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Author's Note:
Since it's a holiday, I decided to post two chapter today. (YAY)
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Enjoy :)
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Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the story idea and any OCs.
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Chapter 37:
Aftermath
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It's been a few hours since Luigi was rushed to the infirmary. Wendy sat in the waiting area, anxiously waiting to hear the new on the green plumber. Waiting alongside her were Roy, Morton, Ludwig, Kanary, Iggy, and Lemmy, all of which wanted to know the condition of the hero in green as well.
Since arriving to the infirmary, the doctors were quick to take Luigi and started working on him immediately. Wendy wanted to follow them, but she was denied access and was asked to wait outside. There was a bit of an argument before she reluctantly took a seat in the waiting area.
Several nurses came over and cleaned the blood off her. During their treatment, Wendy remained unresponsive and kept her gaze on the ring place on her finger. Kanary, who had heard everything that had happened through Ludwig, sat next to her in hopes to provide some comfort. Unfortunately it didn't work as Wendy continues to stare blankly as her ring.
The door opened and everyone shoot up from their seats. To their disappointment, it was only Kamek, not the doctor. They settled back down as the head magikoopa entered inside.
"Any news?" He asked softly.
"No, not yet," Ludwig answered. "The last we heard from them was the fact that they got the dagger and were going to give him the antidote that you sent them. That was about an hour ago."
The old koopa glanced over at the pink koopa, noticing how distress she looked. "I see,"
The door opened again. This time, it was the doctor to enter with a clipboard in hand. Wendy was the first one to stand, followed by the rest of them.
"How is he?" She asked suddenly.
The doctor let out a deep sigh which wasn't a good signal for the others. "Well..." He started. "It was definitely touched and go for the most part...With the poison coursing through his system, it was hard for us to keep him stable enough for the surgical removal of the dagger. We..."
He hesitated slightly before continuing. "We nearly lost him on the operation table. His heart had stopped beating and we had to manually performed CPR before his heart could start on its own again.
"Fortunately, the antidote came and we immediately injected inside him. He's recovering now; however, he will be unresponsive for quite some time due to blood lost."
"Can we see him?" Kanary asked.
"You may, but I suggest only one visitor."
No one argued over who should get to go. Wendy stepped forward, indicating she would be the one to see Luigi first. The doctor nodded and started leading her to the room they had place Luigi in. Once the two disappeared behind the double door, Kamek turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Lemmy asked.
"To inform the King on Luigi's condition," Kamek answered as he exited the infirmary.
"Wow, King Dad actually cares?" Iggy said a bit surprise. "That's something I never thought I'll say. Looks like plumber's been rubbing off him,"
"I think he's been rubbing off of all of us," said Ludwig.
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~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~
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The doctor opened the door and allowed the pink koopa to enter the room. Wendy's blue eyes immediately fell on the limp figure on the bed. She stepped inside as the doctor close the door behind her. She stopped when she made to the side of the bed where Luigi lays unconscious.
For a quick moment, she just stood there to gaze at the man, silently taking in his condition, making sure he was indeed alive. Though most of his body was hidden by the large white blanket that covered over him protectively, she can still see the numbers of bandages wrapped around his body. An IV slowly dripped into the needle in his arm, synchronizing with the slow but steady beeping of the heart monitor – the heart monitor that had once stopped beeping. Luigi's face was unusually pale, and for a while it was difficult for her to determine if he was still breathing.
Seeing the weak state Luigi was in caused Wendy's heart to break in two. She gently brushes her talons through his soft, brown hair before placing it on the side of his face.
"Oh Luigi," she sighed sadly.
For the rest of the night, she sat next to his bedside, hoping to see those blue eyes again.
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Bowser groaned as he listened to the multiple voices talking to him at once. Things were finally starting to settle down around the castle but that didn't help ease his frustration. Over 300 of his men were injured from that explosion with the destruction of his largest airship. The only good news so far was the fact that no one was killed.
'Yet...' He thought bitterly.
