivion, it was they who prompted him instead to only swallow the blue pill he'd intended. They needed him. The Mushroom Kingdom needed him. And as long as that need existed, so would Dr. Mario.
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...Or maybe I was just in a really demented mood and wanted to write something completely absurd. :D