At this moment, he was in his throne room with members of the Koopa Council discussing openly on incident that had just happened. The council consisted of koopa elders, advisors, and prominent figures such as Kammy. Their main purpose was to help the King govern over the klan and decided on matters that best suit Dark Land and its people. Although it was the king who always got the final say on the issue, the councilors were there to give any opinions and advices that can help finalize his decision.
"This is very serious." said a red shelled female Koopa. She was an old koopa with long blond/white hair tied loosely in two pony tails. "If Sir Kalvin is willing to turn against us, then what to say that our other allies have done the same?"
"Obviously, this calls for another increase in security." said a blue shelled male Koopa. He was the Chief of Security. "Also we should launch an internal investigation within the castle."
"An internal investigation?" questioned a large Goomba with a crown. His name was Goomboss, also known as the Goomba King. Once an ordinary goomba, he was now the goombas' secondary leader after Bowser.
"Are you seriously thinking on interviewing everyone in this castle?" He said.
The blue Koopa shrugged. "You can never be too careful. For all we know Kalvin could have convinced others to join him; like that Pom Pom Miss Wendy was associated with."
"If I recall correctly, that Pom Pom has been jealous of Mistress Wendy for the longest time." said Kammy. "I won't be surprise if she joined Kalvin just out of spite."
"And beside," said a male Koopa with a large piece of his red shell missing. Judging on how well dressed and decorated he was, you can tell he was the Koopa General. "What you're suggesting would require us to interrogate over a thousand soldiers. That will take us too much time, time we do not have."
"Then how else are we going to ensure the castle's safety?"
"That's the thing; the castle is no longer safe."
Everyone paused from their debate and turn to the King's head advisor, Kamek, who had just entered inside.
"Let's not forget, Kalvin stole our castle's blueprints and most likely shared them with our enemy. That alone can provide him with enough information to plan an invasion against us."
"In that case, it would be best that we relocate." Suggest the first advisor.
"May I suggest Castle A5," said the Chief of Security. "Since its construction years ago, it has yet to be used. The settlement around it has developed quite nicely and had built a large wall around its borders. Any sneak attacks will difficult to accomplish there."
"We've built so many castle, I easily lost track of them all." said an old green shelled Koopa with a long gray beard. "Refresh my memory; is that the one with the unusual magma flow?"
"Indeed it is,"
"Ah yes, I remember that one. It was one of the first King Morthophelus had us build." He turned to Bowser. "What do you say, your Majesty? Would you like to settle in one of your father's castles?"
The rest of the Councilors turned their attentions to their King sitting on his throne. Bowser let out a frustrated sigh. Tiredly, he sat up from his seat.
"Right now, I really don't care." He grunted. "What I really want is to know why Kalvin betrayed me and any information he has on Clawd."
"In that case, we'll discuss this matter in on a later date," said Kamek. "We'll interrogate Kalvin and report all information to you.
"We will also increase security in and around the castle area, in the off chance there will be second attack." He finished before the Security Chief can get a word in.
They all nodded. They bow their respect to the king before leaving the throne room. Kamek stayed behind. As soon the door close, Bowser turned his attention to his long-time advisor, already knowing he had news to tell him.
"Well," He said simply. Kamek stepped forward until he stood before the King.
"Luigi survived, however he's unconscious. It's unclear when he'll wake up."
"Right," Bowser mumbled softly. Kamek cleared his throat.
"You know, your Majesty, the night would have ended differently if it wasn't for Luigi."
Bowser clenched his fist and gave him a glare. "I am fully aware of that, Kamek."
"Yes, well, I just wanted to make sure. It's not every day someone would give their life for you, especially someone who was once your enemy."
The king raised a brow. "What are you saying, Kamek?"
"I guess what I'm trying to say... is that we take value of Luigi's loyalty and rewarded him for his actions."
"Reward?" Bowser repeated like it was a foreign word. "You know that's not my style."
"Well, sometimes change is a good thing." Kamek said. "You never know; you might change a little yourself."
He puffed. "I doubt it."
"Just think about it, your Majesty; this might come as a surprise to you."
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Ending Note:
I got the Council idea from Naruto.
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Next Chapter will be posted up later in the day.
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